This guide gives examples of one way of setting out references for an assignment. The MLA style is widely used in the humanities, and is detailed in the publication:
Gibaldi, J. MLA Handbook for Writers of Research Papers. 6th ed. New York: Modern Language
Association of America, 2003.
- Citing in the text
- Other MLA style guides
Book Reference
Bibliographic details are given as follows:
Author's surname, first name or initials. Title of the Book. Edition [if not first]. Place of publication: Publisher's name, year of publication.
- Give the authors' and editors' names as they appear on the title page of the book.
- Publishers' names are shortened, e.g. Cambridge UP, Harper, Random.
Examples:
Book with single author:
Reynolds, Henry. Black Pioneers. Ringwood, Vic.: Penguin, 2000.
Book with 2 (or more) authors:
Gilbert, Rob, and Pam Gilbert. Masculinity Goes to School. St. Leonards, N.S.W.: Allen, 1998.
Book with editor(s):
Broinowski, Alison, ed. ASEAN into the 1990s. London: Macmillan, 1990.
Nugent, Stephen and Shore, Chris, eds. Anthropology and Cultural Studies. London: Pluto, 1997.
Anthology or Compilation
Moss, Peter, comp. Voicing the Difference: Stories and Poems. Kent Town, S.A.: Multicultural Writers Association, 1994.
Book, author/editor not known:
Longman Dictionary of the English Language. Harlow, Essex: Longman, 1984.
Book with author and editor:
Austen, Jane. Mansfield Park Ed. John Wiltshire. Cambridge: Cambridge UP, 2005.
Book other than first edition:
Goudie, Andrew. The Human Impact on the Natural Environment. 5th ed. Oxford: Blackwell, 2000.
Book with more than one volume:
Corsini, Raymond J., ed. Encyclopedia of Psychology. 4 vols. New York: Wiley, 1994.
Topliss, Helen. Tom Roberts 1856 - 1931: A Catalogue Raisonné. Vol.2. Melbourne: Oxford UP, 1985.
Book with corporate author:
Dames and Moore. Environmental Management Plan: Townsville Field Training Area. Brisbane: Dames and Moore, 1995.
Chapter or Article in a Book
Bibliographic details are given as follows:
Author's surname, first name or initials. "Title of Chapter." Title of Book. Ed. First name or initial, Surname. Edition [if not first]. Place of publication: Publisher's name, year of publication. xx-yy.
Examples:
Fontana, A. and Frey, J. "Interviewing: The Art of Science." Handbook of Qualitative Research. Ed. Norman K. Denzin and Yvonne S. Lincoln. Thousand Oaks: Sage, 1994. 361-76.
Beck, W. "Food Processing." The Encyclopaedia of Aboriginal Australia. Vol. 1. Ed. David Horton. Canberra: Aboriginal Studies Press, 1994. 380-82.
Journal Article
Bibliographic details are given as follows:
Author's surname, first name or initials. "Title of the Article." Title of Journal Volume number.issue number[if needed] (date of publication): page numbers.
Examples:
Journal article:
Rogers, Geoff. "Reflections on Teaching Remote and Isolated Children." Education in Rural Australia 9.2 (1999): 65-68.
Newspaper article:
Lawlor, Anne. "Phoenician 'Find' Makes Textbooks Ancient History." The Courier Mail 20 July 2000: 3.
Conference Paper
Gleeson, Libby. "Inside Looking Out." Claiming a Place: Proceedings from the Third National Conference of the Children's Book Council of Australia. Port Melbourne: Thorpe, 1996. 22-34.
Abbott, Kirsten and Jamie Seymour. "Trapping the Papaya Fruit Fly in North Queensland." Australian Entomological Society Conference. Melbourne, Sept.1997.
Thesis
Ward, Ingrid A. K. "Sedimentary History of the Pandora Wreck and Surrounds." M.A. Thesis. James Cook U, 1998.
Government Publication
Queensland. Queensland Health. Towards a Women's Health Policy: Social Justice for Women. Brisbane: Queensland Health, 1992.
Australian Bureau of Statisitcs. Building Approvals Australia. 8731.0. Canberra, 1994.
Further Examples
Two entries by same author:
Allan, Margaret S. "Uses of Video Recording in an Institution." Video Applications in English Language Teaching. Ed. John McGovern. London: Pergamon, 1983. 83-93.
---. "Viewing Comprehension with Video." ELT Journal 37.1 (1983) : 23-27.Interview conducted by the researcher
Jones, Mary. Personal interview. 4 Apr. 2002.
