MLA (Modern Language Association) Style:

This page shows examples of only a few types of resources.  For more detailed information, use the MLA style manuals and web sites listed below.  Return to the Citing Sources page to access other bibliographic styles.

All call numbers listed are those for the University of St. Thomas Libraries, St. Paul, MN.

MLA Style is used principally by the liberal arts and business fields.  The Chicago Style (Turabian) is also used by these fields.

Bibliographies (Works cited):

Here are examples of basic formats for sources (second and subsequent lines are indented).  Include as much information as you are able to locate from the resource. In the bibliography, the first author's last name is listed first.  Resources are listed alphabetically by first author's last name  For anonymous works, the citation is inserted into the alphabetical list using the first word(s) of the title:

Books: Author(s). Title. Place of publication: Publisher, Date.

• Single author:

       Doe, John. Writing Styles. New York: Doe Publishers, 1999. 

• Two or Three authors:

      Doe, John, and Thomas Smith.  Writing Techniques.  New York:  
              Doe Publishers, 2001.

• More than three authors:

       Doe, John, et. al.  The Style and Technique of Writing.  New
              York: Doe Publishers, 2002.

• No author listed:

       Electronic Reference Formats in the Community.  New York:  Doe
              Publishers, 2002.

• Book chapters or anthologies:

       Smith, Thomas.  "How to write."  Writing With Style and
                  Technique. Ed. by Richard Jones.  New York: Doe
              Publishers, 2000. 

Articles (for multiple authors, see "Books" above):

Author. "Article title." Journal title, Volume #.Issue # (Date): Page
      numbers.

Computerized resources (for multiple authors, see "Books" above):        

Jones, James. "How Writing Influences Our Lives." Local
      Newspaper. (12 May 2001): 1D.  24 April 2006
      <http://web.localnewspaper.com/document9&32%>

• Online full-text journal article from a database:
  Author. "Title." Journal title, Volume#.Issue# (Date): Page
        number(s). Title of database. Publication medium.
        Electronic publication date.
  
  Johnson, Robert. "What Writing Style Does for Me." Style
        Writing Journal  14.6 (2001): 92-101. Academics
        Expanded. Online database. December 2001.
  
• Internet Example:
  Author. Title. Name of institution or organization associated
        with site. Date of access. <web address>.
  
  MLAStyle. Modern Language Association. 7 April 2006. 
            <http://www.mla.org/>.

NOTES:

 
Here are examples of basic formats.  For footnotes and endnotes, the first line is indented and the second and subsequent lines start at the left margin. MLA recommends that references be made within the text whenever possible. Unlike the list of sources cited (bibliography), the footnotes and endnotes should list the author's first name followed by middle initial and last name:

• Books (as footnote or endnote):
  Name, Title. (Place of publication: Publisher, Date) Pages.

       ¹John Doe. Writing Styles. (New York: Doe Publishers, 1999) 39. 

• Articles (as footnote or endnote):
  Name, "Article title," Journal title Volume number (Date): Pages.

       ²Jane Jones. "Writing With Style."  Style Writing Journal 12.6 (1999):  14-33.

• References within the text:
  (Author's last name  Page number(s))

(Johnson 95)

MLA Style Manuals:

How to Do a Bibliography.  Archbishop Ireland Memorial Library. 30 April 2002.
       Use this guide (in PDF) for examples of theology citations. Download an
       Adobe PDF reader for free if one is not on your computer.

Gibaldi, Joseph. The MLA Style Manual and Guide to Scholarly Publishing. New
      York: The Modern Language Association of America, 1998. (REF Z 253 .A28
      1998)

Gibaldi, Joseph. MLA Handbook for Writers of Research Papers. 5th ed. New
      York: Modern Language Association, 1999. (REF Z 253 .A29 1999)

MLA Style.  Modern Language Association. 30 April 2002.
      <http://www.mla.org/>.

MLA Style Guide.  University of Southern Mississippi. 7 May 2002. 
      <http://www.lib.usm.edu/~instruct/guides/mla.html>

Ritter, R.M.  The Oxford Guide to Style.  Oxford, England:  Oxford University Press,
      2002.  (REF PN 147 .R588 1997)
      Although this covers the "Oxford Style", it is similar to MLA and is also used for liberal arts topics.

Smith, Becky.  Works Cited Sample Entries--MLA Format.  Rusk High School. 30
      April 2002. <http://www.tyler.net/ruskhslib/cited.htm >.

Using Modern Language Association (MLA) Format.  Purdue University Online
      Writing Lab.  7 May 2002. 
      <http://owl.english.purdue.edu/handouts/research/r_mla.html>

"Refereed" or "Peer Reviewed" Journals 

"Peer review" is the process through which experts in a field of study examine and assess the quality of articles before they are published. Peer review insures that the research described in a journal's articles is sound and of high quality.

Sometimes the term "refereed" is used instead of peer reviewed.

Lists found in:

• Ulrich's Periodicals Directory.
  Available through the "Find Articles & More" page.  Click on the "Book & Publication Information" link under "General Sources". Search for the title of the journal.  Look for "Refereed" in the record.
  
• The Serials Directory
  Available through the "Find Articles & More" page.  Click on the "Book & Publication Information" link under "General Sources". Search for the title of the journal.  Look for "Peer Rev:  YES" in the record.
  
  USE BOTH PUBLICATIONS. Neither has a whole list, but  together they are nearly complete.

Return to Citing Sources page. 

Comments to Jan Orf, jmorf@stthomas.edu, Reference Librarian, University of St. Thomas Libraries
Updated May 25, 2007.