5.4. CITING PERIODICAL PRINT PUBLICATIONS
5.4.1. Introduction
Print periodicals—newspapers, magazines, journals—appear regularly at fixed intervals. Unlike newspapers
and magazines, which typically appear daily, weekly, or monthly and include varied forms of writing on diverse
topics, journals are usually issued no more than four times a year and address a discrete domain of scholarly,
professional, or aesthetic concern through critical or creative writing. Also unlike newspapers and magazines,
most journals are paginated continuously throughout each annual volume—that is, if the first issue for a year
ends on page 130, the second issue begins on page 131 and so forth. Some scholarly journals do not number
pages continuously throughout an annual volume but begin each issue on page 1. Include the issue number,
whenever available, along with the volume number in a citation for any journal, since the issue number is
essential for identifying issues paginated separately in annual volumes and is useful even for specifying
consecutively paginated issues (e.g., in retrievals by interlibrary loan or from online databases). The volume
and issue numbers of newspapers and magazines are not cited.
Entries for publications in print periodicals consist of several elements in a prescribed sequence. This list
shows most of the possible components of an entry for an article in a print periodical and the order in which
they are normally arranged:
1. Author‘s name (for more than one author, see 5.5.4; for a corporate author, see 5.5.5; for an
anonymous work, see 5.5.9)
2. Title of the article (in quotation marks)
3. Name of the periodical (italicized)
4. Series number or name (if relevant; see 5.4.4)
5. Volume number (for a scholarly journal)
6. Issue number (if available, for a scholarly journal)
7. Date of publication (for a scholarly journal, the year; for other periodicals, the day, month, and year, as
available)
8. Inclusive page numbers
9. Medium of publication consulted (Print)
10. Supplementary information (see esp. 5.4.12)
Section 5.4.2 explains how to formulate the entry for the most common kind of periodical print publication,
an article in a scholarly journal. The rest of 5.4 explains how to cite additional items. For information on citing
periodical publications accessed through the Web, see 5.6.3–4. For a Web site sponsored by a newspaper or
magazine, see 5.6.2b.
5.4.2. An Article in a Scholarly Journal
Author‘s name. ―Title of the article.‖ Publication information.
Here are examples:
Piper, Andrew. ―Rethinking the Print Object: Goethe and the Book of Everything.‖ PMLA 121.1 (2006):
124-38. Print.
Barthelme, Frederick. ―Architecture.‖ Kansas Quarterly 13.3-4 (1981): 77-80. Print.
Brueggeman, Brenda Jo, and Debra A. Moddelmog. ―Coming-Out Pedagogy: Risking Identity in
Language and Literature Classrooms.‖ Pedagogy 2.3 (2002): 311-35. Print.
5.4.5. An Article in a Newspaper
Jeromack, Paul. ―This Once, a David of the Art World Does Goliath a Favor.‖ New York Times 13 July
2002, late ed.: B7+. Print.
Jeromack, Paul. ―This Once, a David of the Art World Does Goliath a Favor.‖ New York Times 13 July
2002, New England ed.: A13+. Print.
Sometimes a section is paginated separately and given a section number or letter, but the section designation
is not part of the page numbers. In this case, put a comma after the date (or after the edition, if any) and add
the abbreviation sec., the appropriate letter or number, a colon, the page number or numbers, and the medium
of publication.
Haughney, Christine. ―Women Unafraid of Condo Commitment.‖ New York Times 10 Dec. 2006, late
ed., sec. 11: 1+. Print.
For sections paginated separately and designated only by title, not by number or letter, give the title before
the abbreviation sec.
Dwyer, Jim. ―Yeats Meets the Digital Age, Full of Passionate Intensity.‖ New York Times 20 July 2008,
early ed., Arts and Leisure sec.: 1+. Print.
Newspaper articles are often not printed on consecutive pages—for example, an article might begin on page
1, then skip to page 16. For such articles, write only the first page number and a plus sign, leaving no
intervening space: ―6+,‖ ―C3+.‖ The parenthetical reference in the text tells readers the exact page from which
material was used.
Alaton, Salem. ―So, Did They Live Happily Ever After?‖ Globe and Mail [Toronto] 27 Dec. 1997: D1+.
Print.
McKay, Peter A. ―Stocks Feel the Dollar‘s Weight.‖ Wall Street Journal 4 Dec. 2006: C1+. Print.
5.4.6. An Article in a Magazine
McEvoy, Dermot. ―Little Books, Big Success.‖ Publishers Weekly 30 Oct. 2006: 26-28. Print.
Weintraub, Arlene, and Laura Cohen. ―A Thousand-Year Plan for Nuclear Waste.‖ Business Week 6 May
2002: 94-96. Print.
Fig. 15. The publication information for a magazine. When you document works in a magazine, do not cite
the volume and issue numbers, even if they are printed in the issue. Give the full date or the month or months
and year. The entry for a magazine article ends with a colon, the page-number range of the article, and the
medium of publication consulted: ―Publishers Weekly 7 July 2008: 30–31. Print.‖
5.4.8. An Abstract in an Abstracts Journal
Pineda, Marcela. ―Desire in Postmodern Discourse: An Analysis of the Poetry of Cristina Peri Rossi.‖
Diss. Indiana U, 2004. DAI 65.12 (2005): item DA3156288. Print.
5.4.9. An Anonymous Article
―It Barks! It Kicks! It Scores!‖ Newsweek 30 July 2001: 12. Print.
―Where Angels No Longer Fear to Tread.‖ Economist 22 Mar. 2008: 89+. Print.
5.5. CITING NONPERIODICAL PRINT PUBLICATIONS
5.5.1. Introduction
Entries for nonperiodical print publications, such as books and pamphlets, consist of several elements in a
prescribed sequence. This list shows most of the possible components of a book entry and the order in which
they are normally arranged:
1. Name of the author, editor, compiler, or translator (for more than one author, see 5.5.4; for a corporate
author, see 5.5.5; for an anonymous work, see 5.5.9)
2. Title of the work (italicized)
3. Edition used (see 5.5.13)
4. Number(s) of the volume(s) used (see 5.5.14)
5. City of publication, name of the publisher, and year of publication
6. Medium of publication consulted (Print)
7. Supplementary bibliographic information and annotation (see esp. 5.5.15)
Section 5.5.2 explains how to formulate the entry for the most common kind of nonperiodical print
publication, a book by a single author. The rest of 5.5 explains how to cite additional items.
5.5.2. A Book by a Single Author
Author‘s name. Title of the book. Publication information.
Here is an example:
Franke, Damon. Modernist Heresies: British Literary History, 1883-1924. Columbus: Ohio State UP, 2008.
Print.
Author’s Name
Reverse the author‘s name for alphabetizing, adding a comma after the last name (e.g., Porter, Katherine
Anne). Put a period after the complete name (see fig. 16).
Franke, Damon.
Apart from reversing the order, give the author‘s name as it appears on the title page. Never abbreviate a
name given in full. If, for example, the title page lists the author as ―Carleton Brown,‖ do not enter the name as
―Brown, C.‖ But use initials if the title page does.
Rowling, J. K.
Washington, Booker T.
Similarly, you may give the real name of an author listed under a pseudonym, enclosing the added name in
square brackets.
Eliot, George [Mary Ann Evans].
Le Carré, John [David Cornwell].
In general, omit titles, affiliations, and degrees that precede or follow names.
ON TITLE PAGE
IN WORKS-CITED
LIST
Anthony T. Boyle, PhD
Boyle, Anthony T.
Sister Jean Daniel
Daniel, Jean.
Gerard Manley Hopkins,
SJ
Hopkins, Gerard
Manley.
Lady Mary Wortley
Montagu
Montagu, Mary
Wortley.
Sir Philip Sidney
Sidney, Philip.
