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MLA Style (9th Edition) Citation Guide: Biblical Sources

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Table of Contents

Bible dictionary, single-volume commentary, multi-volume bible commentary, book-length commentary in a series, citing the bible.

Note: For your Works Cited list, all citations should be double spaced and have a hanging indent.

A "hanging indent" means that each subsequent line after the first line of your citation should be indented by 0.5 inches.

Name of Generic Religious Texts in the Body of Your Paper

Do not italicize or use quotation marks in your paper when referring to a generic religious text. These terms appear without italics or quotation marks when referred to in your paper:

Bible, Old Testament, Genesis, Gospels, Talmud, Qur'an (Koran), Upanishads.

Only italicize titles of individual published editions of religous texts (e.g., The Talmud of the Land of Israel: A Preliminary Translation and Explanation, The Interlinear Bible, etc.) when specifically citing them in your paper.

In-Text Citations

The titles of books of scripture are often abbreviated for the in-text citation. For a full list of abbreviations, consult section 1.6.4 of the MLA Handbook.

Author's Last Name, First Name Middle Name if Given. “Title of Entry.” Title of Work , edited by Editor’s First Middle Last Name, vol. volume#, Publisher, Year published, pp. first page-last page.

Works Cited List Example:

 Sarna, Nahum M. “Exodus, Book of.” The Anchor Yale Bible Dictionary , edited by Daniel Noel Freedman, vol. 2, Yale UP, 2008, pp. 689-700.

In-Text Citation Example:

 (Author's Last Name Page Number)

 Example: (Sarna 690)  

Author's Last Name, First Name Middle Name if Given. “Title of Entry.” Title of Work , edited by Editor’s First Middle Last Name, Edition# ed., vol. volume#, Publisher, Year published. Database, URL of the entry.

Browning, W. R. F. “Daniel, Book of.” A Dictionary of the Bible , 2nd ed., Oxford UP, 2009. Oxford Reference , www.oxfordreference.com/view/10.1093/acref/9780199543984.001.0001/acref-9780199543984-e-485.

 (Author's Last Name) -  if the online source does not provide page numbers then omit the page number from the in-text citation

 Example: (Browning)  

A single-volume commentary is a book that contains chapters covering each of the books of the Bible.

Author's Last Name, First Name Middle Name if Given. “Title of Entry.” Title of Work , edited by Editor’s First Middle Last Name, Second Editor’s First Middle Last Name, and Third Editor’s First Middle Last Name, Publisher, Year published, pp. first page-last page.

Perkins, Pheme. “The Gospel According to John.” The New Jerome Biblical Commentary,  edited by Raymond E. Brown, Joseph A. Fitzmyer, and Roland E. Murphy, Prentice-Hall, 1990, pp. 942-85.

(Author's Last Name) Page Number

Example: (Perkins 955)  

Author's Last Name, First Name Middle Name if Given. “Title of Entry.” Title of Work , edited by Editor’s First Middle Last Name and Second Editor’s First Middle Last Name, Publisher, Year published. Database , URL of the entry.

Franklin, Eric. “Luke.” Oxford Bible Commentary , edited by John Barton and John Muddiman, Oxford UP, 2001.  ProQuest Ebook Central , ebookcentral.proquest.com/lib/up/detail.action?docID=3052723&pq-origsite=primo.

(Author's Last Name)

 Example: (Franklin)  

A multi-volume commentary is a set of multiple books that contains chapters covering each of the books of the Bible.

Perkins, Pheme. “Mark.” The New Interpreter’s Bible , edited by Leander E. Keck, vol. 8, Abingdon Press, 1994, pp. 507-734. 

 Example: (Perkins 601) 

A book-length commentary is a book that includes commentary on just one book of the Bible (and sometimes only part of one book of the Bible).

Author's Last Name, First Name Middle Name if Given. Title of Book . Title of Series. Publisher, Year published.

Vinson, Richard Bolling. Luke . Smyth & Helwys Bible Commentary. Smyth & Helwys, 2008. 

 Example: (Vinson 302)

Author's Last Name, First Name Middle Name if Given. Title of Book . Title of Series. Publisher, Year published. Database , URL.

Vinson, Richard Bolling. Luke. Smyth & Helwys Bible Commentary. Smyth & Helwys, 2008.  EBSCOhost , search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=nlebk&AN=942774&site=ehost-live&scope=site.

Citing the Version of the Bible

The first time you paraphrase or quote from the Bible, identify which version of the Bible that you used. You do not need to repeat the version name in subsequent references. You also do not need to cite the Bible in your bibliography.

In-Text Indication of the Bible Version Used

The researchers consulted the Bible (King James Version) to provide items for the development of their religious values assessment.

Bibliography

No citation needed

Citing Biblical Chapters and Verses

When referring to books of the Bible within the body of your paper:

  • Example: Genesis, Luke 4, Revelation 1-3
  • Example: Exod 2:1-3; Matt 13:12

Note: it isn't necessary to add a period after the abbreviated book name. Include a space between the book name and the chapter number, and include a colon between the chapter number and the verse(s).

Citing Introductions, Annotations, or Supplemental Content in the Bible

Works Cited List Examples:

Carr, David M. Introduction to Genesis. The New Oxford Annotated Bible with Apocrypha: New Revised Standard Version , edited by Michael D. Coogan et al., Oxford UP, 2010, pp. 7-11. 

Kaiser, Walter C. and Duane Garrett, editors. Footnote to Genesis 1:12.  NIV Archaeological Study Bible: An Illustrated Walk Through Biblical History and Culture, by Kaiser and Garrett,  Zondervan, 2006, p. 20.

In-Text Citation Examples:

(Kaiser and Garrett 4)

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MLA Writing Guide: Citing the Bible

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  • Citing the Bible

What follows below are some examples of how to cite the Bible in MLA. For more detailed information and examples, please see Liberty University's Writing Center MLA citation examples or MLA's style site .

In-text Citation

Include the version (ESV, NIV, ASB, etc.) followed by the book, chapter, and verse(s). 

Paul explains salvation when he says, "For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, not a result of works, so that no one may boast" ( English Standard Version , Eph. 2:8-9). 

You do not need to list the version in subsequent in-text citations as long as you are using the same Bible version throughout your paper.

Works Cited

Physical Bible:

The Bible . Authorized King James Version, Oxford UP, 1998. 

The ESV Study Bible . Crossway, 2012.

Electronic Bible :

New International Version. Bible Gateway, https://www.biblegateway.com/versions/New-International-Version-NIV-Bible/#booklist. Accessed 10 September 2020.

Bible App :

English Standard Version. ESV Bible, app version 4.1.1. Crossway. 2021.

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Citing Theological Sources: How to do a Bibliography: Bible & Bible Reference Sources

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How to Cite the Bible

Gen 12:27 ( NJPS ) or Gen 12:27 ( NJB ); Rom 5:12-21 ( NRSV ) or Rom 5:12-21 ( KJV ).

Or, in an in-text citation:  (Rom 5:12-21 NRSV ) or (Gen 12:27 NJPS )  

Use the abbreviation for the English version you are using.  NJPS for New Jewish Publication Society , NAB for New American Bible , NJB for the New Jerusalem Bible , etc. 

If you will use the same version throughout, you can include a footnote or endnote to that effect the first time you use a biblical citation.

If you are quoting biblical verses that are the same in many versions of the Bible, you do not need to cite the Jewish Study Bible or the New Oxford Annotated or the HarperCollins Study Bible in the in-text citation.

If a biblical book is the first word in a sentence, do not abbreviate it.  Example:  "We see this in Rom 5:12 ( NRSV )..."   But when it comes first in the sentence:  "Romans 5:12 shows us this...."

The Bible - Using MLA

It is advisable simply to cite by chapter/verses with Scripture abbreviation, chapter/verse placed parenthetically in your text. Do not use an endnote. In the bibliography, list the version/translation of the Bible as given on the title page, making sure the version/translation is indicated even if not actually given on the title page proper. You can add it on your own. When citing more than one Bible version in your paper, consult your instructor.  

Follow Bible book title abbreviations as in MLA or as recommended by your instructor 

Within the text of your paper:

(Gen 22:10) (1 Cor 13:5)  

In your paper's bibliography (you must indicate the version): 

The Holy Bible: New Revised Standard Version. New York: Oxford University, 1996.  

  How to Cite the Bible: MLA

General Guidelines:  Books and versions of the Bible are not underlined, italicized, or put in quotation marks.  But the titles of individual published editions of the Bible are underlined or italicized.

Example:   The King James Version of the Bible was originally published in 1611. 

Example:  The Catholic Study Bible includes an introduction to each book of the Bible.

  Parenthetical References

       • Books of the Bible are abbreviated; see the MLA Handbook for common abbreviations. Example: (Phil. 3.8) • A period, not a colon, separates chapter and verse. • When you first refer to a particular translation, include the name, a comma, and then the passage. Examples: New Jerusalem Bible , Ezek. 2.6-8 • After this, only include the scripture reference, unless you switch translations.

  *** Information taken from MLA Handbook for Writers of Research Papers , 7 th ed., 2009, sections 6.4.8, 7.7.1, and 5.6.2.

Common Abbreviations for Bible Reference Sources

Jewish Publication Society Torah Commentary - JPS Torah Commentary

Interpreter's Dictionary of the Bible - IDB

New Jerome Biblical Commentary - NJBC

Anchor Bible Dictionary - ABD

Harper's Bible Commentary (1988) - HBC

HarperCollins Bible Dictionary - HBD

New Interpreter's Bible - NIB

Eerdmans Dictionary of the Bible - EDB

International Standard Bible Encyclopedia - ISBE

Abbreviations for Selected Apocryphal Works

Selected Apocryphal Works 

  1 Information taken from MLA Handbook for Writers of Research Papers, 7th ed., 2009, section 7.7.1.

MLA - Citing Bible Reference Sources

How to cite encyclopedia or dictionary entries:  

To find entry authors, look at the end of the entry -- often "signed" by contributor. Cite unsigned articles by title only.

Bibliography (entry author, set editor, multi-volume):    

Klauck, Hans-Josef. "Lord's Supper." The Anchor Bible Dictionary . Ed. David Noel Freedman. Vol. 2. New York: Doubleday, 1992.  

Endnote or footnote:  

8. Hans-Josef Klauck, "Lord's Supper," The Anchor Bible Dictionary , ed. David Noel Freedman, vol. 2 (New York: Doubleday, 1992) 485.  

In-text citation:  (Klauck 485)  

Note  that quotations around entry title. From the book itself be sure to record publishing data and editor(s) from title page of the whole work. Also note that normal word order style is used for editor's name.

How to cite a Concordance:  

               (Author of Article)                Last Name, First Name. “Title of Entry.” Title of Concordance . Ed. Name of Editor, if applicable. Edition, if applicable. City of Pub.: Publisher, Year.    Medium of Publication.

               Example:

               Goodrick, Edward W., and John R. Kohlberger III.  “Mount.” The New Concordance of the Bible. Englewood Cliffs: Prentice-Hall, 1990. Print.

*** For further information, see 5.5.7 (p. 160-61)

How to cite a Bible Commentary in a larger work:  

See Books above for series volume by individual author. In a large work like a commentary with many essays on specific books or chapters, it is often the case that individual commentaries are written by different scholars and the overall work itself has a 'general' editor.  In these cases, this general editor is NOT the author. In MLA style the editor need not be listed but, for clarity, many students add the general editor after the book title.

Bibliography:  

Option 1: Weems, Renita J. "Song of Songs." The New Interpreter's Bible . Vol. 5. Nashville: Abingdon Press, 1997.

Option 2: Weems, Renita J. "Song of Songs." The New Interpreter's Bible . Ed. Leander E. Keck. Vol. 5. Nashville: Abingdon Press, 1997.

(See the most current MLA Handbook for detailed full citation discussion, a list of all elements (in order), and punctuation rules, and for endnotes or footnotes, or the in-text citation option.)

How to cite an essay in a collection:    

Many items in books featuring articles that are indexed by the ATLA Religion Database are essays that are contributions to published works -- in a 'collection.'  Cite these essays as a "part" of a collected work.  Use quotation marks around the essay title.  Be sure to include all full data for the collection in which the essay appears.

Bibliography (authors, editor, multi-volume). Note abbreviations for editors, editions, and volume numbers.  

Ewbank, Michael B, and H. Aityni. "The Difference Diversity Makes." Saints, Sovereigns, and Scholars . Ed. Robert A. Herrera. Vol. 2. New York: Peter Lang, 1993.  

11. Michael B. Ewbank and H. Aityni, "The Difference Diversity Makes," Saints, Sovereigns, and Scholars , ed. Robert A. Herrera, vol. 2. (New York: Peter Lang, 1993) 13-14.. 

In-text citation (Ewbank 16-17)   

How to cite a chapter in an edited book in a multi-volume work:   (Such as the New Interpreter’s Bible .) 

Last Name, First Name. “Title of Chapter.” Title of Commentary . Edition, if applicable. City of Pub.: Publisher, Year. Inclusive Page #s of chapter. Medium of Publication. Vol. # of Title of Work , Ed. Editor of Work.  # of vols. Inclusive publication dates.  

