Modern Language Association (MLA) Style, 8th edition 

 
The MLA citation style is most commonly used in the liberal arts and humanities fields. The 8th 
edition of the Modern Language Association Style Guide was published in the summer of 2016.  
 
Information taken from the Purdue Owl and MLA.org 
 
Manuscript Formatting 
Margins 
There should be 1 inch of margins on all four sides of the page.  
 
Headers 
Headers should contain your last name followed by the page number flushed to the right side of 
the page, in the top right-hand corner.  
 
Text Formatting 
MLA formatting suggests that you use an easy-to-read font, preferably Times New Roman, that 
contrasts when italicized. The entire paper should be double-spaced.  
 
First Page 
Before you begin your paper, you should include  
● your name 
● your professor’s name 
● your course name 
● the date  
all on double-spaced, separate lines.  
 
On a new line after these, you should include a title for your essay that is centered in the middle 
of the page. Follow your professorʻs formatting instructions if they require a title page.  
 
Subheadings 
You may use subheadings to separate and organize ideas in your paper. In MLA format, you 
may use whatever formatting you like, as long as it is consistent throughout your paper.  
 
 
Works Cited Page 
Basic Guidelines: 
The Works Cited page is placed at the end of the essay on a separate page, after any endnotes.  
● Heading for this page is: “Works Cited” 

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 ● Double-spaced 
● Each reference should have a running indent. First line is left-flushed but all following 
lines have ½” indent. 
● All references should be in alphabetical order.  
● Begin references with the name of the author in format Last Name, First Name.  
● Page numbers should be preceded by “pp.” in citations.  
● The medium is no longer necessary at the end of a citation unless needed for clarity.  
● Abbreviations should now be spelled out, including the volume and numbers for 
scholarly journals.  
 
Book with one author 
Author’s last name, first name. T
​ itle of Book. ​City of publication: Publisher, Year of Publication. 
 
*Note that with the new 8th edition, the city of publication is not given except in special situations.  

Sample: 
Bergesen, Albert. ​The Depth of Shallow Culture: The High Art of Shoes, Movies, Novels, 
Monsters, and Toys. B ​ oulder, CO: Paradigm Publishers, 2006.  
 
Book with more than one author 
The first author’s name appears in the last name, first name format while the following authors’ 
name appears in the first name, last name format.  

Sample:  
Gillespie, Paula, and Neal Lerner. ​The Allyn and Bacon Guide to Peer Tutoring​. Boston: Allyn,  
2000. 
 
If there are more than two authors, you may list the first author followed by “et al.”  

Sample: 
Corbin, Juliet, et al. ​Basics of Qualitative Research. T
​ housand Oaks, CA: Sage, 2012.  
 
Note that you must list the names as they appear on the text.  
 
Two or more sources from the same author 
You may list the first book normally. The second source will replace the author name with three 
hyphens and a period.  
 
Last, First. ​Title of Book. C ​ ity, State: Publisher, Date.  
---. ​Title of Book. C
​ ity, State: Publisher, Date.  
 

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Sample: 
King, Stephen. P ​ et Sematary. G
​ arden City, NY: Doubleday, 1983.  
---. ​Cujo. N
​ ew York: Viking Press, 1981.  
 
Book with no author 
If the book does not provide an author, you may omit the author’s name and begin the citation 
with the title, completing the citations normally from there.  
 
Title of Book. C​ ity, State: Publisher, Date.  

Sample: 
Maze. ​Maryville, MO: Northwest Missouri State University, 2012.  
 
An edition of a book 
There are different edition citation formats that should be used for the different types of 
editions. One type is a book that has been published more than once in different editions. The 
other is a book that is prepared by someone other than the author.  
For a subsequent edition​ to the original, you may cite normally, adding the edition after the title.  
 
Last, First. ​Title of Book.​ edition. City, State: Publisher, Date. 

Sample: 
Crowley, Sharon, and Debra Hawhee. A ​ ncient Rhetorics for Contemporary Students​. 3rd edition.  
New York: Pearson/Longman, 2004. 
 
For an edition prepared by someone other than the author​, cite as you normally would, adding 
the name of the preparer or editor after the title.  
 
Last, First. ​Title of Book. E
​ d. First Last. City, State: Publisher, Date. 

Sample: 
Bronte, Charlotte. ​Jane Eyre​. Editor Margaret Smith. Oxford: Oxford UP, 1998.  
 
A work in an anthology, reference, or collection 
If you are trying to cite an edited collection, anthology, or chapter of a book, you may follow this 
format.  
 
Last Name, First Name. “Title of Article/Essay”. T ​ itle of Collection. E
​ ditors Editor’s Name(s). City 
of Publication: Publisher, Year. Page range. 