Saint Teresa de Jesús
Teresa de Jesús.
A suffix that is an essential part of the name—like Jr. or a roman numeral—appears after the given name,
preceded by a comma.
Rockefeller, John D., IV.
Rust, Arthur George, Jr.
Fig. 16. The title page of a book, with full title, author‘s name, publisher, and city of publication. Give the
author‘s name as on the title page. Reverse the name for alphabetizing: ―Franke, Damon.‖ Place a colon
between a main title and a subtitle (unless the main title ends in a question mark or an exclamation point).
Follow the capitalization rules in 3.6.1 regardless of how the title is printed on the title page: Modernist
Heresies: British Literary History, 1883–1924. Shorten the publisher‘s name, following the guidelines in 7.5:
―Columbus: Ohio State UP.‖ See fig. 17 for the publication date of this book.
Fig. 17. The year of publication (2008). If no year appears on the title page, look on the copyright page.
Usually the latest copyright date should be cited.
Fig. 18. More than one city of publication. If several cities are listed, give only the first: ―New York: Norton.‖
Here are additional examples of the basic book entry. (For citing books in languages other than English, see
5.5.22.)
Rowling, J[oanne] K[athleen]. Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire. New York: Levine-Scholastic, 2000.
Print.
Tatar, Maria. Off with Their Heads! Fairy Tales and the Culture of Childhood. Princeton: Princeton
UP, 1992. Print.
Yousef, Nancy. Isolated Cases: The Anxieties of Autonomy in Enlightenment Philosophy and Romantic
Literature. Ithaca: Cornell UP, 2004. Print.
5.5.3. An Anthology or a Compilation
Davis, Anita Price, comp. North Carolina during the Great Depression: A Documentary Portrait of a
Decade. Jefferson: McFarland, 2003. Print.
Kepner, Susan Fulop, ed. and trans. The Lioness in Bloom: Modern Thai Fiction about Women.
Berkeley: U of California P, 1996. Print.
Shell, Marc, ed. American Babel: Literatures of the United States from Abnaki to Zuni. Cambridge:
Harvard UP, 2002. Print.
5.5.4. A Book by Two or More Authors
Booth, Wayne C., Gregory G. Colomb, and Joseph M. Williams. The Craft of Research. 2nd ed. Chicago:
U of Chicago P, 2003. Print.
Broer, Lawrence R., and Gloria Holland. Hemingway and Women: Female Critics and the Female
Voice. Tuscaloosa: U of Alabama P, 2002. Print.
If there are more than three authors, you may name only the first and add et al. (―and others‖), or you may
give all names in full in the order in which they appear on the title page (see fig. 20).
Plag, Ingo, et al. Introduction to English Linguistics. Berlin: Mouton, 2007. Print.
or
Plag, Ingo, Maria Braun, Sabine Lappe, and Mareile Schramm. Introduction to English Linguistics.
Berlin: Mouton, 2007. Print.
Fig. 20. More than three authors. Give either the first author‘s name only, followed by et al. (―and others‖)—
―Plag, Ingo, et al.‖—or all names in full in the order in which they appear on the title page: ―Plag, Ingo, Maria
Braun, Sabine Lappe, and Mareile Schramm.‖
5.5.5. A Book by a Corporate Author
National Research Council. Beyond Six Billion: Forecasting the World’s Population. Washington: Natl.
Acad., 2000. Print.
Urban Land Institute. Cities Post-9/11. Washington: Urban Land Inst., 2002. Print.
Fig. 21. A corporate author. In citing a book by a corporate author, omit any initial A, An, or The in the name
of the group. The entry for this publication would begin ―American Philosophical Association.‖
5.5.6. A Work in an Anthology
Author, title, and (if relevant) translator of the part of the book being cited. Begin the entry with
the author and title of the piece, normally enclosing the title in quotation marks.
Allende, Isabel. ―Toad‘s Mouth.‖
But if the work was originally published independently (as, e.g., autobiographies, plays, and novels generally
are), italicize its title instead (see the sample entry below for Douglass). Follow the title of the part of the book
with a period. If the anthology contains the work of more than one translator, give the translator‘s name next,
preceded by the abbreviation Trans. (―Translated by‖).
Allende, Isabel. ―Toad‘s Mouth.‖ Trans. Margaret Sayers Peden.
Then state the title of the anthology (italicized).
Allende, Isabel. ―Toad‘s Mouth.‖ Trans. Margaret Sayers Peden. A Hammock beneath the Mangoes:
Stories from Latin America.
Name of the editor, translator, or compiler of the book being cited. If all the works in the
collection have the same translator or if the book has an editor or compiler, write Trans., Ed., or Comp.
(―Translated by,‖ ―Edited by,‖ or ―Compiled by‖), as appropriate, after the book title and give that person‘s
name. If the editor or compiler is also the person named earlier in the entry as the author of the work, use only
the last name after Ed. or Comp.
Allende, Isabel. ―Toad‘s Mouth.‖ Trans. Margaret Sayers Peden. A Hammock beneath the Mangoes:
Stories from Latin America. Ed. Thomas Colchie.
If someone served in more than one role—say, as editor and translator—state the roles in the order in which
they appear on the title page (e.g., ―Ed. and trans.‖; see the entry below for Hanzlík). Similarly, if more than
one person served in different roles, give the names in the order in which they appear on the title page: ―Trans.
Jessie Coulson. Ed. George Gibian.‖
Page numbers of the cited piece. Give the inclusive page numbers of the piece you are citing. Be sure to
provide the page numbers for the entire piece, not just for the material you used. Inclusive page numbers
follow the publication date and a period (on writing inclusive numbers, see 3.5.6). (If the book has no page
numbers, see 5.5.24.) The entry concludes with the medium of publication consulted.
Allende, Isabel. ―Toad‘s Mouth.‖ Trans. Margaret Sayers Peden. A Hammock beneath the Mangoes:
Stories from Latin America. Ed. Thomas Colchie. New York: Plume, 1992. 83-88. Print.
Bordo, Susan. ―The Moral Content of Nabokov‘s Lolita.‖ Aesthetic Subjects. Ed. Pamela R. Matthews
and David McWhirter. Minneapolis: U of Minnesota P, 2003. 125-52. Print.
Eno, Will. Tragedy: A Tragedy. New Downtown Now: An Anthology of New Theater from Downtown
New York. Ed. Mac Wellman and Young Jean Lee. Introd. Jeffrey M. Jones. Minneapolis: U of
Minnesota P, 2006. 49-71. Print.
Often the works in anthologies have been published before. If you wish to inform your reader of the date
when a previously published piece other than a scholarly article first appeared, you may follow the title of the
piece with the year of original publication and a period. You do not need to record the medium of previous
publication.
Douglass, Frederick. Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass, an American Slave, Written by
Himself. 1845. Classic American Autobiographies. Ed. William L. Andrews and Henry Louis
Gates, Jr. New York: Lib. of Amer., 2000. 267-368. Print.
Franklin, Benjamin. ―Emigration to America.‖ 1782. The Faber Book of America. Ed. Christopher Ricks
and William L. Vance. Boston: Faber, 1992. 24-26. Print.
To cite a previously published scholarly article in a collection, give the complete data for the earlier
publication and then add Rpt. in (―Reprinted in‖), the title of the collection, and the new publication facts. (On
citing articles in print periodicals, see 5.4; on citing articles accessed through the Web, see 5.6.3–4.)
Appadurai, Arjun. ―Disjuncture and Difference in the Global Cultural Economy.‖ Public Culture 2.2
(1990): 1-24. Rpt. in Colonial Discourse and Post-colonial Theory: A Reader. Ed. Patrick
Williams and Laura Chrisman. New York: Columbia UP, 1994. 324-39. Print.
