Abbreviations (Contents)

"Abbreviations are used regularly in the list of works cited and in tables but rarely in the text of a research paper (except within parentheses). In choosing abbreviations, keep your audience in mind. While economy of space is important, clarity is more so. Spell out a term if the abbreviation may puzzle your readers" (Gibaldi 262).

• Never begin a sentence with a lowercase abbreviation. Avoid beginning a sentence with an acronym.
  
  
• Common abbreviations such as etc., e.g., and i.e. may be used only in parentheses. In the text write for example (e.g.); and so forth (etc.); that is (i.e.).
  
  
• Spell out the names of countries, states, counties, provinces, territories, bodies of water, mountains, in the text.
  
  
• Most prefixes to places, such as Fort, North, Port, South, are spelled out in the text; as are suffixes such as Peak or Fork. Write: North Platte, Fort Collins, Port Huron, South Bend, Long's Peak.
  
  
• When writing initials, the traditional format is still preferred—put a period and a single space after each. For example, write: J. S. Bach, E. E. Cummings, C. S. Lewis.

• If an acronym is commonly used as a word, it does not require explanation (IQ, LSD, FBI, ESP).
• A term must be fully written the first time it is used, thereafter just the acronym is used.
• If an acronym is not familiar to your readers use an expanded abbreviation. For MLA write Mod. Lang. Assn.
• Use two-letter postal codes for U.S. states and Canadian provinces in references only (GA, PQ, etc.).
• Write the plural form of an acronym without an apostrophe (e.g. some MBAs command high salaries).

Capitalization & Spacing (Contents)

Capitalization in MLA style is mostly conventional, with the exceptions noted below. There is considerable ambiguity on whether some terms are capitalized or not. Generally, specific designations may be capitalized: the American West. But more general designations--or designations used as adjectives--are lowercased: The western United States, eastern Europe.

• The names of ethnic or racial groups are capitalized if they represent a geographical region or language group. For example, Hispanic, Asian, African American, Appalachian.
  
  
• Designations based only on color, direction, size, habitat, customs, or local usage are often lower cased.

• Articles: a, an, the.
• Prepositions: against, between, in, of , to.
• Conjunctions: and, but, for, nor, or, so, yet.
• Infinitive: to.

• Use heading caps for the titles of books and articles used in the text and in references.
• Use heading caps for major headings in your paper (except run-in headings).
• Use sentence caps for titles of most non-English works.
• Use sentence caps for lower level run-in or paragraph subheadings.

Compound Words (Hyphenation) (Contents)

Compound words are two or more words that work together in a specified order. This order cannot be reversed or rearranged without destroying the compound word's meaning. A dictionary is the best guide to spelling and usage. If it is not in the dictionary it is not likely a hyphenated compound, but check the following rules for possible exceptions. If it is in the dictionary, use the first spelling given. "With frequent use, open or hyphenated compounds tend to become closed (on line to on-line to online). Chicago's general adherence to Webster does not preclude occasional exceptions when the closed spellings have become widely accepted, pronunciation and readability are not at stake, and keystrokes can be saved" (CMS 2003, 300).

Full-time compound words are hyphenated whatever their position in a sentence. "The court-martial hearing was set for 1000 hours. The hearing would determine whether a court-martial was warranted." Court-martial is a full-time compound word (as is "full-time"). This information is given in a dictionary.

Conditional compounds are hyphenated as adjectives, but not when used as nouns.

1. Adjectival compound. "The counselor suggested a role-playing technique to reduce the stress of encounters, but cautioned that role playing alone would not solve the problem." Role playing is a compound adjective, but not a compound noun.
   
   
2. Add a hyphen to any prefix attached to a proper noun, capitalized abbreviation, or number. For example, the post-Freudian era, the pre-1960s civil rights movement, the many non-ASA journals in sociology.
   
   
3. Fractions. "When . . . a fraction is considered a single quantity, it is hyphenated [whether it is used as a noun or as an adjective]" (CMS 2003, 383). One-fourth the audience was comprised of former refugees. A two-thirds majority was required to pass the initiative.
   
   
4. Made-up compound. A compound may be of the made-up-for-the-occasion variety: "The up-to-date figures were unadjusted." But when these terms are used in the predicate they are not hyphenated: The compound word was made up for the occasion. "The unadjusted figures were up to date."
   
   
5. Serial compounds. When two or more compound modifiers have a common base, this base is sometimes omitted in all but the last modifier, but the hyphens are retained. Long- and short-term memory, 2-, 3-, and 10-min trials.

