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MLA Handbook

Reference Examples (8th ed.)

The following information was taken from MLA guidance on citing information from AI-generators. Additional sources consulted include RMIT University's Library resource page and Dalhousie University Libraries page.

Example for Paraphrased Text

While the green light in The Great Gatsby might be said to chiefly symbolize four main things: optimism, the unattainability of the American dream, greed, and covetousness (“Describe the symbolism”), arguably the most important—the one that ties all four themes together—is greed.

Corresponding Works Cited Entry

“Describe the symbolism of the green light in the book The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald” prompt. ChatGPT, 13 Feb. version, OpenAI, 8 Mar. 2023, chat.openai.com/chat.

Example for Quoted Text

When asked to describe the symbolism of the green light in The Great Gatsby, ChatGPT provided a summary about optimism, the unattainability of the American dream, greed, and covetousness. However, when further prompted to cite the source on which that summary was based, it noted that it lacked “the ability to conduct research or cite sources independently” but that it could “provide a list of scholarly sources related to the symbolism of the green light in The Great Gatsby” (“In 200 words”).

Corresponding Works Cited Entry

“In 200 words, describe the symbolism of the green light in The Great Gatsby” follow-up prompt to list sources. ChatGPT, 13 Feb. version, OpenAI, 9 Mar. 2023, chat.openai.com/chat.

Example for Citing a Secondary Source used by an AI Tool

The AI tool (e.g., Bing AI or ChatGPT) utilized an article that was pulled from a source listed in Oxford Reference. In this case, you would cite the source as Oxford Reference. The AI tool was merely the mechanism used to locate that information (much like Google Scholar, EBSCO, and ProQuest, etc.). You would then follow the format for citing information from a Reference Article (refer to the Reference Article tab in this guide).

If you are citing a visual work generated by an AI tool, refer to the MLA Guidance on citing this type of source.

Always verify formatting of electronically generated citations with the MLA Handbook (8th ed.), the Citations & More Guide (MLA), or OWL Purdue. You may also consult with a librarian or Writing Center tutor regarding source citation formatting. Make sure to double space and insert the hanging indent for all sources.

 

Article from a Reference Work 

  • ​Last Name, First Name. "Title of entry." Title of source, date. 

Example: Wall, Robert W.. "Intertextuality." Global Wesleyan Dictionary of Theology, 2013.

 

Entry from an Online Reference Source, such as Credo Reference or CQ Researcher

Example: Akter, Farhana. "Metabolic Disorders." Encyclopedia of Global Health, Yawei Zhang, Sage Publications, 1st edition, 2008. Credo Reference, https://search.credoreference.com/content/entry/sagegh/metabolic_disorders/0?institutionId=4721. Accessed 24 Jun. 2021.

Example: "Acclimation." Merriam-Webster's Collegiate(R) Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, 11th edition, 2012. Credo Reference, https://search.credoreference.com/content/entry/mwcollegiate/acclimation/0?institutionId=4721. Accessed 24 Jun. 2021.

Example: Ladika, Susan. "Technology Addiction". CQ Researcher, 20 Apr 2018.  3 Feb 2024. https://doi.org/10.4135/cqresrre20180420

 

Always verify formatting of electronically generated citations with the MLA Handbook (8th ed.), the Citations & More Guide (MLA), or OWL Purdue. You may also consult with a librarian or Writing Center tutor regarding source citation formatting. Make sure to double space and insert the hanging indent for all sources.

Book

  • Last Name, First Name. Title of Book. City of Publication, Publisher, Publication Date. [include location only if the item is dated before 1900]

Example: Coffino, Michael. The Other Classroom: The Essential Importance of High School Athletics. Rowman & Littlefield, 2008.

 

Book by Corporate Author or Organization

  • Title of Book. E-book, City/state of Publication, Publisher, Publication Date. [include location only if the item is dated before 1900] If the Author and Publisher are the same, list the title first.

Example: American Academy of Ambulatory Care Nursing. Scope & Standards of Practice for Professional Ambulatory Care Nursing. AAACN, 2017. 

 

eBook

  • Last Name, First Name. Title of Book. Format notation, Publisher, Publication Date. [include location only if the item is dated before 1900]

Example: Stone, Dan. Histories of the Holocaust. E-book, Oxford UP, 2010.