Frye, Northrop. ―Literary and Linguistic Scholarship in a Postliterate Age.‖ PMLA 99.5 (1984): 990-95.
Rpt. in Myth and Metaphor: Selected Essays, 1974-88. Ed. Robert D. Denham. Charlottesville:
UP of Virginia, 1990. 18-27. Print.
5.5.7. An Article in a Reference Book
―Azimuthal Equidistant Projection.‖ Merriam-Webster’s Collegiate Dictionary. 11th ed. 2003. Print.
―Ginsburg, Ruth Bader.‖ Who’s Who in America. 62nd ed. 2008. Print.
―Japan.‖ The Encyclopedia Americana. 2004 ed. Print.
Allen, Anita L. ―Privacy in Health Care.‖ Encyclopedia of Bioethics. Ed. Stephen G. Post. 3rd ed. Vol. 4.
New York: Macmillan-Thomson, 2004. Print.
Jödicke, Ansgar. ―Alchemy.‖ Religion Past and Present: Encyclopedia of Theology and Religion. Ed.
Hans Dieter Betz, Don S. Browning, Bernd Janowski, and Eberhard Jüngel. Vol. 1. Leiden: Brill,
2007. Print.
5.5.8. An Introduction, a Preface, a Foreword, or an Afterword
Borges, Jorge Luis. Foreword. Selected Poems, 1923-1967. By Borges. Ed. Norman Thomas Di Giovanni.
New York: Delta-Dell, 1973. xv-xvi. Print.
Coetzee, J. M. Introduction. The Confusions of Young Törless. By Robert Musil. Trans. Shaun
Whiteside. New York: Penguin, 2001. v-xiii. Print.
Felstiner, John. Preface. Selected Poems and Prose of Paul Celan. By Paul Celan. Trans. Felstiner. New
York: Norton, 2001. xix-xxxvi. Print.
5.5.9. An Anonymous Book
American Heritage Guide to Contemporary Usage and Style. Boston: Houghton, 2005. Print.
The Holy Bible. Wheaton: Crossway-Good News, 2003. Print. Eng. Standard Vers.
New York Public Library American History Desk Reference. New York: Macmillan, 1997. Print.
5.5.10. A Scholarly Edition
Austen, Jane. Sense and Sensibility. Ed. Claudia Johnson. New York: Norton, 2001. Print.
Crane, Stephen. The Red Badge of Courage: An Episode of the American Civil War. 1895. Ed. Fredson
Bowers. Charlottesville: UP of Virginia, 1975. Print.
Edgeworth, Maria. Castle Rackrent and Ennui. Ed. Marilyn Butler. London: Penguin, 1992. Print.
Henderson, George Wylie. Harlem Calling: The Collected Stories of George Wylie Henderson: An
Alabama Writer of the Harlem Renaissance. Ed. David G. Nicholls. Ann Arbor: U of Michigan
P, 2006. Print.
Octovian. Ed. Frances McSparran. London: Oxford UP, 1986. Print. Early English Text Soc. 289.
Fig. 22. An edition. Unless you primarily cite the work of the editor, begin with the author‘s name, and give
the editor‘s name, preceded by Ed., after the title. If you wish to give the original publication date, place the
year immediately after the title: ―Crane, Stephen. The Red Badge of Courage: An Episode of the American Civil
War. 1895. Ed. Fredson Bowers.‖
5.5.11. A Translation
Beowulf. Trans. E. Talbot Donaldson. Ed. Nicholas Howe. New York: Norton, 2001. Print.
Hildegard of Bingen. Selected Writings. Trans. Mark Atherton. New York: Penguin, 2001. Print.
Homer. The Odyssey. Trans. Robert Fagles. New York: Viking, 1996. Print.
Mankell, Henning. Firewall. Trans. Ebba Segerberg. New York: Vintage-Random, 2003. Print.
5.5.12. An Illustrated Book or a Graphic Narrative
Baum, L. Frank. The Wonderful Wizard of Oz. Introd. Regina Barreca. Illus. W. W. Denslow. New York:
Signet-Penguin, 2006. Print.
Denslow, W. W., illus. The Wonderful Wizard of Oz. By L. Frank Baum. Introd. Regina Barreca. New
York: Signet-Penguin, 2006. Print.
Spiegelman, Art. Maus: A Survivor’s Tale. 2 vols. New York: Pantheon-Random, 1986-91. Print.
Pekar, Harvey, writer. The Quitter. Art by Dean Haspiel. Gray tones by Lee Loughridge. Letters by Pat
Brosseau. New York: Vertigo-DC Comics, 2005. Print.
Fig. 23. A graphic narrative created collaboratively. Begin the entry with the name of the person whose
contribution is most relevant to your research topic. The names of the other collaborators are listed in the order
given on the title page. Label the contributors‘ roles using terms provided in the source: ―Pekar, Harvey, writer.
The Quitter. Art by Dean Haspiel. Gray tones by Lee Loughridge. Letters by Pat Brosseau.‖
5.5.14. A Multivolume Work
Blanco, Richard L., ed. The American Revolution, 1775-1783: An Encyclopedia. 2 vols. Hamden:
Garland, 1993. Print.
Lauter, Paul, et al., eds. The Heath Anthology of American Literature. 5th ed. 5 vols. Boston:
Houghton, 2006. Print.
Rampersad, Arnold. The Life of Langston Hughes. 2nd ed. 2 vols. New York: Oxford UP, 2002. Print.
Sadie, Stanley, ed. The New Grove Dictionary of Music and Musicians. 2nd ed. 29 vols. New York:
Grove, 2001. Print.
Schlesinger, Arthur M., Jr., gen. ed. History of U.S. Political Parties. 4 vols. New York: Chelsea, 1973.
Print.
Lawrence, D. H. The Letters of D. H. Lawrence. Ed. James T. Boulton. Vol. 8. New York: Cambridge
UP, 2000. Print.
Stowe, Harriet Beecher. ―Sojourner Truth, the Libyan Sibyl.‖ 1863. The Heath Anthology of American
Literature. Ed. Paul Lauter et al. 5th ed. Vol. B. Boston: Houghton, 2006. 2601-09. Print. 5 vols.
Wellek, René. A History of Modern Criticism, 1750-1950. Vol. 5. New Haven: Yale UP, 1986. Print. 8
vols. 1955-92.
5.5.15. A Book in a Series
Anderson, Danny, and Jill S. Kuhnheim, eds. Cultural Studies in the Curriculum: Teaching Latin
America. New York: MLA, 2003. Print. Teaching Langs., Lits., and Cultures.
Murck, Alfreda. Poetry and Painting in Song China: The Subtle Art of Dissent. Cambridge: Harvard
UP, 2000. Print. Harvard-Yenching Inst. Monograph Ser. 50.
Neruda, Pablo. Canto General. Trans. Jack Schmitt. Berkeley: U of California P, 1991. Print. Latin
Amer. Lit. and Culture 7.
Fig. 25. A book in a series. The title page or a preceding page may indicate that the book is part of a series.
This book would be listed as follows (see 7.5 on shortening publishers‘ names): ―Câmara Pereira, Francisco.
Creativity and Artificial Intelligence: A Conceptual Blending Approach. Berlin: Mouton, 2007. Print.
Applications of Cognitive Linguistics 4.‖
5.5.19. A Brochure, Pamphlet, or Press Release
Modern Language Association. Language Study in the Age of Globalization: The College-Level
Experience. New York: MLA, n.d. Print.
Washington, DC. New York: Trip Builder, 2000. Print.
Modern Language Association. Modern Language Association Announces New and Improved MLA
Language Map. New York: MLA, 18 Apr. 2006. Print.
5.5.20. A Government Publication
Great Britain. Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries, and Food. Our Countryside, the Future: A Fair Deal
for Rural England. London: HMSO, 2000. Print.