1. Same two letters. If the prefix puts the same two letters together, a hyphen is sometimes inserted. For example, write: anti-industrial, co-op, non-native, post-trial. But also write: cooperative, coordinate, nonnegotiable, overrate, overreach, overrule, reelect, unnamed.
   
   
2. Superlatives-diminutives. Some prefixes, best-, better-, ill-, lesser-, little-, well-, are hyphenated depending on the context. These prefixes are hyphenated when they precede the noun they modify, but are not hyphenated when preceded by a modifier, or when used as a predicate adjective.
   
   
3. Weird terms. If the prefix creates an unfamiliar or weird term, a hyphen may improve clarity. The Turabian Guide offers these examples: pro-ally, anti-college instead of proally, anticollege (1976, 101).
   

Using Italics & Quotation Marks (Contents)

Italics. "Most word-processing programs and computer printers permit the reproduction of italic type. In material that will be graded, edited, or typeset, however, the type style of every word and punctuation mark must be easily recognizable, . . . you can avoid ambiguity by using underlining when you intend italics" (Gibaldi 94).

• Emphasize a keyword or phrase in your text by placing it in italics (or underline). The next time the term or phrase is used it should be in plain text.
  
  
• Underline (or italicize) the titles of books and the names of periodicals in your text and references.
  
  
• Underline (or italicize) "words and letters that are referred to as words or letters" (Gibaldi 95). For example, write "The term American Indian is inclusive of over 500 Federally recognized ethnic communities."
  
  
• Underline (or italicize) non-English words or terms used in your text. For example, "Ya-te-hay is a form of greeting in the Diné (Navajo) language." This practice excludes those words that have become incorporated in the English language, such as laissez-faire, or arroyo.

• "Place quotation marks around a word or phrase given in a special sense or purposefully misused" (Gibaldi 91). For example, The Population Council criticized the "outrageous" position of the Church on birth control.
  
  
• Use quotation marks to enclose a translation of a non-English term in your text. Addis Ababa, the name of the capital of Ethiopia, is literally translated "new flower."

Numbers & Dates (Contents)

Numbers. If your topic makes little use of numbers, "you may spell out numbers written one or two words" (Gibaldi 98). Otherwise, use arabic numerals. Write: one, five, twenty-one, one hundred, eighteen hundred, but write 5½, 101, 3,810. If your writing contains the recurrent use of numeric statistical or scientific data, use numerals for those numbers but write out other numbers in the text if you can do so in one or two words. Please note the following rules:

• Hyphenate compound numbers from twenty-one to ninety-nine, compounds with a number as the first element (e.g., three-way lightbulb), and the written form of fractions.
  
  
• When numbers or a date are required to open a sentence, write them out. For example: "Five girls and 125 boys tried out for the varsity soccer team." If you can, rewrite the sentence.
  
  
• Do not mix numbers that are spelled out with symbols, write out the term for the symbols as well. For example, write: 45%, or forty-five percent; $20 or twenty dollars.
  
  
• Do not mix numerals with written numbers when they refer to similar things. For example, "Only 10 of the 150 people on the tour (not ten of the 150 tourists) were willing to visit the city after the riot." But also write: "The President got 1.3 trillion of the 1.6 trillion dollar tax cut he proposed."
  
  
• Use numerals with symbols and abbreviations (e.g., %, $, ¢, ft., lbs., p.m., ed. vol.) when these appear frequently in your text or are used in references. For example, write: 25%, $25, 50 lbs., 3rd ed., vol 5. Otherwise write out numbers with measures in your text (but not in references) when you can do so in three words or less, twenty-five percent, twenty-five dollars, fifty pounds.

• When writing numbers through 99 give the full digits. For example, write 42-48 not 42-8.
  
  
• Page numbers above 99 require only the last two digits of the second number as long as the result is unambiguous. Leading zeros are not dropped in MLA practice. Write pages 1123–24 not 1123–1124; write pages 2000–04 not 2000–4 nor 2000-2004. Write pages 112–35 and pages 102–21, but write pages 102–08 not 102–8 or 102–108.
  
  
• Write pages 1,584–621 not pages 1,582–1,621, and certainly not pages 1,584–21.
  
  
• Elide dates only when they fall within the same century. Write the years 1865-1917 not 1865-917.