Example:   

Longenecker, Richard N.  “Acts.” John and Acts . Minneapolis: Liturgical Press, 1981. 205-573.  Print.  Vol. 9 of The Expositor’s Bible Commentary . Ed. Frank E. Gæbelein. 12  vols. 1976-92.  

*** For further information, see 5.5.6 (pp. 157-60) & 5.5.14 (pp. 168-70) of the MLA Handbook for Writers of Research Papers, 7th ed. 

How to cite a book in a Series: (Such as the Anchor Yale Bible Series)).

Last Name, First Name. Title of Commentary . Ed. Name of Series Editor.  City of Pub.: Publisher, Year. Medium of Publication. Name of Series. Number in series, if available.

Example:  

Fox, Michael V. Proverbs : a New Translation with Introduction and Commentary. New York: Doubleday, 2000. Print. The Anchor Yal Bible Ser. 18A-B.  

             *** For further information, see 5.5.15 (pp. 170) of the MLA Handbook for Writers of Research Papers, 7th ed.

The Bible - Society of Biblical Literature Handbook of Style

The Society of Biblical Literature has posted an online style guide for students on the web.  This guide will explain most of the specifics you need.  It is a pdf at  

https://www.sbl-site.org/assets/pdfs/pubs/SBLHSsupp2015-02.pdf You'll need to scroll down past the preface and title page.

Or you can find an unabridged print copy in the Ireland Library Reference Room at:

Emory University's SBL Citation Builder

  • Emory University's SBL Citation Builder SBL style is designed for students and scholars writing in the disciplines of ancient Near Eastern studies, Biblical studies, and studies of early Christianity.
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How To Cite A Bible In MLA – Guide & Examples

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How-to-Cite-a-Bible-in-MLA-01

The Bible is one of the sources you can use in research, and like other sources, it needs to be cited or referenced depending on your paper’s reference style. MLA bible citation has its own unique format. This comprehensive guide explores how to cite a Bible in MLA, providing clear instructions for accurate and respectful biblical citations with examples. Mastering the art of citing the Bible in MLA ensures proper acknowledgment in academic and theological scholarship.

Inhaltsverzeichnis

  • 1 In a nutshell: How to cite a Bible in MLA
  • 2 Definition: MLA Bible citation
  • 3 How to cite a Bible in MLA: In-text citation
  • 4 How to cite a Bible in MLA: Works Cited entry

In a nutshell: How to cite a Bible in MLA

  • Learning how to cite a Bible in MLA includes knowing the format: the book, chapter, and verse are the most important components. It also requires a specification of the Bible version that has been used.
  • The format for how to cite a Bible in MLA differs depending on whether a print Bible or an online version is used.
  • The Works Cited entry formats differ depending on if the version is already clarified in the title or if clarification is necessary.

Definition: MLA Bible citation

MLA Bible citation differs from other book citations. This is because the MLA bible citation format features the book, chapter, and Bible verse, instead of only a page number. In addition, the “Works Cited” entry should also feature the Bible version you used in your research.

Note: The guidelines on how to cite an online Bible in MLA differ from the print version.

Format of the print version:

Bible Title. Edited by Editor’s First and Last Name, Bible Version, Publisher, Year of Publication .

Format of the online version:

Bible Title. Title of Website/Organization, URL. Accessed Date.

How to cite a Bible in MLA: In-text citation

The MLA style recommends abbreviating the names of the different Bible books in your in-text Bible citation. Also, you should separate the chapter and verse numbers with a period (never a colon).

(Mark. 4.16) instead of (Mark. 4:16)

Also, you can use an en dash to show the range of verses. In contrast, if the range extends across different chapters, you should include the new chapter number after the dash.

(Mark. 4.16-21) or (Mark. 4.16-5.1)

Additionally, the first Bible citation in your text should feature the title of the Bible. It should be abbreviated if necessary and without “the” from the beginning.

(KJV Bible, Mark. 4.16-21 )

Note that you can omit the Bible version in subsequent citations if you use the same version for all the citations. However, if you use multiple versions, each should include the title for clarity. Furthermore, include a distinct entry for each version in your Works Cited list.

How to cite a Bible in MLA: Works Cited entry

When learning how to cite a Bible in MLA, it is vital to learn the Works Cited entry format, as it differs depending on whether the version is already clear from the title or if it needs to be clarified afterward.

The clarification usually comes after the title. Moreover, the version information is capitalized but not italicized. Finally, use a period to separate it from the Bible title.

Ireland

How to cite a Bible in MLA (online version)?

The basic guide on how to cite a Bible in MLA requires that you start with the ‘Works Cited Entry’ with the source title. If your source does not have a number, you should use an alternative locator like a chapter number, audio, or video source to identify the relevant passage in the in-text citation.

What is the difference between book and bible citation in MLA?

The difference is that a Bible citation in MLA features the book, chapter, and verse. In contrast, book citations in MLA only require the page number.

What do you need for Bible citation in MLA?

You need the title of the Bible, the editor’s name (if applicable), the Bible version, and publication information.

What are the requirements for in-text Bible citation in MLA?

An in-text Bible citation in MLA needs the Bible’s title, book name, chapter, and verse numbers.

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Cite a Bible in MLA

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Q. How do I cite the Bible in MLA format?

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Answered By: Lindsey Sinnott Last Updated: Jan 07, 2019     Views: 296251

With MLA style, you need to cite the Bible two ways: in the text of your paper, and on your Works Cited page.

The  first time you include a quote from the Bible, you need to include the translation, chapter (abbreviated), book, and verse, like this:

Paul urges Christians to "not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewal of your mind, that by testing you may discern what is the will of God, what is good and acceptable and perfect" ( English Standard Version , Rom. 12.2).

If you include quotations from the same translation later in your paper, you only need to include the book, chapter, and verse:

"Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God. And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus" (Phil. 4.6-7).

Works Cited

On your works cited page, your citation should include the translation you used; the editor's name, if given; and the publication information. Examples are given below (note that The  Message  is slightly different because it has an author, not an editor).

Printed Bibles

The English Standard Version Bible . New York: Oxford University Press, 2009. Print.

The New Oxford Annotated Bible . Ed. Michael D. Coogan. New York: Oxford University Press, 2007. Print.

Peterson, Eugene H.  The Message: The Bible in Contemporary Language . Colorado Springs: NavPress, 2002. Print.

Bible Gateway

English Standard Version . Bible Gateway. Web. 25 Oct. 2012.

Peterson, Eugene H. The Message . Bible Gateway. Web. 25 Oct. 2012.

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Comments (7)

  • This a good way of learning !!! Awsome by jordan on Jan 13, 2013
  • Thank you so MUCH!! it was a great help.. by Lily on Nov 30, 2015
  • this was very helpful, quick and straight to the point. Thank you. by monica on Oct 04, 2016
  • this was extremely helpful for my research paper, thank you. by Mari F on Nov 13, 2016
  • I thank you for your help, of great value, I did not make the error of quotation again. . by Henrique on Jun 26, 2017
  • This was so helpful! Thank you for having examples it made it easier to understand. by Jill on Jan 25, 2018
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Citing the Bible and other Biblical Resources

Mla style -- general guidelines, parenthetical references, works cited.

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Books and versions of the Bible are NOT

underlined  

or put in "quotation marks"  

However, the titles of individual published editions of the Bible are italicized.

Example:   The King James Version of the Bible was originally published in 1611. 

Example:  The NIV Study Bible includes an introduction to each book of the Bible.

I n parenthetical references

  • The titles of the books of the Bible are often abbreviated. 
  • Access the list of common abbreviations for books of the Bible found in the MLA Handbook.

Example :  (2 Cor. 5.17)

  •   A period separates chapter and verse.
  • State the first element in that works-cited list entry (which is usually the name of the version) followed by a comma t he first time you refer to a particular version of the Bible .

Example :  ( New International Version , Gen. 3.15)

You do not need to identify the first element of the entry (again, usually the version) in subsequent references unless you switch to a different version.

  • Simply cite chapter and verse.

Example :  (Gen. 3.27)

In your Works Cited, include the title of the Bible, the version, and the publication information.

Here are some examples for citing print and online editions of the Bible:

Examples: 

Zondervan NIV Study Bible . Kenneth L. Barker, g eneral editor,  full rev. ed., Zondervan, 2002.                                        

The English Standard Version Bible: Containing the Old and New Testaments with Apocrypha.  Oxford UP, 2009.                                         

New International Version . Biblica, 2011.  BibleGateway.com , www.biblegateway.com/versions/ New-International-Version-NIV-Bible/#booklist.

** Information taken from MLA Handbook , 9 th ed., 2021, section 6.25.

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Purdue Online Writing Lab Purdue OWL® College of Liberal Arts

MLA Formatting and Style Guide

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Welcome to the Purdue OWL

This page is brought to you by the OWL at Purdue University. When printing this page, you must include the entire legal notice.

Copyright ©1995-2018 by The Writing Lab & The OWL at Purdue and Purdue University. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, reproduced, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed without permission. Use of this site constitutes acceptance of our terms and conditions of fair use.

MLA (Modern Language Association) style is most commonly used to write papers and cite sources within the liberal arts and humanities. This resource, updated to reflect the MLA Handbook (9 th ed.), offers examples for the general format of MLA research papers, in-text citations, endnotes/footnotes, and the Works Cited page.

The following overview should help you better understand how to cite sources using MLA  9 th edition, including how to format the Works Cited page and in-text citations.

Please use the example at the bottom of this page to cite the Purdue OWL in MLA. See also our MLA vidcast series on the Purdue OWL YouTube Channel .

Creating a Works Cited list using the ninth edition

MLA is a style of documentation that may be applied to many different types of writing. Since texts have become increasingly digital, and the same document may often be found in several different sources, following a set of rigid rules no longer suffices.

Thus, the current system is based on a few guiding principles, rather than an extensive list of specific rules. While the handbook still describes how to cite sources, it is organized according to the process of documentation, rather than by the sources themselves. This gives writers a flexible method that is near-universally applicable.

Once you are familiar with the method, you can use it to document any type of source, for any type of paper, in any field.

Here is an overview of the process:

When deciding how to cite your source, start by consulting the list of core elements. These are the general pieces of information that MLA suggests including in each Works Cited entry. In your citation, the elements should be listed in the following order:

  • Title of source.
  • Title of container,
  • Other contributors,
  • Publication date,

Each element should be followed by the corresponding punctuation mark shown above. Earlier editions of the handbook included the place of publication and required different punctuation (such as journal editions in parentheses and colons after issue numbers) depending on the type of source. In the current version, punctuation is simpler (only commas and periods separate the elements), and information about the source is kept to the basics.

Begin the entry with the author’s last name, followed by a comma and the rest of the name, as presented in the work. End this element with a period.

Bhabha, Homi K. The Location of Culture. Routledge, 1994.

Title of source

The title of the source should follow the author’s name. Depending upon the type of source, it should be listed in italics or quotation marks.

A book should be in italics:

Henley, Patricia. The Hummingbird House . MacMurray, 1999.

An individual webpage should be in quotation marks. The name of the parent website, which MLA treats as a "container," should follow in italics:

Lundman, Susan. "How to Make Vegetarian Chili." eHow, www.ehow.com/how_10727_make-vegetarian-chili.html.*

A periodical (journal, magazine, newspaper) article should be in quotation marks:

Bagchi, Alaknanda. "Conflicting Nationalisms: The Voice of the Subaltern in Mahasweta Devi's Bashai Tudu." Tulsa Studies in Women's Literature , vol. 15, no. 1, 1996, pp. 41-50.

A song or piece of music on an album should be in quotation marks. The name of the album should then follow in italics:

Beyoncé. "Pray You Catch Me." Lemonade, Parkwood Entertainment, 2016, www.beyonce.com/album/lemonade-visual-album/.

*The MLA handbook recommends including URLs when citing online sources. For more information, see the “Optional Elements” section below.

Title of container

The eighth edition of the MLA handbook introduced what are referred to as "containers," which are the larger wholes in which the source is located. For example, if you want to cite a poem that is listed in a collection of poems, the individual poem is the source, while the larger collection is the container. The title of the container is usually italicized and followed by a comma, since the information that follows next describes the container.

Kincaid, Jamaica. "Girl." The Vintage Book of Contemporary American Short Stories, edited by Tobias Wolff, Vintage, 1994, pp. 306-07.

The container may also be a television series, which is made up of episodes.

“94 Meetings.” Parks and Recreation, created by Greg Daniels and Michael Schur, performance by Amy Poehler, season 2, episode 21, Deedle-Dee Productions and Universal Media Studios, 2010.

The container may also be a website, which contains articles, postings, and other works.

Wise, DeWanda. “Why TV Shows Make Me Feel Less Alone.”  NAMI,  31 May 2019,  www.nami.org/Blogs/NAMI-Blog/May-2019/How-TV-Shows-Make-Me-Feel-Less-Alone . Accessed 3 June 2019.

In some cases, a container might be within a larger container. You might have read a book of short stories on Google Books , or watched a television series on Netflix . You might have found the electronic version of a journal on JSTOR. It is important to cite these containers within containers so that your readers can find the exact source that you used.