New York State. Commission on the Adirondacks in the Twenty-First Century. The Adirondack Park in
the Twenty-First Century. Albany: State of New York, 1990. Print.
---. Committee on State Prisons. Investigation of the New York State Prisons. 1883. New York: Arno,
1974. Print.
United Nations. Consequences of Rapid Population Growth in Developing Countries. New York:
Taylor, 1991. Print.
---. Centre on Transnational Corporations. Foreign Direct Investment, the Service Sector, and
International Banking. New York: United Nations, 1987. Print.
5.5.23. A Book Published before 1900
Brome, Richard. The Dramatic Works of Richard Brome. 3 vols. London, 1873. Print.
Dewey, John. The School and Society. Chicago, 1899. Print.
Segni, Bernardo, trans. Rettorica et poetica d’Aristotile. By Aristotle. Firenze, 1549. Print.
5.5.24. A Book without Stated Publication Information or Pagination
When a book does not indicate the publisher, the place or date of publication, or pagination, supply as much
of the missing information as you can, using square brackets to show that it did not come from the source.
New York: U of Gotham P, [2008].
If the date can only be approximated, put it after a c., for circa ‗around‘: ―[c. 2008].‖ If you are uncertain
about the accuracy of the information you supply, add a question mark: ―[2008?].‖ Use the following
abbreviations for information you cannot supply.
n.p.
No place of publication given
n.p.
No publisher given
n.d.
No date of publication given
n. pag.
No pagination given
Inserted before the colon, the abbreviation n.p. indicates no place; after the colon, it indicates no publisher.
N. pag. explains the absence of page references in citations of the work.
No Place
N.p.: U of Gotham P, 2008.
No Publisher
New York: n.p., 2008.
No Date
New York: U of Gotham P, n.d.
No Pagination
New York: U of Gotham P, 2008. N. pag.
The following examples show uses of the notations described above.
Bauer, Johann. Kafka und Prag. [Stuttgart]: Belser, [1971?]. Print.
Malachi, Zvi, ed. Proceedings of the International Conference on Literary and Linguistic Computing.
[Tel Aviv]: [Fac. of Humanities, Tel Aviv U], n.d. Print.
Michelangelo. The Sistine Chapel. New York: Wings, 1992. N. pag. Print.
Photographic View Album of Cambridge. [Eng.]: n.p., n.d. N. pag. Print.
Sendak, Maurice. Where the Wild Things Are. New York: Harper, 1963. N. pag. Print.
5.6. CITING WEB PUBLICATIONS
5.6.1. Introduction
In performing research on the World Wide Web, you may access bibliographic databases, academic journals,
archives of print publications, critical editions, reference works, dissertations, and a wide variety of other
documents and recordings. Citations of Web publications share some traits with those of print publications and
other traits with those of reprinted works, broadcasts, and live performances. For example, most works on the
Web have an author, a title, and publication information and are thus analogous to print publications. But
while readers seeking a cited print publication can be reasonably assured that a copy in a local library will be
identical to that consulted by the author, they can be less certain that a Web publication will be so. Electronic
texts can be updated easily and at irregular intervals. They may also be distributed in multiple databases and
accessed through a variety of interfaces displayed on different kinds of equipment. Multiple versions of any
work may be available. In this sense, then, accessing a source on the Web is akin to commissioning a
performance. Any version of a Web source is potentially different from any past or future version and must be
considered unique. Scholars therefore need to record the date of access as well as the publication data when
citing sources on the Web.
Publications on the Web present special challenges for documentation. Because of the fluidity of the network
and the many hypertextual links between works accessed there, it is often difficult to determine where one
work stops and another begins. How, for example, does one define a Web site? One definition would consider
all pages affiliated with a particular domain name, like www.mla.org, to constitute a site. Another view would
consider all the pages organized by a particular editor or project team as a site, even if the project is housed
under a larger body‘s domain name or distributed over several domains; the Victorian Women Writers Project,
for example, appears under Indiana University‘s domain name (www.indiana.edu). Since both views have
merit, the guidelines presented here do not take one side but instead offer a method to record the relation of
works on the Web to the information hierarchies surrounding them.
In the past, this handbook recommended including URLs of Web sources in works-cited-list entries.
Inclusion of URLs has proved to have limited value, however, for they often change, can be specific to a
subscriber or a session of use, and can be so long and complex that typing them into a browser is cumbersome
and prone to transcription errors. Readers are now more likely to find resources on the Web by searching for
titles and authors‘ names than by typing URLs. You should include a URL as supplementary information only
when the reader probably cannot locate the source without it or when your instructor requires it. If you present
a URL, give it immediately following the date of access, a period, and a space. Enclose the URL in angle
brackets, and conclude with a period. If a URL must be divided between two lines, break it only after the double
slashes or a single slash; do not introduce a hyphen at the break or allow your word-processing program to do
so. If possible, give the complete address, including http, for the specific work you are citing (see fig. 29).
Eaves, Morris, Robert Essick, and Joseph Viscomi, eds. The William Blake Archive. Lib. of Cong., 28 Sept.
2007. Web. 20 Nov. 2007. <http://www.blakearchive.org/blake/>.
Fig. 29. The URL of a Web publication. If you decide to present a URL in your works-cited-list entry, place
the entire URL in angle brackets: ―<http://www.blakearchive.org/blake/>.‖
The recommendations in this section mostly treat peer-reviewed, scholarly sources and primary sources for
which a considerable amount of relevant publication information is available. In truth, though, many sources
do not supply all desired information—for instance, many texts do not include reference markers, such as page
or paragraph numbers, so it is difficult if not impossible to direct a reader to the exact location of the material
you are citing. Thus, while aiming for comprehensiveness, writers must often settle for citing whatever
information is available to them. Since the Web can deliver sound and images as well as written text, you may
want to describe your source in your text or endnotes when there is a risk that readers will not appreciate
important aspects of the work. MLA style is flexible, and sometimes you must improvise to record features not
anticipated by this handbook. In some cases, citation formats devised to handle complex print publications
may serve as a basis for improvisation; see in particular the sections on an article in a reference book (5.5.7),
scholarly editions (5.5.10), translations (5.5.11), and government publications (5.5.20). Remember to be
consistent in your formatting throughout your work. Since sites and other resources on the Web sometimes
disappear altogether, you should consider downloading or printing the material you use during your research,
so that you can verify it if it is inaccessible later.
Section 5.6.2 explains how to cite the vast majority of works found on the Web: nonperiodical publications.
Section 5.6.3 covers works in scholarly journals. Section 5.6.4 explains how to cite works from periodical
publications that are collected in electronic databases. Publishers well known for their periodical publications
in media not online, such as newspapers, magazines, and regular news broadcasts, also publish works at
nonperiodical, or irregular, intervals on the Web. Thus, it is important to look carefully at the work you are
consulting and establish the context for its publication. Note that 5.6 addresses only sources accessed on the
Web. For electronic publications you consult apart from a network, such as digital files stored on your
computer and on CD-ROMs, see 5.7.17–18.