Seriation (Lists) (Contents)

Seriation is a technique to itemize or enumerate the parts to a series or an argument. This can be helpful when the parts are complex, elaborate, or disparate. It is particularly useful in constructing a transition paragraph to introduce a series of topics. Chicago style refers to this as a process of enumeration.

Sentence seriation. A series or list of terms or phrases can be introduced following a colon: (1) marked by numbers in parentheses; (2) to enumerate a series of topics; (3) especially when the topics differentiated are complex, lengthy, or disparate. The MLA Handbook is silent on this practice, but recent articles in PMLA also use numbers.

Paragraph seriation. If each element in the series requires a separate paragraph, these are set flush with the left margin with each paragraph indented and numbered appropriately. An introductory clause or sentence ending with a colon typically introduces the series:

1. This form of seriation is useful in detailing and summarizing an argument, or perhaps the results of a research study.

2. Each element in the series may contribute to the general topic with extensive commentary.

3. But as a practical matter, this form of seriation is not particularly common in research papers. When the elements require this form of elaboration it is more common to set them under their own subheadings in the text, perhaps following sentence seriation in a transition paragraph under a major heading.

  No Bullets! The Chicago Manual of Style advises that "the use of bullets (heavy dots) in place of enumeration is sometimes resorted to, but these may be considered cumbersome, especially in scholarly work" (314).

Terminology (Internet) (Contents)

Internet terminology is too new to be settled into an acceptable format. There are differences of opinion on what to capitalize and what to hyphenate. "With frequent use, open or hyphenated compounds tend to become closed (on line to on-line to online). Chicago's general adherence to Webster does not preclude occasional exceptions when the closed spellings have become widely accepted, pronunciation and readability are not at stake, and keystrokes can be saved" (CMS 2003, 300).

• disc. This usage is reserved for optical storage media, as in Compact Disc or CD; digital versatile disc or DVD.
• disk. This usage is reserved for rewritable storage media—hard disks and floppy disks.
• download, -ed, -ing. This word is used closed, and found in that form in the MLA Handbook.
• e-mail [email]. The hyphenated form is found in the AMA, APA, CMS, and MLA style manuals! Common usage is tending to close this word up. The e is never uppercased except at the beginning of a sentence.
• e-commerce. Most e-things take a hyphen.
• home page [homepage]. This is spelled open in the Chicago Manual and the MLA Handbook.
• Internet is a proper noun.
• online. Online is a single word. When used as an adjective it is not joined with a hyphen, as in online community, online experience.
• Web . . . [Web . . .]. This is a proper noun. When Web is used in an open compound term (or with a hyphen when used as an adjective), as in Web page, Web is uppercased. When the compound term is closed, Web is spelled lowercased, as in webmaster.
• Web page [Web page/site]. The AMA, APA, CMS, and MLA style manuals agree this term is spelled open. When a compound term is spelled open (without a hyphen), or as a compound adjective (with a hyphen), as in Web page (Web site), Web-page (Web-site) design, then Web is uppercased.
• Web site [Web site]. The AMA, APA, CMS, and MLA manuals all agree this term is spelled open.
• webmaster, web. . . Most other Web terms (except Web ring) are spelled lowercased and closed (without a hyphen)—webcam, webcast, webhead, webmail, webzine, etc. (then again, there's also WebTV). Some terms should probably be spelled open in formal writing—Web cam, Web cast, Web mail, Web TV.

(Contents)

• "The accuracy of quotations in research writing is extremely important" (Gibaldi 109). "Direct quotations must reproduce exactly not only the wording but the spelling, capitalization, and internal punctuation of the original" (CMS 357–358).
  
  
• "If you quote material in a foreign [sic] language, you must reproduce all accents and other marks exactly as they appear in the original (école, pietà, tête, leçon, Fähre, año)" (Gibaldi 80).
  
  
• If you quote material that contains a citation to another work, include this citation in your quotation. The work cited does not have to be included in the list of works cited if it is cited only in the quotation.

• When the author is introduced in the text the page number follows the quotation. Smith reported that "the creature walked like a duck and quacked like a duck" (23). Do not use the abbreviation "p." or "P." for "page" (nor "pp." or "Pp." for "pages").
  
  
• Without an introductory phrase, the author and page are placed together. For example—It was reported that "the creature walked like a duck and quacked like a duck" (Smith 23). When citing a quote drawn from several pages in the source, separate page numbers in the citation with commas. For example, write (Thoreau, Walden 23, 129-31, 144).

