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Essay Writing Help - MLA Referencing

MLA Referencing: An Overview

The MLA (Modern Language Association) system of referencing is widely used in referencing within the humanities. The MLA Handbook gives clear and comprehensive guidance on how to use this referencing style which you should consult if you need more advice than this brief guide provides.

When using MLA referencing, cite a book in this format:

  • Author of text in the format of surname and forename followed by full stop
  • Title of text underlined followed by a full stop
  • Place of publication followed by a colon
  • Publisher followed by a comma
  • Year of publication.

Hence, in MLA referencing, a book would be cited thus:

Taylor, John. Modern Referencing. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1999.

To cite a journal article in MLA format, use the following structure:

  • Author of article in the format of surname and forename followed by full stop
  • Name of article in quotation marks followed by a full stop
  • Name of journal underlined
  • Volume/Issue number followed by a full stop
  • Date of publication in brackets followed by a colon
  • Page numbers followed by a full stop.

Hence, in MLA referencing a journal would be cited thus:

Taylor, John. Using MLA. Referencing Today 2. (August 2008): 23-37.

To cite an electronic source in MLA format, use the following structure:

  • Author of article in the format of surname and forename followed by full stop
  • Name of article in quotation marks followed by a full stop
  • Name of website underlined followed by a full stop
  • Date of publication on website followed by a full stop
  • Date accessed
  • Website URL

Hence, in MLA referencing, an electronic source would be cited thus:

Taylor, John. Using MLA. Referencing Online. 2008. Accessed 6 August

2008 <http://www.referencingonline>

In the body of the essay, referencing is parenthetical, as for Harvard and often including a reference list.

Further Resources: