A Works Cited page provides a complete citation for every work you cited in your research paper. A Bibliography (or Works Consulted list), in contrast, provides a full citation for every work you consulted as you wrote your paper.
In most academic research papers, instructors require a Works Cited page. However, in business, you may be asked to prepare a Bibliography/Works Consulted list as well. Be sure you know what documentation you are required to submit with your research paper.
MLA Citation Format
Below are the standard MLA (Modern Language Association) citation formats. Remember to use MLA style formatting for papers in the humanities.
CITING INTERNET SOURCES
As you read know, the format for citing an Internet source is still evolving. Below are the minimum requirements as of publication date.
• Author. Make every effort to distinguish the author of the content from the page designer and avoid listing the designer as an author. If you can't locate an author citation, begin the reference with the title.
• Title. If there is both an individual document title and a publication title, place the publication title after the document title.
• Date of publication or date of last revision. If a document includes both a date of creation and a date it was last updated, use only the latter. If no date is included, use the abbreviation n.d. (no date) just as you would for a book or article with no date.
• URL. Block and copy the URL to avoid typographical errors.
• Date that you accessed the page.
Examples
Internet sources include general web sources, database articles, e-mail, and electronic newsgroups and bulletin boards.
General Web Source
Format
Author. "Document Title" Publication or Web site title. Date of publication. Date of access.
Example
Rosenberg, Owen. "Selling Organs for Transplant." Health Issues Update. Winter 2005. 10 March 2007 www.organdebate.org/Winter2005.html>
Database Articles
Cite articles from databases (such as EBSCOhost or Lexis-Nexis) as you would an article from a print journal but include additional information about the electronic source.
Format
Author."Article Title." Periodical Title: volume number (publication date): page numbers (if available). Database name. Database producer. Date of access .
Example
Moon, William Least Heat. "Blue Highways." U.S. News and World Report (17 January 2005): 12+. 12 May 2007
CITING BOOKS
The basic citation for a book looks like this: Format
Author's last name, first name. Book Title. Place of publication: publisher, date of publication.
Examples
A book with one author
Hartz, Paula. Abortion:A Doctor's Perspective, a Woman's Dilemma. New York: Donald I. Fine, Inc., 1992.
A book with two or more authors
Notice that the first author's name is inverted for alphabetical order.
Example
Landis, Jean M. and Rita J. Simon. Intelligence: Nature or Nurture? New York: HarperCollins, 1998.
A book with four or more authors
You can cite all the authors listed or only the first one and then write et al. ("and others") for the rest of the authors.
Example
Frieze, Irene HM et al. Women and Sex Roles: A Psychological Perspective. New York: WW. Norton & Company, Inc., 2006.
A corporation
Give the name of the corporation as the author, even if it is the publisher as well.
Example
People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals. Animal Rights. New York: PETA, 2005.
An author and an editor
Be sure to include the author's name, the title of the book, and then the editor. Use the abbreviation Ed. whether there is one editor or many
Example
Nathaniel Hawthorne. Nathaniel Hawthorne's Tales. Ed. James Macintosh. New York: WW Norton & Company, Inc., 1987.
An editor
Give the name of the editor or editors, followed by ed. (if one editor) or eds. (if more than one editor).
Example
Ellmann, Richard and Robert O'Clair, eds.The Norton Anthology of Modern Poetry. New York: WW. Norton & Company, Inc., 2005.
A book in a series
After the title, include the name of the series and series number.
Example
Spencer, Evan. Ernest Hemingway. Twayne's United States Authors Series 54. Boston:Twayne, 1990.
A translation
After the title, write Trans, ("translated by") and the name of the translator.
Example
Voltaire. Candide or I'optimisme. Trans. George R. Havens. New York: Holt, Rinehart and Winston, 1969.
A selection reprinted in an anthology
First give the name of the author and the title of selection, then the title of the book, the editor, the edition, and the publication information.