Block Quotes (Contents)

Block quotes are required with longer quotations, "more than four lines in your paper" (emphasis added) (Gibaldi 110). Block quotes are continuously indented from the left margin one inch (most styles indent only one-half inch). Double space within, before, and after a block quote, as with the rest of the text. Do not place the quote inside quotation marks.

• "If you quote only a single paragraph or part of one, do not indent the first line more than the rest" (Gibaldi 110-111).
  
  
• "If you need to quote two or more paragraphs, indent the first line of each paragraph an additional quarter inch. . . . If the first sentence quoted does not begin a paragraph in the source, however, do not indent it the additional amount. Indent only the first line of successive paragraphs" (Gibaldi 111).

Editing Quotations (Contents)

MLA style has restored it traditional rules for editing quotations after expanding them in the last (5th) edition of the Handbook. Capitalization and punctuation may be freely changed to merge a quote into the text. Examples are drawn from the paragraph below.

Effective writing seeks to merge a quotation into the flow of the text. It is not necessary to indicate the minor changes needed to do so. The reader should not stumble over a quote. Edit a quotation according to the following rules.

• If a quote begins in what is mid-sentence in the original, the first letter of the first word may be uppercased to open a sentence. "Merge quotations into the flow of the text." Do not write "[M]erge quotations . . . ."
  
  
• An introductory phrase may lead into a quote that starts with an uppercased letter in the original. This should be changed to a lowercased letter to match the syntax. It is not necessary to indicate this change. For example, the effective writer understands that "the reader should not stumble over a quote."
  
  
• The punctuation mark at the end of a quotation may be changed to fit the syntax without indicating the change in the text. For example, good writers caution that a "reader should not stumble over a quote!" But, "if the [original] quotation ends with a question mark or an exclamation point . . . the original punctuation is retained" (Gibaldi 120).
  
  
• Double quotation marks may be changed to single quotation marks, and the reverse, without indicating the change.

Delete Parts of Quotes (Contents)

Ellipsis points are used to indicate text omitted from a quotation. Three ellipsis points (periods with a single space before, between, and after each period) indicate material has been omitted within a sentence or at the end of a sentence. Unless clarity demands it, do not use ellipsis points to begin a quotation. For example, Henry David Thoreau asserts:

"To be a philosopher is not merely to have subtle thoughts, nor even to found a school, but to so love wisdom as to live according to its dictates, a life of simplicity, independence, magnanimity, and trust" (15, ch. 1).

An omission within the quote is edited:

"To be a philosopher is not merely to have subtle thoughts,  .  .  .  but to so love wisdom as to live according to its dictates, a life of simplicity, independence, magnanimity, and trust" (Thoreau 15; ch. 1).

An omission at the end of a sentence is edited:

"To be a philosopher is not merely to have subtle thoughts, nor even to found a school, but to so love wisdom as to live according to its dictates  .  .  . " (Thoreau 15; ch. 1).

Delete entire sentences. If the original text reads:

This is a delicious evening, when the whole body is one sense, and imbibes delight through every pore. I go and come with a strange liberty in Nature, a part of herself. As I walk along the stony shore of the pond in my shirt-sleeves, though it is cool as well as windy, and I see nothing special to attract me, all the elements are unusually congenial to me (Thoreau, Walden, 90; ch. 5).

Omitting a full sentence:

"This is a delicious evening, when the whole body is one sense, and imbibes delight through every pore.  .  .  .  As I walk along the stony shore of the pond in my shirt-sleeves, though it is cool as well as windy, and I see nothing special to attract me, all the elements are unusually congenial to me" (Thoreau 90).

Omitting the end of one sentence, and the next:

"This is a delicious evening, when the whole body is one sense.  .  .  .   As I walk along the stony shore of the pond in my shirt-sleeves, though it is cool as well as windy, and I see nothing special to attract me, all the elements are unusually congenial to me" (Thoreau 90).

Omitting text from the middle of one sentence to the middle of another:

"This is a delicious evening, when the whole body is one sense,  .  .  .  though it is cool as well as windy, and I see nothing special to attract me, all the elements are unusually congenial to me" (Thoreau 90).

Delete the beginning a sentence. General convention allows the leading portion of a sentence opening a quotation to be omitted from the quotation without indicating an omission as long as the original meaning is not marred.

