Research Process: A Step-By-Step Guide: 5c. MLA Citation Examples

This page provides examples of works cited entries in MLA Citation Style for a variety of common sources. These examples should not be considered exhaustive. 

If you are unsure how to cite a particular source, talk to your instructor or a reference librarian, or consult the MLA Handbook for Writers of Research Papers.

Book by one author (Brophy 45)

Brophy, Robert J. Robinson Jeffers: Dimensions of a Poet. New York: Fordham UP,

     1995. Print.

Book with two or three authors (Werther and Davis 288) (Edginton, Hudson, and Lankford 210-25)

Werther, William B., Jr. and Keith Davis. Human Resources and Personnel

     Management. 4th ed. New York: McGraw-Hill, 1993. Print.

Edington, Christopher R., Susan D. Hudson, and Samuel V. Lankford. Managing

     Recreation, Parks, and Leisure Services: An Introduction. Champaign:

     Sagamore, 2001. Print.

Book with more than three authors (Gilman et al. 314)

Gilman, Sander, et al. Hysteria beyond Freud. Berkeley: U of California P,

     1993. Print.

Multiple books, same author (Brophy, Dimensions 45) (Brophy, Myth 143)

Brophy, Robert J. Robinson Jeffers: Dimensions of a Poet. New York: Fordham UP,

     1995. Print.

---. Robinson Jeffers: Myth, Ritual, and Symbol in His Narrative Poems. Cleveland:

     P of Case Western Reserve U, 1973. Print.

Edited book (Nuwer xii)

Nuwer, Hank, ed. The Hazing Reader. Bloomington: Indiana UP, 2004. Print.

Chapter in an edited book (Arnold 52, 85-87)
Note: When citing multiple pages, insert a comma in between.

Arnold, James C. “Hazing and Alcohol in a College Fraternity.” The Hazing Reader.

     Ed. Hank Nuwer. Bloomington: Indiana UP, 2004. 51-105. Print.

Book with a corporate author (ESRI 210-15)

ESRI Business Information Solutions. The Sourcebook of ZIP Code Demographics.

     17th ed. [Redlands]: ESRI Business Information Solutions, 2003. Print.

Recipe from a cookbook with one author (Hazan)

Hazan, Marcella. "Filetti Farciti di Pesce Turchino." Recipe. Marcella’s Italian Kitchen.

     New York: Knopf, 1996. 17-23. Print.

Recipe from an edited cookbook including recipes by many authors (Parseghian)

Parseghian, Pam. "Pork Chops Provencal." Recipe. The Best of Cook's Magazine:

     Volume Two. Ed. Olga Rigsby. Bridgeport, CT: Pennington, 1989. 159. Print.

Dictionary entry (“Palapa”)
Note: since there is no author listed, you are only citing the word.

“Palapa.” The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language.

     4th ed. 2000. Print.

Company Profile
The generic format of a works cited entry for a company profile in Business and Company Resource Center is: "Company Name." Company Profile. Business Insights: Global. Web. Date of Access (date month year).

("company name")

"Darden Restaurants." Company Profile. Business and Company Resource Center.

     Web. 14 Sept. 2010.

Film or Video Recording
The generic format of a works cited entry for a film or video is: Title of Film. Dir. Director_Name. Perf. Performer_Name. Distributor, Year of release.

(Enemy)

Enemy at the Gates. Dir. JeanJacques Annaud. Perf. Joseph Fiennes, Jude Law,

     and Rachel Weisz. Paramount Pictures, 2001. DVD.

Personal Interview
The generic format of a works cited entry for a personal interview that you conducted: Last_Name_interviewee, First_name interviewee. Kind of Interview (Personal, Telephone, Email). Date of interview.

(Clinton)

Clinton, Bill. Personal interview. 4 July 2005.

ESHA Research's Food Processor database

("Ingredient")

"Ingredient: Rice, wild, ckd." The Food Processor SQL. Vers. 10.6.3. Salem, OR:

     ESHA Research, 2010. Software.

Personal Recipe Collection

(Maykut)

Maykut, Lois. "Tofu and Mushroom Curry." Recipe. Personal collection.

     7 Sept. 2004.

Class Handout Quoting Another Source

The generic format of a works cited entry for a class handout quoting another source: Author of quoted source."Title of work from a published collection. (e.g. poem or article)."Title of Publication. (book or periodical). "Title of Handout."Handout. Title of Course. (Name of Instructor) Name of School. Date of handout.

(Aldiss)

Aldiss, Brian. "Flight 063." Icaurs Poems: A Selective Arachniography. Handout.

     Composition, Literature and Critical Thinking: English 110. (Professor Jeff

     Westall.) Skyline College. Feb. 2006. Print.

Professor's Video Lecture posted in Ulearn

(Smith)

Smith, Joe. Foodservice Management: An Introduction. Kaltura. FSM1001:

     Blackboard, 2013.

Article, Web magazine (Gleadle)

Article, newspaper Web site ("Scientists Speak")

"The Scientists Speak." Editorial. New York Times. New York Times, 20 Nov. 2007.

      Web. 3 Dec. 2007.

Chart, Web site ("Verb Tenses")

"Verb Tenses." Chart. The OWL at Purdue. Purdue U Online Writing Lab, 2001. Web.

