IDH3035 / Dynamic Tensions

The general MLA 9 formatting for books is:

Work Cited List: Last Name, First Name. Title of Book. Publisher, Publication Date. 

In-Text: (Author Last Name page number of quote or idea).

EXAMPLES

Single author:

Format:

Last Name, First Name. Title of Book. Publisher, Publication Date. Sample Reference: Kirsh, Steven J. Children, Adolescents, and Media Violence: A Critical Look at the Research. Sage, 2006.

Jacobs, Alan. The Pleasures of Reading in an Age of Distraction. Oxford University Press, 2011.

Kurlansky, Mark. Salt: A World History. Walker, 2002.

Two authors:

​Dorris, Michael, and Louise Erdich. The Crown of Columbus. HarperCollins Publishers, 1999.

Wykes, Maggie, and Barrie Gunter. The Media and Body Image: If Looks Could Kill. Sage, 2005. 

Three or more authors:

If there are 3+, list only the first author followed by the phrase et al. 

Nickels, William, et al. Understanding Canadian Business. McGraw-Hill Ryerson, 2016.

Ebook from a library database:

Calhoun, Craig. Sociology in America: A History. U of Chicago P, 2008. ProQuest Ebook Central, ebookcentral.proquest.com/lib/up/detail.action?docID=408466&pq-origsite=primo.  

Many databases now have the ability to generate citations for you.  Citations generally follow the same rules of citing print journal article, except with the additional information included: the title of the database, medium of publication (Web), and the date of access.

In MLA 9th ed., for online journal articles, core elements of the citation are: (irrelevant elements should be eliminated):

• Author (or editor, compiler, or translator).
• Title of source.
• Title of container (journal, newspaper, magazine, etc.),
• Other contributors,
• Number (volume, issue),
• Publication date,
• Page numbers.
• Title of larger container (database, website name, etc.),
• Location (website URL).

EXAMPLES

Goldman, Anne. "Questions of Transport: Reading Primo Levi Reading Dante." The Georgia Review, vol. 64, no. 1,

2010, pp.69-88. JSTOR, www.jstor.org/stable/41403188.

In MLA 9th ed., for print journal articles, core elements of the citation are: (irrelevant elements should be eliminated):

• Author.
• Title of source.
• Title of container (journal, newspaper, magazine, etc.),
• Number (volume, number),
• Publication date, 
• Page numbers.

EXAMPLES

Baron, Naomi S. "Redefining Reading: The Impact of Digital Communication Media." PMLA, vol. 128, no.1,

Jan. 2013, pp.193-200.

In MLA 9th ed., for websites/web pages, core elements of the citation are:

• Authors or compilers, if available (Last name, first).
• Name of site (in italics). Version number, if available.
• Publication date/range, if available. 
• DOI, URL, or permalink.
• Date of access (if applicable).

Note: Irrelevant elements should be eliminated

EXAMPLES

Website/project as a whole:

Eaves, Morris, et al., editors. The William Blake Archive. 1996-2014, www.blakearchive.org/blake.

Visualizing Emancipation. Directed by Scott Nesbit and Edward L. Ayers, dsl.richmond.edu/emancipation/.

Page on a site, comments on a web page, blog post, part of a site, tweet, etc.:

Felluga, Dino. Guide to Literary and Critical Theory. Purdue University, 28 Nov. 2003, www.cla.purdue.edu/english/theory/.

Accessed 10 May 2006.

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

Accessed 6 July 2015.

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.

@tombrokaw. "SC demonstrated why all the debates are the engines of this campaign." Twitter, 22 Jan. 2012,

3:06 a.m., twitter.com/tombrokaw/status/160996868971704320.

In MLA 9th ed., for newspapers/newspaper articles, core elements of the citation are:

• Author.
• Title of source.
• Title of container (journal, newspaper, magazine, etc.),
• Number (volume, number),
• Publication date, 
• Page numbers.
• Location (Permalink or URL, if in online/digital format)

Note: Irrelevant elements should be eliminated.

Cite a newspaper article as you would a magazine article but note the different pagination in a newspaper. If there is more than one edition available for that date (as in an early and late edition of a newspaper), identify the edition after the article title.

If the newspaper is a less well-known or local publication, include the city name in brackets after the title of the newspaper.

While finding the right information is important, it is also just as important to use that information ethically. 

Concerns, procedures and sanctions about academic honesty are articulated in the FIU Code of Academic Integrity which was adopted by the Student Government Association on November 28, 2001. The following Pledge from the FIU Student Handbook specifically discourages plagiarism:

As a student of this university:

1. I will be honest in my academic endeavors.
2. I will not represent someone else's work as my own.
3. I will not cheat, or will I aid in another's cheating.

 Use of the World Wide Web as a research resource has exacerbated the problem of plagiarism in colleges and universities worldwide.

Here are links to online citation generators.  For the purposes of creating a quick, one-time citation in the correct style, these websites will generate citations once the information has been provided.

Looking for more in-depth citation help?  Visit our citation guides for help and info on specific styles and document types and citation generator comparisons.