Formatting Details (Contents)

Easy to Read? The goal of any research style is clarity of communication. "Effective writing depends as much on clarity and readability as on content" (Gibaldi 42). "Many editors will return your manuscript with no more than a brief glance if it does not meet journal specifications" (ASA 18). Apply the same standard to class papers.

Underline or Italics? The MLA Handbook expresses a clear preference for underlining wherever you might use italics.

Fonts should be selected to make your paper easy to read. Most research style guides specify a large font to achieve this end, usually a 12-point font. The MLA Handbook expresses no clear preference for the size or type (e.g., Arial, Times Roman) of font.

Indents. The standard indent is one-half inch. This applies to all indents: paragraphs, and hanging indents in references, except block quotes. Indent block quotes one inch.

Margins. MLA style requires one inch margins on all four sides of a page. This applies to all pages, and the contents of all pages, but excludes the page header and page number.

No footnotes! Use only endnotes--if any--with MLA style. References in endnotes require a special style covered in an appendix to the MLA Handbook.

Page numbers are required on every page. The page header is the author's last name. The header and page number go inside the margin space, one-half inch from the top margin (double spaced above the text), next to the right margin.

Right Justification? "Do not justify the lines of your paper at the right margin" (Gibaldi 132). While aligning text to the right margin makes for a neat page, hyphens introduced to break words and wrap lines can confuse a reader. Manuscripts submitted for publication usually use a ragged right margin for this reason.

Spacing. Double space everything, including long titles that may wrap to a second line.

No headings? The MLA Handbook offers no instructions for headings, claiming they are not needed, although authors publishing in PMLA employ them in about half the articles. One modest format uses roman numerals in brackets, centered on the page: [I], [II], [III], [IV], and so forth.

(Contents)

1. "References in the text must clearly point to specific sources in the list of works cited." (Gibaldi 238).
   
   
2. "Identify the location of the borrowed information as specifically as possible." (Gibaldi, 239) Cite the specific chapter, act and scene, or section of a work when appropriate.

Basic Citation Format (Contents)

Each separate referent to a source must be cited however many times this may occur in a paper. "To avoid interrupting the flow of your writing, place the parenthetical reference where a pause would naturally occur (preferably at the end of a sentence), as near as possible to the material documented" (Gibaldi 241). A page number is usually cited only with a direct quotation unless the reader needs to be referred to an unusual concept or idea for possible verification.

1. No Author? Substitute the title of the work (title of an article or book) for the author in both the reference list and text citation. The first word in the citation must be the first significant word (ignore a, and, the) in the title as used to alphabetize the reference in the list of works cited. If the title is long use a short form or just the first word.
   
   
2. Two or Three Authors. Cite both authors' names: (Smith and Jones 123). When there are two or more authors with the same surname repeat the surname for each author. For example, write (Smithe, Smithe, and Smithe 123).
   
   
3. Four or More Authors. You may cite the lead author plus et al. in all text citations (see Gibaldi 239). Be consistent in whatever practice you adopt, and consistent in matching the text citation with the entry in the reference list.
   
   
4. Multiple sources are cited enclosed in a single set of parentheses. List sources alphabetically in the order they appear in the reference list. Each citation is separated by a semicolon. For example, write (Alt 12; Brown 23; Car 123; Dean 123–46; Smith 99).
   
   
5. Multiple works by one author require the short title of the specific work be added to the citation (See Gibaldi 251). For example, write (Thoreau, Walden 123) to contrast the source of a quote from another work by Thoreau (Thoreau, "Life Without Principle" 23).
   
   
6. Corporate Author. To cite a corporate author use the full name of the group or institution as given in the reference list entry.

Literary Citations (Contents)

MLA style makes special provision for the repeated citation of literary works. "In a reference to a classic prose work, such as a novel or play, that is available in several editions, it is helpful to provide more information than just the page number [. . .]" (Gibaldi 253). The objective is to help a reader with an edition different from the author's to find the same passage. MLA style draws a distinction between prose books and plays and verse books, plays, and poems.

Prose works. MLA style wants writers to identify a source as specifically as may be reasonable. The style for doing this takes two forms, one for prose works, another for verse. Prose works cite the page followed by a semicolon, then additional identifying information.

• Chapter. Cite the page followed by a semicolon, then additional identifying information. For example, in Walden Henry David Thoreau claimed "the mass of men lead lives of quiet desperation" (111; ch. 1). This same passage is found on different pages in other editions, but always in the first chapter (Thoreau 111; ch. 1).
  
