| Book by one author | |
|---|---|
| Example: |
Gottfried, Ted. Capital Punishment: The Death Penalty Debate. Springfield: Enslow, |
| Explanation: |
Author's last name, Author's first name and middle initial. Title of book. City of publication: |
| Parenthetical reference: | (Gottfried 56). |
| Special notes: | If multiple cities are listed, use first city listed on the title page. Use most recent publication date. |
| Book by two authors | |
|---|---|
| Example: |
Devall, Bill, and George Sessions. Deep Ecology. Layton: Gibbs Smith, 1985. Print. |
| Explanation: |
Last name of author of article, First and middle names of author of article, and Full name of second author. Title of book. City of publication: Name of publishing company, Copyright date. Type of Media. |
| Parenthetical reference: | (Devall and Sessions 43). |
| Special notes: | DO NOT reverse the order of the second author's name. Also, list the authors as they are listed on the title page. DO NOT reorder them alphabetically. |
| Book by three authors | |
|---|---|
| Example: |
Johnson, Barry, Sherman Henderson, and Duane Slate. The Psychology of Criminals. New |
| Explanation: |
First author's last name, First author's first and middle names, Second author's full name, and Third author's full name. Title of book. City of publication: Name of publishing company, Copyright date. Type of media. |
| Parenthetical reference: | (Johnson, Henderson, and Slate 124). |
| Special notes: | Only reverse the first author's name. |
| Book by four or more authors | |
|---|---|
| Example: |
Capote, Truman, et al. Trilogy: An Experiment in Multimedia. New York: Macmillan, 1969. Print. |
| Explanation: |
First author's last name, First author's first and middle names, et al. Title of book. City of |
| Parenthetical reference: | (Capote et al. 283). |
| Special notes: | et al is an abbreviation for the Latin et alii, which means for "and others." |
| Book having no author | |
|---|---|
| Example: |
Webster's New Biographical Dictionary. Springfield: Merriam-Webster, 1983. Print. |
| Explanation: |
Title of book. City of publication: Name of publishing company, Copyright date. Type of Media. |
| Parenthetical reference: | (Webster's 235). |
| Special notes: | Only use the first significant word of the title should be used in the parenthetical reference. Omit articles a, an, the. |
| Book by a corporate author | |
|---|---|
| Example: |
Reader's Digest. Book of North American Birds. Pleasantville: The Reader's Digest, 1990. Print. |
| Explanation: |
Name of corporation that authored the book. Title of book. City of publication: Name of publishing company, Copyright date. Type of Media. |
| Parenthetical reference: | (Reader's Digest 152) |
| Special notes: | Well-known abbreviations may be used to shorten the name of the corporation (ie. Natl for National). |
| Book with a translator or compiler | |
|---|---|
| Example: |
Alighieri, Dante. The Divine Comedy. Trans. Charles S. Singleton. Princeton: Princeton UP, |
| Parenthetical reference: | (Alighieri 132). |
| Explanation: |
Last name of the author of the translated work, First name of the author of the translated work. |
| Book with an editor (no author given) | |
|---|---|
| Example: |
Champagne, Duane, ed. Chronology of Native North American History. Detroit: Gale, 1994. |
| Explanation: |
Last name of book editor, First name of book editor, ed. Title of book. City of publication: Name |
| Special notes: | ed. stands for editor. If the book has multiple editors, use eds. and name them (up to three). |
| Parenthetical reference: | (Champagne 231). |
| Second or subsequent edition of a book | |
|---|---|
| Example: |
Tunnell, Michael O., and James S. Jacobs. Children's Literature, Briefly. 2nd ed. Upper Saddle River: |
| Explanation: |
Author's last name, Author's first and middle names, and Second author's full name. Title of book. Edition numeration. City of publication: Name of publishing company, Copyright date. Type of |
| Special notes: | This example has two authors. The name of the second author is NOT reversed. Note the form of the numeration of the edition and that it is followed by the abbreviation for edition, ed. |
| Parenthetical reference: | (Tunnell and Jacobs 86). |
| Magazine article | |
|---|---|
| Example: |
Elliott, Michael. "How the U.S. Missed the Clues." Time 27 May 2002: 25-32. Print. |
| Explanation: |
Last name of author of article, First and middle names of author of article. "Title of article." Title of |
| Parenthetical reference: | (Elliott 26). |
| Special notes: | The title of the magazine is NOT followed by any punctuation. The format of the date of the magazine is day first then the month (or abbreviation of the month; consult MLA for correct format) then the year. If the pages on which the article appears are not consecutive, print the beginning page number followed by a + (ie. A1+). The dates are in day, month, year order. Do not abbreviate May, June, and July. Abbreviate September as Sept. Abbreviate all other months to the first three letters. |
| Newspaper article | |
|---|---|
| Example: |
Krebs, Brian. "Warrants Served in LexisNexis Account Breech." Washington Post 20 May 2005, |
| Explanation: |
Last name of author of article, First and middle names of author of article. "Title of newspaper |
| Parenthetical reference: | (Krebs E1). |