5.6.2. A Nonperiodical Publication
a. Introduction
Most works on the Web are nonperiodical—not released on a regular schedule. This section begins by
describing the basic entry for nonperiodical works on the Web. Web sites sponsored by newspapers and
magazines are generally nonperiodical and documented as shown in 5.6.2b. Sometimes it is important to
indicate that a work consulted on the Web also appeared in another medium. For example, you may want to
give bibliographic data for a book that was scanned for viewing on the Web or the full description of a film that
was digitized for viewing in your browser. This section concludes with guidelines for citing such works.
b. A Work Cited Only on the Web
An entry for a nonperiodical publication on the Web usually contains most of the following components, in
sequence:
1. Name of the author, compiler, director, editor, narrator, performer, or translator of the work (for more
than one author, see 5.5.4; for a corporate author, see 5.5.5; for an anonymous work, see 5.5.9)
2. Title of the work (italicized if the work is independent; in roman type and quotation marks if the work is
part of a larger work [see 3.6.2–3])
3. Title of the overall Web site (italicized), if distinct from item 2
4. Version or edition used (see 5.5.13)
5. Publisher or sponsor of the site; if not available, use N.p.
6. Date of publication (day, month, and year, as available); if nothing is available, use n.d.
7. Medium of publication (Web)
8. Date of access (day, month, and year)
Each item is followed by a period except the publisher or sponsor, which is followed by a comma (see
fig. 30). Untitled works may be identified by a genre label (e.g., Home page, Introduction, Online posting),
neither italicized nor enclosed in quotation marks, in the place where the title goes (see 5.5.8 and 5.7.7–10 for
additional guidance on the use of genre labels). If not otherwise recorded in the entry, the name of a creator of
the overall Web site, such as its editor, may be listed following the title of the site (see the Yager example). If
you cannot find some of this information, cite what is available.
Antin, David. Interview by Charles Bernstein. Dalkey Archive Press. Dalkey Archive P, n.d. Web. 21
Aug. 2007.
Committee on Scholarly Editions. ―Guidelines for Editors of Scholarly Editions.‖ Modern Language
Association. MLA, 25 Sept. 2007. Web. 15 May 2008.
Concerto Palatino, perf. ―Canzon à 6 per l‘Epistola.‖ By Giovanni Priuli. Boston Early Music Festival
and Exhibition. Boston Early Music Festival, 2003. Web. 20 July 2007.
―de Kooning, Willem.‖ Encyclopaedia Britannica Online. Encyclopaedia Britannica, 2008. Web. 15
May 2008.
Eaves, Morris, Robert Essick, and Joseph Viscomi, eds. The William Blake Archive. Lib. of Cong., 8
May 2008. Web. 15 May 2008.
García Landa, José Ángel, comp. A Bibliography of Literary Theory, Criticism and Philology. 13th ed.
U de Zaragoza, 2008. Web. 15 May 2008.
Green, Joshua. ―The Rove Presidency.‖ The Atlantic.com. Atlantic Monthly Group, Sept. 2007. Web. 15
May 2008.
―Hourly News Summary.‖ National Public Radio. Natl. Public Radio, 20 July 2007. Web. 20 July 2007.
Lessig, Lawrence. ―Free Debates: More Republicans Call on RNC.‖ Lessig 2.0. N.p., 4 May 2007. Web.
15 May 2008.
Liu, Alan, ed. Home page. Voice of the Shuttle. Dept. of English, U of California, Santa Barbara, n.d.
Web. 15 May 2008.
―Maplewood, New Jersey.‖ Map. Google Maps. Google, 15 May 2008. Web. 15 May 2008.
Quade, Alex. ―Elite Team Rescues Troops behind Enemy Lines.‖ CNN.com. Cable News Network, 19
Mar. 2007. Web. 15 May 2008.
Salda, Michael N., ed. The Cinderella Project. Vers. 1.2. U of Southern Mississippi, Oct. 2005. Web. 15
May 2008.
―The Scientists Speak.‖ Editorial. New York Times. New York Times, 20 Nov. 2007. Web. 15 May 2008.
―Six Charged in Alleged N.J. Terror Plot.‖ WNBC.com. WNBC, 8 May 2007. Web. 9 May 2007.
Tyre, Peg. ―Standardized Tests in College?‖ Newsweek. Newsweek, 16 Nov. 2007. Web. 15 May 2008.
―Utah Mine Rescue Funeral.‖ CNN.com. Cable News Network, 21 Aug. 2007. Web. 21 Aug. 2007.
―Verb Tenses.‖ Chart. The OWL at Purdue. Purdue U Online Writing Lab, 2001. Web. 15 May 2008.
c. A Work on the Web Cited with Print Publication Data
If the nonperiodical work you are citing also appeared in print, you may determine that it is important to
include the bibliographic data for the print publication as part of your entry. A book that was scanned for
access in a database, for example, is usually cited in this way (see fig. 31). Begin the entry with the relevant facts
about print publication as described in 5.5. See in particular the guidelines for a work in an anthology (5.5.6),
a translation (5.5.11), a multivolume work (5.5.14), a government publication (5.5.20), and an unpublished
dissertation (5.5.25). Instead of concluding with Print as the medium of publication, record the following
information in sequence:
1. Title of the database or Web site (italicized)
2. Medium of publication consulted (Web)
3. Date of access (day, month, and year)
Fig. 31. A work on the Web cited with print publication data. This nineteenth-century book was scanned for
access through Google Book Search. Since the book was published before 1900, you do not need to include the
name of the publisher (see 5.5.23). Following the print publication data are the title of the overall Web site, the
medium of publication consulted, and the date of access: ―Child, L. Maria, ed. The Freedmen’s Book. Boston,
1866. Google Book Search. Web. 15 May 2008.‖
If the guidelines in 5.5 call for inclusive page numbers and they are not present in the source, use N. pag.
Supplementary bibliographic information that in 5.5 follows the medium of publication should be included
immediately before item 1 above. Here are examples of entries for nonperiodical publications on the Web that
have a previous or concurrent publication in print.
Bierce, Ambrose. ―Academy.‖ The Devil’s Dictionary. The Collected Works of Ambrose Bierce. Vol. 7.
New York: Neale, 1911. N. pag. The Ambrose Bierce Project. Web. 15 May 2008.
Bown, Jennifer M. ―Going Solo: The Experience of Learning Russian in a Non-traditional
Environment.‖ Diss. Ohio State U, 2004. OhioLINK. Web. 15 May 2008.
Cascardi, Anthony J. Ideologies of History in the Spanish Golden Age. University Park: Pennsylvania
State UP, 1997. Penn State Romance Studies. Web. 12 Mar. 2007.
Child, L. Maria, ed. The Freedmen’s Book. Boston, 1866. Google Book Search. Web. 15 May 2008.
Heim, Michael Henry, and Andrzej W. Tymowski. Guidelines for the Translation of Social Science
Texts. New York: ACLS, 2006. American Council of Learned Societies. Web. 15 May 2008.
United States. Dept. of Justice. Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention. Law
Enforcement and Juvenile Crime. By Howard N. Snyder. 2001. National Criminal Justice
Reference Service. Web. 15 May 2008.
Whitman, Walt. Leaves of Grass. Brooklyn, 1855. The Walt Whitman Archive. Web. 12 Mar. 2007.
Whittier, John G. ―A Prayer.‖ The Freedmen’s Book. Ed. L. Maria Child. Boston, 1866. 178. Google Book
Search. Web. 15 May 2008.
You may add supplementary information about the database or Web site (such as the name of its editor,
sponsor, or publisher) following its name.
Ovid. Metamorphoses. Trans. Arthur Golding. London, 1567. The Perseus Digital Library. Ed. Gregory
Crane. Tufts U. Web. 12 Mar. 2007.
d. A Work on the Web Cited with Publication Data for Another Medium besides Print
The Web presents images (still and moving) and sound as well as written text. It is sometimes important to
indicate that a source online is available in another medium besides print. If you viewed a digitized version of a
film on the Web, for example, you may want to include in your entry the details usually cited for a film. To
document sources such as these, begin the entry by following the recommendations in 5.7, but drop the
medium of original publication (e.g., Television, Photograph). Conclude the entry with the following items:
1. Title of the database or Web site (italicized)
2. Medium of publication consulted (Web)
3. Date of access (day, month, and year)
Supplementary bibliographic information that in 5.7 follows the medium of publication should be included
immediately before item 1 above. Be mindful of the distinction between sources accessed entirely on the Web
and digital files used apart from an electronic network; for the latter, follow the directions in 5.7.18. Here are
examples of entries for works available on the Web and in another medium besides print.
