How to Write a Bibliography MLA Format

For each source, begin typing the first line of information at the left hand margin.  If you need more that one line to type all the information, press ENTER to start a second line and indent that second line. Watch for the punctuation that needs to be typed. Don't forget the commas or periods or colons.  Also watch for when to use italics. Arrange all the sources in one list, alphabetically by first word that was typed.  (The sources are not "grouped" by books, web sites, etc.  It is all one long list with the different kinds of sources intermixed.)                     When citing single authors, always list last name, first name. (For example: Smith, Thomas) When citing more than one author, the first author is cited last name, first name. The remaining authors are cited in normal order. (For example: Smith, Thomas, Linda Jones, and Karen Henderson) For the city of publication: cite the first city listed in the United States when more than one city is listed. For large cities such as New York, Chicago, Los Angeles, etc. you need only list the city. For smaller cities, list the city and the two letter postal abbreviation. (For example: Bloomington, IN). Book with one author: Author. Title of book. (in italics) City of publication: Publisher, date of publication. Example: Cohen, Daniel.  America's Very Own Ghosts. New York: Doubleday, 1985. Book with two authors: Authors. (in the order they are given in the book)  Title of book. (in italics)  City of publication: Publisher, date of publication. Example: Smith, Elizabeth and David Wright. Rocks and Minerals. Chicago: Macmillan, 1995. If your citation is from volume of a multivolume work and each volume has its own title, you need cite only the actual volume you have used without reference to other volumes in the work. Example: The History of Civilization by Will and Ariel Durant comes in 11 volumes. Title of Volume VI: The Reformation Durant, Wil and Ariel Durant. The Reformation. New York: Simon and Schuster, 1980. Encyclopedia and other familiar reference books: Author of article. (if available) "Title of article. "(in quotations) Title of book. (in italics)  Date of edition.  (Volume and page number not necessary if articles are arranged alphabetically). Example: Eiselen, Malcolm R.  "Franklin, Benjamin."  The World Book Encyclopedia.  1999. When there is no author: "Title of article. "(in quotations) Title of book. (in italics)  Date of edition.  (Volume and page number not necessary if articles are arranged alphabetically). Example: "France."  Compton's Encyclopedia.   1998. If an encyclopedia is not well known, you must give full publication information including author, name of editor or edition, number of volumes in set, place of publication, publisher, and year of publication. Example: Midge, T. "Powwows." Encyclopedia of Native American Indians. Ed. D.L. Birchfield. 11 vols. New York: Cavendish, 1997. Article in a periodical: Author.  (if available) "Title of article."(in quotations) Title of Periodical (in italics) date: page(s). Example: Haverkamp, Beth.   "Bad Women and Bandit Queens."  Cobblestone  May 1996:  20-22. When there is no author: "Title of article."(in quotations) Title of Periodical (in italics) date: page(s). Example: "N.F.L. Training Camp Report."  The New York Times  21 August 1996: B12. Booklet, pamphlet, or brochure with no author stated: Title of brochure (in italics).  City of publication: Publisher, date of publication. Example: Diabetes Care: Blood Glucose Monitoring. Burnaby, BC: LifeScan Canada, 1997. Booklet, pamphlet , or brochure with an author: Author of pamphlet. Title of pamphlet. (in italics) City of publication: Publisher, date of publication. Example: Zimmer, Henry B. Canplan: Your Canadian Financial Planning Software. Calgary: Springbank, 1994. Government Publication: Cite the government document in the following order if no author is given: 1) Government, 2) Agency, 3) Title of Publication (in italics), 4 ) City of publication, 5) date Example: Canada. Minister of Indian Affairs and Northern Development. Gathering Strength: Canada's Aboriginal Action Plan. Ottawa: Minister of Public Works and Government Services Canada, 2000. Definition from a dictionary: When citing a definition from a dictionary, add the abbreviation Def. after the word. If the word has several meanings, state the number and/or the letter indicated in the dictionary. Example: "Mug." Def.2. The New Lexicon Webster's Encyclopedic Dictionary of the English Language. Canadian ed. 1988. Bible: Give the name of the specific edition, any editor(s) associated with it, followed by the publication information Example:. The New American Bible. St. Joseph Edition. New York: Catholic Book Company, 1970. Film, Movie: Short forms may be used, e.g. dir. (directed by), narr. (narrated by), perf. (performers), prod. (produced by), writ. (written by). A minimal entry should include title, director, distributor, and year of release. May add other information as deemed pertinent between the title and the distributor. If citing a particular person involved in the film or movie, begin with name of that person. Charlie and the Chocolate Factory. Dir. Tim Burton. Based on book by Roald Dahl.         Perf. Johnny Depp. Warner, 2005. Depp, Johnny, perf. Charlie and the Chocolate Factory. Dir. Tim Burton. Based on book         by Roald Dahl. Warner, 2005. Burton, Tim, dir. Charlie and the Chocolate Factory. Based on book by Roald Dahl. Perf.         Johnny Depp. Warner, 2005.

