MLA Citation Style
Long Island University C.W. Post Campus
C.W. Post Campus B. Davis Schwartz Memorial Library

MLA Citation Style
MLA Handbook for Writers of Research Papers, 7th edition

Follow these color codes:
Author(s) Title of Book or Website Title of Article Title of Periodical Volume
Place of Publication Publisher or Database Date Other Information Pages



Journal Article
[Hardcopy]
Devine, Patricia G., and Steven J. Sherman. "Intuitive Versus Rational

     Judgment and the Role of Stereotyping in the Human Condition:

     Kirk or Spock?"
Psychological Inquiry 3.2 (1992): 153-59. Print.

[From a Website]
Hodges, F. M. "The Promised Planet: Alliances and Struggles of the

     Gerontocracy in American Television Science Fiction of the 1960s."


     Aging Male 6.3 (2003): 175-82. Web. 18 Feb. 2010.

[From a Database]
Roberts, Robin. "Performing Science Fiction: Television, Theater, and

     Gender in Star Trek: The Experience."
Extrapolation 42.4 (2001):

     340-56. Literature Resource Center. Web. 25 Feb. 2010.



Newspaper Article
[See examples under "Journal Article" to add the information for the website and database versions of a printed article]
Di Rado, Alicia. "Trekking through College: Classes Explore Modern

     Society Using the World of Star Trek." Los Angeles Times 15 Mar.

     1995:
A3+. Print.

[Specialized article: Movie review - the review information can be replaced with Editorial, Letter, etc.]
Dargis, Manohla. "Kids in Space." Rev. of Star Trek, dir. J. J. Abrams.

     New York Times 8 May 2009, sec. C: 1+. Print.

[Material available only on the website and not in the print version]
Lyall, Sarah. "To Boldly Go Where Shakespeare Calls." New York

     Times
.
New York Times, 27 Jan. 2008. Web. 25 Feb. 2010.



Magazine Article
[See examples under "Journal Article" to add the information for the website and database versions of a printed article]
[See examples under "Newspaper Article" for specialized articles and web-only material]
Mershon, Donald H. "Star Trek on the Brain: Alien Minds, Human

     Minds."
American Scientist Nov.-Dec. 1998: 585. Print.



Book
[Hardcopy]
Okuda, Michael, and Denise Okuda. Star Trek Chronology: The History

     of the Future
.
New York: Pocket, 1993. Print.

[No author or editor]
Vulcan Reflections: Essays on Spock and His World. Baltimore: T-K

     Graphics,
1975. Print.

[From a Database or Website]
Anijar, Karen. Teaching Toward the 24th Century : Star Trek as Social

     Curriculum
.
New York: Falmer-Taylor, 2000. Ebrary. Web. 1 Mar.

     2010.



Book Article or Chapter
James, Nancy E. "Two Sides of Paradise: The Eden Myth According to

     Kirk and Spock." Spectrum of the Fantastic. Ed. Donald Palumbo.

     Westport: Greenwood, 1988. 219-23. Print.



Encyclopedia Article
[Widely used general reference books - Hardcopy]
Sturgeon, Theodore. "Science Fiction." The Encyclopedia Americana.

     International ed. 1995. Print.

[Specialized reference books - from a Database]
Barr, Marleen S. "Science Fiction." New Dictionary of the History of

     Ideas
.
Ed. Maryanne Cline Horowitz. Vol. 5. Detroit: Scribner's, 2005.

     Gale Virtual Reference Library. Web. 1 Mar. 2010.



Gale Reference Book (and Literature Criticism Online database)
[For books featuring reprinted articles. This shows a magazine article. Use the journal, newspaper, or book article styles as needed.]
Shayon, Robert Lewis. "The Interplanetary Spock." Saturday Review

     17 June 1967: 46. Rpt. in Contemporary Literary Criticism. Ed.

     Sharon R. Gunton.
Vol. 17. Detroit: Gale, 1981. 403. Literature

     Criticism Online
.
Web. 1 Mar. 2010.



Websites
Epsicokhan, Jamahl. "Confessions of a Closet Trekkie." Jammer's

     Reviews.
N.p., 20 Feb. 2004. Web. 15 Mar. 2010.

[Page with a corporate author]
United States. National Aeronautics and Space Administration. Jet

     Propulsion Laboratory.
"Mission Could Seek out Spock's Home

     Planet."
PlanetQuest: Exoplanet Exploration. NASA, 10 May 2007.

     Web. 15 Mar. 2010.

[Page with no author]
"The Roddenberry Legacy of Human Potential: If Only, If Only." Star

     Trek Official Site.
CBS Studios, 24 Oct. 2007. Web. 15 Mar. 2010.



Blog
Zompist. "Star Wars: Hope Not So New Anymore." Zompist's E-Z Rant

     Page.
WordPress.com, 30 Sept. 2009. Web. 16 Mar. 2010.

