Citation Guide  Tags: citing citations mla apa  

Many of these sites offer information about constructing in-text citations, as well as constructing citations for bibliographies and works cited pages: 

• Ohio State - The OWL: MLA 2009 Formatting and Style Guide
• Cornell - Citation Management: MLA Style
• Duke - Citing Sources
• LaGuardia CC - MLA Documentation Style
  

MLA-style and APA-style guidelines have changed recently, especially for citing sources accessed electronically. 

If you use a citation generator from a database or website, doublecheck, using this guide, to be sure the generator has used the current rules.

Books by single authors
Author's name (last name, first name). Title of book. Place of publication: Publisher, year. Medium.

Chitty, Dennis. Do Lemmings Commit Suicide? New York: Oxford UP, 1996. Print.

Books by two or three authors
First author's name (last name, first name), and additional author's name(s) (first name first). Title of book. Place of publication: Publisher, year.  Medium.

Rosellini, Gayle, and Mark Worden. Of Course You're Angry: A Guide to Dealing with the Emotions of Substance Abuse. Center City: Hazelden, 1997. Print.

Books by four or more authors
First author's name (last name, first name, followed by "et al.") Title of book. Place of publication: Publisher, year. Medium.

Elias, Steve, et al. Personal Bankruptcy. Berkeley: Nolo, 1996. Print.

Books with editors
Editor's name (last name, first name), additional editor's name(s) (if any) (first name first), ed(s). Title of book. Place of publication: Publisher, year. Medium.

Moen, Phylis, Glen Elder, and Kurt Luscher, eds. Examining Lives in Context: Perspectives on the Ecology of Human Development. Washington, DC: APA, 1995. Print.

Books by corporate authors
Corporate author. Title of book. Place of publication: Publisher, year.  Medium.

Children's Express. Voices from the Future. New York: Crown, 1993. Print.

Books by unknown authors
Title of book. (Alphabetize by title - ignore initial articles like A, An, and The) (Number of edition if appropriate.) Place of publication: Publisher, year.

New York Public Library Business Desk Reference. Rev. ed. New York: J. Wiley, 1999. Print.

Editions other than the first
Author (last name, first name). Title of book. Number of edition (followed by “ed.”) or Year of edition or Name of edition, such as  Expanded ed., Abr. ed. (for “Abbreviated edition”), Rev. ed (for “Revised Edition”)—whichever is specified. Place of publication: Publisher, year.  Medium.

Hoff, Ron. I Can See You Naked: A New Revised Edition of the National Bestseller on Making Fearless Presentations. Rev. ed. Kansas City: Andrews, 1992. Print.

Pasachoff, Jay. Field Guide to the Stars and Planets. 3rd ed. Boston: Houghton, 1992. Print.

Scholarly editions
Author (last name, first name). Title of book. Year of original work, if known. Ed. Editor of the scholarly edition. Place of publication: Publisher, year.  Medium.

Tan, Amy. The Joy Luck Club. 1989. Ed. Harold Bloom. New York: Bloom's Literary Criticism, 2009. Print.

Books in translation
Author (last name, first name). Title of book. Trans. translator's name (first name first). Place of publication: Publisher, year.  Medium.

Rilke, Rainer Maria. Duino Elegies. Trans. David Young. New York: Norton, 2006. Print.

Books in series
Author (last name, first name). Title of book. Place of publication: Publisher, year. Medium. Name of series Series number (if any).

Roberts, Michelle and Julian Bonnie, eds. Catalogs and More. New York: Double Dog P, 2008. Print. Library Cultures 9.

Multivolume works
Author or editor (last name, first name), (followed by "ed." if appropriate.) Title of work. Number of volumes. Place of publication: Publisher, year. (If only one volume is being cited, write the volume being cited before place of publication and total number of volumes after the year.)  Medium.

Mills, Lane. Architecture of the Old South. Vol. 1. Savannah: Beehive, 1996. 2 vols. Print.

Schlager, Neil, ed. How Products Are Made: An Illustrated Guide to Product Manufacturing. 5 vols. to date. Detroit: Gale, 1994. Print.

Wong, Nancy. Baltimorian by Birth. 8 vols. Baltimore: Charm P, 2002-09.  Print.

Sections of books (introductions, prefaces, forewords, etc.)
Author of section being cited (last name, first name). Name of section or description. Title of Book. Author of book (first name first, prefaced with "By"). Place of publication: Publisher, year. Page number(s) of the section being cited. Medium.

