1. MLA-Style Documentation
for the Research Paper

2. • Author Information
• Title Information
• Publication Information

3. Author Title
Smith, John T. The Meaning of Life.
Boston: Bedford, 2011. Print.
1/2 inch indent Publishing

4.  Ask three questions:
 What information do they (MLA)require?
 In what form do they want the information?
 What punctuation follows the information?

5. Smith, John T. The Meaning Of Life.
Boston: Bedford, 1996. Print.
1. What information do they Author’s name
require?
2. In what form do they Last name first, first name,
want the information? middle initial (if any)
3. What punctuation follows A period
the information?

6. Smith, Mary L., and John Q. Public. The
Meaning of Life. Boston: Bedford,
1996. Print.
Smith, Mary L., Betty Boop, and John Q.
Public. The Meaning of Life.
Boston: Bedford, 1996. Print.
Smith, Mary L., et al. The Meaning of Life.
Boston: Bedford, 1996. Print.

7. Smith, Mary L., and John Q. Public. The
Meaning of Life. 2nd ed. Boston:
Bedford, 1996. Print.

8. Olsen, Tillie. “I Stand Here Ironing.” Points of
View: An Anthology of Short Stories. Ed. James
Moffett and Kenneth R. McElheny. Rev. ed.
New York: Mentor, 1995. 21-9. Print.

9. If some of the publication information is missing,
use the following abbreviations:
Missing page number(s): n. pag. (note space)
Missing publisher: n.p.
Missing date: n.d.
Missing place (before colon): n.p. (no capital)
Capitalize first letter of abbreviations that
follow a period: Boston, Bedford, 2009. N. pag.

10. Smith, Harold K. “The Meaning of Life.”
U.S. News and World Report 6 Jan. 1998: 43-
51. Print.
• If page “jumps” to non-connected page, use
first page and the plus symbol: 43+.

11. Filligree, Lacey. “Everything You Need to
Know About Needlepoint.”
Needlepoint Monthly Aug. 2000: 33-9. Print.

12. Satterfield, Lucie T. “Two Ways of Looking at
Bipolar Disorder.” Psychology Today July-
Aug. 1992: 163+. Print.

13. “Two Ways of Looking at Bipolar
Disorder.” Psychology Today July-
Aug. 1992: 163+. Print.
• On your Works Cited Page, alphabetize
according to the first major word in the title
(not by a, an, or the).

14.  Sources found through an online database will
require a combination of two listings:
 The print listing
 Always ends with a page range or page number
 The database listing
 Always starts after the page number(s)
 All database sources will require both types of
information.

15.  Name of Database. Medium. Access date.
 Example:
 Academic Search Complete. Web. 5 May 2009.

16. Satterfield, Lucie T. “Two Ways of Looking at
Bipolar Disorder.” Psychology Today July-
Aug. 1992: 163+. Academic Search
Complete. Web. 5 Aug. 2009.

17. Hardwig, John. "The Ethical Obligation to
Consider the Spiritual Needs of the Dying."
Contemporary Issues Companion: Coping with
Death. Ed. Shasta Gaughen. San Diego:
Greenhaven Press, 2003. N. pag. Gale
Opposing Viewpoints in Context. Web. 26 June
2009.

18. Price, Tom. “Future of Journalism: Will
Newspapers’ Decline Weaken
Democracy?” CQ Researcher 27 Mar. 2009: 273-
96. CQ Researcher Online. Web. 27 May
2009.

19. Satterfield, Lucie T. “Two Ways of Looking at
Bipolar Disorder.” Psychology Today July-
Aug. 1992: 163+. SIRS Researcher. CD-
ROM, Boca Raton: SIRS, 2003.

20. Smith, Geraldine S. “Man Bites Dog.” St.
Petersburg Times (FL) 11 May 2001, South
Pinellas ed.: B12. Academic Search Complete.
Web. 22 Feb. 2009.

21.  Smith, Geraldine S. “Man Bites Dog.”
Tampabay.com. St. Petersburg Times (FL), 11
May 2001: n. pag. Web. 22 Feb. 2009.

22. Hartman, David E., and Tim Brock. “Extracts
from ‘A Virtual Poem: Extending Classroom
Reality?’” Computer Graphics 31.3 (1997):
75-7. Print.

23. Gates, William. Personal interview. 6 June 2000.
Gates, William. Telephone interview. 6 Feb. 2000.
Gates, William. E-mail interview. 17 May 2001.

24.  If the source is available only in electronic
form, use the following example:
Landsburg, Steven E. “Who Shall Inherit the
Earth?” Slate. 1 May 1997: n. pag. Web. 17
May 1997.

25. Author. “Title of Page.” Site Name. Sponsor or
publisher, Last Updated. Medium. Access
Date.
Ruch, Allen B. “Come on up, Kinch. Come up,
you fearful Jesuit.” James Joyce: The Brazen
Head. The Modern Word, 25 Apr. 2005. Web.
20 Aug. 2009.

26. Liukkonen, Petri. “James Augustine Aloysius
Joyce (1882-1941).” Books and Writers. N.p.,
2008. Web. 20 Aug. 2009.