“94 Meetings.” Parks and Recreation , season 2, episode 21, NBC , 29 Apr. 2010. Netflix, www.netflix.com/watch/70152031?trackId=200256157&tctx=0%2C20%2C0974d361-27cd-44de-9c2a-2d9d868b9f64-12120962.

Langhamer, Claire. “Love and Courtship in Mid-Twentieth-Century England.” Historical Journal , vol. 50, no. 1, 2007, pp. 173-96. ProQuest, doi:10.1017/S0018246X06005966. Accessed 27 May 2009.

Other contributors

In addition to the author, there may be other contributors to the source who should be credited, such as editors, illustrators, translators, etc. If their contributions are relevant to your research, or necessary to identify the source, include their names in your documentation.

Foucault, Michel. Madness and Civilization: A History of Insanity in the Age of Reason. Translated by Richard Howard , Vintage-Random House, 1988.

Woolf, Virginia. Jacob’s Room . Annotated and with an introduction by Vara Neverow, Harcourt, Inc., 2008.

If a source is listed as an edition or version of a work, include it in your citation.

The Bible . Authorized King James Version, Oxford UP, 1998.

Crowley, Sharon, and Debra Hawhee. Ancient Rhetorics for Contemporary Students. 3rd ed., Pearson, 2004.

If a source is part of a numbered sequence, such as a multi-volume book or journal with both volume and issue numbers, those numbers must be listed in your citation.

Dolby, Nadine. “Research in Youth Culture and Policy: Current Conditions and Future Directions.” Social Work and Society: The International Online-Only Journal, vol. 6, no. 2, 2008, www.socwork.net/sws/article/view/60/362. Accessed 20 May 2009.

Quintilian. Institutio Oratoria. Translated by H. E. Butler, vol. 2, Loeb-Harvard UP, 1980.

The publisher produces or distributes the source to the public. If there is more than one publisher, and they are all are relevant to your research, list them in your citation, separated by a forward slash (/).

Klee, Paul. Twittering Machine. 1922. Museum of Modern Art, New York. The Artchive, www.artchive.com/artchive/K/klee/twittering_machine.jpg.html. Accessed May 2006.

Women's Health: Problems of the Digestive System . American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists, 2006.

Daniels, Greg and Michael Schur, creators. Parks and Recreation . Deedle-Dee Productions and Universal Media Studios, 2015.

Note : The publisher’s name need not be included in the following sources: periodicals, works published by their author or editor, websites whose titles are the same name as their publisher, websites that make works available but do not actually publish them (such as  YouTube ,  WordPress , or  JSTOR ).

Publication date

The same source may have been published on more than one date, such as an online version of an original source. For example, a television series might have aired on a broadcast network on one date, but released on  Netflix  on a different date. When the source has more than one date, it is sufficient to use the date that is most relevant to your writing. If you’re unsure about which date to use, go with the date of the source’s original publication.

In the following example, Mutant Enemy is the primary production company, and “Hush” was released in 1999. Below is a general citation for this television episode:

“Hush.” Buffy the Vampire Slayer , created by Joss Whedon, performance by Sarah Michelle Gellar, season 4, Mutant Enemy, 1999 .

However, if you are discussing, for example, the historical context in which the episode originally aired, you should cite the full date. Because you are specifying the date of airing, you would then use WB Television Network (rather than Mutant Enemy), because it was the network (rather than the production company) that aired the episode on the date you’re citing.

“Hush.” Buffy the Vampire Slayer, created by Joss Whedon, performance by Sarah Michelle Gellar, season 4, episode 10, WB Television Network, 14 Dec. 1999 .

You should be as specific as possible in identifying a work’s location.

An essay in a book or an article in a journal should include page numbers.

Adiche, Chimamanda Ngozi. “On Monday of Last Week.” The Thing around Your Neck, Alfred A. Knopf, 2009, pp. 74-94 .

The location of an online work should include a URL.  Remove any "http://" or "https://" tag from the beginning of the URL.

Wheelis, Mark. "Investigating Disease Outbreaks Under a Protocol to the Biological and Toxin Weapons Convention." Emerging Infectious Diseases , vol. 6, no. 6, 2000, pp. 595-600, wwwnc.cdc.gov/eid/article/6/6/00-0607_article. Accessed 8 Feb. 2009.

When citing a physical object that you experienced firsthand, identify the place of location.

Matisse, Henri. The Swimming Pool. 1952, Museum of Modern Art, New York .

Optional elements

The ninth edition is designed to be as streamlined as possible. The author should include any information that helps readers easily identify the source, without including unnecessary information that may be distracting. The following is a list of optional elements that can be included in a documented source at the writer’s discretion.

Date of original publication:

If a source has been published on more than one date, the writer may want to include both dates if it will provide the reader with necessary or helpful information.

Erdrich, Louise. Love Medicine. 1984. Perennial-Harper, 1993.

City of publication:

The seventh edition handbook required the city in which a publisher is located, but the eighth edition states that this is only necessary in particular instances, such as in a work published before 1900. Since pre-1900 works were usually associated with the city in which they were published, your documentation may substitute the city name for the publisher’s name.

Thoreau, Henry David. Excursions . Boston, 1863.

Date of access:

When you cite an online source, the MLA Handbook recommends including a date of access on which you accessed the material, since an online work may change or move at any time.

Bernstein, Mark. "10 Tips on Writing the Living Web." A List Apart: For People Who Make Websites, 16 Aug. 2002, alistapart.com/article/writeliving. Accessed 4 May 2009.

As mentioned above, while the MLA handbook recommends including URLs when you cite online sources, you should always check with your instructor or editor and include URLs at their discretion.

A DOI, or digital object identifier, is a series of digits and letters that leads to the location of an online source. Articles in journals are often assigned DOIs to ensure that the source is locatable, even if the URL changes. If your source is listed with a DOI, use that instead of a URL.

Alonso, Alvaro, and Julio A. Camargo. "Toxicity of Nitrite to Three Species of Freshwater Invertebrates." Environmental Toxicology , vol. 21, no. 1, 3 Feb. 2006, pp. 90-94. Wiley Online Library, doi: 10.1002/tox.20155.

Creating in-text citations using the previous (eighth) edition

Although the MLA handbook is currently in its ninth edition, some information about citing in the text using the older (eighth) edition is being retained. The in-text citation is a brief reference within your text that indicates the source you consulted. It should properly attribute any ideas, paraphrases, or direct quotations to your source, and should direct readers to the entry in the Works Cited list. For the most part, an in-text citation is the  author’s name and the page number (or just the page number, if the author is named in the sentence) in parentheses :

When creating in-text citations for media that has a runtime, such as a movie or podcast, include the range of hours, minutes and seconds you plan to reference. For example: (00:02:15-00:02:35).

Again, your goal is to attribute your source and provide a reference without interrupting your text. Your readers should be able to follow the flow of your argument without becoming distracted by extra information.

How to Cite the Purdue OWL in MLA

Entire Website

The Purdue OWL . Purdue U Writing Lab, 2019.

Individual Resources

Contributors' names. "Title of Resource." The Purdue OWL , Purdue U Writing Lab, Last edited date.

The new OWL no longer lists most pages' authors or publication dates. Thus, in most cases, citations will begin with the title of the resource, rather than the developer's name.

"MLA Formatting and Style Guide." The Purdue OWL, Purdue U Writing Lab. Accessed 18 Jun. 2018.

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Avoid plagiarism — quickly check for missing citations and check for writing mistakes., your ultimate mla format guide & generator, what is mla.

MLA stands for the Modern Language Association , an organization that focuses on language and literature.

Depending on which subject area your class or research focuses on, your professor may ask you to cite your sources in MLA style. This is a specific way to cite, following the Modern Language Association's guidelines. There are other styles, such as APA format and Chicago citation style , but MLA format is often used for literature, language, liberal arts, and other humanities subjects. This guide extensively covers this format but is not associated with the organization.

What is MLA Citing?

The Modern Language Association Handbook is in its 9th edition and standardizes the way scholars document their sources and format their papers. When everyone documents their sources and papers in the same way, it is simple to recognize and understand the types of sources used for a project. Readers of your work will look at your citations not only to understand them but possibly to explore them as well.

When you're borrowing information from a source and placing it in your research or assignment, it’s important to give credit to the original author. This is done by creating an MLA citation. Depending on the type of information you're including in your work, you may place citations in the body of your project and in a works-cited list at the end of your project.

The handbook explains how to create MLA citations. This page summarizes the information in the handbook’s 9th edition.

There is also a section below on a recommended way to create an MLA header. These headers appear at the top of your assignment’s pages. Check with your instructor on whether they prefer a certain MLA format for the header.

What is MLA Format?

The 9th edition is the most recent and updated version for MLA citations. Released in April 2021, the citation format differs slightly from previous versions. This update follows the 2016 update for the 8th edition that contained many significant changes from previous editions.

For the 8th edition, the biggest difference and most exciting update was the use of one standard format for all source types. In previous versions, scholars were required to locate the citation format for the specific source that they used. There were different formats for books, websites, periodicals, and so on. After 2016, using one universal MLA citation format allowed scholars to spend less time trying to locate the proper format to document their sources and focus more on their research .

Other updates included the addition of “containers.” A container provides details on a work contained within a larger work. For example, books contain chapters, albums contain songs, and journals contain journal articles. The source is the larger work, such as a website, while the container is a smaller work within that source, such as a short story on the website.

MLA now encourages you to add DOIs or URLs to citations. Use a DOI instead of a URL when it’s available. According to the MLA 9th edition, you can usually leave out http:// or https:// from URLs unless you want to hyperlink them. For DOIs, use http:// or https:// before the DOI: https://doi.org/xx.xxxx/xxx.xxxx.xxxx).

Social media pseudonyms and usernames can replace the real name of the author. Volume and issue numbers are now abbreviated as “vol.” and “no.” Cities of publication and the source’s medium (such as print or web) are no longer included in citations. For academic presses/publishers, with the words “university” or “press,” shorten “university” to “U”, and “press” to “P” (Cambridge UP). Lowercase seasons when using them in the date field of a citation (spring 2021 not Spring 2021).

Bibliography vs. Works Cited - What's the Difference?

You may have heard the two terms, "Bibliography" and "Works Cited" thrown around interchangeably. The truth is that they are two different words with two completely different meanings.

A bibliography is a list of sources that the writer recommends for further reading. A works-cited list is a list of sources that were included in the author's writing.

Want to suggest some books and websites to your reader? Create an MLA format bibliography by creating a list of full citations and label the page as "Bibliography."

Did you use any quotes or place any paraphrases in your writing? Create in-text citations and place them in the body of your work. Then, create a list of full citations and place them at the end of the project. Label the page as "Works Cited."

The good news is that references in MLA bibliography format and regular works-cited lists are structured the exact same way.

Citing Basics

When adding information to your project from another source, you are required to add an MLA citation. There are two types of MLA format citations: in-text citations and full citations.

Full Citation Basics:

All sources used for a project are found on the MLA format “Works Cited” page, which is generally the last portion of a project.

MLA citing format often includes the following pieces of information, in this order:

Author's Last name, First name. "Title of Source." Title of Container , Other contributors, Version, Numbers, Publisher, Publication Date, Location.

For more information about each individual element and for proper formatting rules, see the sections below on author names, titles, containers, names of other contributors, source versions, numbers, publishers, publication dates, and locations.

Find more in-depth rules regarding the works-cited list in MLA format on the page down below, along with a sample page.

Don't forget, our BibMe MLA citation generator is an MLA formatter that helps you create your citations quickly and easily!

Citation Components

The author's name is generally the first item in a citation (unless the source does not have an author). The author's name is followed by a period.

If the source has one author , place the last name first, add a comma, and then the first name.

MLA format:

Lee, Harper.

Fitzgerald, F. Scott.

If your source has two authors , place them in the same order they're shown on the source. The first author is in reverse order, add a comma and the word "and", then place the second author in standard form. Follow their names with a period.

Monsen, Avery, and Jory John.

For three or more authors , only include the first listed author's name. Place the first author's name in reverse order (Last name, First name) place a comma afterwards, and then add the Latin phrase "et al."

Borokhovic, Kenneth A., et al.

For social media posts, it's acceptable to use a screen name or username in place of the author's name. Start the citation with the user's handle.

@TheOnion. "Experts Warn Number of Retirees Will Completely Overwhelm Scenic Railway Industry by 2030." Twitter , 9 Oct. 2017, 9:50 a.m., twitter.com/TheOnion/status/917386689500340225.

No author listed? If there isn't an author, start the citation with the title and skip the author section completely.

Citations do not need to always start with the name of the author. When your research focuses on a specific individual that is someone other than the author, it is appropriate for readers to see that individual's name at the beginning of the citation. Directors, actors, translators, editors, and illustrators are common individuals to list at the beginning. Again, only include their name in place of the author if your research focuses on that specific individual.

To include someone other than the author at the beginning of the citation, place their name in reverse order, add a comma afterwards, and then the role of that individual followed by a period.

