MLA Style: 9th Edition

General Format:

Last name, First name. "Title of Article." Title of Journal, vol #, no. #,

            date if provided, pp. #-#. Database, doi (preferred) or

            url (permalink, stable link, etc. preferred).

 

Examples:

Karvinen, Kristo. "Winter War, Anti-Communism and the volunteers from

            abroad, 1939-1940." Twentieth Century Communism, no. 21,

            autumn 2021, pp. 9-28. Gale Academic OneFile, link.gale.com/

            apps/doc/A694031329/AONE?u=sunyjefferson&sid=bookmark-

            AONE&xid=e9168a45.

 

• This example is a scholarly journal article contained in a Library Database.
• This example illustrates using pp. to precede a page number range of more than one page; use p. to precede a single page range. (MLA 9th, p. 193)
• This example illustrates truncating the url from the permalink by removing the protocol http and the // "unless you want to hyperlink them..." (MLA 9th, p. 195)
• This example illustrates not providing an access date for a publication that includes a date of publication and the writer does not suspect that the work has been altered. (MLA 9th, p. 211)

 

Raento, Pauliina, and Stanley D. Brunn. “Visualizing Finland: Postage

           Stamps as Political Messengers.” Geografiska Annaler. Series B,

           Human Geography, vol. 87, no. 2, 2005, pp. 145–163. JSTOR,

           www.jstor.org/stable/3554307.

• This example is a scholarly journal article contained in a Library Database.
• This example illustrates formatting for two authors. (MLA 9th, p. 111)
• This example illustrates not providing an access date for a publication that includes a date of publication and the writer does not suspect that the work has been altered. (MLA 9th, p. 211)
• This example illustrates using pp. to precede a page number range of more than one page; use p. to precede a single page range. (MLA 9th, p. 193)
   

Paksuniemi, Merja, et al. "Teacher Education in Finland during the

          War Years, 1939-45." War & Society, vol. 33, no. 1, Feb. 2014,

          pp. 12-25. Military & Government Collection,

          https://doi.org/10.1179/0729247313Z.00000000029.

• This example is a scholarly journal article contained in a Library Database.
• This example illustrates formatting for three or more authors. (MLA 9th, p. 112)
• This example illustrates using pp. to precede a page number range of more than one page; use p. to precede a single page range. (MLA 9th, p. 193)
• The need to include the date of publication, in the day month year format, including as much information as provided is illustrated in this example. (MLA 9th, p. 178, p. 185)
• Preferred inclusion of a doi in an entry if provided is illustrated in this example, as is including the entire prefix https://doi.org. (MLA 9th, p. 194, p. 196) In addition, the doi provided by the database was modified, eliminating a portion of the url with JCC database specific information which did not work in a browser.

 

Updated 6/11/2024

 

General Format:

Last name, first name. Title of Book: With Subtitle. Publisher,

     Year published.

Examples:

Davenport, Thomas H. and Nitin Mittal. All in on AI: How Smart Companies

     Win Big with Artificial Intelligence. Harvard Business Review Press, 2023.

 

• This example of a print book illustrates formatting for two authors.
  (MLA 9th, p. 111)

 

United States, National Institute of Mental Health. "Hooked!" United States
        Government Printing Office, 1967. Government Comics Collection,
        mediacommons.unl.edu/luna/servlet.
 

• This example is a comic book created by a government agency,
  accessed via an online archive collection.
• This example illustrates truncating the url from the link by removing the protocol http or https and the // "unless you want to hyperlink them..." (MLA 9th, p. 195) This example also illustrates ending the citation with a period, even when the citation ends in a URL. (MLA 9th, p. 320)

 

Harris, M. Gifts of Virtue, Alice Walker, and Womanist Ethics, Palgrave

        Macmillan, 2010. ProQuest Ebook Central, ebookcentral.proquest.

        com/lib/sunyjefferson-ebooks/detail.action?docID=652723.

 

• This is an example of an Ebook, contained in a Library Database.
• This example illustrates truncating the url from the link by removing the protocol http or https and the // "unless you want to hyperlink them..." (MLA 9th, p. 195) This example also illustrates ending the citation with a period, even when the citation ends in a URL. (MLA 9th, p. 320)
• This example illustrates not providing an access date for a publication that includes a date of publication and the writer does not suspect that the work has been altered. (MLA 9th, p. 211)

 

Brands, H.W., et al. American Stories: A History of the United States. 4th ed.,

         Revel ed., vol. 1, 2018. Revel, Pearson Education, pearsonhighered.

         com/revel/.

