MLA Formatting: Lists of Works Cited.
A vidcast brought to you by Beth Jones and Gina Hurley
in cooperation with the Purdue Online Writing Lab.
This vidcast takes you through how to format a list of works cited following MLA style.
We will use the seventh edition of the MLA manual.
Your instructor may have different guidelines for you to follow.
Always follow your instructor's guidelines.
In this vidcast we will cover MLA citation for the following types of sources:
books, journal articles, magazines, newspapers, encyclopedias, and websites.
For information on in-text citations or other kinds of sources
please refer to the links in the video description.
For this demonstration we will use Microsoft Word 2007.
Basic Rules
Begin your Works Cited page on a separate page at the end of your research paper.
It should have the same 1-inch margins and header (with your last name and page number) as the rest of your paper.
Label the page "Works Cited"
Center the words "Works Cited" at the top of the page, but do not italicize them or put them in quotation marks.
Double space all citations, but do not skip spaces between entries.
To set your line-spacing to double-space
open up the "Paragraph" menu in Microsoft Word.
Change the default line spacing setting from After: 10pt to 0pt.
Then change "Line Spacing" to double.
Each entry should have a hanging indent, which means that the first line of the citation is flush with the left margin
and the second and subsequent lines are indented 5 spaces.
To create a hanging indent, open up the "Paragraph" menu in Microsoft Word.
In the "Indentation" menu under "Special," select "Hanging."
When needed, list the page numbers of sources as concisely as possible.
If you refer to a journal article that appeared on pages 225-250
list the page numbers on your Works Cited page as 225-50.
If you refer to a journal article that appeared on pages 174-212
list the page numbers on your Works Cited page as 174-212.
The seventh edition of the MLA style guide includes several basic changes.
For every entry you must determine the medium of publication.
Most entries will likely be listed as print or web sources
but other possibilities may include film, CD-ROM, or DVD.
Writers are no longer required to provide URLs for web entries.
If your instructor or publisher requires them, include them in angle brackets after the entry and end with a period.
Break lines only at slashes ( / ).
If you're citing an article or publication that was originally issued in print form
but that you retrieved from an online database, you should type the online database name in italics.
You do not need to provide subscription information in addition to the database name.
Capitalize each word in the titles of articles, books, etc
but only capitalize articles, prepositions or conjuctions
if one is the first word of the title or subtitle.
Use italics for the titles of larger works, like books or magazines.
and quotation marks for shorter works, like brief poems or articles.
Entries are listed alphabetically by the author's or editor's last name.
Author names are written last name first, with middle initials following the first name.
Do not list titles (such as Dr. or PhD). However, include suffixes (such as Jr.)
If you have cited more than one work by a particular author order the entries alphabetically by title
and use three hyphens (---) in place of the author's name for every entry after the first.
If the work has no known author, alphabetize it by its title.
Citation Format for Basic Sources
To cite a book properly, first include the author's name (last name first) followed by a period (.)
Then place the title of the book in italics, followed by a period.
Next, indicate the city of publication, followed by a colon (:)
Include the publisher, followed by a comma (,) and the year of publication, followed by a period.
Finally, indicate the medium of publication.
Note that there are different guidelines for books with more than one author, translations, editions, and anthologies.
To learn more about citing these sources, please refer to the links in the video description.
Cite magazines by listing the author's name (last name first) followed by a period.
Then include the title of the article in quotation marks (" "), followed by a period.
Italicize the title of the periodical, followed by the day, abbreviated month, and year in which it was published.
After the date, place a colon and include the page numbers of the story, followed by a period.
Finally, indicate the medium of publication, followed by a period.
The citation for newspapers is nearly identical to the citation for magazines.
The only difference is the pagination in the newspaper.
If there is more than one edition available for that date (as in an early and late edition)
identify the edition following the date.
If the newspaper is a less well-known or local publication
include the city name and state in brackets ([ ]) after the title of the newspaper.
To cite an article from a scholarly journal, list the author's name (last name first), followed by a period.
Then include the title of the article in quotation marks, followed by a period.
List the title of the scholarly journal in italics.
Indicate the volume and issue numbers, separated by a period.
Include the year in parentheses ( ), followed by a colon, and the pages of the article, followed by a period.
Finally, indicate the medium of publication, followed by a period.
To cite an entry in an encyclopedia or other reference book, cite the piece as you would any other work in a collection.
Do not include the publisher information.
Also, if the reference book is organized alphabetically do not list the volume or the page number of the article or item.
Include the title of the article in quotation marks, followed by a period.
Then list the title of the reference book in italics, followed by a period.
Indicate the edition and year, followed by a period.
And, finally, indicate the medium of publication, followed by a period.
Not every web page provides detailed information
but in general try to include: author and/or editor names if available
article name (in quotation marks) if available
title of the website, project, or book in italics.
Remember that some print publications have web publications with slightly different names.
They may, for example, include additional information or otherwise modified information like domain names.
Any version numbers available, including revisions, posting dates, volumes, or issue numbers.
publisher information, including the publisher name and publishing date
any page numbers, if available. Many websites do not use page numbers.
Medium of publication, date you accessed the material, and URL if required (or for your own, personal reference).
MLA does not require a URL.
When citing an entire website, list your date of access.
First list the editor, author, or compiler name (if available) followed by a period.
Next, list the name of the site in italics, followed by a period.
List the version number, followed by a period.
Indicate the institutional organization affiliated with the site, followed by a comma.
and the date of resource creation followed by a period.
Indicate the medium of publication, followed by a period.
And, finally, list your date of access, followed by a period.
To cite an individual page on a website, list the author or alias (if known)
followed by the information previously discussed for entire websites.
Since different websites provide different kinds of information
citations for web-based sources can take many different shapes.
Include as much information as you can find on the website itself
If no publisher name is available use n.p.
If no publishing date is available, use n.d.
For more information on MLA citation, please visit the links provided in the video description.
This has been a presentation of MLA formatting and lists of works cited
a vidcast by Beth Jones and Gina Hurley brought to you in cooperation with the Purdue Online Writing Lab.