Fimmel, Travis, performer. Vikings . Created by Michael Hirst, History Channel, 2013-2016.

Gage, John T., editor. The Promise of Reason: Studies in the New Rhetoric . SIU Press, 2011.

Here's a helpful table to refer to when structuring author names:

Works Cited in MLA

Titles and Containers:

Titles follow the name of the author and are written in title capitalization form.

If you're citing a source in its entirety, such as a full book, a movie, or a music album, then place the title in italics.

Franzen, Jonathan. The Corrections . Farrar, Straus, and Giroux, 2001.

Rufus Du Sol. Bloom . Sweat It Out! 2016.

If you're citing a source, such as a chapter in a book, a song on an album, or an article in a journal or website, then place the title of the piece in quotations and add a period afterwards. Follow it with the title of the full source, in italics, and then add a comma. This second portion is called the container . Containers house smaller works, such as songs, in larger comprehensive works, such as albums.

Examples with containers:

Wondering what to do with subtitles? Place a colon in between the title and subtitle. Write both parts in title capitalization form.

Nasar, Sylvia. A Beautiful Mind: The Life of Mathematical Genius and Nobel Laureate John Nash . Simon and Schuster, 2001.

If the source does not have a title , give a brief description and do not use quotation marks or italics.

Israel, Aaron. Brooklyn rooftop acrylic painting. 2012, 12 W 9th Street, New York City.

For a tweet , the full text of the tweet is placed where the title sits.

@LOCMaps. "#DYK the first public zoo to open in the US was the #Philadelphia Zoo? #50States." Twitter , 9 Feb. 2017, 3:14 p.m., twitter.com/LOCMaps/status/829785441549185024.

For email messages, the subject of the email is the title. Place this information in quotation marks.

Rabe, Leor. "Fwd: Japan Itinerary." Received by Raphael Rabe, 11 Feb 2017.

Citations with Two Containers:

It is possible for a source to sit in a second or larger container. A journal article sits in its first container, which is the journal itself, but it can also sit in a larger container, such as a database. A song can sit in its first container, which is the album it's found on. Then it can sit in its next container, which could be Spotify or iTunes.

It is important to include the second container because the content on one container may differ from content from another container.

MLA citing with two containers should be formatted like this:

Author's Last name, First name. "Title of Source." Title of Container , Other Contributors, Version, Numbers, Publisher, Publication Date, Location. Title of Second Container , Other Contributors, Version, Number, Publisher, Publication Date, Location.

In most cases, for the second container, only the title of the second container and the location is needed. Why? For readers to locate the source themselves, they'll most likely use the majority of the information found in the first part of the citation.

Examples of Citations with 2 Containers:

Sallis, James, et al. "Physical Education's Role in Public Health: Steps Forward and Backward Over 20 Years and Hope for the Future." Research Quarterly for Exercise and Sport , vol. 83, no. 2, Jun. 2012, pp. 125-135. ProQuest , ezproxy.nypl.org/login?url=http://search.proquest.com/docview/1023317255?accountid=35635.

Baker, Martha. "Fashion: Isaac in Wonderland." New York Magazine , vol. 24, no. 3, 21 Jan. 1991, pp. 50-54. Google Books , books.google.com/books?id=PukCAAAAMBAJ&lpg=PP1&dq=magazine&pg=PP1#v=onepage&q=magazine&f=false.

Remember, BibMe has an MLA works-cited generator that creates citations for you quickly and easily!

Format for Other Contributors:

In MLA citing, when there are other individuals (besides the author) who play a significant role in your research, include them in this section of the citation. Other contributors can also be added to help individuals locate the source themselves. You can add as many other contributors as you like.

Start this part of the citation with the individual's role, followed by the word "by". Notice that when adding other contributors after a period, you capitalize the first letter of the individual's role. When adding other contributors after a comma, you lowercase the first letter of the individual’s role.

Gaitskill, Mary. "Twilight of the Superheroes." The Scribner Anthology of Contemporary Short Fiction: 50 North American Stories Since 1970, edited by Lex Williford and Michael Martone, Simon and Schuster, 2012, pp. 228-238.

The Incredibles . Directed by Brad Bird, produced by John Walker, Pixar, 2004.

Gospodinov, Georgi. The Physics of Sorrow . Translated by Angela Rodel, Open Letter, 2015.

Format for Versions:

Sources can come in different versions. There are numerous bible versions; books can come in versions (such as numbered editions), and even movies and songs can have special versions.

When a source indicates that it is different than other versions, include this information in the citation. This will help readers locate the exact source that you used for your project.

The Bible . Lexham English Version, Logos, 2011, lexhamenglishbible.com.

Crank, J. The Mathematics of Diffusion . 2nd ed., Clarendon, 1979.

Afrojack. "Take Over Control." Beatport , performance by Eva Simons, extended version, 2011, www.beatport.com/track/take-over-control-feat-eva-simons-extended/1621534.

Format for Numbers:

Any numbers related to a source that isn't the publication date, page range, or version number should be placed in the numbers position of the citation. This includes volume and issue numbers for journal articles, volume or series numbers for books, comic book numbers, and television episode numbers, to name a few.

When including volume and issue numbers, use the abbreviation “vol.” for volume and “no.” for number.

Zhai, Xiaojuan, and Jingjing Wang. "Improving Relations Between Users and Libraries: A Survey of Chinese Academic Libraries." The Electronic Library , vol. 34, no. 4, 2016, pp. 597-616. ProQuest Research Library , ezproxy.nypl.org/login?url=http://search.proquest.com.i.ezproxy.nypl.org/docview/1841764839?accountid=35635.

"Chestnut." Westworld , directed by Richard J. Lewis, season 1, episode 2, Warner Bros., 2016.

Publishers:

The publisher produces the source. In the citation, place the publisher before the date of publication. Include the publisher for any source type except websites when the name of the publisher is the same as the name of the website. Also, it’s not necessary to include the name of publishers for newspapers, magazines, or journal articles, since the name of the publisher is generally insignificant.

When sources have more than one publisher that share responsibility for the production of the source, place a slash between the names of the publishers.

Use the abbreviation “UP” when the name of the publisher includes the words “University Press.”

Cambridge UP

Publication Dates:

When including the date that the source was published, display the amount of information that is found on the source, whether it's the full date, the month and year, or just the year.

If the date includes a season rather than a month, make sure to lowercase the season (spring 2021 not Spring 2021). Do not capitalize the season.

2 Nov. 2016 or Nov. 2, 2016

When multiple dates are shown on the source, include the date that is most relevant to your work and research.

Abbreviate months longer than 4 letters.

The location refers to the place where the source can be found. This can be in the form of a URL, page number, disc number, or physical place.

When citing websites in MLA, include DOIs or URLs. Copy the DOI or URL directly from the address bar or link in your browser window. If a DOI number is present, use it in place of a URL. You can usually leave out http:// or https:// from URLs unless you want to hyperlink them. For DOIs, use http:// or https:// before the DOI: https://doi.org/xx.xxxx/xxx.xxxx.xxxx.

For page numbers, use the abbreviation “p.” when referring to only one page, and “pp.” for a range of pages.

In-Text & Parenthetical Citation Basics:

When using a direct quote or paraphrasing information from a source, add an in-text or parenthetical citation into the body of your work. Direct quotes are word-for-word quotes pulled from a source and added to your project. A paraphrase is when you take a section of information from a source and put it in your own words. Both direct quotes and paraphrases require an in-text or parenthetical citation to follow it.

Format your parenthetical or in-text citation in MLA as follows:

"Direct quote" or paraphrase (Author's last name and page number).

Author's last name said that "Direct Quote" or paraphrase (page number).

*See the comprehensive section below on MLA in-text citations for further clarification and instructions.

MLA In-Text and Parenthetical Citations

What is an in-text citation or parenthetical citation.

You used information from websites, articles, books, and other sources for your paper, right? Hopefully, you did, because the best research and writing projects validate claims using information from other sources.

The purpose of an in-text citation is to give the reader a brief idea about where you found the information used in your writing.

When you place a line of text, word for word (called a direct quote), or an idea (called a paraphrase) from another source into your writing, you, the writer, must display:

  • who created that information (the original author's name)
  • the page number you found it on

Check out this example:

"A main clause has to have a finite verb " (Cameron 94).

No author? No problem! Include the title, and if it's lengthy, shorten it.

The major thing to keep in mind is that whichever information you include in the in-text or parenthetical citation, whether it's the author's name or the title, it needs to match the first word in the full citation. The full citation is found on the “Works Cited” page in MLA.

Format your parenthetical and MLA in-text citation as follows:

"Direct quote" or Paraphrase (Author's last name and page number). This is an MLA parenthetical citation as the author's name is in parentheses.

Author's Last Name states, "Direct Quote" or paraphrase (page number). This is an MLA citation in prose as the author's name is in the prose of your sentence.

"Jim never got back with a bucket of water under an hour—and even then somebody generally had to go after him" (Twain 8).

Twain went on to say, “Jim never got back with a bucket of water under an hour—and even then somebody generally had to go after him” (8).

Other things to keep in mind:

If your in-text citation comes from a website or another source that does not have page numbers, use the following abbreviations:

  • If the source has designated paragraph numbers, use par. or pars.
  • If the source has designated sections, use sec. or secs.
  • If the source has designated chapters, use ch. or chs.
  • If the source has designated lines, use line or lines.

Example in MLA formatting:

Gregor's sister is quite persuasive, especially when she states to her parents, "It'll be the death of both of you, I can see it coming. We can't all work as hard as we have to and then come home to be tortured like this, we can't endure it" (Kafka, ch. 3).

  • If there aren't page, paragraph, section, or chapter numbers, only include the author's name in the in-text or parenthetical citation.
  • If the original source is an audio or video recording, after the author's name or title, place a timestamp.

The girl's affection towards Marley is clear when she blushes upon his arrival and shares that she would like to accompany him to the theater ( Tales of Times Ago 12:45).

  • Two authors : place both names in the reference.

Malcolm and Knowles state... (12).

The smaller the class size, the more attention a student receives, which greatly impacts learning (Malcolm and Knowles 12).

  • Three or more authors : place all three names in the in-text citation. It's also acceptable to use the phrase, "and others," or another cohesive term. For parenthetical citations, use the abbreviation et al.

Smith, Baker, and Klein share that.... (78). OR Smith and others share that.... (78).

Many lizards, including the Carolina anole, only eat when they're hungry. They'll ignore food until their body sends a signal to eat (Smith et al. 78).

  • Authors with the same last name : Include the first initial of the author’s first name in the in-text or parenthetical citation.

One study shows that the average time spent on homework is 52 minutes (R. Brown 17). However, a more recent study, released in 2018, found that the average student spends 42 minutes completing homework (S. Brown 966).

  • Quoted text : Share in the text that the quote comes from another individual.

Lawrence shares his insight by stating that “instructions need to be shared, not assumed” (Young 55).

Common Examples:

Citations for books:.

The basic entry for a book consists of the author's name, the book title, the publisher, and the year published.

Author's Last name, First name. Book Title . Publisher, Year Published.

MLA book citation example:

Shelley, Mary. Frankenstein . Lackington, Hughes, Harding, Mavor & Jones, 1818.

The first author's name should be reversed, with a comma after the last name and a period after the first name (or any middle name). The name should not be abbreviated and should be written exactly as it appears on the title page.

For a book written by two authors:

  • List them in order as they appear on the cover or title page.
  • Only the first author's name should be reversed, while the second author's name is written in normal order. Separate author names by a comma, and place the word "and" before the second author's name.

Smith, John, and Bob Anderson. The Sample Book . Books For Us, 2017.

  • For books with three or more authors, only include the first author, followed by a comma and the abbreviation "et al."

Campbell, Megan, et al. The Best Noun Book . Books For Us, 2017.

The full title of the book, including any subtitles, should be italicized and followed by a period. If the book has a subtitle, the main title should be followed by a colon (unless the main title ends with a question mark or exclamation point).

The Best Books for Kids: A Complete Anthology.

Publication information can generally be found on the title page of a book. If it is not available there, it may also be found on the copyright page. State the name of the publisher.

If you are citing a specific page range from the book, include the page(s) at the end of the citation.

Smith, John, and Bob Anderson. The Sample Book . Books For Us, 2017, pp. 5-12.

When a book has no edition number/name present, it is generally a first edition. If you have to cite a specific edition of a book later than the first, see the section below on citing edited books.

Citations for Translated Books:

If the translation is the focus of your project, include the translator's name at the beginning of the citation, like this:

Translator's Last name, First name, translator. Title . By Original Author's First name Last name, Publisher, Year published.

If it's not the actual translation that is the focus, but the text itself, include the translator's name in the "other contributors" position, like this:

Original Author's Last name, First name. Title . Translated by First Name Last name. Publisher, Year published.

Citations for E-Books:

E-books are formatted differently than print books. Why? Some e-books have different, or extra, information than print books. In addition, e-book pages are often numbered differently. Since the content and format may differ from print books, e-book citations are structured differently. When citing an e-book from a website, format the e-book citation with the website title and URL. When citing an e-book in a digital book format, which lacks a URL or that requires software on an e-reader device, include “e-book ed.” for the Version element of the citation. If you know that the e-book file format (EPUB, MOBI, etc.) varies depending on the e-book publication, you may also include the file format as a supplemental element at the end of the entry.

