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Bibliography Help: MLA Other Formats

Uni students are often asked to complete papers and projects that require using and citing resources created by others. Use these resources to make your job easier.

Notes

Disclaimer: This handout is only meant as a guide. If we tried to cover all citations you might make, we’d have a book—which is exactly what the Modern Language Association (MLA) publishes every couple of years. You should check the MLA Handbook for Writers of Research Papers, 7th edition, if you have a question that this guide doesn’t answer. See the library for a copy (call number R 808.02 M72ml 2009 in the reference section).

Formatting your citations: In making your list of works cited, begin each entry flush with the left margin; if the entry runs more than a line long, the next lines should be indented one-half inch from the left margin. On many word processors you can accomplish this by paragraph formatting for a "hanging indent." (Whichever you choose, be consistent throughout.) Also use double spacing for your entire list, both between and within entries.

Other Formats

Signed article in a reference work (encyclopedia, dictionary, etc.)

For well-known reference works and those that appear in new editions, use minimal publication information:

  • Lastname, Firstname. "Title of Article." Title of Encyclopedia. YYYY ed. (or Ordinal Number ed. YYYY.) Print.
  • Steen, Liz Arthur. "Applied Finite Math." Encyclopedia Mathematica. 2005 ed. Print.
  • Bille, Matthew A. and Cherie McCollough. "Auks, Puffins, and Murres." Grzimek's Animal Life Encyclopedia. 2nd ed. 2003. Print.

For specialized or unique reference works without further editions, include full publication information:

  • Lastname, Firstname. "Title of Article." Title of Encyclopedia. Ed. Firstname Lastname. Ordinal number ed. (if any). Vol. Number (if any). City of publication: Publisher, YYYY. Print.
  • Chen, Fu-jen. "Donald Duk." Encyclopedia of Asian-American Literature. Ed.Seiwoong Oh. New York: Facts on File, 2007. Print.
  • Routledge, Chris. "Slinky." Bowling, Beatniks, and Bell-Bottoms: Pop Culture of 20th-Century America. Eds. Sara Pendergast and Tom Pendergast. Vol. 3. New York: UXL, 2002. Print.

Unsigned article in a reference work (encyclopedia, dictionary, etc.)

For well-known reference works and those that appear in new editions, use minimal publication information:

  • "Title of Article." Title of Reference Work . YYYY ed. (or Ordinal Number ed. YYYY.) Print.
  • "Marshal." Entry 2. Merriam-Webster's Collegiate Dictionary. 11th ed. 2003. Print.
  •  "Library Goddesses." Encyclopedia of Library Science. 4th ed. 2008. Print.

For specialized or unique reference works without further editions, include full publication information:

  • "Title of Article." Title of Encyclopedia. Ed. Firstname Lastname. Ordinal number ed. (if any). Vol. Number (if any). City of publication: Publisher, YYYY. Print.
  • "The Pregnant Shoplifter." Encyclopedia of Urban Legends. Ed. Jan Harold Brunvand. Santa Barbara: ABC-CLIO, 2001. Print.
  • "Key Composers: Benjamin Britten." The Billboard Illustrated Encyclopedia of Opera. Ed. Stanley Sadie. New York: Billboard, 2004.

Government document 

  • Country or State. Agency. Subagency. Title. Ordinal number ed. or session and document number. City of Publication: Publisher, YYYY. Print.
  • United States. Cong. House. Committee on the Judiciary. The Adverse Effects of Homework on Gifted Students. 91st Cong., 2nd sess. H. Res. 61. Washington: GPO, 2008. Print.
  • United Nations. Literary Aid Committee. Fatigue Relief for Overworked Fantasy Characters in the Anne Rice Vampire Chronicles. New York: Taylor, 2008. Print.


Pamphlet or booklet

  • Lastname, Firstname Middlename (if found). Title of Pamphlet: Subtitle. City of Publication: Publisher, YYYY. Print.
  • Brown, Farmer. Farm Fresh Eggs: A Beginner's Guide. Arthur: Brown's Egg Ranch, 2008. Print.
  • Community Gardening with Children Ages 6-12. Boston: Boston Urban Gardeners, n.d. Print.



Unpublished manuscript, typescript, or letter

 

  • Lastname, Firstname (or name of group/institution). Title or description of the material (for example, Notebook). The date of composition (if not known, write N.d.). Form of the material (for example, MS for something written by hand, or TS for something typed). Any identifying number or date assigned to the document (if applicable). Name and location of the library or other institution holding the material.
  • Chaucer, Geoffrey. The Canterbury Tales. 1400-1410. MS Harley 7334. British Lib., London.
  • Robin, Mittenthal. "My Super-Secret Don't Anybody Read this Ever Ever Ever or Else Diary and that Means You." Unpublished diary. 2004. MS. Special Collection of Important Personal Papers of Former Graduate Student Assistants. Uni High Lib., Urbana.


Interview

To cite an interview that you conducted, use the following format, putting in either "Personal interview" or "Telephone interview" for 'kind of interview.' To cite an interview conducted by someone else, please check the MLA Handbook in print, as this format is highly variable.

 

  • Lastname, Firstname (of person interviewed). Kind of interview. DD Mon. YYYY.
  • Suslick, Adele. Personal interview. 16 Jan. 2008.
  • Harris, Frances. Telephone interview. 20 May 2009.Signed article in a reference work