[Comment posted on a blog or webpage]
Rachael. "Re: Confessions of a Closet Trekkie." Reply to Jamahl

     Epsicokhan.
Jammer's Reviews. N.p., 5 Aug. 2009. Web. 25 Mar.

     2010.



Wiki
"Cultural Influence of Star Trek." Wikipedia: The Free Encyclopedia.

     Wikimedia Foundation, n.d. Web. 15 Mar. 2010.



Internet Video
Crusade2267. "For The Uniform: One Fan's Obsession with Star Trek,

     Part 1."
The Warped Mind of a Crazy Trekkie: Crusade2267's

     Channel.
YouTube, 2 Nov. 2006. Web. 16 Mar. 2010.


Schnell, Jason, dir. "Twilight Fan: Harry Potter vs. Twilight." Reckless

     Tortuga's Channel.
YouTube, 8 June 2009. Web. 16 Mar. 2010.

[Clip from a movie]
"Star Trek 2009 Deleted Scene with Nero and Klingons." Dir. J. J.

     Abrams.
Paramount, 2009. On Screen: Finalfrontier1701's Channel.

     YouTube. Web. 24 Mar. 2010.



PowerPoint Presentation (and other digital files such as Word documents, PDF, etc.)
Oard, Douglas W. "Bringing Star Trek to Life: Computers That Speak

     and Listen."
U of Maryland. Coll. of Information Studies, 3 Apr. 2001.

     TerpConnect. U of Maryland. Office of Information Technology.

     Microsoft PowerPoint file. 21 Mar. 2010.



ERIC Document
Fuss-Reineck, Marilyn. Sibling Communication in Star Trek: The Next

     Generation: Conflicts between Brothers.
Miami: Speech

     Communication Assn.,
1993. ERIC. Web. 15 Mar. 2010.


Parenthetical References

The sources that you use should be cited in the text of your paper, either in a parentheses or as part of the text itself:

During the turbulent 1960s, science fiction programs on television reflected the public's attitudes toward the older generation (Hodges 179).

Hodges discussed how, during the turbulent 1960s, science fiction programs on television reflected the public's attitudes toward the older generation (179).

Put the parentheses before a period, semicolon, or comma in order to avoid disrupting the flow of the sentence. If you are referring to the entire source in a general way, you may leave out the page numbers.

(Devine and Sherman 156-57)

(Kirk, Spock, and McCoy 1701)

(Vulcan Reflections 63-66)   [Book with no author]
Longer titles should be shortened to the first word or two.

("Roddenberry Legacy")   [Article or web page with no author and with no page numbers]

(US, NASA, Jet Propulsion Laboratory)   [Document with a corporate author and no page numbers]
Use standard abbreviations for words in long names if they exist. Place commas between units instead of periods. MLA prefers that you incorporate lengthy names into the text (without abbreviations) and place only the page numbers (if any) in parentheses.


Notes (for the Sixth edition; notes for the Seventh edition are under construction.)

  • Arrange the items on your reference list alphabetically by author, interfiling books, articles, etc.
  • Doublespace all lines.
  • Indent the second and following lines 5 spaces (or one half inch).
  • If no author is given, start with the title.
  • Abbreviate the names of all months except May, June, and July.
  • If the paging of a magazine or newspaper article is continued elswhere in the issue, include only the first page followed by a plus sign (ex. 25+.).
  • If the encyclopedia does not arrange its articles alphabetically, treat the encyclopedia article as if it were a book article. Specific volume and page numbers are cited in the text, not in the list of references.
  • Gale Reference Book: cite the original source being reprinted as shown under Book, Journal Article, Newspaper or Magazine Article, etc. The example shows a Magazine Article. Then include the citation information for the reference book.
  • Websites: include the title of the web page, the name of the entire web site, the organization that posted it (this may be the same as the name of the website). Also include the full date the page was created or last updated (day, month, year if available) and the date you looked at it.
  • Internet Magazine Articles: Include:
    • The full date of the article (day, month, year if available) and the date you looked at it;
      • If you are citing a journal instead of a magazine, include the volume (and issue number) and date as shown under the Journal Style above.
    • As for page numbers, different databases will provide different information. Include the range of pages (ex. 25-28.); or the starting page followed by a hyphen, a blank space, and a period (ex. 64- .); or the total number of pages or paragraphs (ex. 12 pp. or 33 pars.). If no page information is given, then leave it out.
    • The name of the database (underlined) and the company that created it.
    • The library or other organization (and its location) that provided you with access to the database.
    • If the web address (URL) of the article is very long, you only need to include the URL of the database's home page.
  • The rules concerning a title within a title are not displayed here for purposes of clarity. See the printed version of the manual for details.
  • For documents and situations not listed here, see the printed version of the manual.

  • Other Styles


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Robert Delaney 3/28/2010
[email protected]

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