Electronic Sources

Encyclopedia and other publications on CD-ROM: Author.  (if available) "Title of article." Title of Product. (in  italics) Edition or version (if relevant) CD-ROM. City of publication: Publisher, date of publication. Example: last name,    first name Cashman, Katherine V. "Volcano." World Book Multimedia Encyclopedia. 1999 ed. CD-ROM. Chicago: World Book Inc., 1999. Other examples: Leicester, Henry M. "Chemistry." Microsoft Encarta. 1998 ed. CD-ROM. Redmond, WA: Microsoft Corporation, 1999. Solnick, Bruce B. "Christopher Columbus." Grolier Multimedia Encyclopedia. 1994 ed. CD-ROM. Danbury, CT: Grolier Electronic Publishing, Inc., 1992. When there is no author: "Title of article." Title of Product. (in italics) Edition or version (if relevant) CD-ROM. City of publication: Publisher, date of publication. Example: "Japan." Cartopedia. CD-ROM. New York: Dorling Kindersley, 1995. Another example: "Engine, Four-Stroke." David Macauley: The Way Things Work. CD-ROM. New York: Dorling Kindersley, 1994. Periodical article found in CD-ROM database: Author. "Title of article." Periodical title (in italics) date: page. Title of database. (in italics)  CD-ROM. Publication city: publisher, publication date. Example: Gray, Robert. "Do You Believe in Dragons?." Ranger Rick Oct 1993: 21-29. SIRS Discoverer. CD-ROM. Boca Raton: SIRS, Inc., Spring 1996. Another example: Timney, Mark C. "Virtual Chills and Thrills." Boys' Life April 1995: 13-15. Primary Search. CD-ROM.     Peabody, MA: EBSCO, March 1996. Interview Conducted by the Researcher Name of person interviewed. Type of interview. Date of interview. Example: Whitman, Christie.  Personal interview.  20 August 1999. Another example: Ford, Harrison.  Telephone interview.  26 January 1999.

Online Sources

Encyclopedia from an online service: "Title of article." Title of encyclopedia.(in italics) Name of publisher(if available), date of publication. Date of your visit Online service you used. Example: "Animal Rights."  Compton's Living Encyclopedia. Compton's Learning Company, 1996. 22 August 1999 America Online. Another example: Author.  (if shown) Ketcham, Ralph.  "Franklin, Benjamin."  Grolier Multimedia Encyclopedia. Grolier Interactive Inc., 10 September 1999 America Online. Periodical article from an online database: Author. "Title of article." Periodical title (in italics) date: page. Name of database. (in italics) Publisher of database. Date of your visit. Example: Peterson, Robert W. "Teddy Roosevelt:The Conservation President." Boys' Life April 1994: 28. Primary Research. EBSCO Publishing. 12 November 2000 < http://search.epnet.com >.

World Wide Web:

Author. "Title of article." Title of complete work. (in italics) Date of your visit  < httpaddress >. Example: Winter, Mark."Nitrogen ."  WebElements. 9 July 1999 < http://shef.ac.uk/chemistry/web-elements/N/key.html >. When author is not known: Example: "Statistical Summary: America's Major Wars ."  The U.S. Civil War Center. 14 August 1999  < http://cwc.lsu.edu/other/stats/warcost.htm >. Other examples: Boritt, Gobor S.  "Civil War."  World Book Online. 10 September 1999       < http://www.worldbookonline.com/na/ar/fs/ar117060.htm >.   If the URL is too long for a line, divide the address where it creates the least ambiguity and confusion, e.g. do not divide a domain name and end with a period such as geocities. Do not divide a term in the URL that is made up of combined words e.g. SchoolHouseRock. Never add a hyphen at the end of the line to indicate syllabical word division unless the hyphen is actually found in the original URL. Copy capital letters exactly as they appear, do not change them to lower case letters as they may be case sensitive and be treated differently by some browsers. Remember that the purpose of indicating the URL is for readers to be able to access the Web page. Accuracy and clarity are essential Personal e-mail:       Author.  < Author's e-mail address >. "Subject line from posting." Date of publication. Personal e-mail. Example: (who sent the e-mail) last name ,  first name Thompson, Barry. < bthompson@aol.com > "Computer Viruses ." 26 November 1999. Personal e-mail. The Owl at Purdue  http://owl.english.purdue.edu/owl/resource/557/09/ You can go to this site for further information if you come across a source which is not listed on my sice and you need information on how to cite it.