Works Cited
Works Cited citations may include each of the following Core Elements. Each Core Element is recorded in the following order and is followed by the punctuation listed below.
|
Author.
|
One Author
Last name, First name. |
Two Authors
Last name, First Name and First name Last name |
Three or more authors
Last name, First name et.al. |
Title of source.
|
Book title
Website title Italicized |
Periodical
(Journal, Magazine, Newspaper) Italicized |
Song or Piece of Music
In Quotation Marks For example, "Song Title." |
Title of container,
MLA 8 identiies the larger body that a source can be found in as a container. Some examples of sources and their containers include, but are not limited to:
|
Poem within an anthology (the poem is the Source, the title of the anthology is the Container)
Blog post on a website (the title of the blog post is the Source, the website is the Container) |
The Title of the container is italicized and followed by a comma.
Sometimes you have sources that are within more than one container. For example, an article, found in an online journal, found in a database.
Sometimes you have sources that are within more than one container. For example, an article, found in an online journal, found in a database.
|
Song on Spotify playlist (the song is the Source, the playlist title is the Container which is found on another Container the website)
|
Other contributors,
Editors, Illustrators, Translators, etc. who are important to identifying the source, or important to your research are included in the citation. The same rules as for single, double, and three or more authors apply (see above).
Version,
Version or Edition
Number,
Volume and or Issue
Publisher,
Publisher or distributor
If there are multiple, separate them with a forward slash (/)
If there are multiple, separate them with a forward slash (/)
Publication date,
Location.
Page number
For example,
p. 5 (OR) pp. 5-7.
City of Publication
ONLY required for works published prior to 1900
Boston.
Physical location
For example,
Nasher Museum of Art.
URL
Include at the discretion of your teacher
For example,
http//www.dsalmc.net.
Date Accessed
Should be included as web sources change
For example,
Accessed 21 November 2017.
For example,
p. 5 (OR) pp. 5-7.
City of Publication
ONLY required for works published prior to 1900
Boston.
Physical location
For example,
Nasher Museum of Art.
URL
Include at the discretion of your teacher
For example,
http//www.dsalmc.net.
Date Accessed
Should be included as web sources change
For example,
Accessed 21 November 2017.
In-Text Citations (and corresponding Works Cited**)
In-text citation for print resources are generally the author’s name and page number (or just the page number, if the author is named in the sentence) in parentheses. Perdue OWL example,
|
In-text Citation
Imperialism is “the practice, the theory, and the attitudes of a dominating metropolitan center ruling a distant territory” (Said 9).or According to Edward W. Said, imperialism is defined by “the practice, the theory, and the attitudes of a dominating metropolitan center ruling a distant territory” (9). Works Cited Entry Said, Edward W. Culture and Imperialism. Knopf, 1994. |
If the source does not have a page number, as in a website, you use the author's name.
|
In-text Citation
In addition to the example above, the Purdue OWL provides other great resources for MLA 8. Most importantly, rather than listing all of the scenarios for citations we are reminded that, "the current MLA guidelines teach you a widely applicable skill. Once you become familiar with the core elements that should be included in each entry in the Works Cited list, you will be able to create documentation for any type of source" (Russell, et al.). Works Cited Entry Russell, Tony, et al. "MLA Formatting and Style Guide." The Purdue OWL, Purdue U Writing Lab, 2 Aug. 2016. https://owl.english.purdue.edu/owl/resource/747/01/. Accessed 21 November 2017. |
When the author is unknown, the title of the work is used. The title can be abbreviated as the goal is to cause minimal disruption to readability. For example,
|
In-text Citation
The Modern Language Association emphasizes the importance of containers in MLA 8. When citing a source that is part of a larger body of work, such as a short story within an anthology, one must cite the short story as the source and the anthology as the container ("Works Cited"). Works Cited Entry "Works Cited: A Quick Guide." The MLA Style Center, https://style.mls.org/works-cited-a-quick-guide/. Accessed 21 November 2017. |
**Pay attention to the Works Cited entries; not all of the elements are included for each entry as evidenced by the color coding. For example, you may not have a container, or an author. Include what is known, skip what is not provided.
