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{ MLA Style Citation Guide }

What information do I need to properly cite a…

Journal Article Book Web Site
Article author (last name first) Author (last name first) Author (last name first)
Article title Title Name of site
Journal title Place of publication Date last updated
Volume and issue numbers Publisher Date accessed
Date of publication Year of publication URL
Page numbers    

Sample Citations…

Journal Article (found in online database)
Weingast, Barry R. “The Constitutional Dilemma of Economic Liberty" Journal of Economic Perspectives 19.3 (2005): 89. ProQuest Research Library. ProQuest Databases. Ripon College Library, Ripon, WI. 25 October 2005 <http://www.proquest.com>.

Journal Article (print version)
Doe, John. “How to make a bibliography.” Citation Monthly 36.5 (1998): 277-298.

Magazine Article (print version)
Doe, Jane. “Creative writing.” Writing Weekly 19 Sept. 2000: 50-54.

Book
Lane, Libbie. College Writing. New York: Doubleday, 2003.

Oxford English Dictionary Online
Oxford English Dictionary Online. 2nd ed. 1989. Lane Library, Ripon College, Ripon, WI. <http://dictionary.oed.com>

Web Site - Personal
Wehr, Leo. Writer’s Forum. 8 Sept. 2004. 13 Aug. 2005 <http://www.writersforum.net>

Web Site – Professional
Lane Library Information. 9 Aug. 2004. Ripon College Lane Library. 16 Sept. 2005 <http://www.ripon.edu/library/information/>

MLA Style In-Text Citations

When using MLA style, give the author’s name and page number each time you refer to the source in your paper. When you use a direct quote, the parenthetical reference must come immediately after the end of the quote.

The cow’s lunar gambol made her a literary hero (Viers 98). Here it is necessary to include both the author and page number in parentheses because neither appears in the sentence itself.

According to Viers, the literary community was amazed that such a “plump and ungainly” (98) animal could leap over the moon with such grace. Because the author’s name is included in the statement, the page number of the quote is the only information required to be in parentheses.


For more information see:

Online:
Pocket Style Manual: http://www.bedfordstmartins.com/hacker/pocket/index.html

Columbia Guide to Online Style: http://www.columbia.edu/cu/cup/cgos/idx_basic.html

Using MLA Format
http://owl.english.purdue.edu/handouts/research/r_mla.html

Reference Books at Lane Library:
Pocket Style Manual by Diana Hacker (REF PE 1408 .H26 2000)
MLA Handbook for Writers of Research Papers (REF PE 1478 .M57 2003)