Complete citations included at the end of your paper need to give readers enough information about your sources so readers can track them down.

Look at the following MLA citations and note the elements usually required when writing complete citations.

Be sure to keep track of this information as you gather your sources during the research process. You'll need it later when you write your paper.

You can also use online tools like SourceAid, Citation Machine, or KnightCite to produce your citations.

Need more? See Resources for UCLA Students.

Book with One Author

Format:

Author's Last Name, First Name. Title of Book. Place of Publication: Publisher, Date of Publication.

Citation:

Journal Articles

Format:

Author's Last Name, First Name. "Title of Article." Title of Journal Volume Number (Year of Publication): Page Numbers.

Citation:

Leyson, Andrew. "Time-Space and Digital Compression: Software Formats, Musical Networks, and the Reorganization of the Music Industry." Environment and Planning A 33 (2001): 49-77.

Monthly Magazine Articles

Format:

Author's Last Name, First Name. "Title of Article." Title of Magazine Month of Publication (abbreviated except for May, June & July) Year of Publication: Page Numbers.

Citation:

Wilby, Dave. "File Sharing: Whether You're a Fan of Freely Distributed Digital Music or Paid-For Services Managed by the Music Industry, It's Worth Knowing How File Sharing Works." Internet Magazine July 2003: 41.

Web Sites

Format:

varies depending on type of web site, but basically...

Author's/Creator's Last Name, First Name (if given). "Title of Page." Title of Site. Name of the creator or editor of the project or site (if available). Date of Posting/Revision. Name of Organization or Sponsor Associated with the Site. Date Accessed

Citation:

Hill, Erica. "Cyber Rights...and Wrongs." CNN.com. 6 Aug. 2003. Cable News Network. 9 Aug. 2003 <http://www.cnn.com/2003/TECH/08/06/hln.
wired.cyber.rights/index.html>.

Need more? See Resources for UCLA Students.

Beyond Print

There's a format for citing just about everything—films, television shows, email, cartoons—you name it. Say I was writing a paper about the role of research in the show Buffy the Vampire Slayer and I was using MLA citation style. According to MLA guidelines, for works "that [have] no pagination or other type of reference markers," like television shows, films, etc., it's recommended to include the author (director, performer, etc.) and the name of the work within the text Gibaldi 242).

So a sentence in my paper would look like this:

In Buffy the Vampire Slayer episode 9, "The Puppet," writers Des Hotel and Batali demonstrate that research has become a vital and routine first step Buffy and her friends take when defending the world from supernatural evil doers, even if they do so begrudgingly as Xander's comment illustrates, "Once again I'm banished to the demon section of the card catalog."

And I'd include this in my list of complete citations at the end of the paper:

"The Puppet." Buffy the Vampire Slayer. Writ. Rob Des Hotel and Dean Batali. Dir. Ellen S. Pressman. Twentieth Century Fox. WB, Burbank. 5 May 1997.

Check the appropriate style manual for details on how to cite other works.