Form for an MLA Bibliography
Bibliographic entries consist of three parts, separated by periods:
1. The author’s or authors’ names –last name first for first author.
2. The title. (Underline titles of books, magazines, and encyclopedias, but use quotation marks for shorter works.
3. The facts of publication –place, publisher, date.
The resources should be listed alphabetically by either author’s last name or the first word of the title.
The first line of each entry should start at the margin. The rest of the lines should be indented five spaces.
The Bibliography Page should be the last page of any paper. It should not be numbered.
You should write Bibliography Page on the center and top of the page.
Book with one author
Author’s Last Name, First Name. Title of Book. City: Publisher, Year.
Brooks, Victor. Spies in the Civil War. Philadelphia: Chelsea House, 2000.
Book with two authors
First Author’s Last Name, First Name, and Second Author’s First Name Last Name. Title of Book. City: Publisher, Year.
Lutz, William, and Tom Miller. The History of Grover Cleveland Middle School. New York: Random House, 2004.
A book with more than two authors
Put the first author’s name then put et al. Continue to follow the one author format.
Berger, Larry et al. Up Your Score. New York: Workman Publishing, 1998.
An article from a reference book with one author
Author’s Last Name, First Name “Title of Article.” Name of the Reference Book. #ed. Year. Page numbers are only used when the reference book is not in alphabetical order.
Reilly, John G. “Pizza.” World Book. 2004 ed.
An article from a reference book with no author
“Title of Article.” Name of the Reference Book. #ed. Year. Page numbers are only used when the reference book is not in alphabetical order.
“Jackson, Joe.” Encyclopedia Americana. 2004 ed.
Background Notes
U.S. Department of State, Bureau of Public Affairs, Office of Public Communication.
"Afghanistan." Background Notes. Washington: GPO, 1995.
Culturegram
Brigham Young University. "Pakistan." Culturegram. Provo, Utah:
David M. Kennedy Center for International Studies, 2005.
A Magazine article
Author’s Last Name, First Name. “Title of Article.” Name of Magazine. Date of publication: Page Numbers.
[If there is no author, list the “Title of Article” first followed by the rest of the information.]
Kowalski, Kathiann M. “Aftermath in Massachusetts.” Cobblestone. December 2004: 29-31.
A Newspaper article
Author’s Last Name, First Name. “Title of Article.” Name of the Newspaper. Day Month Year.
Edition: letter or name of the section of the paper.
Stevens, William K. "Putting Things Right in the Everglades." The New York Times.
13 November 1999. Final Edition: Science Times.
A web site
Author (if known). “Title of Page or Document.” Title of the Site or Larger Work. (if applicable).
Date of electronic publication, last update, or date of posting. Name of institution of publisher affiliated with
Site (if known). Date of download. <URL/address of site>.
Arnett, Bill. “Mercury.” The Nine Planets. 7 July 1997: University of Arizona. 20 Dec. 2004. <http://dept.physics.upenn.edu/nineplanets/mercury.html>.
Brian, Marshall and Jeff Tyson. “How Cell Phones Work.” How Stuff Works. 2004. 20 Dec. 2004. <http://electronics.howstuffworks.com/cell-phone.htm>.
Article from an online encyclopedia
Author. “Title of Article.” Title of Reference Work. Edition or version (if available).
Date of electronic publication. Title of Database. Date of access. < URL/address of site>.
Pasquier, Roger F. “Owl.” Encyclopedia Americana. 2002. Grolier Online. 20 Dec. 2004. <http://ea.grolier.com>.
Journal article from a subscription service such as EBSCO
Author. “Title of Article.” Periodical Title. Date of print publication (if available): pages.
Database Name (if any). Publisher (if appropriate). Date of access. < URL/address of site>.
Springen, Karen. “Using Genes as Medicine.” Newsweek: 6 Dec. 2004: 56. EBSCOHost. 20 Dec. 2004. <http://web16.epnet.com>.
Interview
Name of the person being interviewed. “Title of the Interview.” Source. Date.
Jordan, Michael. “Interview with Tom Delany.” ESPN. 22 January 2000.
Interview that you conducted
Name of the person you interviewed. Personal Interview or Telephone Interview or Internet Interview. Date.
Pennington, Chad. Personal Interview. 20 Dec. 2004.