MLA Format Bibliography and Footnote Review Chart

MLA Format Bibliography and Footnote Review Chart
Revised 8/24/09

Please note changes in form as of August, 2009.

Important Tips

Your bibliography must list all the sources you have used for information. If you do not list all the sources, you could be guilty of plagiarism and copyright infringement.
Be sure to use the MLA form below throughout the bibliography.
Begin at the left margin for the first line of your entry. If you entry is longer than one line, then the following lines must be indented five spaces. (It will look like an upside down paragraph.)
All entries must be put in alphabetical order, and will therefore be mixed as to source type. For example, a book could be followed by an encyclopedia, and then followed by other books. All sources of the same type are not grouped together.
Single space, with a blank space between entries.
All months should be abbreviated.
NEVER number your sources.
The form of a source is either Print, Web, Radio, Television, CD, Audiocassette, Film, Videocassette, DVD, Performance, Lecture, or PDF file.
Titles are italicized.
While MLA form no longer requires website address, SMM does. You must include.

The following information is necessary to write a bibliographic entry for each source. You are given the general form, and then an example of an actual entry. All the information can be found on the title and verso pages of a book, on the jewel case of a CD, or on the main page of a web site. If the source you are using is not discussed below, please ask Mrs. Bott or your teacher to show you the correct form.

Books

Author. Title. Place of Publication: Publisher, Year of Publication. Form.

Example:
Johnson, James. Science for Kids. New York: City Press, 2007. Print.

Sometimes, there is an organization as the author; for example, National Geographic Society. If this is the case, place the organization name before the title.

To cite a book with two or more authors, give their names in the same order as on the title page – not necessarily in alphabetical order. Reverse only the name of the first author, add a comma, and give the other name or names in normal form. Place a period after the last name. For example, Jones, Amanda, and John Smith. If there are more than three authors, you may name only the first and add et al, or list them as specified above.

If there is no author, but an editor or compiler is given credit, use their name first, followed by a comma and ed. This is common for anthologies and compilations.

Encyclopedias and Other Reference Books (Dictionaries, Almanacs)

Author. "Title of article." Name of Book. Year of publication ed. Print.

Example:
Jones, Fred. "Alaska." The World Book Encyclopedia. 2008 ed. Print.

In the example above, there was an author for the particular encyclopedia article. Many times there is not. If there is no author, begin with the title of the article. After the year, the word "ed" stands for edition.

If the encyclopedia or dictionary arranges information alphabetically, you do not have to use page numbers. If, however, you are using an almanac, please cite pages after the citation.

Example:
“Notable U.S. Museums.” The World Almanac and Book of Facts 2008. 2008 ed. 235. Print.

Magazines

Author. "Title of Article." Name of Magazine. Date of magazine: pages on which the article can be found.

Example:
Smith, Joan. "Hunting Dogs." Field and Stream. November, 2007: 35-40. Print.

CD-ROMs

Author. "Title of article." Title of CD-ROM. Place of publication: Publisher, Date. CD.

Example:
Smith, Anne. "Alaska." Encarta 2008. Minneapolis: Microsoft Inc., 2008. CD.

Databases

Author. “Title of Article.” Title of Publication. Publisher, Date of Publication. Web. Date you accessed.

<> <Web address>.
Example:

John, Smith. "Lois Lowry Does it Again." New York Times Book Review Archive. New
York Times, June 2006. Web. 24 Aug. 2009. <http://www.nytimes.com/bookreviews/archive>.

Internet Sites

Author. Title of Article or Web page. The publisher, Last updated date. Web. Date that you
found the information on the web. <Address>.

Example:

Jones, Ed. Whales in Alaska. The Alaska Whale Conservatory, 31 Aug. 2008. Web. 24 Aug. 2009. <http://www.whalesinalaska.com>.

Note: The publisher is the group or organization that is responsible for publishing this information on the web? This organization is not listed as the author, but as the source. The author is a person. If there is no publisher, type n.p. The date you found the information on the web and the last updated date is written in the form above. If you cannot find the date of publication, type n.d.

MLA Footnote Form for In-Text Citation

Footnotes give credit for information taken directly from a source without any changes. Footnotes will appear directly within the text. Immediately following a quote or statistical information, give credit to the source by putting the author's name and page number where you found the information in parentheses. This is called parenthetical citation.

Example:
A survey of students concluded that 56 percent cheated at one time or another (Smith 56).

Note that the statistic is followed by the author's name and the page number where you found the information.

If your source is a website, you may run into several problems. If there is no author, use the source of the information. Websites normally have no page numbers. If this is the case, use any division available (introduction, further information, etc.)

Please note that in addition, all sources must be credited at the end of your paper in your bibliography (list of works cited).