Example
Mailer, Norman. "Censorship and Literary Cowardice." Lend Me Your Ears: Great Speeches in History. Ed. William Satire. New York: WW. Norton & Company Inc., 1992.
CITING PERIODICALS
The basic citation for an article looks like this: Format
Author's last name, first name. "Title of the Article." Magazine. Month and year of publication: page numbers.
A note on numbers...
• If the page numbers in an article are not consecutive, cite the first page number followed by a plus sign (+).
• The date in a bibliographic citation is written in European style, with the date before the month, rather than after. For example: 12 September 1989
Examples
Article in a monthly magazine
Crowley, J.E.,T.E. Levitan and R.R Quinn. "Seven Deadly Half-Truths About Women" Psychology Today March 1978: 94-106.
Article in a weekly magazine
Schwartz, Felice N. "Management, Women, and the New Facts of Life." Newsweek 20 July 2006: 21-22.
Signed newspaper article
Ferraro, Susan."In-law and Order: Finding Relative Calm." The Daily News 30 June 1998:73.
Unsigned newspaper article
"Beanie Babies May Be a Rotten Nest Egg" Chicago Tribune 21 June 2004: 12.
Editorial
Show that the article is an editorial by writing Editorial after the title.
Example
"Dealing with the National Debt." Editorial. Newsday 12 October 2007, sec. 2:4.
Review
To indicate that an article is a book, movie, or play review, write "Rev. of" before the work being reviewed. Use the abbreviation "dir." for the director.
Example
Barnes, Clive. "The Story of a Life." Rev. of Collected Stories, dir. Liz UsIan.The New York Times I August 2006: 34-35.
CITING PAMPHLETS
Cite a pamphlet the same way you would a book.
Example
Jaffe, Natalie. "Men's Jobs for Women: Toward Occupational Equality." Public Affairs Pamphlet 606 (August 1968): 10-17.
CITING GOVERNMENT DOCUMENTS
The format varies with the information available. The basic citation for a government document looks like this:
Format
Government agency. Subsidiary agency. Title of Document. Publication information.
Examples
U.S. Department of Labor Statistics, 2007.
United States Congressional House Subcommittee on Health and Education. Federal Policies Regarding Distribution of Aid to Dependent Children. 97th Congress. Washington, DC: GPO, 2007.
CITING LECTURES OR SPEECHES Format
Name the speaker, the title of the speech, the name of the occasion or sponsoring organization, the location, and the date. If you can't get all this information, provide as much as possible.
Example
Sorenson, Sharon. "Addressing the Needs of the Learning-Disabled Middle-School Child." National Council of Teachers of English Annual Convention. Detroit: Michigan, 22 November, 1998.
CITING INTERVIEWS Format
Subject of the interview. Personal interview or 'Telephone interview. Date.
Example
Goldish, Meish. Personal interview. October 3 I 2007.
CITING TELEVISION OR RADIO SHOWS Format
Significant people involved with the production. Their role: Writ, (writer), Dir. (director), Perf. (performer), Narr. (narrator), Prod, (producer).
Example
"Universal Health Care." 20120. Narr. Barbara Walters. Prod. Sammi
Rosen. WABC. New York, 14 February 2007.
Page Format
The Works Cited page (or the Bibliography) is the last page of your paper. Here are some additional guidelines to follow as you prepare this page:
• Title. Center the title Works Cited on the top of the page, about one inch from the top. Do not underline it, boldface it, or place it in italics.
• Alphabetical order. Entries are arranged in alphabetical order according to the author's last name. If the entry doesn't have an author (such as an encyclopedia entry or an editorial), alphabetize it according to the first word of the title. Ignore the prepositions A, An, and The.
• Numbering. Do not number the entries.
• Indentation. Start each entry flush left. Don't indent the first line, but do indent the second and all subsequent lines of an entry. Use the standard indent of five spaces.
• Spacing. As with the rest of your paper, double-space each entry on your Works Cited page.
In the next chapter, you'll learn how to present your research paper. |