Jeffrey, Ian. Introduction. Secret City: Photographs. By Boris Savelev. New York: Thames, 1988. 8-12. Print.

Davies, Ann. Forward. Reading the Classics. By David Dolen. Boston: St. Martin’s, 1996. ii-ix. Print.

Works in anthologies
Author of selection (last name, first name). "Title of selection." Title of anthology. Ed. Editor of the anthology (first name first). Place of publication: Publisher, year. Page number(s) of selection.  Medium.

Updike, John. “A & P.” The Bedford Introduction to Literature: Reading, Thinking and Writing. Ed. Michael Meyer. Boston: St. Martin’s, 1996. 487-491. Print.

Works reprinted in anthologies
Author of selection (last name, first name).  “Title of selection.” Title of original publication venue.  Publication information of original venue (for necessary periodical information, see other sections of this guide).  Rpt in (for “Reprinted in”) Title of anthology.  Ed. of anthology (first name first).  Place of publication: Publisher, year.  Page number(s) of selection.  Medium.

Harris, Michael.   “Sometimes, Even Good People Must Coexist with Evil.” Los Angeles Times 19 Sept. 1994: E4. Rpt. in Contemporary Literary Criticism. Ed. Thomas Votteler. Vol. 91. Detroit: Gale, 1996. 103. Print.

Renner, Stanley. “Secular Meaning in ‘A Good Man Is Hard to Find.’” College Literature 9.2 (1982): 123-32.  Rpt in Twentieth-Century Literary Criticism. Ed. Janet Witalec. Vol. 132. Detroit: Gale, 2003.  232-237. Print.

Books with illustrations, including graphic novels
Your research emphasis should dictate which entity is cited first, followed by a descriptive label (writer, illus., etc.). Title of book. Other entities important to the work (colorists, letterers, etc.). Place of publication: Publisher, year. Medium. Vol volume number (if applicable) of Title of Series.

Goldlock, Brandid, writer. Adventures at the Stop & Shop. Art by Aaron Yandrick. Gray tones by Lea Waylin. Letters by Vera Atiana. New York: Turned-Brain Comics, 2009. Print. Vol 9 of New Haven Chronicles. 

Vogeleye, Natalie, illus. Horses and Horses. By Nancy Rowlings. San Francisco: Pink Cowgirl P, 2006. Print.

Encyclopedia or dictionary entries
Author of the entry (if any) (last name, first name). "Entry heading or title." Title of the encyclopedia or dictionary. Edition number (if any). Year. (If the book is not well known, provide place of publication, and publisher.)  Medium.

Tavris, Carol. “Queen Bee Syndrome.” Women’s Encyclopedia. Ed. Helen Tierney. 3 vols. New York: Greenwood, 1989. Print.

“Eschatology.” Webster’s New World Dictionary of the American Language.  10th ed. 2009. Print.

Government publications
If no author is listed, treat the government agency as the author. Give name of the government first, followed by the name of the agency. Title of publication. Place of publication: Publisher, year.  Medium.

United States. Department of Justice. Correctional Populations of the United States, 1992. Washington, DC: GPO, 1995. Print.

Pamphlets and brochures
Treat as you would a book.

Truxal Library. How to Cite Sources: MLA Style. Arnold, MD: Anne Arundel CC, 1 July 2009. Print.

eBooks from Library Databases
(Cite as you would a book in print, followed by) Name of database. Web. Date of access (day month year).

Bell, Millicent. Shakespeare’s Tragic Skepticism. New Haven, CT: Yale U P, 2002. Ebrary. Web. 2 May 2006.

Kaplan, Temma. "Human Rights for Women Are Receiving Greater Attention." Human Rights. Ed. Laura K. Egendorf. San Diego: Greenhaven Press, 2004. Opposing Viewpoints Resource Center. Web. 6 Nov. 2006.

“Narcissistic Personality Disorder,” Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders. Washington, DC: APA, 2000. STAT!Ref. Teton Data Systems. Web. 15 Jan. 2008.

"Prairie oysters.” Rawson's Dictionary of Euphemisms and Other Doubletalk. 2002. Credo Reference. Web. 7 Oct. 2006.

Price, Joanna. "Bret Easton Ellis: Overview." Contemporary Novelists, 6th ed., Ed. Susan Windisch Brown. Detroit: St. James Press: 1996. Literature Resource Center. Web. 7 Jan. 2008.

If we can further assist you in your search for information, please drop by the reference desk or contact reference staff by phone at 410-777-2456 or by email at refdesk@aacc.edu.