MLA Bibliographic Citation Style Guide

MLA (Modern Language Association) style is the citation style that is widely used by academic institutions, including UNM-Los Alamos. Below are patterns and actual examples for citing common information formats.

The patterns and examples are based on the MLA Formatting and Style Guide, 8th edition, as presented in the Purdue Owl website. For more detailed information on citing these formats as well as other formats not included here, please consult the Purdue OWL website.

Book (Print)

Pattern:

Author-Last Name, First Middle. Title of book. Publisher, Publication year.

Example: 

Mann, William. Richard Strauss: A Critical Study of the Operas. Oxford University Press, 1966.

Book (Online)

Pattern:

Author-Last Name, First Middle. Title of book. Publisher, Publication year. Title of database or carrier, URL. Accessed day Month abbreviation Year. 

Example: 

Beresford, Mathew. From Demons to Dracula: the Creation of the Modern Vampire Myth. Reaktion, 2008. Ebrary, site.ebrary.com.libproxy.unm.edu/lib/unma/detail.action?docID=10382995. Accessed 7 Sept. 2011.

Book Chapter (Print)

Pattern:

Author-Last Name, First Middle. "Title of chapter/essay." Title of book, Publisher, Publication year, Page number range.

Example:

Senf, Carol. "Gothic Monster versus Modern Science in Dracula." Science and Social Science in Bram Stoker’s Fiction, Greenwood Press, 2002, pp. 17-47. 

Book Chapter (Online)

Pattern:

Author-Last Name, First Middle. "Title of chapter/essay." Title of book, Publisher, Publication year, Page number range. Title of database or carrier, URL. Accessed day Month abbreviation Year.

Example:

Beresford, Mathew. “Historical Roots: the Vampire in the Middle Ages.” From Demons to Dracula: The Creation of the Modern Vampire Myth. Reaktion, 2008, pp. 41-52. Ebrary, site.ebrary.com.libproxy.unm.edu/lib/unma/detail.action?docID=10382995. Accessed 7 Sept. 2011. 

Reference Source – more than one volume (Print)

Pattern:

Editor-Lastname, First Middle. Title of Reference Source. ___ ed., Name of publisher, year of publication. total number of vols.

Example:

Sadie, Stanley, ed. The New Grove Dictionary of Music and Musicians. 2nd ed., Grove, 2001. 29 vols.

Entry in a Reference Source (Print)

Pattern:

“Title of Entry”. Title of Reference Source. Edition (if available). Published Year.

Example:

“Opera History.” The New Grove Dictionary of Music and Musicians. 2nd ed., 2001.

Entry in a Reference Source (Online)

Pattern:

Author of entry’s last name, First Middle. “Title of Entry”. Title of Reference Source, Edition (if available), Edited by …., vol. #, Publisher, Published Year, page number range. Title of database or carrier, URL. Accessed day Month abbreviation Year.

Note: if no author is indicated for the specific entry, begin the citation with the title of the entry.

Examples:

"Science Fiction." Encyclopædia Britannica Online Academic Edition. Encyclopædia Britannica, 2011. academic.eb.com/levels/collegiate/article/science-fiction/66289. Accessed 07 Sep. 2011.

Barr, Marleen S. "Science Fiction." New Dictionary of the History of Ideas, edited by Maryanne Cline Horowitz, vol. 5, Charles Scribner's Sons, 2005, pp. 2188-2191. Gale Virtual Reference Library,
unm-la.idm.oclc.org/login?url=http://go.galegroup.com/ps/i.do?p=GVRL&sw=w&u=n
m_a_unmla&v=2.1&it=r&id=GALE%7CCX3424300717&asid=81e8c9702dc2781722
d1b3c9ad31aaa4. Accessed 22 Mar. 2017.

Periodical Article (Print)

Pattern:

Author-Lastname, First Middle. "Title of article." Title of Periodical, Volume number, Issue number, Published Year, Page number range.

Example:

Krot, Alexander N. "Bringing Part of an Asteroid Back Home." Science, 333.6046, 2011, pp. 1098-1099. 

Periodical Article (Online)

Pattern:

Author-Lastname, First Middle. "Title of article." Title of Periodical, Volume number, Issue number, Published Year, Title of database or carrier, URL. Accessed day Month abbreviation Year.

Example:

Domínguez-Rue, Emma. "Sins of the Flesh: Anorexia, Eroticism and the Female Vampire in Bram Stoker's Dracula." Journal of Gender Studies, 19.3, 2010, Academic Search Complete,
web.b.ebscohost.com.libproxy.unm.edu/ehost/pdfviewer/pdfviewer?sid=308644ec-76
78-472b-a99e-bc0f3533829d%40sessionmgr104&vid=4&hid=128. Accessed 7 Sept.
2011.

Website

Pattern:

Author-Lastname, First Middle. Title of web site. Version number (if available), Organization name, Date of web site (day, month abbrev. Year) if available, URL. Accessed day Month abbreviation Year.

Note: if no author is apparent for the web page/site, the first element of the citation will be the title.

Example:

Bowman, Laurel. The Olympian Gods. University of Victoria, 28 June 2002, web.uvic.ca/grs/department_files/classical_myth/gods.html. Accessed 30 Aug. 2011.

Image (Online)

Pattern:

Artist-Lastname, First. Title of work, Date of creation. Copyright holder or name of institution housing the work (if available). Title of database or carrier, URL. Accessed day Month abbreviation Year.

Note: if no artist name is available, the first element of the citation will be the title.

Example:

Taylor-Wood, Sam. Soliloquy I, 1999. Albright-Knox Gallery, Buffalo. CAMIO,
http://camio.oclc.org/cdm/singleitem/collection/YJE/id/2562/rec/2. Accessed 7 Sept. 2011.

Sound Recording

Pattern:

Composer/artist-Lastname, First Middle. Title of recording. Other significant contributors/performers, separated by commas, Name of performing ensemble, Name of Conductor/Director, Label name, year of release. 

Examples:

Strauss, Richard. Daphne. Performances by Hilde Guden, Fritz Wunderlich, James King, Paul Schoffler, Wiener Symphoniker and Wiener Staatsopernchor, conducted by Karl Bohm, Deutsch Grammophon, 1994.

Hendrix, Jimi. Smash Hits, Warner Bros. Records Inc., 1969.

Video Recording

Pattern:

Title of film. Director/Composer/ Producer name, Principal perf. names, Studio/Company name, date.

Examples:

Daphne. By Richard Strauss, directed by Tiziano Marcini, performances by June Anderson, Roberto Sacca, Scott Mac Allister, Birgit Remmert, et. al., Orchestra and Chorus of Teatro la Fenice di Venezia, conducted by Stefan Anton Reck, Dynamic, 2006.

Gladiator. Directed by Ridley Scott, performances by Russell Crowe, Joaquin Phoenix, Connie Nielsen, Oliver Reed, Derek Jacobi, DreamWorks Home Entertainment, 2003.

Video Recording (Online)

Pattern:

Title of film. Director/Producer name, Principal perf. names, Studio/Company name, date. Title of database or carrier, URL. Accessed day Month abbreviation Year.

Example:

Bullying and Suicide: Think About It. Directed by F. D’Aprix. Films Media Group, 2014. Films on Demand, fod.infobase.com/PortalPlaylists.aspx?wID=18955&xtid=53277. Accessed 22 Mar. 2017.