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Sample: 
Harris, Muriel. "Talk to Me: Engaging Reluctant Writers." ​A Tutor's Guide: Helping Writers One to  
One​. Editor Ben Rafoth. Portsmouth: Heinemann, 2000. pp. 24-34.  
 
If you are citing several sections from a collection, consider citing the entire collection, 
beginning with the editor’s name.  
 
Last Name, First Name, and First Name Last Name, eds. N ​ ame of the Collection. C ​ ity: Publisher, 
Year.  

Sample: 
Hill, Charles A., and Marguerite Helmers, editors. ​Defining Visual Rhetorics​. Mahwah: Lawrence  
Erlbaum Associates, 2004.  
 
Scholarly Journal 
Author(s). “Title of Article”. ​Title of Journal V
​ olume, Number (Month Year): pages. Medium of 
Publication.  

Sample: 
Bagchi, Alaknanda. "Conflicting Nationalisms: The Voice of the Subaltern in Mahasweta Devi's  
Bashai Tudu." T ​ ulsa Studies in Women's Literature​ vol. 15, no. 1 (1996): pp. 41-50.  
 
*Note that the month or season presented before the year of publication is required as long as it 
appears on the text. If it does not appear, it is not required, as the 8th edition states.  
The new 8th edition also requires that volume and numbers be spelled out. Instead of “15.1”, you 
would write it out as “vol. 15, no. 1”.  
 
Magazine or Newspaper 
Author(s). “Title of article.” T
​ itle of Periodical​ Day Month Year: pages. 

Sample: 
Poniewozik, James. "TV Makes a Too-Close Call." Time ​20 Nov. 2000: pp. 70-71. 
 
*Note that there is no period placed after the periodical name.  
 
Websites 
The 8th edition of MLA formatting suggests including the URL of the websites, without including 
http:// or https://. Do not use angle brackets.  
The date of visitation for the website is now optional, according to the 8th edition.  

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Last Name, First Name. “Title of Article.” W
​ ebsite Name. ​Publisher, publishing date.  

Sample: 
"Athlete's Foot - Topic Overview." ​WebMD​. WebMD, 25 September 2014. 
 
*Note that citing the date the source was reviewed is no longer necessary, as stated by the MLA 
8th edition.  
 
An Interview 
There are several different types of interviews that you might use as a source.  
One is a p​ ersonal interview​, which is an interview that you conduct yourself. In this citation, you 
would include the name of the interviewee, the descriptor of the personal interview, and a date.  
 
Last, First. Personal Interview. Day Month Year.  

Sample: 
Pueo, Jane. Personal interview. 19 May 2014. 
 
If you are citing a ​published interview​, you should include list the interview beginning with the 
name of the interviewee. Place the name of the interview in quotation marks if the work is part 
of a larger project like a television program, radio program, or other collection, with the larger 
work following italicized. Include the medium of publication as well as any authors or editors 
that contributed if you are using a book.  
 
Single Published Interview 
Author Last, First. Interview with First Last. N
​ ame of Larger Work ​Volume, Edition (Year): Pages. 
Medium. 

Sample: 
Amis, Kingsley. “Mimic and Moralist.” ​Interviews with Britain’s Angry Young Men​. By Dale Salwak.  
San Bernardino: Borgo, 1984. 
 
Series Published Interview 
Interviewee Last, First. “Title of Interview”. ​Title of Larger Work. B
​ y First Last. City, State: 
Publisher, Year. Medium.  

Sample: 
Gaitskill, Mary. Interview with Charles Bock. ​Mississippi Review​ vol. 27, no. 3 (1999): pp. 129-50. 
 

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Speeches, Lectures, or Presentations 
With these sources, you may list the source beginning with the name of the speaker, followed by 
the name of the speech in quotation marks. Then include the name of the organization, place, 
date, and type of presentation.  
 
Last, First. “Name of Speech”. Name of Organization. Place, City, State. Day Month Year. Type of 
Presentation.  

Sample: 
Stein, Bob. "Computers and Writing Conference Presentation." Purdue University. Union Club  
Hotel, West Lafayette, IN. 23 May 2003. Keynote Address. 
 
Published Conference Proceedings 
You may cite these resources like a book. Include the place and date of the presentation 
alongside the title. Use the abbreviation n.p. if the publisher is not known. If the date is not 
known, use n.d.  
 
Title including location 
Last Name, First Name, editor. ​Presentation Title including Place and Time. ​City: Publisher, Date 
of Publication. Medium.  

Sample: 
Mann, Jill. "Chaucer and the 'Woman Question.'" ​This Noble Craft: Proceedings of the Tenth  
Research Symposium of the Dutch and Belgian University Teachers of Old and Middle  
English and Historical Linguistics, Utrecht, 19-20 January 1989​. Editor Erik Kooper.  
Amsterdam: Rodopi, 1991. pp. 173-88. 
 