 

Edited Book 

  • Name or Title. Title. City of Publication, Publisher, Publication Date. [include location only if the item is dated before 1900]

Example: Basmajian, John V., editor. Therapeutic Exercise.  Williams & Wilkins, 1978.

 

Subsequent Edition

  • Name or Title. Title. edition, Publisher, Date.

Example: Johnson, Craig. Meeting the Ethical Challenges of Leadership: Casting Light or Shadow. 3rd ed., Sage, 2009. 

 

Chapter in an Edited Book

  • Author's last name, first name. "Title of chapter." Title of Book/Collection," edited by Editor(s) first and last name [if there is more than one editor put a comma after the first one with et al. afterward], Publisher, Date, page range.

Example: Brooks-Gunn, Jeanne et al. "Poor Families, Poor Outcomes: The Well-being of Children and Youth." Consequences of Growing Up Poor, edited by Greg J. Duncan and Jeanne Brooks-Gunn, Russell Sage, 1997, pp. 1-17.

 

Always verify formatting of electronically generated citations with the MLA Handbook (8th ed.), the Citations & More Guide (MLA), or OWL Purdue. You may also consult with a librarian or Writing Center tutor regarding source citation formatting. Make sure to double space and insert the hanging indent for all sources.

Journal Article with DOI

  • Author, A., & Author, B. "Title of article." Title of journal. vol., no., date, page number(s). DOI (http..........)

Example: Nguyen, Jenny, Ina Ko, Santiago Martinez-Sosa, and Ruth Mizokuchi. "Ward-based Management of Behavioural and Psychological Symptoms of Dementia." BMJ, vol. 374, no. 1779, August 2021. https://doi.org/10.1136/bmj.n1779

Journal Article without a DOI and a nondatabase URL

  • Author, A. "Title of article." Title of journal, volume, no., date, page number(s). URL

Example: Thomas, Douglas C. "What is a Psychological Attitude?" Journal of Jungian Scholarly Studies, vol. 16, no. 1, 2021,  64-66. https://jungianjournal.ca/index.php/jjss/issue/view/16/8

NOTE: Some online-only journals will not have page numbers. 

Journal, Magazine, or Newspaper Article without a DOI, from most academic research databases or print version 

  • Author, A. "Title of article."Title of journal, vol., no., date, page number(s). Database name.

Examples: Sajjad, Fatima, and Umbreen Javaid. “Islam, West and Constantinople: A Historical Overview of Evolution of the ‘Turkish Model’ in Pre-Modern Age.” Hamdard Islamicus, vol. 39, no. 3, July 2016, pp. 75–100. EBSCOhost. search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=rfh&AN=ATLAiB8W170306003124&site=ehost-live&scope=site.

Editorial in a Journal

  • Author(s). "Article title." Editorial. Title of journal, vol., no., Date, pp.  . Database name. URL or DOI

Examples: Carey, Lindsey, et al. "COVID-19: Multinational Perspectives of Providing Chaplaincy, Pastoral, and Spiritual Care." Editorial. Health & Social Care Chaplaincy, vol. 8, no. 2, July 2020, pp. 133-142. EBSCOhost.  https://doi.org/10.1558/hscc.41973

 

 

Always verify formatting of electronically generated citations with either the Online Writing Lab (OWL) at Purdue, or the MLA Handbook (8th ed.). You may also consult with a librarian or Writing Center tutor regarding source citation formatting. Make sure to double space and insert the hanging indent for all sources.

 

Magazine Article

  • Author(s). "Title of Article." Title of Periodical, Day Month Year, pages.

Example: Turner, Paul. Catholics and the Protestant Reformation. Holiness Today​, September/October 2017, 25-27.

Online Magazine Article

  • Author Name. "Article title in quotation marks." title of the web magazine in italics, publisher name, publication date, URL, and the date of access.

Example:  Torchia, Rebecca. "The Pros and Cons of Requiring Students to Turn on Their Cameras." EdTech: Focus on K-12, 20 July 2021, https://edtechmagazine.com/k12/article/2021/07/pros-and-cons-requiring-students-turn-their-cameras. Accessed 2 August 2021.

Newspaper Article from a Library Database

  • Author. "Title of article." Title of newspaper, date, page numbers. Database name.