      26 Jan. 2009.

Home page (Liu)

Liu, Alan, ed. Home Page. Voice of the Shuttle. Dept. of English, U of California, Santa

     Barbara, n.d. Web. 3 Sept. 2009.

Company Web site ("Wedding Cake")

"Wedding Cake Cutting Guide." Wilton.com. Wilton Group, Inc., 2005. Web. 19 Feb.

     2005.

Magazine article, full-text online database (“Call”)
Note: n. pag. is an abbreviation for "no pagination."

“Call of the East.” The Economist 19 Feb. 2005., U.S. ed.: n. pag. LexisNexis. Web.

     19 Feb. 2005.

Journal article, full-text online database (Zadek 130)
Note: 82.12 should be read as volume 82, issue 12.

Zadek, Simon. "The Path to Corporate Responsibility." Harvard Business Review

     82.12 (2004): 125-133. Business Source Premier. Web. 16 Feb. 2005.

Newspaper article, full-text online database (Hudson)
Note: A1 refers to section A and page 1.

Hudson, Kris. “Center’s Lessons Added Up.” Denver Post 6 Dec. 2004, final ed.:

     A1. Lexis-Nexis. Web. 22 Feb. 2005.

ESHA ("Ingredient: Rice, wild")

"Ingredient: Rice, wild, ckd." The Food Processor SQL. Vers. 10.6.3. Salem, OR:

     ESHA Research, 2010. Software.

Blog Post (Le)
The generic form of a works cited entry for a blog post is: Last Name, First Name. "Title of the Blog Post Entry." Blog Title. Publisher. Date Posted. Web. Date Accessed.

Le, Stephanie. "Sunday Stuff." i am a food blog. WordPress. 20 July 2014. Web. 29 July 2014.

YouTube Video ("Finding Keywords")

The generic form of a works cited entry for a YouTube video is: Title of Video. Date of Publication of Video. YouTube. Web. Date Accessed.

Finding Keywords. 28 August 2013. YouTube. Web. 29 July 2014.

Tweet (JWD Library)

The generic form of a works cited entry for a Twitter post is: Last Name, First Name (Username). "Enter the tweet message here." Date Posted, Time Viewed. Tweet.

JWD Library (JWDLibrary). "Rare recordings of famous authors - enjoy! http://buff.ly/T7iPlz #jwudenver #mentalfloss." 18 June 2014, 29 July 2014. Tweet.

Facebook Post (Johnson & Wales University Denver Campus Library)

The generic form of a works cited entry for a Facebook post is: Last Name, First Name. "Enter Facebook post here." Facebook. Date Posted. [Date accessed. <web address>]

Johnson & Wales University Denver Campus Library. "Say goodbye! The Library gets new doors next week! #jwudenver #behindthescenes." Facebook. 17 July 2014. [29 July 2014. https://www.facebook.com/JWUDenverCampusLibrary]

Email (Smith)

The generic form of a works cited entry for an email is: Last Name, First Name. "Subject of Message." Message to Recipient's Name. Date of Message. Email.

Smith, John. "Library adds feature film collection." Message to Julia Cook. 16 May 2013. Email.

Borrowed from TeachBytes. c 2013.

Journal article, one author (Kozak 29596)

Kozak, Metin. “Introducing Destination Benchmarking: A Conceptual Approach.”

     Journal of Hospitality & Tourism Research 28.2 (2004): 281-97. Print.

Journal article, two authors (Kelley and Turley 400)

Kelley, Scott W., and L. W. Turley. “The Effect of Content on Perceived Affect of

     Super Bowl Commercials.” Journal of Sport Management 18.3 (2004):

     398-420. Print.

Article, monthly magazine (Booe 133)

Booe, Martin. “The Wizards of Oz.” Bon Appetit Mar. 2005: 130-37. Print.

Article, monthly magazine, two authors (Foster and Bradach 98)

Foster, William, and Jeffrey Bradach. “Should Nonprofits Seek Profits?”

     Harvard Business Review Feb. 2005: 92-100. Print.

Article, weekly magazine (Lipper and Hirsh 2829)

Lipper, Tamara, and Michael Hirsh. “Stepping into the Fray.” Newsweek 16

     June 2003: 26-29. Print.

Newspaper article, edition stated on masthead (Chang F1)
Note: F1+ should be read as section F, beginning on page 1, and then + means that the article continue on nonconsecutive pages.

Chang, Kenneth. “The Melting (Freezing) of Antarctica.” New York Times 2 Apr. 2002,

     late ed.: F1+. Print.

Newspaper article, no edition stated (Grant)

Grant, Peter. “Offers for Adelphia’s Assets Pour In.” Wall Street Journal 1 Feb. 2005:

     A5. Print.

Newspaper editorial, with no author (“Federal Deficit”)
Note: If the editorial has an author, intext citation should follow the same format as a newspaper article. If the editorial has an author, include the author’s name in the citation before the editorial title as: Last_Name, First_name.

“Federal Deficit Will Stress Bush Agenda.” Editorial. Denver Post 2 Feb. 2005:

     6B. Print.

Recipe in a magazine (Touchet)

Touchet, Alexis. “Fennel and Endive Salad with Orange Vinaigrette.” Recipe.

     Gourmet Feb. 2005: 70. Print.

Recipe in a magazine with no author ("Crumb-Crusted")

"Crumb-Crusted Trout with Spinach and Mushroom Stuffing." Recipe. Gourmet

     Apr. 2005: 30. Print.