Brown, Ruth. Telephone interview. 23 July 2000.
Electronic References
Electronic sources include databases, online journals, Web sites or Web pages, newsgroups, email discussion groups.
Article in an online periodical
As a general rule, follow the same layout as recommended for print periodicals.
Article in a scholarly journalDixon, Mark R. and Linda J. Hayes. "A Behavioral Analysis of Dreaming." Psychological Record 49 (1999): 8 pp. 30 August 2001 <http://infotrac.galegroup.com/itweb/james_cook>.
Laurillard, Diana. "Rethinking Teaching for the Knowledge Society." Educause Review 37.1 (2002). 11 Apr. 2002 <http://www.educause.edu/pub/er/erm.html>.
Sherry, Ann. "Building the Bridge: Taking Feminism into the Twenty-first Century." Australian Feminist Studies 15.32 (2000): 6pp. 4 Apr. 2002 <http://figaro.catchword.com/>.
Article in a newspaper
"Study Finds Alcohol and Marijuana the Most-used Drugs." ABC News Online 4 Apr. 2002. 4 Apr. 2002 <http://www.abc.net.au/news/justin/nat/newsnat-4apr2002-49.htm>.
Web page
O'Brien, Judy. The Mariner 2002: Undergraduate Student Information. 30 Mar. 2002 <http://www.jcu.edu.au/school/ns/Notices/General/Mariner/Contents.html>.
Email communication
Taylor, James. "Re: Oscar and Lucinda." E-mail to Robert J. Parker. 5 Oct. 2000.
Garner, David L. E-mail to the author. 20 Aug. 1998.
Audiovisual References
York, Frank A. Children's Songs of the Torres Strait Islands. Audiocassette. Owen Martin, 1990.
Diamond, Neil. "Cracklin' Rosie." Tap Root Manuscript. LP. MCA, 1970.
You can count on me. Dir. Ken Lonergan. Prod. Scorsese, M. Paramount Pictures, 2000.
Scorsese, Martin, prod. You can count on me. Dir. Ken Lonergan. Paramount Pictures, 2000.
Citing in the Text
When you include information from another source in your essay, you need to acknowledge it in the text. Normally you should include the author's last name and a page reference. The person reading your essay can then refer to the bibliography/reference list at the end, and see exactly where you found your information.
- Quoting directly from someone else
When you borrow or quote someone else's words, the quote is usually placed in quotation marks, e.g.
This is reflected in the idea that "schools of thought, methodologies and research techniques reflect their social origins" (Hayes 53).If your list contains more than one author with the same last name, add the first initial, e.g. (A. Patterson 183-85) and (L. Patterson 239).
Two or more works by the same author:
Add the title of the work (or a shortened version) and the page reference, e.g. (Allan, Uses of Video 83); (Allan, Viewing Comprehension with Video 23)Leave out page numbers when citing complete works.
- Using a very long quote
If it is a very long quote (more than 40 words), you can place it in a free-standing indented paragraph starting on a new line. In this case, you don't need to use quotation marks. Insert three full stops - ... - if any words are omitted:
Children are, and have been, economically important to adults/parents in several ways. For those with wealth and land, children, and boys in particular, are and have been crucial ... as heirs. Inheritance, or course, has also been of central political importance; many of the wars that raged through medieval Europe focused on contested inheritance of lands and kingdoms. (Gittins 59)- Source not quoted exactly as it was written
Sometimes you might paraphrase or summarise another author's ideas to back up your own statements. Often you are not quoting them directly. Remember though, if you are using their ideas or data, you still must give them the credit. E.g.
Schwarz (36) questions the use of surveys as measurement devices.It is argued by Bazzaz (178-180) that comparative research in several ecosystems will lead to an understanding of succession as an ecological process.
- Quoting something that someone else has quoted, i.e. an indirect source
Sometimes in your reading you might come across a quote in another author's article that would be suitable to use. In this case, the best idea is to try and find the original quote to examine the context in which it was written. If that isn't possible, there are special rules for 'quoting a quote'.
Wembley (qtd. in Olsen: 156) argues that impending fuel shortages give added impetus to developing alternative energy sources.Include the author and page of the citation you are quoting from. Use the words 'qtd. in' which means 'quoted in'. In your reference list or bibliography you only include the text that you yourself have read, i.e. Olsen would be listed in the reference list from this example.
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