| Special notes: | Articles (a, an, the) are eliminated from titles of newspapers. The title of the newspaper is NOT followed by any punctuation. If the article is not published on consecutive pages, use a plus sign to indicate the article runs on multiple pages. The format of the date of the newspaper is day first then the month (or abbreviation of the month--consult MLA for correct format) then the year. The dates are in day, month, year order. Do not abbreviate May, June, and July. Abbreviate September as Sept. Abbreviate all other months to the first three letters. |
| Work within a collection by multiple authors (includes anthologies) | |
|---|---|
| Example: |
Darity, William, Jr. "Give Affirmative Action Time to Act." Pro/Con: Individual and Society. Ed. Fiona |
| Explanation: |
Last name of author of article/selection, First and middle names of author of article/selection. "Title |
| Parenthetical reference: | (Darity 76). |
| Special notes: | Special name designations (Jr., III, etc.) appear after a comma, after the author's first or middle name whichever is the final name element. |
| Reprinted article originally from a scholarly journal (use this format for literary criticism articles) | |
|---|---|
| Example: |
Artinian, Robert W. "Sartre's Ninteenth Century: A Critique of His Criticism." South Atlantic Bulletin Jan. |
| Explanation: |
Last name of author of article, First and middle names of author of article. "Title of article." Title of |
| Parenthetical reference: | (Artinian 411). |
| Special notes: | Rpt. in is an abbreviation for "reprinted in." Vol. is an abbreviation for "Volume." Ed. is an abbreviation for "Editor" use Eds. for multiple editors. The parenthetical reference cites the reprinted article, not the original publication source. |
| Article in a familiar reference work (includes general encyclopedias) | |
|---|---|
| Example: |
"Comets, Meteors, and Meterorites." The New Book of Knowledge. 1991 ed. Print. |
| Explanation: |
"Title of article." Title of reference work/encyclopedia. Date of publication/Edition statement ed. Type |
| Parenthetical reference: | ("Comets" 124) |
| Special notes: | In this example (as is the case in most general encyclopedias) no author is given for the article, so you begin with the title. If an author is given, be sure to list him/her first in last name, first and middle name order. |
| Article from one volume of a multivolume work | |
|---|---|
| Example: |
Smith, Joseph. "Industrial Minerals." Earth Sciences for Students. Ed. E. Julius Dasch. Vol. 2. |
| Explanation: |
Last name of author of article, First name of author of article. "Title of article." Title of |
| Parenthetical reference: | (Smith 256). |
| Two or more works by the same author | |
|---|---|
| Example: |
Fixx, James F. The Complete Book of Running. New York: Random, 1997. Print. |
| Parenthetical reference: | (Fixx, Complete 152). (Fixx, Second 127). |
| Special Note: | On a works cited page, the second work by the same author begins with three dashes and a period. This denotes that the second book was written by the author in the previous entry. When you have more than one work by the same author, you have to distinguish the works in the parenthetical references by adding title abbreviations. |
| Painting, Sculpture, or Photograph | |
|---|---|
| Example: |
Worth, Charles Frederick. Ball Gown. 1872. Painting. Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York. |
| Explanation: |
Last name of artist, First name and middle initial or name of artist. Title of the work of art. Date |
| Parenthetical reference: | (Worth). |
| Special notes: | If you know the date the work was created, it is included after the title. |
Online Resources
| Article from a database when original source is a book/reference work | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Examples: |
|
||
| Explanation: |
Last name of author of article, First and middle names of author of article. "Title of article." Original source of article. Ed. Full name of editor of original book/reference work. Volume number in which article appears in original work. Edition numeration for original work. City of publication of original work: Name of publishing company of original work, Copyright date of original work, Page numbers on which article appears in original work (if given). Name of Database. Type of Media. Date of Access. |
||
| Parenthetical reference: | (Carson-DeWitt). | ||
| Special notes: | The dates are in day, month, year order. Do not abbreviate May, June, and July. Abbreviate September as Sept. Abbreviate all other months to the first three letters. You will not have page numbers in your parenthetical citations unless they are given (unlikely). |
||
| Article from a database when original source is a newspaper | |
|---|---|
| Example: |
Pegoraro, Rob. "With Cell Plans, It's the Coverage, Not the Phone, That Counts." Washington Post 13 May |
| Explanation: |
Last name of author of article, First and middle names of author of article. "Title of article." Original source of article Date original article was published, Edition in which original article appears ed., Section in which original article appears sec.: Page numbers on which original article was published. Name of Database. Type of Media. Date of Access. |
| Parenthetical reference: | (Pegoraro) |
| Special notes: | The dates are in day, month, year order. Do not abbreviate May, June, and July. Abbreviate September as Sept. Abbreviate all other months to the first three letters. You will not have page numbers in your parenthetical citations unless they are given (unlikely). |
| Article from a database when original source is a magazine | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Examples: |
|
|||
| Explanation: |
Last name of author of article, First and middle names of author of article. "Title of article." Title of |
