The Modern Language Association’s standard for presenting and citing academic work in a consistent way.
It’s used by scholars in the Humanities: language, literature, art, music, philosophy, and religion.
Part 1: Parenthetical or in-text citation
Give a short (parenthetical or in-text) citation when and where you use information, ideas, images, etc. from any source (other than your own original thoughts, data, and work). The in-text citation includes enough information to allow your audience to find the full citation in the Works Cited list. In this context, “Works” means the products of somebody’s efforts.
Part 2: Full citation at the end of the paper
Provide a longer, detailed citation in the list of Works Cited, at the end of the paper or presentation. This has detailed information that will allow your audience to find and use the source themselves.
Examples:
Books
| Type of Work | Formula | Work Cited Example |
| Book by One Author | Mantel, Hilary. Wolf Hall. Picador, 2010. | |
| Book by an Unknown Author | Beowulf. Translated by Alan Sullivan and Timothy Murphy, edited by Sarah Anderson, Pearson, 2004. | |
| An Edited Book | Sánchez Prado, Ignacio M., editor. Mexican Literature in Theory. Bloomsbury, 2018. |
Online Works
| Type of Work | Formula | Example |
| Article on a website | Deresiewicz, William. “The Death of the Artist—and the Birth of the Creative Entrepreneur.” The Atlantic, 28 Dec. 2014, theatlantic.com/magazine/archive/2015/01/ the-death-of-the-artist-and-the-birth-of-thecreative-entrepreneur/383497/. | |
| Book on a website | Poe, Edgar Allan. “The Masque of the Red Death.” The Complete Works of Edgar Allan Poe, edited by James A. Harrison, vol. 4, Thomas Y. Crowell, 1902, pp. 250-58. HathiTrust Digital Library, hdl.handle.net/2027/coo.31924079574368. | |
| Journal Article in a Database | Goldman, Anne. “Questions of Transport: Reading Primo Levi Reading Dante.” The Georgia Review, vol. 64, no. 1, spring 2010, pp. 69-88. JSTOR, www.jstor.org/stable/41403188. |
Songs, Recordings, and Performances
| Type of Work | "Work Cited" Formula | "Work Cited" Example |
| Song from an album | Snail Mail. “Thinning.” Habit, Sister Polygon Records, 2016. Vinyl EP. | |
| Song on a website | Snail Mail. “Thinning.” Bandcamp, snailmailbaltimore.bandcamp.com. | |
| Concert Attended in Person | Beyoncé. The “Formation” World Tour. 14 May 2016, Rose Bowl, Los Angeles. |
Movies, Videos, and Television Shows
| Type of Work | "Work Cited" Formula | "Work Cited" Example |
| A Movie Viewed in Person | Opening Night. Directed by John Cassavetes, Faces Distribution, 1977. | |
| A Movie Viewed Online | Richardson, Tony, director. Sanctuary. Screenplay by James Poe, Twentieth Century Fox, 1961. YouTube, uploaded by LostCinemaChannel, 17 July 2014, www.youtube.com/watch?v=IMnzFM_Sq8s. | |
| A Television Show Viewed on Physical Media | “Hush.” 1999. Buffy the Vampire Slayer: The Complete Fourth Season, created by Joss Whedon, episode 10, Mutant Enemy / Twentieth Century Fox, 2003, disc 3. DVD. |
Images
| Type of Work | Formula | "Work Cited" Example |
| A Photograph Viewed in Person | Cameron, Julia Margaret. Alfred, Lord Tennyson. 1866, Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York City. | |
| A Painting Viewed Online | Bearden, Romare. The Train. 1975. MOMA, www.moma.org/collection/works/65232?locale=en. | |
| An Untitled Image from a Print Magazine | Karasik, Paul. Cartoon. The New Yorker, 14 Apr. 2008, p. 49. |
Windward Community College Library