MLA Works Cited: The Basics

As an English/Art History double major, Josie will often use the Modern Language Association (MLA) style to cite sources in her papers. This style is used for literature, arts, and humanities.

MLA style uses a Works Cited list at the end to provide the full details of the sources consulted. Look at the following MLA citations from Josie's paper on Buffy the Vampire Slayer and note the elements usually required when writing complete citations.

Be sure to keep track of this information as you gather your sources during the research process. You'll need it later when you write your paper.

Book with One Author

Format:
Author's Last Name, First Name. Title of Book. Place of Publication: Publisher, Date of Publication. Format.
Citation:
Jowett, Lorna. Sex and the Slayer: A Gender Studies Primer for the Buffy Fan. Middletown, CT: Wesleyan UP, 2005. Print.
Essay from Edited Book

Format:
Author's Last Name, First Name. "Title of Essay." Title of Edited Book. Ed. Editor First Name Last Name. Place of Publication: Publisher, Date of Publication. Page Numbers of Essay. Format.

Citation:
Osgerby, Bill. "'So Who's Got Time for Adults!': Femininity, Consumption and the Development of Teen TV - from Gidget to Buffy." Teen TV: Genre, Consumption, Identity. Ed. Glyn Davis and Kay Dickinson. London: BFI, 2004. 71-87. Print
Journal Articles

Format:
Author's Last Name, First Name. "Title of Article." Title of Journal Volume Number (Year of Publication): Page Numbers. Format.
Citation:
Magoulick, Mary. "Frustrating Female Heroism: Mixed Messages in Xena, Nikita, and Buffy." Journal of Popular Culture 39 (2006): 729-55. Print.
Monthly Magazine Articles

Format:
Author's Last Name, First Name. "Title of Article." Title of Magazine Month of Publication (abbreviated except for May, June & July) Year of Publication: Page Numbers. Format.
Citation:
DeCandido, Graceanne A. "Bibliographic Good vs. Evil in Buffy the Vampire Slayer." American Libraries Sept. 1999: 44-47. Print.
Web Sites

Format:

varies depending on type of web site, but basically...
Author's/Creator's Last Name, First Name (if given). "Title of Page." Title of Site. Name of the creator or editor of the project or site (if available). Date of Posting/Revision. Name of Organization or Sponsor Associated with the Site. Format. Date Accessed
Citation:
"Buffy Slays Academics." BBC News Education. 7 Nov. 2001. BBC. Web. 8 July 2008 < http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/education/1642829.stm>.

Want more examples? See the library's MLA citation guide. See also: Citation Guides and Other Resources.

Beyond Print

There's a format for citing just about everything - films, television shows, email, cartoons - you name it. According to MLA guidelines, for works "that [have] no pagination or other type of reference markers," like television shows, films, etc., it's recommended to include the author (director, performer, etc.) and the name of the work within the text (Gibaldi 242).

So, a sentence in Josie's paper would look like this:

In Buffy the Vampire Slayer episode 9, "The Puppet," writers Des Hotel and Batali demonstrate that research has become a vital and routine first step Buffy and her friends take when defending the world from supernatural evil doers, even if they do so begrudgingly as Xander's comment illustrates, "Once again I'm banished to the demon section of the card catalog."

And she'd include the following in her Works Cited List:

"The Puppet." Buffy the Vampire Slayer. Writ. Rob Des Hotel and Dean Batali. Dir. Ellen S. Pressman. Twentieth Century Fox. WB, Burbank. 5 May 1997. Television.