Title not including location 
Last Name, First Name, editor. ​Presentation Title not including Place and Time. D
​ ate, Location.  
City: Publisher, Date. Medium.  

Sample: 
Balakian, Anna, and James J. Wilhelm, editors. P
​ roceedings of the Xth Congress of the  
International Comparative Literature Association​. New York: Garland, 1985. 
 
Film or Movie 
You may list films by their title. You can include the name of the director, the film distributor, and 
the date. Use the name of the actors or performers if it is appropriate.  
 
Name of Film. D​ irector First Name Last Name. Performer First Name Last Name. Studio, Year.  

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Sample: 
Life of Pi. ​Yann Martel. Harcourt, 2001.  
 
*Note that the new 8th edition MLA format suggests dropping “Inc” and “Corp.” when citing 
publishers or producers.  
 
Painting, Sculpture, or Photograph 
Include the name of the artist, the name of the work, the date, the medium of piece, and the 
place.  
 
Last Name, First Name. T​ itle of Piece. ​Day Month Year. City, State, Country.  

Sample: 
Van Gogh, Vincent. T
​ he Starry Night. ​1889. Italy.  
 
Television or Radio Program 
You may begin the citation with the name of the show, followed by the name of the series in 
italics. Also include the name of the network, the call letters to the station, the place, date, and 
medium.  
 
“Name of Show.” N ​ ame of Series. ​NetworkName. CallNumbers. City, State, Country. Day Month 
Year. 

Sample: 
“Love of My Life.” T
​ hat 70’s Show. ​FOX. 821. Los Angeles, California. 18 May 2006.  
 
Sound Recordings 
You can list a sound recording with the artist’s, composer’s, or performer’s name. You might 
also list their names after the title of the album. You should place song titles in quotation marks 
and album names in italics. The date of publishing should follow the name of the recording 
manufacturer.  
 
The medium of the recording will be last. For example, you might be using a CD or audio 
cassette, If the medium of the song is an MP3 recording, use the guidelines below in “digital 
files” to cite.  
 
Artist. “Name of Song.” N​ ame of Album. R ​ ecording Manufacturer, Year. Medium.  
 

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Sample: 
Sia. “Chandelier.” 1
​ 000 Forms of Fear. ​RCA, 2013.  
 
In-Text Citation and Quotation 
Guidelines for in-text citations: 
● Information needed in parentheses in-text will depend on what type of source you are 
citing.  
● Your in-text information that is provided in the parenthesis will correspond with the list of 
works cited that you provide. You should include whatever information you use to begin 
your citations. In other words, you would be using the signal word that your citation 
begins with. Usually, this would be the author’s name.  
 
Author-Page Style 
This is the most common style of in-text citation. In this style, you place the author’s name and 
the page number where the information came from in parenthesis. If you have already provided 
the author’s name in the sentence you are citing, you may leave their name out of the in-text 
citation and simply include the page number.  
 
This is my sentence (No’eau 29).  
No’eau says this is my sentence (29).  
No’eau says “this is my sentence with a quotation” (29).  
 
By Corporate Author 
When you are citing a source by a corporate author, you may cite using the name of the 
corporation. Use abbreviations where necessary.  
 
This is my sentence (Corporation Name 29). 
 
Missing Author 
If no author is provided in your source, you may cite beginning with the article name, so this is 
the signal word that you would include in your in-text citation. If it is a short work, like an essay, 
article, or chapter, use quotation marks. If it is a longer work, like a book, play, or movie, use 
italics. Provide a page number if possible.  
 
This is my sentence (“Article Name” 17).  
This is my sentence (​Book Title 2​ 8).  
 

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Works with Multiple Editions 
When you are citing a source that may have multiple editions, you can include a page number, 
followed by a semicolon, followed by the number for the volume, chapter, edition, and so on.  
 
This is my sentence (35; vol. 3).  
This is my sentence (56; ch. 6).  
 
Citing Authors with the Same Last Name.  
If you have two sources that have the same last name, you can use the first name initial of each 
author to distinguish them in-text.  
 
This is my sentence (A. No’eau 34). 
This is my sentence (B. No’eau 47).  
 
Multiple Authors 
If a source has two or three authors, you can simply list their names. 
 
This is my sentence (Author A, Author B, and Author C 34).  
 
If a source has more than three authors, you can follow the name of the first author with et al.  
 
This is my sentence (Author A et al. 34).  
 
Works by the same author 
If you are citing multiple sources by the same author, you may include the name of the article or 
work in the in-text citation. If the title is too long, you may shorten it.  
 
This is my sentence (No’eau, “Article Title” 34).  
No’eau says this is my sentence (“Article Title” 34). 
 
Citing Non-Print Sources 
When citing non-print sources, like websites or online articles, you do not need to include a page 
number. You may simply include the signal word that you began your citation with.  

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