Example: Ross, Lydall and Jonathan Prynn. “Housing Crisis Is ‘Main Priority for Mayor.’” Evening Standard, 16 Mar. 2020, p. 12. Newspaper Source. search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=nfh&AN=142254408&site=ehost-live&scope=site

Webpage from an Online News Source

  • Author. "Title of article." Title of source. Date, URL.

Example: Santiago, Leyla and Sara Weisfeldt. "Florida Tween Takes on School Board to Call for Mask Mandate." CNN, 4 August 2021, https://www.cnn.com/2021/08/04/us/florida-school-mask-mandate-duval-teen/index.html

 

Author. Title. Date. Institution name, Degree type. 

Example: Reneau, Margaret. Teaching Nurses Sight Unseen: Comparing the Cultural Competency among on-Campus and Online Baccalaureate Degree Nursing Faculty. 2011. Capella University, PhD dissertation. 

 

If you pull the dissertation from a database, such as WHDL.org or ProQuest, you will need to include the title of the database and the URL.

Example: Mallo, Ryan Seth. Dying to be a Man: a Mixed Methods Study Implementing Men's Health Promotion and the Psychology of Masculinity in Graduate Primary Care Curriculum. 2018. Northwest Nazarene University, PhD dissertation. WHDL.org, https://nnu.whdl.org/dying-be-man-mixed-methods-study-implementing-mens-health-promotion-and-psychology-masculinity.

Always verify formatting of electronically generated citations with the MLA Handbook (8th ed.), the Citations & More Guide (MLA), or OWL Purdue. You may also consult with a librarian or Writing Center tutor regarding source citation formatting. Make sure to double space and insert the hanging indent for all sources.

Personal communications is defined as email correspondence, text messages, interviews, live speeches, classroom lectures, memos, etc.. Since these works are not easily replicated or recoverable, references to the content should be cited in the text. 

Email

  • Author name. "Subject line." Received by, date.

Example: Smith, John. "Re: Mayflower trip journals." Received by John Winthrop, 12 Aug. 2021.

 

Personal Interviews

Example: Jones, Jane. Personal interview. 9 August May 2021.

Always verify formatting of electronically generated citations with the MLA Handbook (8th ed.), the Citations & More Guide (MLA), or OWL Purdue. You may also consult with a librarian or Writing Center tutor regarding source citation formatting. Make sure to double space and insert the hanging indent for all sources.

 

The Bible. Authorized King James Version, Oxford UP, 1998.

The Qur'an (M. A. S. Abdel Haleem, Trans.). (2004). Oxford University Press.

The Torah: The Five Books of Moses (3rd ed.). (2015). The Jewish Publication Society. 

 

Always verify formatting of electronically generated citations with the MLA Handbook (8th ed.), the Citations & More Guide (MLA), or OWL Purdue. You may also consult with a librarian or Writing Center tutor regarding source citation formatting. Make sure to double space and insert the hanging indent for all sources.

Social Media

Tweet

  • Author. "Title." Platform, Date and time. URL. 

Example: APA Education [@APAEducation]. "College Students are Forming Mental-Health Clubs--and They're Making a Difference." Twitter, 29, June 2018 (include time if it's available).   https://twitter.com/apaeducation/status/1012810490530140161.

 

Webpage on a Website with a Group Author and with no date

  • Author or Group. Title of page. date. URL. Access date.

Example: Right to Life of Idaho.. Legislation. n.d. http://www.rtli.org/legislation.html. Accessed 4 August 2021

          

Webpage on a Website with an Individual Author

  • Author. Title.  date. URL. Access date.

Examples: Graham, Linda. Mindfulness, self-compassion and resilience. Resources for Recovering Resilience. 29 November 2016. https://lindagraham-mft.net/mindfulness-self-compassion-and-resilience/. Accessed 4 August 2021.

 

 

Always verify formatting of electronically generated citations with the MLA Handbook (8th ed.), or the Citations & More guide (MLA). You may also consult with a librarian or Writing Center tutor regarding source citation formatting. Make sure to double space and insert the hanging indent for all sources.

 

YouTube Videos

Author (if available) or "Title." YouTube,  uploaded by ...., Day Month Year, of posting), URL

*If no author, the title of the video is listed first as in the example below.

Example: “How Internet and Games Affect the Teenage Mind: Mini-lecture.” YouTube, uploaded by UCL, 5 Feb. 2013, https://youtu.be/JzWiv-1wzk8.

 

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Formatting a Paper in MLA