For complete instructions and examples, refer to the handbooks below in print in OC Libraries, or use the Purdue Online Writing Lab (OWL) online MLA guide.
The basic components of an MLA 9th edition citation are as follows. Please note italics, where required.
Author’s Last name, First name. “Title of Chapter or Essay if Applicable.” Title
of Book, Publisher, Year.
Author’s Last name, First name. “Title of Article.” Title of Periodical, vol. #, no. #,
Date of publication, pp. # - #.
Author’s Last name, First name. “Title of Article.” Title of Periodical, vol. #, no. #,
Date of publication, pp. # - #. Database Name, DOI, URL, or Permalink.
Author’s Last name, First name, if available. Title of Web Site, Publisher, Date of
access. URL.
Creator's last name, First name, if available. "Title of Video," Publishing site,
uploaded by UploaderAccountName, Date of upload. URL.
Parenthetical documentation directs the reader to the specific sources of information that you are referencing in the body of your paper. These listings must direct the reader to a particular work listed on your “Works Cited” page. In most cases the author’s last name and a specific page number, in parentheses, are enough to identify the source you used and its location within that source. If the item has a corporate author, treat the corporate entity as the author.
Example: During the 1980s global inflation remained steady at around 15 percent (Rogoff 49).
If you are already referring to the author’s name in the text of your paper, then you need only cite the specific page number in parentheses.
Example: According to Rogoff, “global inflation averaged 15 percent in the 1980s” (49).