Currin, John. Blond Angel. 2001. Indianapolis Museum of Art. IMA: It’s My Art. Web. 9 May 2007.
The Great Train Robbery. Dir. Edward Porter. Thomas Edison, 1903. Internet Archive. Web. 5 June
2008.
Lange, Dorothea. The Migrant Mother. 1936. Prints and Photographs Div., Lib. of Cong. Dorothea
Lange: Photographer of the People. Web. 9 May 2007.
―Protest on Behalf of Southern Women.‖ 1932. Mary Cornelia Barker Papers. Robert W. Woodruff Lib.,
Emory U. Online Manuscript Resources in Southern Women’s History. Web. 5 June 2008.
5.6.3. A Scholarly Journal
Some scholarly journals exist only in electronic form on the Web, while others appear both in print and on
the Web. This section addresses journals published independently on the Web; periodicals collected in online
databases are covered in 5.6.4. Following the legacy of print periodicals, most scholarly journals on the Web
are organized by volume number (usually on an annual basis) and include issue numbers and the dates of
publication. To cite a work in a scholarly journal on the Web, including an article, a review, an editorial, and a
letter to the editor, begin the entry by following the recommendations in 5.4 for citing works in print
periodicals, but do not give Print as the medium of publication. A periodical publication on the Web may not
include page numbers, or it may include page numbers in a new sequence for each item rather than
continuously across the entire issue. In such cases, use n. pag. in place of inclusive page numbers (see fig. 32).
Conclude the entry with the following items:
1. Medium of publication consulted (Web)
2. Date of access (day, month, and year)
Fig. 32. A book review in a scholarly journal on the Web. The journal does not organize its contents with
page numbering, so n. pag. is used in the place where inclusive page numbers are usually listed: ―Postcolonial
Text 3.2 (2007): n. pag.‖
If the guidelines you are following in 5.4 call for supplementary bibliographic information after the medium
of publication, this information should be included immediately before item 1 above. Here are examples of
entries for scholarly journals on the Web.
Armstrong, Grace. Rev. of Fortune’s Faces: The Roman de la Rose and the Poetics of Contingency, by
Daniel Heller-Roazen. Bryn Mawr Review of Comparative Literature 6.1 (2007): n. pag. Web.
5 June 2008.
Dionísio, João, and Antonio Cortijo Ocaña, eds. Mais de pedras que de livros / More Rocks Than
Books. Spec. issue of eHumanista 8 (2007): 1-263. Web. 5 June 2008.
Landauer, Michelle. ―Images of Virtue: Reading, Reformation and the Visualization of Culture in
Rousseau‘s La nouvelle Héloïse.‖ Romanticism on the Net 46 (2007): n. pag. Web. 8 Nov. 2007.
Nater, Miguel. ―El beso de la Esfinge: La poética de lo sublime en La amada inmóvil de Amado Nervo y
en los Nocturnos de José Asunción Silva.‖ Romanitas 1.1 (2006): n. pag. Web. 5 June 2008.
Ouellette, Marc. ―Theories, Memories, Bodies, and Artists.‖ Editorial. Reconstruction 7.4 (2007): n.
pag. Web. 5 June 2008.
Raja, Masood Ashraf. Rev. of Voices of Resistance: Muslim Women on War, Faith, and Sexuality, ed.
Sarah Husain. Postcolonial Text 3.2 (2007): n. pag. Web. 5 June 2008.
Shah, Parilah Mohd, and Fauziah Ahmad. ―A Comparative Account of the Bilingual Education
Programs in Malaysia and the United States.‖ GEMA Online Journal of Language Studies 7.2
(2007): 63-77. Web. 5 June 2008.
Shehan, Constance L., and Amanda B. Moras. “Deconstructing Laundry: Gendered Technologies and
the Reluctant Redesign of Household Labor.” Michigan Family Review 11 (2006): n. pag. Web.
8 Nov. 2007.
5.6.4. A Periodical Publication in an Online Database
Many databases include digital scans of entire periodicals that were previously published in print; often
these scans present facsimiles of the printed works. Other databases aggregate articles from disparate
periodicals, sometimes organizing the articles by subject. In some databases, typographic features and even the
pagination found in print versions may be altered or lost. Sometimes copyrighted third-party materials
(illustrations or text) in a print version may have been eliminated because permission for the electronic
publication could not be cleared. Web presentations of periodicals may include enhancements, such as
hypertextual links, sound recordings, and film clips, that are not present in their print counterparts.
To cite a work from a periodical in an online database, such as an article, a review, an editorial, or a letter to
the editor, begin the entry by following the recommendations in 5.4 for citing works in print periodicals, but
drop the medium of original publication (Print). A periodical article on the Web may not include page
numbers. If possible, give the inclusive page numbers or, when pagination is not continuous, the first page
number and a plus sign; if pagination is not available, use n. pag. Conclude the entry with the following items:
1. Title of the database (italicized)
2. Medium of publication consulted (Web)
3. Date of access (day, month, and year)
If the guidelines you are following in 5.4 call for supplementary bibliographic information after the medium
of publication, this information should be included immediately before item 1 above (see the Richardson
entry). Here are examples of entries for periodical publications collected in online databases.
Chan, Evans. ―Postmodernism and Hong Kong Cinema.‖ Postmodern Culture 10.3 (2000): n. pag.
Project Muse. Web. 5 June 2008.
Evangelista, Stefano. Rev. of Victorian and Edwardian Responses to the Italian Renaissance, ed. John
E. Law and Lene Østermark-Johansen. Victorian Studies 46.4 (2006): 729-31. Academic Search
Premier. Web. 12 Mar. 2007.
France, Anatole. ―Pour la Paix, pour la Liberté.‖ New Age 5 Sept. 1907: 297-98. The Modernist Journals
Project. Web. 5 June 2008.
Lal, Ananda. Letter. TDR 51.3 (2007): 17-18. Project Muse. Web. 30 Nov. 2007.
Miller, Steven, and Sara Guyer, eds. Literature and the Right to Marriage. Spec. issue of Diacritics 35.4
(2005): 1-124. Project Muse. Web. 5 June 2008.
Richardson, Lynda. ―Minority Students Languish in Special Education System.‖ New York Times 6 Apr.
1994, late ed.: A1+. Pt. 1 of a series, A Class Apart: Special Education in New York City.
LexisNexis. Web. 15 Aug. 2007.
Rosenberg, Mark. ―Something Old, Something New. . . .‖ Editorial. Canadian Journal on Aging / La
revue canadienne du vieillissement 26.2 (2007): 81. Project Muse. Web. 30 Nov. 2007.
Tolson, Nancy. ―Making Books Available: The Role of Early Libraries, Librarians, and Booksellers in the
Promotion of African American Children‘s Literature.‖ African American Review 32.1 (1998): 9-
16. JSTOR. Web. 5 June 2008.
5.7. CITING ADDITIONAL COMMON SOURCES
5.7.1. A Television or Radio Broadcast
The information in an entry for a television or radio broadcast usually appears in the following order:
1. Title of the episode or segment, if appropriate (in quotation marks)
2. Title of the program or series (italicized)
3. Name of the network (if any)
4. Call letters and city of the local station (if any)
5. Broadcast date
6. Medium of reception (e.g., Radio, Television)
7. Supplementary information
For instance, among the examples below, ―Frederick Douglass‖ is an episode of the program Civil War
Journal. Use a comma between the call letters and the city and between the city and the broadcast date
(―KETC, Saint Louis, 13 Jan. 2006‖). A period follows each of the other items. For the inclusion of other
information that may be pertinent (e.g., performers, director, narrator, number of episodes), see the sample
entries. In general, information relating to a particular episode follows the title of the episode, while
information pertinent to a series follows the title of the series.