• This example is a proprietary ebook version of a textbook.
• The example illustrates providing the author's name as presented in the work. (MLA 9th, p. 111)
• The example further illustrates proper use of et al. following the first listed author's name for works with three or more authors. (MLA 9th, p. 112.
• The example above is a 4th edition - use ed. as the abbreviation for edition and place it after the period following the title. (MLA 9th, p. 154)
• If citing only one volume of a multivolume set and each volume is titled identically, add the volume number, using vol. as the abbreviation for volume. (MLA 9th, p. 158)
• Because this ebook is provided via the online learning management platform Revel by Pearson Education, the citation lists Revel as a container for the ebook. Pearson Education is included to clarify that they are the creators of the Revel platform.
• This example illustrates truncating the url from the link by removing the protocol http or https and the // "unless you want to hyperlink them..." (MLA 9th, p. 195) This example also illustrates ending the citation with a period, even when the citation ends in a URL. (MLA 9th, p. 320)

Updated 6/12/24

General Format:

Author Last, Author First. "Title of Web Page." Title of Web Site. Publisher,

         Publication date, Location.

Examples:

"Automotive Service Technicians and Mechanics." O*NET OnLine.

         National Center for O*NET Development, 30 Apr. 2024,

         onetonline.org/link/summary/49-3023.00.
 

• This example is for a specific entry from an online reference work.
• This example illustrates use of the article or page title as the initial piece of the citation for unsigned entries in reference works and websites. (MLA 9th, p. 327) It also reinforces use of the MLA template of core elements and omiting elements that do not apply. (MLA 9th, p. 105)
• This example illustrates truncating the url from the permalink by removing the protocol http and the // "unless you want to hyperlink them..." (MLA 9th, p. 195) This example also illustrates ending the citation with a period, even when the citation ends in a URL. (MLA 9th, p. 320)
• This example illustrates not providing an access date for a publication that includes a date of publication and the writer does not suspect that the work has been altered. (MLA 9th, p. 211)
• This example illustrates the correct day-month-year format for the date of publication (MLA 9th, p. 185), as well as the appropriate abbreviation for the month. (MLA 9th, p. 295)

 

Updated 5/31/24

 

General Format:

Last name, First name. "Title of Article." Title of Newspaper, day month

           year of publication, pp. #-#. Database, doi (preferred) or url

           (permalink, stable link, etc.preferred).

 
Examples:

Zewe, Adam. "Explained: Generative AI." MIT News, 9 Nov. 2023,

            news.mit.edu/2023/explained-generative-ai-1109.

 

• This example is an online news site.
• This example illustrates not including page or paragraph numbers for a source that did not originally have page numbers. (MLA 9th, p. 244 and p. 322)
• This example illustrates truncating the url from the permalink by removing the protocol http and the // "unless you want to hyperlink them..." (MLA 9th, p. 195) This example also illustrates ending the citation with a period, even when the citation ends in a URL. (MLA 9th, p. 320)
• This example illustrates not providing an access date for a publication that includes a date of publication and the writer does not suspect that the work has been altered. (MLA 9th, p. 211)
• This example illustrates the correct day-month-year format for the date of publication (MLA 9th, p. 185), as well as the appropriate abbreviation for the month. (MLA 9th, p. 295)

 

Boudette, Neal E. "Ford Slows Its Push Into Electric Vehicles." New York

     Times. Digital ed., 4 Apr. 2024, Gale Academic OneFile,

     link.gale.com/apps/doc/A788947875/AONE?u=sunyjefferson&sid=

     bookmark-AONE&xid=0547b92c.
 

• This example is from an online version of a newspaper, accessed via a library database, which is listed as a container. (MLA 9th, p. 138)
• The article cited appeared in the digital version of the New York Times, versus the print edition. Upon examination of the two versions, both available in the database, several slight differences were observed. In light of this, the Digital ed. note was added to the citation. (MLA 9th, p. 157) This example also illustrates the proper abbreviation of edition: ed. (MLA 9th, page 294)
• This example illustrates not including page or paragraph numbers for a source that did not originally have page numbers. (MLA 9th, p. 244 and p. 322)
• This example illustrates truncating the url from the permalink by removing the protocol http and the // "unless you want to hyperlink them..." (MLA 9th, p. 195) This example also illustrates ending the citation with a period, even when the citation ends in a URL. (MLA 9th, p. 320)
• This example illustrates not providing an access date for a publication that includes a date of publication and the writer does not suspect that the work has been altered. (MLA 9th, p. 211)
• This example illustrates the correct day-month-year format for the date of publication (MLA 9th, p. 185), as well as the appropriate abbreviation for the month. (MLA 9th, p. 295)

 

“What is AI?" prompt. ChatGPT, 3.5 version, OpenAI, 30 Mar. 2024,
     chatgpt.com.