|||
| Parenthetical reference: | (Klein 16) | |||
| Special notes: | The dates are in day, month, year order. Do not abbreviate May, June, and July. Abbreviate September as Sept. Abbreviate all other months to the first three letters. The span of page numbers of the article is given after the date of publication; If pagination is not continuous, give the first page number, then a + sign. You will not have page numbers in your parenthetical citations unless they are given (unlikely). |
|||
| Entry in an online subscription encyclopedia | |
|---|---|
| Example: |
Fisher, Paul. "Freedom of the Press." Encylopedia Americana. 2009. Grolier. |
| Explanation: |
Last name of the author of the article, First and middle names of author of the article. "Title of the article." Title of the online encyclopedia. Publication/Edition date of the encyclopedia. Name of database. Type of Media. Date of access. |
| Parenthetical reference: | (Fisher). |
| Special notes: | The dates are in day, month, year order. Do not abbreviate May, June, and July. Abbreviate September as Sept. Abbreviate all other months to the first three letters. You will not have page numbers in your parenthetical citations unless they are given (unlikely). |
| Government publication from a database | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Examples: |
|
||
| Explanation: |
|
||
| Parenthetical reference: | (United States). | ||
| Special notes: | The word By precedes the author, if given. Use Ed. for an editor, Comp. for a compiler, etc. | ||
| Typical Web Pages | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Examples: |
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| Explanation: |
1. Last name, First name associated with resource. (If given) |
||||
| Parenthetical reference: | (Carbery). | ||||
| Special notes: | The dates are in day, month, year order. Do not abbreviate May, June, and July. Abbreviate September as Sept. Abbreviate all other months to the first three letters. You will not have page numbers in your parenthetical citations unless they are given (unlikely). Works listing an editor, translator, or compiler in lieu of an author should include the appropriate abbreviation after the name and a comma: ed., trans., comp., etc. |
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| Database Article that Originally Appeared in a Print Journal | |
|---|---|
| Example: |
Walling, Anne D. "Do Video Games Lead to Violent Behavior in Children?" American Family Physician 65.1 |
| Explanation: |
Last name of author, First name and middle initial of author. "Title of article." Name of Journal Volume number of journal.Issue number of journal (Year of Journal): page number(s) on which article appears in journal. Name of database. Type of Media. Date article was accessed. |
| Special notes: | Include an issue number with the volume number if possible (ie. 65.1 65 is the volume number, 1 is the issue number). If there is a break in page numbering, give the first page number, then a + symbol. If no page numbering is given, use n. pag. |
| Parenthetical reference: | (Walling). |
| Painting, Sculpture, or Photograph from the World Wide Web | |
|---|---|
| Example: |
Kensett, John Frederick. Lake George. 1869. Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York. 2009. Metropolitan |
| Explanation: |
Last name of artist, First name and middle initial or name of artist. Title of the work. Date the work of art was created. Name of institution that houses the work/owner of the work, City where the work is located. Date artwork was published on the web. Name of website or database. Type of reproduction media. Date website was accessed. |
| Parenthetical reference: | (Kensett). |
| Special notes: | If you need to divide a URL, it is appropriate to do so after a slash (/). |
Additional Miscellaneous Resources
| Interview conducted by the researcher | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Examples: |
|
||
| Explanation: |
Last name, first name of person interviewed. Kind of interview. Date of interview. |
||
| Parenthetical references: | (Frost). (Clinton). |
||
| Special notes: | The dates are in day, month, year order. Do not abbreviate May, June, and July. Abbreviate September as Sept. Abbreviate all other months to the first three letters. | ||
| Interview broadcast on television | |
|---|---|
| Example: |
Torry, E. Fuller. Interview by Morley Safer. 60 Minutes. CBS. WUSA, Washington, D.C. 19 Apr. 2002. |
| Explanation: |
Last name, first name of person interviewed. Interview with Name of interviewer. Title of show on which interview appeared. Network on which show was viewed. Station call letters on which show was viewed. Date of broadcast. Type of Media. |
| Parenthetical reference: | (Torry). |
| Special notes: | The dates are in day, month, year order. Do not abbreviate May, June, and July. Abbreviate September as Sept. Abbreviate all other months to the first three letters. |
| Film/Movie | |
|---|---|
| Example: |
The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring. Dir. Peter Jackson. Perf. Elijah Wood, Ian |
| Explanation: |
Title of film. Dir. Director's name. Perf. Names of key performers. Name of production studio. Copyright date of film. Type of Media. |
| Parenthetical reference: | (Lord). |
| Special notes: | Dir. is an abbreviaton for director. Perf. is an abbreviation for performers. |
| Sample Works Cited Page |
|
Works Cited Alighieri, Dante. The Divine Comedy. Trans. Charles S. Singleton. Princeton: Princeton UP,
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