  
• Volume. Anthologies and other longer works often come in several volumes. "When citing a volume number as well as a page reference for a multivolume work, separate the two by a colon and a space: '(Wellek 2: 1–10)'" (Gibaldi 247).
  
  
• When citing a specific page, the page number is understood to come after the volume. For example: "Few Moslems contemplate for the first time the Ka'abah [sic], without fear and awe: there is a popular jest against new comers, that they generally inquire the direction of prayer" (Burton 2: 161).
  
  
• When citing an entire volume, add the abbreviation "vol." to the citation. For example, in his Personal Narrative of a Pilgrimage to Al-Madinah and Meccah, he includes a detailed account of a clandestine visit to Mecca in 1853 (Burton, vol. 2).
  
  
• When citing an entire volume with the reference in the text, spell out volume. For example, "Burton provides an exacting account of his clandestine visit to Mecca in volume 2 of Personal Narrative of a Pilgrimage to Al-Madinah and Meccah" (159–258).

• The following passage is from the Bible: "For whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved." This is found in the book of Romans, Chapter 10, verse 13. MLA style cites this (Rom. 10.13). Conventional notation cites this (Rom. 10:13).
  
  
• The following passage is from the Merchant of Venice (MV). Shylock is speaking: "I'll have my bond; speak not against my bond; I have sworn an oath that I will have my bond. . . ." MLA cites this (MV 3.3). Conventional notation might cite this (Merchant of Venice, act III, sc. iii).
  

(Contents)

• Double space references. Use a hanging indent, with the indent one-half inch from the left margin.
  
  
• The MLA Handbook suggests underlining in place of italics in both your text and references. Use whichever assures clarity to the reader, but be consistent in text and references.
  
  
• Use decimal notation to indicate number in a volume of a journal paged by issue, that is, write volume four, number two "4.2" not in the more conventional format "4(2)."
  
  
• Reprinted works require the original publication date as well as the date the reprint was published. The original publication date comes after the title.
  
  
• Full dates require the day-month-year format: 1 April 2003.
  
  
• Multiple works by the same author list alphabetically by title, not by date. MLA style approximates a three-em dash with three hyphens followed by a period. Use this "three-em dash" in place of the author's name in subsequent works by the same exact author(s).
  
  
• Give authors' names as indicated in the publication (do not abbreviate names to intials). Fill in full names for initials or a pseudonym [in square brackets] if the information is useful. List up to three authors to a work; with four or more authors, note the first plus "et al." if you wish (you may reference all authors, but you must cite them all in the text as well).
  
  
• All titles use heading caps (in languages other than English use sentence caps as customary in that language). Titles of articles, reports, and chapters in edited books are placed in quotes. Titles of books and volumes, and the names of journals, are underlined or placed in italics.
  

Books & Compilations (Contents)

   Campbell, Joseph. The Hero with a Thousand Faces. Princeton, NJ: Princeton UP, 1972.

   ---. The Masks or God: Creative Mythology. New York: Peguin Books, 1976.

   Eliot, T. S. The Wasteland and Other Poems. New York: Harcourt, Brace Jovanovich, 1979.

   Gibaldi, Joseph. MLA Handbook for Writers of Research Papers. 6th ed. New York: Modern Language Association,

2003.

   McHugh, Roland. Annotations to Finnegans Wake. Baltimore, MD: Johns Hopkins UP, 1980.

NB> When there are two or more works by the same author, arrange entries alphabetically by title (not by date)! Give the author's name in the first entry, then use three hyphens in place of the name in subsequent entries (this is the the MLA equivalent of a 3-em dash, and an MLA trademark). Edition information (when other than the first) follows the title. When there is a title in the title (e.g., McHugh, above), the second title is in plain text.

Anthology/Compilation (Web Source)

   Hemingway, Ernest. "The Big Two-Hearted River." The Nick Adams Stories. Ed. Philip Young. New York: Bantam

Books, 1973. 159-180.

   Whitman, Walt. Complete Poetry and Selected Prose. 1891-1892. Ed. James E. Miller, Jr. Boston: Houghton, 1959.

   Whitman, Walt. "Song of Myself." The Leaves of Grass. Philadelphia: David McKay, 1891-92. Walt Whitman

Hypertext Archive. Ed. Kenneth M. Price and Ed Folsom. 1997-1998. 27 Apr. 2003 <http://www.whitmanarchive.org/archive1/ works/leaves/1891/text/fulltext.html>.