―Death and Society.‖ Narr. Joanne Silberner. Weekend Edition Sunday. Natl. Public Radio. WUWM,
Milwaukee, 25 Jan. 1998. Radio.
Don Giovanni. By Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart. Perf. James Morris, Bryn Terfel, and Carol Vaness. Lyric
Opera of Chicago. Cond. Yakov Kreizberg. Nuveen-Lyric Opera of Chicago Radio Network.
WFMT, Chicago, 8 June 1996. Radio.
―Frederick Douglass.‖ Civil War Journal. Narr. Danny Glover. Dir. Craig Haffner. Arts and
Entertainment Network. 6 Apr. 1993. Television.
“The Phantom of Corleone.” Narr. Steve Kroft. Sixty Minutes. CBS. WCBS, New York, 10 Dec. 2006.
Television.
5.7.2. A Sound Recording
Beethoven, Ludwig van. Symphony No. 9 in D Minor “Choral.” Perf. Elisabeth Schwarzkopf, Elisabeth
Höngen, Hans Hopf, and Otto Edelmann. Chor und Orchester der Bayreuther Festspiele. Cond.
Wilhelm Furtwängler. Rec. 29 July 1951. EMI, 1998. CD. Great Recordings of the Century.
Ellington, Duke, cond. First Carnegie Hall Concert. Duke Ellington Orch. Rec. 23 Jan. 1943. Prestige,
1977. LP.
Holiday, Billie. The Essence of Billie Holiday. Columbia, 1991. CD.
Joplin, Scott. Treemonisha. Perf. Carmen Balthrop, Betty Allen, and Curtis Rayam. Houston Grand
Opera Orch. and Chorus. Cond. Gunther Schuller. Deutsche Grammophon, 1976. Audiocassette.
Kronos Quartet. Nuevo. Nonesuch, 2002. CD.
The Mamas and the Papas. Gold. Comp. Andy McKaie. Geffen, 2005. CD.
Bartoli, Cecilia. ―Quel chiaro rio.‖ By Christoph W. Gluck. Dreams and Fables. London, 2001. CD.
Camper Van Beethoven. ―Ambiguity Song.‖ Telephone Free Landslide Victory. Rough Trade, n.d. LP.
Holiday, Billie. ―God Bless the Child.‖ Rec. 9 May 1941. The Essence of Billie Holiday. Columbia, 1991.
CD.
Kronos Quartet and Tambuco. ―Sensemaya.‖ By Silvestre Revueltas. Nuevo. Nonesuch, 2002. CD.
5.7.3. A Film or a Video Recording
It’s a Wonderful Life. Dir. Frank Capra. Perf. James Stewart, Donna Reed, Lionel Barrymore, and
Thomas Mitchell. RKO, 1946. Film.
Chaplin, Charles, dir. Modern Times. Perf. Chaplin and Paulette Goddard. United Artists, 1936. Film.
Jhabvala, Ruth Prawer, adapt. A Room with a View. By E. M. Forster. Dir. James Ivory. Prod. Ismail
Merchant. Perf. Maggie Smith, Denholm Eliot, Helena Bonham Carter, and Daniel Day-Lewis.
Cinecom Intl., 1985. Film.
Alcohol Use and Its Medical Consequences: A Comprehensive Teaching Program for Biomedical
Education. Prod. Project Cork, Dartmouth Medical School. Milner-Fenwick, 1982. Slide
program.
Don Giovanni. By Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart. Dir. Joseph Losey. Perf. Ruggero Raimondi and Kiri Te
Kanawa. Paris Opera Orch. and Chorus. Cond. Loren Maazel. 1979. Columbia, 2002. DVD.
5.7.4. A Performance
Heartbreak House. By George Bernard Shaw. Dir. Robin Lefevre. Perf. Philip Bosco and Swoosie Kurtz.
Roundabout Theatre Company. Amer. Airlines Theatre, New York. 1 Oct. 2006. Performance.
South African Suite. Chor. Arthur Mitchell, Augustus Van Heerder, and Laveen Naidu. Dance Theatre
of Harlem. Cadillac Palace Theatre, Chicago. 1 June 2002. Performance.
Culkin, Kieran, perf. Suburbia. By Eric Bogosian. Second Stage Theatre, New York. 16 Sept. 2006.
Performance.
Domingo, Plácido, perf. Sly. By Ermanno Wolf-Ferrari. With Cynthia Lawrence and Juan Pons.
Metropolitan Opera. Cond. Marco Armiliato. Metropolitan Opera House, New York. 4 May
2002. Performance.
5.7.6. A Work of Visual Art
Bearden, Romare. The Train. 1974. Photogravure and aquatint. Museum of Mod. Art, New York.
Heckman, Albert. Windblown Trees. N.d. Lithograph on paper. Private collection.
Perutz, Dolly Hellman. Bird Flying Machine. 1973. Bronze. Central Park, New York.
Rembrandt Harmensz van Rijn. Aristotle with a Bust of Homer. 1653. Oil on canvas. Metropolitan
Museum of Art, New York.
Seurat, Georges. Man Leaning on a Fence. 1880-81? Graphite on paper. Collection of André Bromberg,
n.p.
Eakins, Thomas. Spinning. 1881. Private collection. Thomas Eakins. Ed. Darrel Sewell. Philadelphia:
Philadelphia Museum of Art in assn. with Yale UP, 2001. Plate 91. Print.
Moholy-Nagy, Lászlò. Photogram. N.d. Museum of Mod. Art, New York. The Contest of Meaning:
Critical Histories of Photography. Ed. Richard Bolton. Cambridge: MIT P, 1989. 94. Print.
5.7.7. An Interview
Blanchett, Cate. ―In Character with: Cate Blanchett.‖ Notes on a Scandal. Dir. Richard Eyre. Fox
Searchlight, 2006. DVD.
Breslin, Jimmy. Interview by Neal Conan. Talk of the Nation. Natl. Public Radio. WBUR, Boston. 26
Mar. 2002. Radio.
Lansbury, Angela. Interview. Off-Camera: Conversations with the Makers of Prime-Time Television.
By Richard Levinson and William Link. New York: Plume-NAL, 1986. 72-86. Print.
Wiesel, Elie. Interview by Ted Koppel. Nightline. ABC. WABC, New York. 18 Apr. 2002. Television.
5.7.8. A Map or Chart
Japanese Fundamentals. Chart. Hauppauge: Barron, 1992. Print.
Michigan. Map. Chicago: Rand, 2000. Print.
“Western Boundaries of Brazil, 1600, 1780, and the Present.” Map. Brazilian Narrative Traditions in a
Comparative Context. By Earl E. Fitz. New York: MLA, 2005. 43. Print.
5.7.9. A Cartoon or Comic Strip
Karasik, Paul. Cartoon. New Yorker 14 Apr. 2008: 49. Print.
Trudeau, Garry. ―Doonesbury.‖ Comic strip. Star-Ledger [Newark] 4 May 2002: 26. Print.
5.7.10. An Advertisement
Air Canada. Advertisement. CNN. 15 May 1998. Television.
The Fitness Fragrance by Ralph Lauren. Advertisement. GQ Apr. 1997: 111-12. Print.
Head and Shoulders. Advertisement. Newsweek 17 Mar. 2008: 2. Print.
5.7.11. A Lecture, a Speech, an Address, or a Reading
Alter, Robert, and Marilynne Robinson. ―The Psalms: A Reading and Conversation.‖ 92nd Street Y, New
York. 17 Dec. 2007. Reading.
Matuozzi, Robert. ―Archive Trauma.‖ Archive Trouble. MLA Annual Convention. Hyatt Regency,
Chicago. 29 Dec. 2007. Address.