Format for an e-book found on the Internet:

Author's Last name, First name. Title of E-Book . Publisher, Year Published. Title of Website , URL.

Rodgers, Tara. Pink Noises: Women on Electronic Music and Sound . Duke UP, 2010. Google Books , books.google.com/books?id=syqTarqO5XEC&lpg=PP1&dq=electronic%20music&pg=PP1#v=onepage&q=electronic%20music&f=false.

Format for an e-book found on an e-reader:

Author's Last name, First name. Title of E-book. . E-Book ed., Publisher, Year Published.

Rodgers, Tara. Pink Noises: Women on Electronic Music and Sound . E-book ed., Duke UP, 2010. EPUB.

Author's Last name, First name. Title of E-book. E-Book ed., Publisher, Year Published. File Format.

Rodgers, Tara. Pink Noises: Women on Electronic Music and Sound . E-Book ed., Duke UP, 2010. EPUB.

Citations for Chapters in Books:

Individual chapters are cited when a writer uses a book filled with many chapters, each written by different authors. When citing a specific chapter in a book or an anthology, structure the citation like this:

Last name, First name of Chapter's Author. "Title of Chapter." Title of Book , Other Contributors and their roles, Version (if there's a specific edition), Publisher, Year Published, Page or Page Range.

Levi-Strauss, Claude. "The Structural Study of Myth." Literary Adverb Theory: An Anthology , edited by Julie Rivkin and Michael Ryan, 3rd ed., Wiley Blackwell, 2017, pp. 178-195.

Citations for Edited Books:

If your book is not a first edition, you should note this in the citation. If the book is a revised edition or an edition that includes substantial new content, include the number, name, or year of the edition and the abbreviation "ed." after the book title. "Revised edition" should be abbreviated as "Revised ed." and "Abridged edition" should be "Abridged ed." The edition can usually be found on the title page, as well the copyright page, along with the edition's date.

Author's Last name, First name, editor. Title of Book . Numbered ed., Publisher, Year Published.

Ferraro, Gary, and Susan Andreatta, editors. Cultural Anthropology: An Applied Perspective . 10th ed., Cengage Learning, 2014.

Smith, John. The MLA Sample Paper Book . Revised ed., Books For Us, 2017.

If your edited book has more than one author, refer to the directions above under the heading "Authors."

Also, BibMe.org helps you create your citations with more than one author quickly and easily! Try our MLA formatter!

Citations for Websites:

Wondering how to cite a website in MLA? The most basic entry for an MLA website citation consists of the author name(s), page title, website title, sponsoring institution/publisher, date published, and the DOI or URL.

Author's Last name, First name. "Title of Individual Web Page." Title of Website , Publisher, Date, DOI or URL.

Fosslien, Liz, and Mollie West. "3 Ways to Hack Your Environment to Help You Create." Huffpost Preposition Endeavor , Huffington Post, Dec. 7, 2016, www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/3-ways-to-hack-your-environment-to-help-you-create us 580f758be4b02444efa569bc.

The first author's name should be reversed, with a comma placed after the last name and a period after the first name (or any middle name). The name should not be abbreviated and should be written exactly as it appears on the website.

For a page with two or more authors, list them in the order they appear on the website. Only the first author's name should be reversed, with the others written in normal order. Separate author names by a comma, and place the word "and" before the last author's name. For pages with three or more authors, only include the first author, followed by the abbreviation "et al."

If no author is available, begin the citation with the page title.

The page title should be placed within quotation marks. Place a period after the page title within the quotation marks. The page title is followed by the name of the website, which is italicized, followed by a comma.

After the website title, include the sponsoring institution or publisher followed by a comma. The sponsoring institution/publisher can usually be found at the bottom of the website, in the footer. If the name of the publisher is the same as the name as the website, do not include the publisher information in your citation. In MLA format, it is not recommended to include duplicate information for a website.

Next, state the publication date of the page.In some cases, a specific date might not be available, and the date published may only be specific to a month or even a year. Provide whatever date information is available.

End the citation with the URL. You can usually leave out http:// or https:// from URLs unless you want to hyperlink them. For DOIs, use http:// or https:// before the DOI: https://doi.org/xx.xxxx/xxx.xxxx.xxxx. End the entire citation with a period.

Looking for an MLA formatter to create your website citations quickly and easily? Check out the BibMe MLA citation machine! Our MLA format website creates your citations in just a few clicks.

Citations for Online Journal Articles:

The most basic entry for a journal consists of the author name(s), article title, journal name, volume number, issue number, year published, page numbers, name of website or database where the article was found, and URL or Direct Object Identifier (DOI).

Author's Last name, First name. "Title of Journal Article." Title of Journal , vol. number, issue no., Date, Page Range. Database or Website Name , URL or DOI.

Snyder, Vivian. "The Effect Course-Based Reading Strategy Training on the Reading Comprehension Skills of Developmental College Students." Research and Teaching in Developmental Education , vol. 18, no. 2, spring 2002, pp. 37-41. *JSTOR , www.jstor.org/stable/42802532.

*According to MLA 9th edition, lowercase seasons (spring 2002 not Spring 2002). Do not capitalize seasons.

Most online journal articles have two containers. The first is the journal that the article is in, and the second is the website or database the journal is in.

The first author's name should be reversed, with a comma after the last name and a period after the first name (or any middle name). The name should not be abbreviated and should be written exactly as it appears in the journal.

For an article written by two authors, list them in the order they appear in the journal. Only the first author's name should be reversed, while the second is written in normal order. Separate author names by a comma, and place the word "and" before the second author's name.

Krispeth, Klein, and Stewart Jacobs.

For articles with three or more authors, include the name of the first author in the citation, followed by a comma and the abbreviation "et al."

Jones, Langston, et al.

The article title should be placed within quotation marks. Place a period after the article title within the quotation marks, unless the article title ends with a question mark or exclamation mark. The article title is followed by the name of the journal, which is italicized.

Include the volume number of the journal, but use the abbreviation "vol." You may also need to include the issue number, depending on the journal. Use the abbreviation "no." before the journal's issue number.

Jones, Robert, et al. "Librarianship in the Future." Libraries Today , vol. 5, no. 2, Mar. 2017, pp. 89-103. Database Life , www.dbl.com/6854.

You can usually leave out http:// or https:// from URLs unless you want to hyperlink them. For DOIs, use http:// or https:// before the DOI: https://doi.org/xx.xxxx/xxx.xxxx.xxxx. If the article has a DOI, use the DOI instead of the URL.

Digital Object Identifiers (DOIs)

Simply put, a Digital Object Identifier (usually abbreviated as “DOI”) is an identification number or source link for a document or file. It’s a system that is widely used by journals today. The DOI is comprised of symbols, numbers, and letters.

Example: https://doi:10.1038/s41586-019-1805-z.

This unique number system is very beneficial to readers and authors since it can be used to immediately locate an exact document, even if a host web page or database has altered an article’s URL.

How do I find an article’s DOI?

In print or PDF form, the first place to check is the front page of the article. If it is an online article, look for the DOI near the top of the article, at the very end of the article, or wherever citation information is located. Here are a few examples:

Here is an example from The New England Journal of Medicine:

DOI example 1

Here is an example from the bottom of a Nature article:

DOI example 2

Where in a citation is the DOI included?

If a DOI for an article exists, place it at the end of the citation. Here’s an example for the New England Journal of Medicine article previously shown:

Thomas, Cristina, et al. “Facing Uncertainty.” New England Journal of Medicine , vol. 381, no. 23, 2019, pp. 2253–2259, https://doi:10.1056/nejmcps1906037.

Citations for Blogs:

Blogs can be good sources to use for research papers and projects since many are regularly updated and written by influencers and experts.

Blogs can belong to a single individual, a group of people, or a company. Most entries for a blog include a title for that day’s entry, the date it was posted, and the information.

To cite a blog, you’ll need the following pieces of information: * The author’s name(s) or the name of the company who posted the blog * The title of the individual blog post * The title of the blog * The name of the publisher (if it differs from the name of the author(s) or title of the blog) * The date the blog post was posted * The website address (URL) for the blog post

Author’s Last name, First name. “Title of Blog Post.” Title of Blog , Publisher, Date Published, URL.

BibMe. “How to Spell in English: British vs. American.” BibMe Blog, www.bibme.org/blog/writing-tips/how-to-spell-in-english-british-vs-american/.

Notice in the above example, the date is missing. If there is no date shown on the blog post, omit it from the full citation.

Williams, Lindsay. “How to Get the Most from Your Online Language Lessons with a Tutor.” Lindsay Does Languages , 2019 Feb. 12, www.lindsaydoeslanguages.com/how-to-get-the-most-from-your-online-language-lessons-with-a-tutor/.

Cite a blog post in the text of the paper using this format:

(Author’s Last name) OR Author’s Last name...

Since there isn’t a page number, only use the author’s last name.

Citations for Newspapers:

The most basic entry for a newspaper consists of the author name(s), article title, newspaper name, publication date, page numbers, and sometimes a URL if found online. Omit volume numbers, issue numbers, and the names of publishers from newspaper citations.

Format if found on a website:

Author's Last name, First name. "Title of Article." Title of Newspaper's Website , Publication Date, URL.

Format if found on a database:

Author's Last name, First name. "Title of Article." Title of Newspaper , Publication Date, Page or Page Range (if available). Title of Database , URL.

MLA format example:

This example is for a print newspaper:

Hageman, William. "Program Brings Together Veterans, Neglected Dogs." Chicago Tribune , 4 Jan. 2015, p. 10.

The full article title should be placed within quotations. Next, state the name of the newspaper in italics.

Towards the end of the citation, include the page numbers on which the article appears with a period. Cite all inclusive page numbers --- if the article spans pages that are not consecutive, cite only the first page, followed by a plus sign.

Don't forget, the BibMe citation generator in MLA creates citations for you quickly and easily! Also, check out BibMe Plus paper checker, which scans your paper for correct usage of language elements. Have a determiner out of place in your writing? A pronoun spelled incorrectly? An overused adjective ? No worries, BibMe Plus has you covered!

Citations for Photographs:

The most basic entry for a photograph consists of the photographer's name, the title of the photograph, the title of the book, website, or collection where the photograph can be located, the publisher of the photograph or publication where the image was located, the date the photograph was posted or taken, and the page number, location of the museum (such as a city and state), or URL if found online.

Photographer's Last name, First name. "Title of the Photograph." Title of the Book, Website, Collection, or other type of publication where the photograph was found , Date photograph was taken, Page Number (if applicable), Location (such as a city and state if necessary) where the photograph can be found, or URL.

Begin with the name of the photographer or main contributor (if available). This person's name should be reversed, with a comma placed after the last name and a period after the first name (and any middle name).

For a photograph taken from a publication or website, include the title of the photograph in quotation marks followed by a period. If the photograph does not have a formal title, create a description. If you make your own description, only include a capital at the beginning of the description and at the beginning of any proper nouns. Do not place the description in italics or quotation marks.

Place the title of the publication in italics immediately following the description, followed by a comma.

Digital Image/Photograph found online:

Photograph of the Hudson Area Public Library. JMS Collective , 19 Apr. 2016, www.jmscollective.com/hudson-ny-3/historic-hudson-armory-now-public-\ library/.

*Note that the above photograph does not have a formal title, so the photograph citation contains a description instead.

Photograph or Image viewed in a museum:

Vishniac, Roman. "Red Spotted Purple." Roman Vishniac's Science Work , early 1950s - late 1960s, International Center of Photography at Mana, New Jersey.

Photograph or Image found in a book:

Barnard, Edwin. Photograph of Murray Street, Hobart. Exiled: The Port Arthur Convict Photographs , National Library of Australia, 2010, p. 20.

Citing Social Media in MLA Format:

It's not uncommon to see social media posts included in research projects and papers. Most social media citations use the following structure:

@Username (First name Last name, if known, and differs from handle). "Text of post." Social Media Platform , Date posted, URL.

If the post is a photo or image instead of text, include a description of the image. Only capitalize the first letter in the description and the first letter for any proper nouns. Do not place the description in quotation marks.

If the post is long or includes emojis or links, it is acceptable to include only the beginning of the tweet with an ellipsis at the end of the included portion.

Citing a Twee:

@BibMe. "Need help with MLA essay format? Here are 6 steps to getting it done..." Twitter , 3 Dec. 2018, twitter.com/bibme/status/1069682724716204032.

Citing a Facebook Post:

DeGeneres, Ellen. "Holiday party goals..." Facebook , 21 Dec. 2018, www.facebook.com/ellentv/photos/a.182755292239/10157188088077240/?type=3&theater.

Citing an Instagram Post:

@dualipa. "A lil Hollywood glam brunch! Thank you @variety for by Breakthrough Artist of the Year award and thank you for your continuous support...." Instagram , 2 Dec. 2018, www.instagram.com/p/Bq33SC2BAsr/?utm_source=ig_web_copy_link.