NB> Line wrap URLs by breaking them after a slash (or before a period). Do not insert a hyphen!

Note: References to anthologies may cite a specific work in the compilation, or the entire collection. References to works found on the Web also cite (1) the print edition (if it is known); (2) the title of the Web site, database, or project where it was found; (3) the name of the content editor (not webmaster) of the site; (4) the publication date of the site (if any); (5) the date you accessed the site; and (6) the URL (Uniform Resource Locator).

One Author - Reprint/Online

   Arendt, Hannah. The Human Condition. 1958. Chicago: U of Chicago P, 1998.

   Thoreau, Henry David. Walden. 1854. EServer.org: Accessible Writing. Ed. Richard Lenat. 2002. U of Washington,

Seattle. 30 Jan. 2003 <http://eserver.org/thoreau/walden00.html>.

NB> The original publication date of a reprint usually goes immediately after the title.

Two or More Authors - Edition Other Than First

   Bourdieu, Pierre, and Jean-Claude Passeron. Reproduction in Education, Society and Culture. London: Sage,

1977.

   Gamson, William A., Bruce Fireman, and Steven Rytina. Encounters with Unjust Authority. Homewood, IL: Dorsey,

1982.

   Markman, Roberta H., et al. 10 Steps in Writing the Research Paper. 5th ed. Hauppage, NY: Barron's,

1994.

   Markman, Roberta H., Robert H. Markman, Peter T. Markman, and Marie L. Waddell. 10 Steps in Writing the

Research Paper. 5th ed. Hauppage, NY: Barron’s, 1994.

NB> When there are four or more authors to a work you may elect to cite just the lead author plus et al. (this is optional). If the edition is other than the first, that information follows the title.

Corporate Author - Government Publication

   US Census Bureau. Statistical Abstract of the United States: 2002. 122nd ed. 4 Mar. 2003. 27 Apr. 2003

<http://www.census.gov/statab/www/>.

Multivolume Work - Reprint

   Burton, Richard F. Personal Narrative of a Pilgrimage to Al-Madinah & Meccah. 2 vols. 1855. New York: Dover, 1964.

Translation

   Kazantzakis, Nikos. Zorba the Greek. Trans. Carl Wildman. New York: Simon & Schuster, 1952.

Translator as Author

   French, R. M., trans. The Way of a Pilgrim and The Pilgrim Continues His Way. New York: Ballantine-Random House,

1974.

Journals, Magazines, & Newspapers (Contents)

Journal Articles

   Dietler, Michael. "'Our Ancestors the Gauls:' Archaeology, Ethnic Nationalism, and the Manipulation of Celtic

Identity in Modern Europe." American Anthropologist 96 (1994): 584–605.

   Papin, Liliane. "This is Not a Universe: Metaphor, Language, and Representation." PMLA 107 (1992):

1253–65.

   Ribbans, G. W. "The Meaing and Structure of Lope's Fuenteovejuana." Bulletin of Hispanic Studies 3.31

(1954): 170–70.

   Solé, Yolanda. "Valores aspectuales en español." Hispanic Linguistics 4 (1990): 57–85.

NB> Most research journals are paged consecutively through a volume--the page numbers of each new issue pick up where the last issue left off. However, some journals start over at page one with each issue. These journals are paged by issue (e.g., Ribbans above, Dumper below).

Titles of articles in English are uppercased (heading caps). Respect the customary practice in formatting titles in other languages; most lowercase titles, and sometimes proper nouns (e.g., Solé above).

Online Journal

   Bowers, Rick. "Comedy, Carnival, and Class: A Chaste Maid in Cheapside." Early Modern Literary Studies

8.3 (Jan. 2003): 22 pars. 27 Apr. 2003 <http://purl.oclc.org/emls/08-3/comebowe.htm>.

NB> This electronic journal numbers the paragraphs within articles. This issue is number three in volume eight, 8.3 in MLA notation.

Online Facsimile of a Print Journal

   Fine, Gail. "Descartes and Ancient Skepticism: Reheated Cabbage?" Philosophical Review 109 (2000): 195-235.

Expanded Academic ASAP. InfoTrac Web. Boulder U Lib. 1 Apr. 2003. <http://infotrac.galegroup.com>.

Paged by Issue

   Dumper, Michael. "Israeli Settlement in the Old City of Jerusalem." Journal of Palestine Studies 21.4 (1992): 32–53.

