Creating a Works Cited Page

 ·     The words Works Cited should be centered at the top of the page.  The Works Cited page is the last page of your report.  Only works that have been cited in the paper (in text citation) should be listed here.

·     Do not number entries.

·     All entries should be in alphabetical order by the first word of the citation.

·     Double-space entries.  Do not create extra spaces between entries.

·     If the author is unknown, begin the citation with the title of the work.

·     If a work has more than one author, only the first author is listed Last name, first name; second and third authors are listed First Name Last Name. 

·     Pay careful attention to punctuation.  Each citation must be made exactly as designated by The Modern Language Association of America.

·     Add page numbers to citation if you consult part of a book, such as a story in an anthology or essay in a collection, then designate the pages of the entire piece.  Use page numbers for articles in a magazine or newspaper.

·     Never write out the words page or page # or use the abbreviations p. or pp.—list only the actual numbers in the appropriate place.

·      Italicize titles of large works like books, magazines, and newspapers; short works within a larger work, like short stories in a collection, articles in an encyclopedia, or articles in a newspaper or magazine are put in quotation marks.

·     Indent five spaces or use a hanging indent on the computer for second and following lines in a citation.  If you are using Microsoft Word, click on FORMAT, PARAGRAPH, SPECIAL, HANGING.

·     Refer to MLA Handbook for Writers of Research Papers 7^th ed.  (REF 808 MLA) for information not available here.

 Use the following examples to set up your own Works Cited.

Books (all information from title page)

Author’s last name, first name.  Title of book.  Place of publication: publisher, date. Print.

Example:

Burgan, Michael.  The Empire of the Mongols.  New York: Facts On File, Inc., 2005. Print.

Encyclopedia (author is sometimes found at the end or the article; if there is no author, begin citation with title of article)

Author’s last name, first.  “title of article.” Volume number.  Title of Encyclopedia.  Year of publication.  Print.

Example:

Warner, Judith.  “The Great Irish Immigration.”  Vol. 2.  Encyclopedia of Immigration.  2001.  Print.

Work in an Anthology or Collection (essay or small piece within a larger work)

Author’s last name, first.  “Title of essay.” Year of original publication. Title of Anthology. Editor’s name.  Place of publication: publisher, date. Page numbers. Print.

Example:

Bok, Sissela.  “Violent Entertainment and Censorship.” 1998. Violence in Film and Television.  Ed. James D. Torr.  San Diego: Greenhaven Press.  2002. 163-170.  Print.

Web Publications (for complete instructions, see MLA Handbook, 7^th edition, pages 181-190)

Author’s last name, first.  “title of article.”  Title of Website. Date of last update. Web.  Date accessed (day month year).

Example:

“The Rise of Adolf Hitler.”    The History Place.  1996.  Web. 18 December 2009. 

Articles from a subscription database

Where possible, follow directions for MLA citation found on database. Make sure to list date accessed.  The basic format is as follows:

Author’s last name, first.  “Title of article/essay.” Original publication. Ed. (if there is one). Place: Publisher. Date. Database Name. Web. Date accessed.

Example:

Grim, Ryan. "Random Drug Testing Cannot Prevent Student Drug Abuse." Opposing Viewpoints: Addiction. Ed. Christina Fisanick. Detroit: Greenhaven Press, 2009. Opposing Viewpoints Resource Center. Gale. Web. 18 December 2009. 

Examples:

  “During the last two decades, thousands of new medicines, foods and industrial products have been produced with the aid of modern biotechnology” (Miller and Conko 22).

In this sentence the writer copied directly from page 22 of a book by Miller and Conko.  Authors and page number are identified in parentheses.

In her book, Superfoods, Sally Morgan describes genetic engineering as cutting edge science (14).

Since the book title, as well as the author, are identified directly in the sentence, only the page number needs to be identified in parentheses.

Many scientists are concerned about the unpredictable effects of bioengineering (Grogan and Long 127).     

In this sentence the writer paraphrased information found on page 127 of book/essay by Grogan and Long.  Authors and page number are identified in parentheses.

All information in this guide is adapted from

MLA Handbook for Writers of Research Papers, Seventh Edition.