Citations for Music:

Citing a Song from the Internet:

To cite this type of source, structure the reference as follows:

Singer's Last Name, First name OR Band Name. "Title of Song." Title of Website or Service , Other Contributors and their roles (if applicable), Version, Date Published, URL.

Lopez, Jennifer. "Us." Spotify , 2 Feb. 2018, open.spotify.com/track/2MMvonKGALz6YOJwaKDO3q.

Citing a song from an album or downloaded:

Singer's Last name, First name OR Band Name. "Title of Song." Title of Album , Other Contributors and their roles (if applicable), Version, Publisher, Date Published or Released.

Lopez, Jennifer. "On the Floor." LOVE? , performance by Pitbull, Island, 2011.

Citations for Films:

The most basic entry for a film consists of the title, director, publisher, and year of release. You may also choose to include the names of the writer(s), performer(s), and the producer(s), depending on who your research focuses on. You can also include certain individuals to help readers locate the exact source themselves.

Example of a common way to cite a film:

Film Title . Directed by First name Last name, performance by First Name Last Name, Publisher, Year.

BibMe: The Movie . Directed by John Smith, performance by Jane Doe, New York Stories, 2017.

If your research focuses on a specific individual, you can begin the citation with that individual's name (in reverse order) and their role. Format it the same way as you would an author's name.

Doe, Jane, performer. BibMe: The Movie . Directed by John Smith, New York Stories, 2017.

If the film is dubbed in English or does not have an English title, use the foreign language title in the citation, followed by a square bracket that includes the translated title.

Citas gobiernan el mundo [ Citations Rule the World ]. Directed by Sara Paul, Showcase Films, 2017.

If the film was found online, such as YouTube or another site, include the name of the website and the URL.

Last name, First name of Individual who posted the video OR Account name. "Film Title." Website Title , other individuals and their roles (if applicable), Publisher, Year Published, URL.

The New York Public Library. "2018 National Book Awards Finalists at NYPL." YouTube , 15 Nov. 2018, youtu.be/edJqg3NuF2Q.

*Note that the New York Public Library was not listed as the publisher of the video. Adding "The New York Public Library" in the citation twice is not necessary.

Since the citation has two titles included (the title of the film and the title of the website), the title of the film is placed in quotation marks and the title of the website is in italics.

Citations for TV/Radio:

The most basic MLA format citation for a radio/TV program consists of the individuals responsible for the creation of the episode (if they're important to your research), the episode title, program/series name, broadcasting network or publisher, the original broadcast date, and the URL.

"The Highlights of 100." Seinfeld , NBC, 2 Feb. 1995.

If your research focuses on a specific individual from a TV or radio broadcast, include their name at the beginning of the citation in the author position.

If relevant, you may also choose to include the names of personnel involved with the program. Depending if the personnel are relevant to the specific episode or the series as a whole, place the personnel names after the program/series name. You may cite narrator(s) preceded by "narrated by", writer(s) preceded by "written by", directors preceded by "directed by", performer(s) preceded by "performance by", and/or producer(s) preceded by "produced by" and then the individual names. Include as many individuals as you like. Write these personnel names in normal order --- do not reverse the first and last names.

"The Highlights of 100." Seinfeld , directed by Andy Ackerman, written by Peter Mehlman, NBC, 2 Feb. 1995.

Also include the name of the network on which the program was broadcasted, followed by a comma.

State the date on which your program was originally broadcasted, followed by a period. When including the URL, follow the date with a comma and place the URL at the end, followed by a period to end the citation. You can usually leave out http:// or https:// from URLs unless you want to hyperlink them.

Citations for Lectures:

The most basic entry for a lecture consists of the speaker's name, presentation title, date conducted, and the name and location of the venue.

Speaker's Last name, First name. Title of Lecture . Date Conducted, Venue, Location.

Pausch, Randy. Really Achieving Your Childhood Dreams . 18 Sept. 2007, McConomy Auditorium, Pittsburgh.

Begin the citation with the name of the speaker. This person's name should be reversed. If the lecture has a title, place it in the citation in italics, followed by a period. State the date on which the lecture was conducted, followed by a comma. Conclude your citation with the location/venue name and the city in which it occurred, separated by a comma.

Citations for Encyclopedias

The most basic entry for an encyclopedia consists of the author name(s), article title, encyclopedia name, publisher, and year published.

Last Name, First Name. "Article Title." Encyclopedia Name , Publisher, Year Published.

Smith, John. "Internet." Encyclopedia Britannica , 2012.

Notice that the name of the publisher was not included in the example above. Only include the name of the publisher if it differs from the name of the encyclopedia. Encyclopedia Britannica is the name of the encyclopedia AND the name of the publisher. It is not necessary to include Encyclopedia Britannica twice in the citation.

If there are no authors for the article, begin the citation with the article title instead.

"Media." World Book Encyclopedia , 2010.

If the encyclopedia arranges articles alphabetically, do not cite the page number(s) or number of volumes. If articles are not arranged alphabetically, you may want to include page number(s) and/or volume number, which is preceded by the abbreviation "vol." The volume should be cited after the encyclopedia name (or any edition), and before any publication information. After the publication year, include the page numbers on which the article appears, along with a period. Cite all inclusive page numbers --- if the article spans pages that are not consecutive, cite only the first page, followed by a plus sign.

Saunders, Bill. "Treasure." Encyclopedia Britannica , vol. 18, 2012, p. 56.

If the encyclopedia entry is found on a website, use the following structure:

Last name, First name. "Encyclopedia Entry." Title of Encyclopedia Website , Publisher, Year published, URL.

Citations for Magazines:

The most basic entry for a magazine consists of the author name(s), article title, magazine name, the volume and issue numbers (if available), publication date, page numbers, and URL if found online.

Last name, First name. "Article Title." Magazine Name , vol. number, issue no., Publication Date, Page Numbers or URL.

Print example:

Pratt, Sybil. "A Feast of Tradition." BookPage , Oct. 2017, p. 8.

Online example:

Geagan, Kate. "Sweeter Swaps: How to Choose Sustainable Sweeteners." Clean Eating , no. 83, Nov./Dec. 2018, pp. 36-37. Flipster , cleaneating.eoncontent.ebscohost.com/1927216#&pageSet=19.

The first author's name should be reversed, with a comma placed after the last name and a period after the first name (or any middle name). The name should not be abbreviated and should be written exactly as it appears in the magazine.

For an article written by two or more authors, list them in the order as they appear on the title page. Only the first author's name should be reversed, while the others are written in normal order. Separate author names by a comma, and place the word "and" before the last author's name. For articles with three or more authors, only include the first author, followed by the abbreviation "et al."

The full article title should be placed within quotations. Unless there is punctuation that ends the article title, place a period after the title within the quotations. Next, state the name of the magazine in italics.

If volume and issue numbers are available, include them in the citation. Use the abbreviations “vol.” and “no.” before the volume number and issue number.

Example: vol. 6, no. 1

The date the magazine was published comes directly after the volume and issue number. Use whichever date the magazine includes, whether it's a complete date, a period spanning two months, a season (lowercased), or just a month and year. Follow this information with a comma.

Include the page number(s) on which the article appears. Cite all inclusive page numbers --- if the article spans pages that are not consecutive, cite only the first page, followed by a plus sign.

If the magazine article was found online, include the DOI or URL. Use a DOI instead of a URL when it is available. You can usually leave out http:// or https:// from URLs unless you want to hyperlink them. For DOIs, use http:// or https:// before the DOI: https://doi.org/xx.xxxx/xxx.xxxx.xxxx. End the citation with a period.

Citations for Interviews:

Begin your citation with the name of the person interviewed. This person's name should be reversed, with a comma placed after the last name and a period after the first name (or any middle name).

For an interview that has been broadcast or published, if there is a title, include it after the name of the person interviewed.

Jolie, Angelina. "Being a Mother." Interview conducted by Steve Kroft, 60 Minutes , CBS, 3 Feb. 2009.

If there is no title, use the word "Interview" in place of a title and do not use quotation marks or italics. If the interviewer's name is known, add it, preceded by "Conducted by", after the word "Interview". Do not reverse the interviewer's name.

Jenkins, Lila. Interview. Conducted by Jessica Grossman. 5 Mar. 2017.

For published interviews found online, include the title of the website after the title of the interview. In addition, add the URL at the end of the citation.

Michaels, Jamye. "Fighting to Survive." Women's Magazine of Life , 2 Nov. 2016, www.womensmagazine.com/fightingtosurvive.com.

Citations for Dissertations and Theses:

In order to obtain a degree, most colleges and universities require students to submit a dissertation or thesis towards the end of their academic track. Dissertations and theses are lengthy essays or in-depth research projects that relate to the scope of the student’s learning.

For example, if a student is close to obtaining their Master’s in Library Science, the student could study and write about the Internet searching habits of elderly individuals, or perhaps focus on the research skills of economically disadvantaged adults.

Upon completion, this individual assignment is often presented to the main directors, committee members, or professors at the school for approval.

A dissertation is generally assigned to students who are completing their doctorate degree, and many graduate schools require students to hand in a thesis to obtain a master’s degree.

Since so much research and work went into these scholarly projects, and new ideas and conclusions are often produced, many colleges and universities publish the completed papers. You can find these projects on many school websites and databases.

Here’s one way you can reference a dissertation or thesis:

Author’s Last Name, First name. Title of Dissertation or Thesis . Year Completed. University or College, Degree Abbr. Database , DOI or URL.

Kim, Kee Han. Development of an Improved Methodology for Analyzing Existing Single-Family Residential Energy Use . 2014. Texas A & M U, PhD. ProQuest , https://ezproxy.nypl.org/socabs/docview/1665251619/abstract/E9D36166E31040AEPQ/1?accountid=35635.

Fletcher, Marissa. Influences of Nutrition and Pathogenicity from a Microbial Diet on Immunity and Longevity in Caenorhabditis Elegans . 2012. Massachusetts Institute of Technology, PhD. DSpace@MIT , https://dspace.mit.edu/handle/1721.1/120633.

Using Visuals

Including a visual in your project is a great way to make information come to life, as visuals can complement written work and enhance understanding.

Photographs, maps, charts, graphs, line drawings, musical scores, and tables are images that can be included in a project.

Follow these directions to add an image to your research paper:

  • Images should be placed close to where they’re mentioned in the text.
  • Provide a brief explanation about the image in the written portion of the paper, but do not write out all data shown in the image. Doing so would make the image unnecessary. (See the visual “Table example” at the end of this section.)

Correct example: Table 1 shows commonly used words in Shakespeare’s plays and their English translation.

Incorrect example: Table 1 shows commonly used words in Shakespeare’s plays and their English translation. Brave translates to handsome , character means a letter or word , egal means equal , fancy is a term for desire , and honest translates to pure .

  • Tables are titled Table X, figures are Fig. X, and examples are Ex. X.
  • Any type of image that includes an illustration is considered a “Figure”.
  • Musical scores or sheet music are considered “Examples”.
  • If the information below the image contains all of the source information, a full reference on the “Works Cited” page is not necessary.
  • Double space everything.
  • The image should have the same 1-inch margins as the rest of the paper.

Check out the examples below to see how tables, figures, and musical scores are arranged.

Table Example:

MLA table citation

Figure Example:

MLA figure citation

Musical score example:

MLA musical score citation

Your “Works Cited” Page

An MLA "Works Cited" or MLA "Work Cited" page contains all of the citations for a project.

  • This page sits on its own and is found at the end of a project.
  • If there is only one citation on the page, title the page: Work Cited. While it might seem silly to have a full page dedicated to one citation, a “Work Cited” page in MLA is still necessary. If there are multiple citations on the page, title the page: Works Cited.
  • Double space the entire list of works cited.
  • Include the writer's last name and the page number, at the top right corner of the page.
  • Every in-text or parenthetical citation in the body of the project should correspond with its full citation listed on the MLA “Works Cited” or “Work Cited” page.
  • All full citations in MLA formatting have a hanging indent. This means that the first line of the citation sits flush against the left margin. The second line, and any subsequent lines, are indented in another half inch. If you need a visual, all full citations on this page have a hanging indent.
  • Citations are listed in alphabetical order by the first letter found in the citation.
  • If there are multiple sources by the same author, only include the author's name in the first citation. For each citation afterwards, MLA formatting requires you to include three dashes and a period. Organize the citations by the title.

Example of a Works-Cited List with Multiple Works by Same Author:

Riggs, Ransom. Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children . Quirk, 2011.

---. Tales of the Peculiar . Dutton, 2016.

  • When alphabetizing by titles, ignore “A,” “An,” and “The,” and use the next part of the title.
  • If the title starts with a number, place the title where it would belong if the number was spelled out.

MLA formatting example:

1492: The Year Our World Began would be alphabetized under F (for fourteen)

Sample Works Cited:

Works Cited in MLA

Formatting Your Header:

The first page of your MLA format paper should include a header. An MLA cover page, or MLA title page, that sits on its own isn't necessary or recommended.