5.7.13. A Letter, a Memo, or an E-Mail Message
As bibliographic entries, letters fall into three general categories:
Published letters
Unpublished letters in archives
Letters received by the researcher
Treat a published letter like a work in a collection (see 5.5.6), adding the date of the letter and the number
(if the editor assigned one).
Woolf, Virginia. ―To T. S. Eliot.‖ 28 July 1920. Letter 1138 of The Letters of Virginia Woolf. Ed. Nigel
Nicolson and Joanne Trautmann. Vol. 2. New York: Harcourt, 1976. 437-38. Print.
Benton, Thomas Hart. Letter to Charles Fremont. 22 June 1847. MS. John Charles Fremont Papers.
Southwest Museum Lib., Los Angeles.
Cite a letter that you received as follows:
Hatch, James C. Letter to the author. 5 Apr. 2008. TS.
Cahill, Daniel J. Memo to English dept. fac., Brooklyn Technical High School, New York. 1 June 2000.
TS.
Boyle, Anthony T. ―Re: Utopia.‖ Message to Daniel J. Cahill. 21 June 1997. E-mail.
Harner, James L. Message to the author. 20 Aug. 2002. E-mail.
5.7.17. A Publication on CD-ROM or DVD-ROM
Citations for publications on CD-ROM or DVD-ROM are similar to those for print sources, with the
following important differences.
Vendor’s name. The persons or groups responsible for supplying the information in publications on CD-
ROM and DVD-ROM are sometimes also the publishers of the works. But many information providers choose
instead to lease the data to vendors (e.g., ProQuest) for distribution. It is important to state the vendor’s name in
your works-cited list, if it is given in your source, because the information provider may have leased versions of
the data to more than one vendor and the versions may not be identical. Usually the vendor’s name is recorded
in the part of the entry reserved for supplementary information.
Publication dates. Some databases published on CD-ROM or DVD-ROM are updated regularly (e.g.,
annually, quarterly). Updates add information and may also correct or otherwise alter information that
previously appeared in the database. Therefore, a works-cited-list entry for material derived from such a
database commonly contains the publication date of the document, as indicated in the source, as well as the
publication date of the database (or date of the most recent update) (see 5.7.17b).
The sections below contain recommendations for citing nonperiodical publications on CD-ROM or DVD-
ROM (5.7.17a), materials from periodically published databases on CD-ROM or DVD-ROM (5.7.17b), and
multidisc publications (5.7.17c).
a. A Nonperiodical Publication on CD-ROM or DVD-ROM
Many publications on CD-ROM or DVD-ROM are issued as books are—that is, without a plan to update or
otherwise revise the work regularly. Cite a nonperiodical publication on CD-ROM or DVD-ROM as you would a
book, but add a description of the medium of publication. When the information provider and the publisher are
the same, no vendor‘s name appears, and only one publication date is given. The typical works-cited-list entry
for the source consists of the following items:
1. Author‘s name (if given). If only an editor, a compiler, or a translator is identified, cite that person‘s
name, followed by the appropriate abbreviation (ed., comp., trans.).
2. Title of the publication (italicized)
3. Name of the editor, compiler, or translator (if relevant)
4. Edition, release, or version (if relevant)
5. Place of publication
6. Name of the publisher
7. Date of publication
8. Medium of publication consulted
9. Supplementary information
If you cannot find some of this information, cite what is available.
Afro-Louisiana History and Genealogy, 1699-1860. Ed. Gwendolyn Midlo Hall. Baton Rouge:
Louisiana State UP, 2000. CD-ROM.
English Poetry Full-Text Database. Rel. 2. Cambridge: Chadwyck-Healey, 1993. CD-ROM.
Le Robert électronique. Paris: Robert, 1992. CD-ROM.
Aristotle. The Complete Works of Aristotle: The Revised Oxford Translation. Ed. Jonathan Barnes. 2
vols. Princeton: Princeton UP, 1984. CD-ROM. Clayton: InteLex, 1994.
―The Chemistry of Air Pollution.‖ Magill’s Survey of Science. 1998 ed. Pasadena: Salem, 1998. CD-
ROM.
Coleridge, Samuel Taylor. ―Dejection: An Ode.‖ The Complete Poetical Works of Samuel Taylor
Coleridge. Ed. Ernest Hartley Coleridge. Vol. 1. Oxford: Clarendon, 1912. 362-68. CD-ROM.
English Poetry Full-Text Database. Rel. 2. Cambridge: Chadwyck-Healey, 1993.
“Parque.” Le Robert électronique. Paris: Robert, 1992. CD-ROM.
b. Material from a Periodically Published Database on CD-ROM or DVD-ROM
Some periodicals (journals, magazines, newspapers) and periodically published reference works, such as
annual bibliographies and collections of abstracts, are published both in print and on CD-ROM or DVD-ROM
as databases or as parts of databases. To cite such a work, begin with the publication data for the printed source
or printed analogue, as identified in the disc publication. If the print version is a book or a pamphlet, follow the
guidelines in 5.5; if the print version is an article in a periodical, follow 5.4. The typical works-cited-list entry
consists of the following items:
1. Author‘s name (if given)
2. Publication information for the printed source or printed analogue (including title and date of print
publication)
3. Medium of publication consulted
4. Title of the database (italicized)
5. Name of the vendor
6. Publication date of the database
If you cannot find some of this information, cite what is available.
Guidelines for Family Television Viewing. Urbana: ERIC Clearinghouse on Elementary and Early
Childhood Educ., 1990. CD-ROM. ERIC. SilverPlatter. June 1993.
Krach, Peg. ―Myth and Facts about Alcohol Abuse in the Elderly.‖ Nursing Feb. 1998: 25+. Abstract.
CD-ROM. Periodical Abstracts Ondisc. UMI-ProQuest. Feb. 1998.
Rodríguez, Miguel Angel. ―Teatro de los Puppets: Diversión y educación.‖ Opinión 6 Sept. 1993: 1D. CD-
ROM. Ethnic Newswatch. Dataware Technologies. 1995.
United States. Cong. House. Committee on the Judiciary. Report on the Fair Use of Copyrighted
Works. 102nd Cong., 1st sess. CD-ROM. Congressional Masterfile 2. Congressional Information
Service. Dec. 1996.
The Complete New Yorker. New York: New Yorker, 2005. DVD-ROM. 8 discs.
United States. Dept. of State. Patterns of Global Terrorism. 1994. CD-ROM. National Trade Data
Bank. US Dept. of Commerce. Dec. 1996. Disc 2.
5.7.18. A Digital File
Digital files can exist independently from the Web or a published disc. Examples are a PDF file stored on
your computer, a document created by a peer using a word processor, a scanned image you received as an e-
mail attachment, and a sound recording formatted for playing on a digital audio player. In general, determine
the kind of work you are citing (e.g., a book, a typescript, a photograph, a sound recording), and follow the
relevant guidelines in this handbook for formatting the entry in the works-cited list. In the place reserved for
the medium of publication, record the digital file format, followed by the word file—PDF file, Microsoft Word
file, JPEG file, MP3 file, XML file, and so on—neither italicized (except for titles of software programs) nor
enclosed in quotation marks. The file type is usually indicated by the extension at the end of the file name, after
a period: OurCulturalCommonwealth.pdf. If you cannot identify the file type, use Digital file.
American Council of Learned Societies. Commission on Cyberinfrastructure for the Humanities and
Social Sciences. Our Cultural Commonwealth. New York: ACLS, 2006. PDF file.
Cortez, Juan. ―Border Crossing in Chicano Narrative.‖ 2007. Microsoft Word file.
Delano, Jack. At the Vermont State Fair. 1941. Lib. of Cong., Washington. JPEG file.
Hudson, Jennifer, perf. “And I Am Telling You I’m Not Going.” Dreamgirls: Music from the Motion
Picture. Sony BMG, 2006. MP3 file.