NB> Most journals are paged by volume; page numbers in each new issue begin where the last left off. Some journals start over at page one with each issue. To find an article in these journals you must know the volume and issue numbers. MLA style departs from custom when referencing these journals by using a decimal format, as above, 21.4. This is read volume 21, issue 4. Other styles render this: 21(4).

Magazine Articles

   Wilson, Edward O. "Back from Chaos." Atlantic Monthly Mar. 1998: 41–62.

   Cordi, Margaret. "Weekly Review." Harper's Apr. 2003. 27 Apr. 2003 <http://www.harpers.org/weekly-review/>.

NB> Line wrap or break a URL after a slash or before a period. Do not add spaces or other punctuation.

Newspaper Articles

   Hall, Trish. "IQ Scores Are Up, and Psychologists Wonder Why." New York Times 24 Feb. 1998, late ed.: F1+.

No Author

   "Feds Close Vail Logging Road." Colorado Daily [Boulder] 27–29 July 1999: 2.

NB> If the home location of a newspaper is not evident from its name--and it is not a nationally recognized publication--add the relevant information in square brackets (e.g., Springfield Courier [Illinois]).

Online Newspaper

   Jonsson, Patrick. "A Bill of Rights, Looted Long Ago, is Stolen Back." The Christian Science Monitor 22 Apr. 2003.

27 Apr. 2003 <http://www.csmonitor.com/2003/0422/p01s01-usgn.htm>.

Reviews: Books - Films

   Adams, Phoebe. Rev. of To Kill a Mockingbird, by Harper Lee. The Atlantic Monthly Aug. 1960. 27 Apr. 2003

<http://www.theatlantic.com/unbound/classrev/mocking.htm>.

   Camhi, Leslie. "Art of the City." Rev. of New York Modern: The Arts and the City, by William B. Scott, and Peter M.

Rutkoff. Village Voice 15 June 1999: 154.

   Sterritt, David. "Coppola, 'Apocalypse Now,' and the Ambivalent 70's." Rev. of Apocalypse Now, Francis Ford Coppola,

dir. The Chronicle of Higher Education 3 Aug. 2001. 27 Apr. 2003 <http://chronicle.com/weekly/v47/i47/47b01801.htm>.

Media, Papers, & Reports (Contents)

Conference Paper (Unpublished)

   McFadden, Maggie. "Weaving the Cloth of International Sisterhood." Paper presented at the National Women's

Studies Association conference, Minneapolis, June 1988.

Dissertation

   Pfingstag, Benjamin Nelson. "Aspects of Form and Time in the Paintings of William Henry Mount." Ph.D dissertation,

Graduate School of the State U of NY at Binghamton, 1980.

Film

   Amadeus. Dir. Milos Forman. Perf. F. Murray Abraham, Tom Hulce, and Elizabeth Berridge. 1984. Videocassette.

EMI/HBO, 1985.

Musical Score*

   Beethoven, Ludwig van. Symphony No. 8 in F. Op. 93. New York: Dover, 1989.

Painting*

   Rembrandt van Rijn. Aristotle Contemplating the Bust of Homer. Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York.

Sound Recording*

   Holiday, Billie. "God Bless the Child." Rec. 9 May 1941. The Essence of Billie Holiday. Columbia, 1991.

*Examples from MLA Handbook.

Web Sites & Pages (Contents)

Professional Web Site

   The Walt Whitman Hypertext Archive. Ed. Kenneth M. Price and Ed Folsom. 1997-1998. 27 Apr. 2003

<http://www.whitmanarchive.org/archive1/works/>.

Personal Web Site

   Washington, George. Home page. 1 Apr. 2003 <http://mtvernon.org/index.htm>.

Page on a Web Site

   "Using Modern Language Association (MLA) Format." OWL: Online Writing Lab. Eds. Jennifer Liethen Kunka,

Joe Barbato, and Erin Karper. Dec. 2000, Jan. 2003. Purdue U. 25 Apr. 2003 <http://owl.english.purdue.edu/handouts/print/ research/r_mla.html>.

When a page on a Web site has a unique title it should be cited along with the main title of the site. This is comparable to citing a chapter in an anthology.

Reference Encyclopedia

   "Thoreau, Henry David." Encyclopedia Britannica. 2003. Encyclopedia Britannica Premium Service. 27 Apr. 2003

<http://www.britannica.com/eb/article?eu=74114>.

This reference notes that a subscription service was used: Encyclopedia Britannica Premium Service.

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