BIBLIOGRAPHY FORMAT

 

            The Modern Language Association (MLA) style is widely used for identifying   

            research sources.  A bibliography (also known as Works Cited) is a list of all

            the sources you used in your paper, arranged alphabetically by author’s last

            name, or when there is no author, by the first word of the title.  Use this

            bibliography format for all your school projects.

 

The examples below are based on the MLA Handbook for Writers of Research Papers, 6th ed. (New York:  MLA, 2003).  For more help, visit http://www.mla.org.

 

BOOKS

Format:  Author.  Title of Book.  Place of Publication:  Publisher, Date.

 

One author

 

            Davis, William.  The Fighting Men of the Civil War.  New York:  W.H.

 

                        Smith Publishers, 1989.

 

Two or more authors

List the names in the order in which they appear on the title page.  Only the first author’s name should be reversed:  Last name, First Name.  Use a comma between the authors’ names.

            Marquart, James W., Stephen Olson, and Jonathan Sorensen.  The Rope,

 

                        the Chair, and the Needle:  Capital Punishment in Texas.

 

                        Austin:  University of Texas Press, 1994. 

 

Anthology (A collection of literary pieces, compiled by an editor)

Give the elements in this order:  Name of author of selection (not the name of the editor).  title of the selection.  title of the anthology.  name of the editor; presided by “Ed.” for “Edited by”.  publication information.  the pages on which the selction appears.

 

Desai, Anita.  “Scholar and Gypsy.”  The Oxford Book of Travel Stories.”  Ed.  Patricia

 

            Craig.  Oxford:  Oxford University Press, 1996.  253-73.

 

            Encyclopedia Article or Dictionary Entry

Format:  Author of Article.  “Article Title.”  Title of Encyclopedia.  Place of Publication:  Publisher, Date.

 

            Faron, Louis C.  “Fossils.”  The Encyclopedia Americana.  New York:  Grolier,  

 

                        1994 ed.

 

 

Magazine ArticleFormat:  Author.  “Title of Article.”  Name of Periodical.  Volume #, Date,:  Page Numbers.

  

            Bender, William H.  “How Much Food Will We Need in the Twenty-First

 

                        Century?”  Science for Children.  Volume 16,  March 1997:  6-11.

 

Corporate Author

Cite a book by corporate author when a group, rather than individual persons, is named as the author.

 

            American Welding Society.  Filler Metal Comparison Charts.  Miami, FL:

 

                        AWS, 1989.

 

Government Agency as Author

Format:  Name of government.  Name of Agency.  Title of Pamphlet or Article.  Place of Publication:  Publisher, Date.

 

             Hawaii.  Department of Business and Economic Development.   The State of

 

                         Hawaii Data Book:  A Statistical Abstract.  Honolulu:  Dept. of

                       

                         Business and Economic Development, 1992.

                       

 

Interview

Format:  Person interviewed, title or position. Company or corporation.  Type of interview (in person or by telephone). Date of interview.

 

 

            Smith, Robert, President.  Central Hudson Gas and Electric Corporation. 

 

                        Telephone interview.  21 Jan.  2002.

 

Videotape or DVD

Format: Title of Videocassette. Director.  Lead actors or narrators. Videocassette or DVD. Distributor and year of film’s release. 

 

            Chocolat.  Dir.  Lasse Hallstrom.  Perf.  Juliette Binoche, Judi Dench,                    

 

                        Alfred Molina, Lena Olin, and Johnny Depp.  Miramax, 2001.

 

 

Newspaper Article

Author.  “Title of Article.”  Name of Newspaper Date:  Section of Paper.

 

            Manning, Anita.  “Curriculum Battles from Left and Right.”  USA Today

 

                        25 March 1994:  5D.

 

Journal Article

Format:  Author.  “Title of Article.”  Name of Journal and Issue #  (Date):  Pages.

 

            Scotto, Peter.  “Censorship, Reading and Interpretation:  A Case Study from

 

                        the Soviet Union.”  PMLA 109 (1994):  61-70.

 

Television Program

Format:  “Title of Program.”  Narrator.  Title of Show.  Network.  Station, Place of Broadcast.  Date of Broadcast.

 

            “Yes...but is it Art?”  Narr. Morley Safer.  Sixty Minutes.  CBS.  WCBS, New

 

                        York.  19 September 1993.

 

 

Sound Recording

 

            Marsalis, Branford.  Romances for Saxophone.  English Chamber Orchestra.

 

                        Conductor Andrew Litton.  Audiocassette.  CBS, 1986.

 

 

 

CITING ELECTRONIC SOURCES

 

WWW Format

Format:  Author LName, FName.  “Full title of work.”  Title of complete works.  <http address.  (Date of visit).