MLA heading format includes the following pieces of information, styled like this, in this order:

Your professor or teacher's name

The class and/or course number

Date of submission

  • Double space everything on the page.
  • In the top right corner, include your last name and the page number.
  • The title should be centered in the middle of the page.
  • Use any type of font that is easy to read for the entire paper.
  • MLA paper format requires 12-point font, or another size close to it.

Sample MLA Header:

MLA Header

Using BibMe.org to Create Citations for your MLA Works Cited Page or MLA Bibliography

Wondering how to use MLA format? The BibMe automatic MLA format generator formats your citations for you. Enter a title, web address, ISBN number, or other identifying information into the MLA format template to automatically cite your sources. If you need help with BibMe.org or our citation machine in MLA, click here on more styles .

Try This Out:

The BibMe service is an extremely helpful resource that helps you create your citations for your project, but there's more. The BibMe service also has a feature that will help to proofread your entire MLA format essay. The BibMe Plus paper checker scans for proper spelling, punctuation, language elements, and syntax. It will tell you if a language element, such as a preposition , conjunction , or interjection , is a bit off. It also has a built-in plagiarism checker , which scans papers for instances of accidental plagiarism. Try it out now!

More Information:

Here's more information on the previous handbooks. There's further good information here , including MLA format examples and examples of MLA in-text citations.

Background Information and History:

The Modern Language Association was developed in 1883 and was created to strengthen the study and teaching of languages and literature. With over 25,000 current members worldwide, the Modern Language Association continuously strives to keep its members up-to-date on the best practices, methods, and trends related to language and literature. The Modern Language Association boasts an annual conference, journal, an online communication platform, numerous area-focused committees, and one of its most popular publications, the MLA Handbook, now in its 9th edition.

Updated June 25, 2021

Edited and written by Elise Barbeau and Michele Kirschenbaum. Elise is a citation expert and has her master’s degree in public history/library science. She has experience in digital marketing, libraries, and publishing. Michele is a certified library media specialist who loves citations and teaching. She’s been writing about citing sources since 2014.

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In-text citation

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  • Audiovisual
  • Encyclopaedias and dictionaries
  • Government and organisation publications
  • Interviews / speeches
  • Journals / periodicals
  • Live performances
  • Music scores / recordings
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  • Other styles AGLC4 APA 7th Chicago 17th (A) Notes Chicago 17th (B) Author-Date Harvard MLA 9th Vancouver
  • Referencing home

The MLA 9th style uses author-date in-text citations, used when quoting or paraphrasing people’s work. 

Two types of in-text citations

1. author prominent format .

Use this format if you want to emphasise the author. Their name becomes part of your sentence.

"It was the best of times, it was the worst of times," wrote Charles Dickens of the eighteenth century (5).

2. Information prominent format

Use this format if you want to emphasise the information. It cites the author’s name, typically at the end of a sentence.

as demonstrated in the opening line, "it was the best of times, it was the worst of times" (Dickens 5).

Examples of in-text citations

Less than three lines of text.

If a prose quotation is no more than four lines and does not require special emphasis, put it in quotation marks and incorporate it into the text. Include the page number(s) in brackets.

"It was the best of times it was the worst of times" wrote Charles Dickens of the eighteenth century (5).

  • See Plays and Poetry sections below for how to cite these in-text.

More than three lines of text

If a quotation is longer than three lines, set it off from your text by beginning a new line, indenting half an inch from the left margin. Quotation marks around the text are not required. Introduce the quotation with a colon. Place the parenthetical reference after the last line. For example, the above discusses John Corner in his book, The Art of Record: A Critical Introduction to Documentary , which refers to Brian Winston's revaluation of the documentary tradition in the writings of John Grierson.

Winston's reassessment of Grierson finds the play-off between creativity and realness unconvincing: Grierson's taxonomic triumph was to make his particular species of non-fiction film, the non-fiction genre while at the same time allowing the films to use the significant fictionalising technique of dramatisation. (Winston 103)

This is a usefully provocative point, though agreement with it will largely rest on certain, contestable ideas about 'fictionalisation' and 'dramatisation'. The issue is dealt with directly in Chapter Two, as part of considering the debate around drama-documentary forms, and it occurs in relation to specific works throughout this book.

Two authors

In prose, the first time the two authors are mentioned, use both first and second names. In a parenthetical citation use 'and', not '&' to connect the two surnames.

Others, like Cheryl Brown and Laura Czerniewicz argue that the idea of a generation of ‘digital natives’ is flawed (359). The Brown and Czerniewicz article focuses on…

(Brown and Czerniewicz 359)

Three or more authors

When citing a source with three or more authors in prose you only refer to the first coauthor and can follow the additional authors by “and others“ or “and colleagues.” A parenthetical citation requires the first author's surname, followed by et al.

Laura Czerniewicz and colleagues argue…

(Czerniewicz et al. 53)

Different authors, same surname

If you use works from more than one author with the same last name, eliminate any ambiguity by including the author's first initial as well (or if the initial is also the same, the full first name).

(N. Palmer 45)

(N. Palmer 45; M. Palmer 102)

Citing more than one author

If you are citing more than one source at the same point, place them in the same parentheses, separated by a semi-colon.

(Jackson 41; Smith 150)

Same author, two or more works

If you cite multiple works by the same author, include a shortened title in each in-text citation to establish which work you are referring to. To avoid overly lengthy in-text citations, shorten the title to a simple noun phrase, or a few words.

The first example references Said's book, so the title is italicised. The second example references Said's journal article, so it is in quotation marks.

For more tips on how to abbreviate titles of sources, see 6.10 of the MLA Handbook .

..."the Orient was a scholar's word, signifying what modern Europe had recently made of the still peculiar East" (Said, Orientalism 92).

..."there is something basically unworkable or at least drastically changed about the traditional frameworks in which we study literature" (Said, "Globalizing Literary Study" 64).

Anonymous or no author

For works that are anonymously authored, or have no author, include a shortened version of the title in the in-text citation (do not list the author as "anonymous", nor as "anon.").

It has been argued that the hat symbolised freedom (Wandering Merchant 157).

Corporate author

Abbreviate terms that are commonly abbreviated (e.g. Department becomes Dept.), so as to not disrupt the flow of your text with overly long in-text citations.

If the corporate author is identified in the works-cited list by the names of administrative units separated by commas, give all the names in the parenthetical citation.

The Australian Research Council found that there are limited policies and procedures in place to manage foreign interference (4).

(Monash University 176)

Citing an author within another source

An indirect source is a source that is cited in another source. To quote this second-hand source, use “qtd. in” (quoted in), and then include the information of the source you actually consulted. Similarly, for the reference list use the source that you actually consulted (i.e. the indirect source). Keep in mind that it is good academic practice to seek out and use the original source, rather than the second-hand one, however this is not always possible.

For the below example, the student is using Petrarch's quote which is found in Hui. The page number refers to the source actually consulted (Hui), and the reference list would only list Hui, as shown below:

Hui, Andrew. The Poetics of Ruins in Renaissance Literature. Fordham UP, 2016.

For more information, see section 6.77 of the MLA Handbook .

Petrarch laments that Cicero’s manuscripts are “in such fragmentary and mutilated condition that it would perhaps have been better for them to have perished” (qtd. in Hui 4).

Author in a translation

If you think your audience would require a translation for your quoted material, then provide one. Give the source of the translation, as well as the source of the quote.

If you did the translation yourself, then insert my trans. where you would usually put the translation source, as shown in the example above.

If you're quoting in a language that does not use the Latin alphabet (Arabic, Chinese, Japanese, etc.), then consistently use the original writing system for your quotes or romanisation. Note that proper nouns are usually romanised.

For more information, see 6.75 Translations of Quotations in the MLA Style Guide .

Mme d'Aulnoy's heroine is "la chatte blanche" ("the white cat"; my trans.; 56)

Poetry - Short quotations

Quotations from poetry from part of a line up to three lines in length, which do not need particular emphasis, may be added, placed in quotation marks, within your text as part of a sentence. Use a slash with a space on either side ( / ) to indicate a new line of poetry.

If the poem you are referencing has line numbers, then omit page numbers all-together and cite by line number instead. Do not use the abbreviation l. or ll. , but instead in your first citation, use the word line, or lines as shown in the example below. After the first citation, it can be assumed that the numbers refer to lines, so you can include the numbers alone.

More's distress that she had not written about the problems of the slave trade earlier are expressed in the poem: "Whene'er to Afric's shores I turn my eyes, / Horrors of deepest, deadliest guilt arise" (line 5).

Poetry - Block quotations

When quoting a block of poetry, introduce it in the same manner as a prose block quotation, i.e. begin the quote on a new line and indent each line as below. There is no need to add quotation marks. A reference to the page or line number should be included in parenthesis at the end of the last line. If the original text is creatively spaced or indented, then try to replicate the original as best you can.

Judith Wright 's poetry explores the Australian environment:

And have we eaten in the heart of the yellow wheat the sullen unforgetting seed of fire? And now, set free by the climate of man's hate, that seed sets time ablaze (14)

If you quote the lines of more than one actor or if the piece you are quoting is long, the quotation should not be integrated into your text. The rules in MLA for presenting this text are:

  • Leave a line between your text and the quotation
  • Begin each part of the dialogue with the character's name, indented half an inch from the margin, in upper case and with a full-stop, e.g. BODYGUARDS.
  • Start dialogue after full-stop or match spacing shown in original source
  • Indent all dialogue an additional amount, as shown below
  • End each piece of dialogue with a full-stop
  • End the last line of the quotation with a full-stop and then add the section and line numbers in parentheses.

For more information, see section 6.40 of the MLA 9th Handbook .

TARTUFFE. Yes, my brother, I am a sinner, a guilty man. An unhappy sinner full of iniquity. (III. vi.)

In-text citation general checklist

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Generate accurate MLA citations for free

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  • How to create an MLA style annotated bibliography

MLA Style Annotated Bibliography | Format & Examples

Published on July 13, 2021 by Jack Caulfield . Revised on June 14, 2022.

An annotated bibliography is a special assignment that lists sources in a way similar to the MLA Works Cited list, but providing an annotation for each source giving extra information.

You might be assigned an annotated bibliography as part of the research process for a paper , or as an individual assignment.

MLA provides guidelines for writing and formatting your annotated bibliography. An example of a typical annotation is shown below.

Kenny, Anthony. A New History of Western Philosophy: In Four Parts . Oxford UP, 2010.

You can create and manage your annotated bibliography with Scribbr’s free MLA Citation Generator. Choose your source type, retrieve the details, and click “Add annotation.”

Generate accurate MLA citations with Scribbr

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Table of contents

Mla format for annotated bibliographies, length and content of annotations, frequently asked questions about annotated bibliographies.

The list should be titled either “Annotated Bibliography” or “Annotated List of Works Cited.” You may be told which title to use; “bibliography” is normally used for a list that also includes sources you didn’t cite in your paper or that isn’t connected to a paper at all.

Sources are usually organized alphabetically , like in a normal Works Cited list, but can instead be organized chronologically or by subject depending on the purpose of the assignment.

The source information is presented and formatted in the same way as in a normal Works Cited entry:

  • Double-spaced
  • Left-aligned
  • 0.5 inch hanging indent

The annotation follows on the next line, also double-spaced and left-aligned. The whole annotation is indented 1 inch from the left margin to distinguish it from the 0.5 inch hanging indent of the source entry.

  • If the annotation is only one paragraph long, there’s no additional indent for the start of the paragraph.
  • If there are two or more paragraphs, indent the first line of each paragraph , including the first, an additional half-inch (so those lines are indented 1.5 inches in total).

MLA annotated bibliography

Prevent plagiarism. Run a free check.

MLA gives some guidelines for writing the annotations themselves. They cover how concise you need to be and what exactly you should write about your sources.

Phrases or full sentences?

MLA states that it’s acceptable to use concise phrases rather than grammatically complete sentences in your annotations.

While you shouldn’t write this way in your main text, it’s acceptable in annotations because the subject of the phrase is clear from the context. It’s also fine to use full sentences instead, if you prefer.

  • Broad history of Western philosophy from the ancient Greeks to the present day.
  • Kenny presents a broad history of Western philosophy from the ancient Greeks to the present day.

Always use full sentences if your instructor requires you to do so, though.

How many paragraphs?

MLA states that annotations usually aim to be concise and thus are only one paragraph long. However, it’s acceptable to write multiple-paragraph annotations if you need to.

If in doubt, aim to keep your annotations short, but use multiple paragraphs if longer annotations are required for your assignment.

Descriptive, evaluative, or reflective annotations?

MLA states that annotations can describe or evaluate sources, or do both. They shouldn’t go into too much depth quoting or discussing minor details from the source, but aim to write about it in broad terms.

You’ll usually write either descriptive , evaluative , or reflective annotations . If you’re not sure what kind of annotations you need, consult your assignment guidelines or ask your instructor.

An annotated bibliography is an assignment where you collect sources on a specific topic and write an annotation for each source. An annotation is a short text that describes and sometimes evaluates the source.

Any credible sources on your topic can be included in an annotated bibliography . The exact sources you cover will vary depending on the assignment, but you should usually focus on collecting journal articles and scholarly books . When in doubt, utilize the CRAAP test !

