How Do I Handle This Type of Situation in MLA Style?
- How Do I Cite a Work with No Author Listed?
Works Cited:
Start the citation with the title of the work if no author is given (MLA Handbook 24, 55-56). If it is a magazine article in a library database (see example below), add the title of the magazine (in italics), date of publication, page number(s), database title (in italics), and permalink URL listed in the database if no Digital Object Identifier or DOI is listed for the article.
Example:
In-Text:
Option A: Shorten the title to a noun phrase or if not possible, abbreviate to one word in a parenthetical note at the end of the sentence. Because the article is on one page, you need not list a page number with the abbreviated title at the end of the sentence.
Example:
Fifteen years ago talk show host Jerry Springer suggested he might run for the U.S. Senate ("For").
Option B: Put the complete title of the article in the sentence itself and additional information in a parenthetical reference. Because the article is on one page, you need not list a page number in parentheses at the end of the sentence.
Example:
In "For the Record," talk show host Jerry Springer suggested some fifteen years ago that he might run for the U.S. Senate.
- Do I Need to Cite Popular Facts and Ideas?
If you wish to include common knowledge or information frequently found in encyclopedias, dictionaries, and other guides found in most libraries, you need not cite it in your project (MLA Handbook 10). So if you mention that the election of the President of the United States is held every four years, no reference is needed. However, if you provide details on a presidential candidate's views on major issues facing the country, citing a source of that information is required. Check with your professors on their guidelines for including common knowledge in your project.
- How Do I Abbreviate Titles for Parenthetical In-Text Citations?
When listing a work in an in-text citation at the end of a sentence, shorten the title to a "noun phrase" if applicable or the first word of the title unless it is an article (MLA Handbook 117-18). For example, if the book to be cited was The Women Scientists, only Women Scientists would go in the parenthetical citation with the page number. If the title was Women Who Excelled, only Women would go in the parenthetical citation with the page number. Please note if you use a title of a work in the body of the sentence, you would list the entire title (MLA Handbook 56).
Work Cited
MLA Handbook. 8th ed., Modern Language Association of America, 2016.