 

            Hamilton, William J.  “Battery Wagner:  The Assault of July 8, 1863.”  Civil War

 

                        at Charleston.  <http://awad.com/gallery/probono/cwchas/wagner.html>.

 

                        (9 Nov. 1997).

 

Electronic Mail (E-Mail)

Format:  Author LName, FName.  “Subject line from the posting.”  Internet address of sender.  (Date email was sent).

 

            Shane, Mary.  “Charleston in the Civil War.”  Yankydoodle@aol.com. 

 

                        (13 Nov. 1997).

 

Online Databases

 

            Fox, Justin.  “What in the World Happened to Economics?”  Fortune 15

           

                        March 1999:  90-102.  ABI/Inform Global.  ProQuest Direct.

 

Electronic Journals

 

            Denning, Peter J.  “Business Designs for the New University.”  Education

 

                        Review 31.6 (1996).  23 June 1998.  <http://educom.edu/web/pubs/review/

 

                        ReviewArticles/31260.html>.

 

CD-ROMS and Other Portable Databases (Computer Encyclopedias, Dictionaries, Etc.)

 

            Brannen, Carl.  “Pimpernel.”  The American Heritage Dictionary of the English

 

                        Language.  4th ed.  CD-ROM  .  Boston:  Houghton-Mifflin, 2000.

 

            The Oxford English Dictionary.  2nd ed.  CD-ROM.  New York:  Oxford

 

                        University Press, 1994.

 

 

RULES TO REMEMBER

 

1.     Double space between each entry (source) and double space between entries.The first line of each entry is at the left margin;  extra lines are indented ½” (or five spaces).  (Refer to sample bibliography).

 

2.     Type titles’ full names and begin each important word with a capital letter.  Do not number the entries.

 

3.  Alphabetical order for entries.  Use the first word of the first line of each  

entry to alphabetize.  This will usually be the author’s name. An organization can be considered an author.   If a work has no author, alphabetize by title.  Ignore a, an, and the when alphabetizing. 

 

4.     Use italics OR underlines for the titles of books and periodicals.  DO NOT USE BOTH.  When writing the bibliography by hand, underline titles using a ruler.

 

5.  If the publication date is not given on the title page of a book, the    

     copyright date should be used.  If two copyright dates are given, use the  

     most recent.

 

6.  Punctuation marks are very important.  Use colons, commas, periods,

     quotation marks as instructed.

 

7. When a web address in a works cited entry must be divided at the end of  

     a line, break it after a slash.  Do not insert a hyphen.

 

8.  For an entire website, give as many of the elements that apply and are    

     available.  If the site has no title, substitute a description, such as “Home  

     page,”  for the title.  Do not underline the words or put them in quotation

     marks.

 

9.   Most important, be consistent throughout.

 

 

9/04 Source:  MLA Handbook for Writers of Research Papers

 

 

 

SAMPLE BIBLIOGRAPHY

 

BIBLIOGRAPHY

 

Brannen, Carl.  “Pimpernel.”  The American Heritage Dictionary of the English

 

            Language.  4th ed.  CD-ROM .  Boston:  Houghton-Mifflin, 2000.

 

Commonwealth of Massachusetts.  Dept. of Jury Commissioner.  A Few Facts

 

                About Jury Duty.   Boston:  Commonwealth of Massachusetts, 1997.

 

Coulter, Christine.  “Taking  Cellular Phones Out of Our Driver’s Hands.” 

           

Washington Post 5 Nov. 2000:  A8.

 

Cox, Clinton.  Undying Glory.  New York:  Scholastic, 1991.

 

Davis, William C.  The Fighting Men of the Civil War.  New York:  W. H. Smith

 

            Publishers, 1989.

 

Foote, Shelby.  The Civil War:  A Narrative.  New York:  Random House, 1974.

 

Greene, Thomas. ed.  Fighting Men of the 54th Infantry:  An Anthology of Letters. 

 

            New York:  Doubleday, 1996.

 

Hamilton, William J.  “Battery Wagner:  The Assault of July 18, 1863.”  Civil War at

 

            Charleston.  <http://www.awad.com/gallery/probono/cwcchas/wagner.html>.

 

            (9 Nov. 1997).

 

Shane,  Mary.  “Charleston in the Civil War.”  Yankydoodle@aol.com.  (13 Nov. 1997).

 

Ward, Geoffrey C. and Ken Burns.  The Civil War.  New York:  Alfred A. Knopf,

 

            1990.

 

Wexler, Carol T.  “Battery Wagner.”  Civil War .  Volume 350, March 1997:  5-17.