Each annotation in an annotated bibliography is usually between 50 and 200 words long. Longer annotations may be divided into paragraphs .

The content of the annotation varies according to your assignment. An annotation can be descriptive, meaning it just describes the source objectively; evaluative, meaning it assesses its usefulness; or reflective, meaning it explains how the source will be used in your own research .

No, in an MLA annotated bibliography , you can write short phrases instead of full sentences to keep your annotations concise. You can still choose to use full sentences instead, though.

Use full sentences in your annotations if your instructor requires you to, and always use full sentences in the main text of your paper .

Cite this Scribbr article

If you want to cite this source, you can copy and paste the citation or click the “Cite this Scribbr article” button to automatically add the citation to our free Citation Generator.

Caulfield, J. (2022, June 14). MLA Style Annotated Bibliography | Format & Examples. Scribbr. Retrieved February 15, 2024, from https://www.scribbr.com/mla/mla-annotated-bibliography/

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Help with Citations

Why must i cite, citation style and formatting, help with apa, mla, and chicago/ turabian styles, what is a citation manager which one should i use, citation management software.

Need help with citations, or with EndNote, Mendeley, or Zotero?

Check our Library Workshops calendar Email [email protected] Visit our guide to Citation for additional help, and to find information about each of our citation managers.

For authors, citing

  • Provides the information to go back and find the sources during the writing process.
  • Keeps a record of all of the information used or considered.
  • Helps provide context to an argument in a larger discussion.

For researchers, citing

  • Provides inform ation to the researcher to better understand the author’s argument and the research.
  • Provides information for the researcher to find other relevant sources by going to the bibliography or references page.

As defined by the Brown University Writing Center :

Since it is one of the most dreaded faux pas—in many circumstances it is even considered a crime—in the world of academia and other intellectual circles, plagiarism is a topic that must be addressed by every aspiring writer. Appropriating another person's ideas or words (spoken or written) without attributing those word or ideas to their true source is highly frowned upon in literary and academic circles. Fortunately, with some forethought and common sense, a writer can easily avoid plagiarism. The following resources can help you discern what does—and what does not—constitute plagiarism. Take a look; it is preferable to be safe than sorry when it comes to issues of intellectual property and original thought.

The consequences of plagiarism can be very serious. For more information about plagiarism, see Brown Academic Code & Non-Academic Conduct

Each academic discipline has a preferred style for citing information. The required information in a citation is usually very similar across styles-- for example, it's nearly always important to include author, date of publication and publisher, and title of the work (which may also include title of the journal). Additional information may be required based on appropriate citation style or the format of the resource you're citing.

Citation styles differ in several ways, including order of information, punctuation, and acceptable abbreviations.

If you're unsure about which style to use, it is best to ask the person you are writing for, such as a professor or journal editor.

Publication Manual of the American Psychological Association (APA style guide)

Chicago Manual of Style Online Book

MLA Handbook for Writers of Research Papers

For examples of APA, MLA and Chicago styles, and for quick reference, visit  Purdue's OWL  (Online Writing Lab) site.

Citation Managers such as RefWorks, EndNote, Zotero, and Mendeley are software tools for managing your citations. Citation managers will help you

  • Create and organize a personal research database
  • Download ciations from online databases
  • Format bibliographies and citations in papers, and
  • Share your references with others

Brown University Libraries support and provide training  for RefWorks, EndNote, Zotero, and Mendeley, but there are many more available.

Which citation manager should I use?

  • EndNote (Mac)
  • EndNote (PC) EndNote is a software tool that helps you organize their references, images and PDFs in any language, and create bibliographies and figure lists instantly. Download and install the software from the Brown application server.
  • Zotero Zotero [zoh-TAIR-oh] is a free tool to help you collect, organize, cite, and share your research sources. Zotero 3.0 is available as a standalone program, which is compatible with Chrome, Safari, or Firefox, or can be downloaded as a plug-in for your Firefox browser.
  • Mendeley Mendeley is a free reference manager and academic social network that can help you organize your research, collaborate with others online, and discover the latest research. Mobile App available.
  • RefWorks RefWorks is a Web-based bibliography and citation manager that allows you to create your own personal database by importing references from text files or online databases.
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Home / Guides / Citation Guides / Book Citations / Learn how to cite “ESV Study Bible”

Learn how to cite “ESV Study Bible”

Learn how to create in-text citations and a full citation/reference/note for The ESV Study Bible using the examples below. The ESV Study Bible  is cited in 14 different citation styles, including MLA, APA, Chicago, Harvard, APA, ACS, and many others.

If you are looking for additional help, try the EasyBib citation generator .

Popular Citation Styles

Here are ESV Study Bible  citations for five popular citation styles: MLA, APA, Chicago (notes-bibliography), Chicago (author-date), and Harvard style.

Additional Styles

Here are ESV Study Bible  citations for 14 popular citation styles including Turabian style, the American Medical Association (AMA) style, the Council of Science Editors (CSE) style, IEEE, and more.

Find citation guides for additional books linked here .

Popular Book Citations

  • Declaration of Independence
  • Heart of Darkness
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  • Romeo and Juliet
  • The Catcher in the Rye
  • Fahrenheit 451
  • To Kill a Mockingbird
  • The Yellow Wallpaper
  • Nineteen Eighty-Four
  • The Epic of Gilgamesh
  • ESV Study Bible
  • The Bhagavad Gita
  • There There
  • Animal Farm
  • A Raisin in the Sun
  • Letter from Birmingham Jail
  • View Other Book Citations

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IMAGES

  1. 3 Ways to Cite the Bible in MLA Style

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  2. Creating an MLA Bibliography

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  3. The Bible

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  4. How to Cite the Bible in MLA: Key Rules and Samples

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  5. How to Cite the Bible in MLA 7

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  6. MLA Annotated Bibliography Format

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  1. How to Cite the Bible in MLA

    How to Cite the Bible in MLA | Format & Examples Published on January 21, 2021 by Jack Caulfield . Revised on June 16, 2022. MLA in-text citations of the Bible differ from other book citations in that they list the book, chapter, and verse rather than the page number.

  2. How to Cite the Bible in MLA

    For your in-text citation, you will need: the title of the Bible the Bible verse (s), including book name, chapter, and verse numbers Works Cited Citation for a Print Version of the Bible Bible Title. Edited by Editor's First and Last Name, Bible Version, Publisher, Year of Publication. Holy Bible.

  3. MLA Style (9th Edition) Citation Guide: Biblical Sources

    MLA Style (9th Edition) Citation Guide: Biblical Sources Table of Contents Formatting Note: For your Works Cited list, all citations should be double spaced and have a hanging indent. Tips Name of Generic Religious Texts in the Body of Your Paper In-Text Citations Bible Dictionary Print: Author's Last Name, First Name Middle Name if Given.

  4. MLA Works Cited Page: Books

    The basic form for a book citation is: Last Name, First Name. Title of Book. City of Publication, Publisher, Publication Date. * Note: the City of Publication should only be used if the book was published before 1900, if the publisher has offices in more than one country, or if the publisher is unknown in North America. Book with One Author

  5. MLA Writing Guide: Citing the Bible

    What follows below are some examples of how to cite the Bible in MLA. For more detailed information and examples, please see Liberty University's Writing Center MLA citation examples or...

  6. Citing Theological Sources: How to do a Bibliography: Bible & Bible

    The Bible - Using MLA Within the text of your paper: How to Cite the Bible: MLA General Guidelines: Books and versions of the Bible are not underlined, italicized, or put in quotation marks. But the titles of individual published editions of the Bible are underlined or italicized.

  7. MLA Bible Citation Examples

    MLA Bible Citation Format Refer to these basic formats to cite biblical references in your MLA citations. Works Cited Format Title of the Bible, Version. Editor, Publisher, Year. In-Text Citation Format

  8. PDF Bible Reference Sources in MLA Style

    NoodleTools is an online bibliography tool that allows you to build your bibliography using current citation standards for APA, Chicago, and MLA formats. Using this tool improves accuracy and eliminates many of the questions that arise when creating bibliographies; we suggest giving it a try!

  9. How to Cite the Bible in MLA Works Cited

    How to Cite the Bible in MLA Works Cited By Adrienne Mathewson Certified Librarian In MLA Format 3 Min read Most citation styles, such as APA and Chicago/Turabian, do not require you to include entries for the Bible in bibliographies or reference lists. MLA 8 style, on the other hand, does require a works cited entry.

  10. How To Cite A Bible In MLA ~ Guide & Examples

    When learning how to cite a Bible in MLA, it is vital to learn the Works Cited entry format, as it differs depending on whether the version is already clear from the title or if it needs to be clarified afterward. MLA format. Bible Title. Edited by editor's first and last name, publisher, year. Works cited entry. The Bible: New King James ...

  11. Citing a Bible in MLA

    MLA Citation Generator >. Cite a Bible. Citation Machine® helps students and professionals properly credit the information that they use. Cite sources in APA, MLA, Chicago, Turabian, and Harvard for free.

  12. Q. How do I cite the Bible in MLA format?

    With MLA style, you need to cite the Bible two ways: in the text of your paper, and on your Works Cited page. In Text The first time you include a quote from the Bible, you need to include the translation, chapter (abbreviated), book, and verse, like this:

  13. MLA Style

    The titles of the books of the Bible are often abbreviated. Access the list of common abbreviations for books of the Bible found in the MLA Handbook. Example : (2 Cor. 5.17) A period separates chapter and verse. State the first element in that works-cited list entry (which is usually the name of the version) followed by a comma the first time ...

  14. MLA bible citation generator & examples

    Citing the Bible in MLA style Create a new citation Source Type Website Search Create manual citation Published January 29, 2021. Updated August 5, 2021. To cite the Bible in MLA, it's helpful to know basic information including the Bible version, publisher name, publisher location (if applicable), and location of the passage being cited.

  15. How to Cite the Bible

    MLA Works Cited Bible Citation MLA is one of the only styles that require you to reference a Bible in your works cited list. In MLA style, you'll use the fundamental elements and container system for citing the Bible. Format: Title of the Bible, the version. Editor. Publication place: Publisher, Year. Example: Zondervan NIV Study Bible.

  16. MLA Bible Citation Generator

    Don't let plagiarism errors spoil your paper. Scan your paper for plagiarism mistakes. Get help for 7,000+ citation styles including APA 6. Check for 400+ advanced grammar errors. Create in-text citations and save them. Free 3-day trial. Cancel anytime.*. Try Easybib® Plus.

  17. MLA Formatting and Style Guide

    Purdue OWL Research and Citation MLA Style MLA Formatting and Style Guide MLA Formatting and Style Guide MLA Formatting and Style Guide The following overview should help you better understand how to cite sources using MLA 9 th edition, including how to format the Works Cited page and in-text citations.

  18. Cite The New Oxford annotated bible with apocrypha

    Citation Generator. Learn how to create in-text citations and a full citation/reference/note for The New Oxford annotated bible with apocrypha by Coogan, using the examples below. The New Oxford annotated bible with apocrypha is cited in 14 different citation styles, including MLA, APA, Chicago, Harvard, APA, ACS, and many others.

  19. MLA Format and MLA Citations

    What is MLA Format? The 9th edition is the most recent and updated version for MLA citations. Released in April 2021, the citation format differs slightly from previous versions. This update follows the 2016 update for the 8th edition that contained many significant changes from previous editions.

  20. MLA Format

    Start by applying these MLA format guidelines to your document: Times New Roman 12. 1″ page margins. Double line spacing. ½" indent for new paragraphs. Title case capitalization for headings. Download Word template Open Google Docs template. (To use the Google Docs template, copy the file to your Drive by clicking on 'file' > 'Make a ...

  21. In-text citation

    In-text citation. The MLA 9th style uses author-date in-text citations, used when quoting or paraphrasing people's work. Two types of in-text citations 1. Author prominent format . Use this format if you want to emphasise the author. Their name becomes part of your sentence. ... The citation in the text consists of the author's last name only ...

  22. Creating an MLA Bibliography

    A bibliography in MLA format may also refer to a Works Consulted page. If you used other sources that you did not directly quote or paraphrase within the paper, you will need to create a Works Consulted/Additional Resources page. A Works Consulted page starts on a separate page and follows the Works Cited page.

  23. MLA Style Annotated Bibliography

    MLA Style Annotated Bibliography | Format & Examples. Published on July 13, 2021 by Jack Caulfield.Revised on June 14, 2022. An annotated bibliography is a special assignment that lists sources in a way similar to the MLA Works Cited list, but providing an annotation for each source giving extra information.. You might be assigned an annotated bibliography as part of the research process for a ...

  24. Writing & Citing

    Citation Managers such as RefWorks, EndNote, Zotero, and Mendeley are software tools for managing your citations. Citation managers will help you. Create and organize a personal research database; Download ciations from online databases; Format bibliographies and citations in papers, and; Share your references with others

  25. Cite ESV Study Bible

    2 ( 3) Citation Generator Source Type Search Learn how to create in-text citations and a full citation/reference/note for The ESV Study Bible using the examples below. The ESV Study Bible is cited in 14 different citation styles, including MLA, APA, Chicago, Harvard, APA, ACS, and many others.