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ENG 165 - Blast from the Past

Cite Your Sources in MLA Format

Here are a few examples to help you cite your sources in MLA format:

How to Cite an Entire Book or Ebook (Print or Electronic)

Format: Author(s). Title of Book in Italics. Edition, Publisher, Year. Database Name in Italics. (if electronic), URL. 

*Note: if using a print book, skip the database name.


How to Cite Part of a Book or Ebook (Print or Electronic)

Format: Author(s). "Title of Part." Title of Book, edited by Editor, edition, vol. #, Publisher, Year, page number(s). Database Name (if electronic), URL.


How to Cite a Journal Article from a Database

Format: Author(s). "Title of Article." Title of Journal, vol. #, no. #, Date of Publication, page number(s). Database Name (if electronic), URL.


How to Cite a Website

Format: Author(s). “Title of Article.” Title of Website in Italics, Website Publisher (if different than title), Date of publication, URL.

*Note:  Exclude publisher if title of website and publisher are the same.
*Note: If website does not have a date, add an access date at the end after the URL: Accessed 7 May 2016.
*Note: Do not include the http:// or https:// in the URL.

Additional MLA Examples

Citing Artwork in a Project

There are several ways to cite Artwork in a project in MLA format.

When you include artwork directly into your paper or presentation, it should be labeled as "Fig." with a number, followed by a period. (Example: Fig. 1.).

Under the image, place a caption that will start with the Figure label and number. Then you have options for how to finish the caption.


Option 1

Give the full MLA citation for your source. Do not invert the creator's name (if you have one listed). 

If you include the full MLA citation in your caption and you do not cite the source again in your project, you do not need to include the source in your Works Cited.

Vincent Van Gogh's "Self Portrait" 1889

Fig 1. Vincent Van Gogh. Self Portrait. 1889. National Gallery of Art, www.nga.gov/collection/art-object-page.106382.html. 


Option 2

Give basic information about your source such as the creator of the image, title, year, and any other important information. If you do not include the full MLA citation, your source must be added to your Works Cited page.

Vincent Van Gogh's "Self Portrait" 1889

Fig. 1. Vincent Van Gogh, Self Portrait, oil on canvas, 1889.

Works Cited

Van Gogh, Vincent. Self Portrait. 1889. National Gallery of Art, www.nga.gov/collection/art-object-page.106382.html. 

Multiple Works with Same Title

A note for in-text citations:  If you have multiple articles on your Works Cited page with no authors that also have the same titles, use the next part of the citation to differentiate the sources in-text. This could be the database name or the name of the book or encyclopedia (or journal or website) that your article came from. You can shorten longer titles as long as it's clear which citation on your works cited page the in-text is referring to. See the examples below:


Works Cited 1: "China." CultureGrams, ProQuest, 2021.

Works Cited 2: "China." Worldmark Encyclopedia of the Nations, edited by M.S. Hill, 14th ed., vol. 4, Gale, 2017, pp. 143-180. Global Issues in Context, link.gale.com/apps/doc/CX3652100183/GIC?u=spartechcl&sid=bookmark-GIC&xid=8b353e62.

In-Text 1: ("China," CultureGrams).

In-Text 2: ("China," Worldmark Encyclopedia).

In-Text Citations

This in-text citation information will get you started, but see our full In-text Citation Guide for more information and additional examples.

Basic Format: 1 Author and Page Numbers

Place the author’s last name and page number in parenthesis. If the in-text citation is at the end of a sentence, place the period outside the parenthesis.

Example 1: (Hennessy 81).

Example 2: (Hennessy 81-82).

No Page Numbers

If a source has no page numbers, omit the page number. Keep in mind, most electronic sources do not include pages.

Example 1: ("Everyday Victims")

Example 2: (Jones)

No Author

If the source has no author, your in-text citation will use the title of the source that starts your works cited entry. The title may appear in the sentence itself or, abbreviated, before the page number in parenthesis.

Example 1: (“Noon” 508).

Example 2: (Faulkner’s Novels 25).

Example 3: (“Climate Model Simulations").

2 Authors

If the entry on the Works Cited page begins with the names of two authors, include both last names in the in-text citation, connected by and.

Example: (Dorris and Erdrich 23).

3+ Authors

If the source has three or more authors, include the first author’s last name followed by et al.

Example: (Burdick et al. 42).

MLA Handouts