Notes:

• Do not treat the AI tool as the author.
• Include the prompt as the title of the source. You could choose to include other information here as well.
• Enter the name of the AI tool as the Title of the Container. Be as specific as possible in relation to the AI tool name, including the version and if possible the specific date of the version as the Version element.
• For the publisher, insert the company that made the tool.
• For the date, provide the date the content was generated.
• Location: Provide the URL of the tool.

Updated:  1/24/25

Citing Classroom Materials

General Format:

Author of content Last Name, First Name. "Title of Material."

     Name of Course, taught by instructor first name instructor

     last name. Learning Management System, college name,

     Date handout was received/posted, URL.

 

Examples:

Tuttle, Lori. "Lecture Notes Chapter Three." SOC 144 Introduction

     to Sociology, taught by Lori Tuttle. Brightspace, Jefferson

     Community College,14 Sept. 2024, mylearning.suny.edu/d2l/home/

     219879.

Notes:

• This example illustrates a citation for lecture notes accessed via the Brightspace learning management system. Since the lecture notes are located on that platform, that makes Brightspace a container under MLA guidelines. Note:  If Brightspace provides a link to a source on an external website, you do not include Brightspace as a container. (MLA 9th, p. 137 and p. 341))
• This example illustrates the correct day-month-year format for the date of publication (MLA 9th, p. 185), as well as the appropriate abbreviation for the month. (MLA 9th, p. 295)
• This example illustrates truncating the url from the permalink by removing the protocol http and the // "unless you want to hyperlink them..." (MLA 9th, p. 195)  Note: The URL in this example is for JCC's home page in Brightspace. It will have a different 6 digit ending number for specific courses/areas

Updated 6/6/24

 

The in-text citation should direct the reader to the full citation in the Works Cited list at the end of the paper. In general, you include the first element of the full citation and enough information to lead the reader to the relevant passage in the text (usually a page number).

In-text citations can be included in a sentence in your writing (referred to as "Citation in prose" by MLA) or following a sentence in parentheses (referred to as a "Parenthetical citation" by MLA). (MLA 9th, p. 227)

Example In-Text Citations:

(Bayor 28)

• This example illustrates a parenthetical in-text citation for a single author, citing information on page 28. (MLA 9th, p. 228)

(Raento and Brunn 147)

• This example illustrates a parenthetical in-text citation for a work by co-authors, citing information on page 147. (MLA 9th, p. 232)

(Paksuniemi et al. 23)

• This example illustrates a parenthetical in-text citation for a work by three or more authors, citing information on page 23. (MLA 9th, p. 232)

(Automotive)

• This example illustrates a parenthetical in-text citation for a work with the title as the first element in the Works Cited citation. If the title is included in the text as a Citation in Prose, the full title is used: Automotive Service Technicians and Mechanics. (MLA 9th, p. 237)
• This example illustrates not including page or paragraph numbers for a source that did not originally have page numbers. (MLA 9th, p. 244 and p. 322)

 

In-Text Citation General Notes:

• When you cite the author's name in a Citation in Prose, provide the full name the first time, and the surname only for subsequent citations. If there is a middle initial, you may omit it in your prose. (MLA 9th, p. 230)

 

 

 

Short Quotations:

If a quotation is four lines or less in length, add quotation marks and incorporate it into your writing. (MLA 9th, p. 253)

If a quotation ends a sentence and a parenthetical citation is required, the period follows the reference. (MLA 9th, p. 254)

 

Long (Block) Quotations:

Set off quotations of more than four lines by indenting them half an inch. Do not indent the first line further and do not add quotation marks.

End the sentence introducing the quotation with a colon in most cases, although there is some flexibility for this. Generally, add a parenthetical citation after the last line of the quotation, with the punctuation for the ending of quotation inserted before the parenthetical citation. Have one space between the punctuation and parenthetical citation. (MLA 9th, p. 254)