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Citation Help

For additional online help with MLA citations, use the Purdue OWL MLA Guide.
For additional online help with APA citations, use the Purdue OWL APA Guide.
Working on an annotated bibliography? Get help at Purdue OWL's Annotated Bibliography page.

MLA Citation Format

The "Core Elements" of an MLA 8 citation, along with their corresponding punctuation marks, include the following (in this order):

1. Authors.
2. Title of the source.
3. Title of container,
4. Other contributors,
5. Version,
6. Numbers,
7. Publisher,
8. Publication date,
9. Location.

The appropriate punctuation mark will follow each core element, unless it is the final piece. In this case, the punctuation mark would be a period.

Page of Website

Examples:
Hassler, Warren W. "United States." Encyclopedia Britannica, Inc, 11 Apr. 2021, www.britannica.com/place/United-States.

"The Declaration of Independence: A History." National Archives, The U.S. National Archives and Records Administration, May 2018, www.archives.gov/founding-docs/declaration-history.

Explanation:
Last name of Author, First name of Author. "Title of page or article." Title of website, Publisher or website sponsor, Date webpage was last updated, URL or web address.

In-Text Citations:
(Hassler).
("The Declaration").

Special Notes:
If the publisher is the same as the website name, only list it once. Example: Encyclopedia Britannica, Inc.

In-Text citations using titles, such as ("The Declaration of Independence: A History") can be shortened to a piece of the title ("The Declaration") as long as the resulting parenthetical citation is unique from other sources used in the paper.

Do not include http:// in the URL.

YouTube Video

Examples:
Laird, Brad. "Mandolin Lesson: Beginner Chords." YouTube, uploaded by Guitar Compass, 24 Apr. 2007, www.youtube.com/watch?v=Eyn4eES_L4s.

"10 Psychology Careers To Know About." YouTube, uploaded by Psych2Go, 18 Sept. 2020, www.youtube.com/watch?v=zYthHxlerrM.

Explanation:
Last name of Author, First name of Author. "Title of Video." Title of website, Uploader name, Date video was uploaded, URL or web address.

In-Text Citations:
(Laird).
("10 Psychology Careers").

Special Notes:
If the author's name is the same as the uploader, only cite the author once.

If no author is listed, start the citation with the video title.

Do not include http:// in the URL.

Database Article

Examples:
"Marie Curie." Calliope, Jan. 2011, pp. 35. SIRS Discoverer, explore.proquest.com/sirsdiscoverer/document/2265761036?accountid=77099.

Weiss, Joanna. "Age-Based Wages Short Teen Workers." Boston Globe, 28 Mar. 2014. SIRS Discoverer, explore.proquest.com/sirsdiscoverer/document/2258155253?accountid=77099.

Explanation:
Last name of Author, First name of Author. "Title of Article." Title of Container, volume number, issue number, Publication Date. Title of Database, URL or web address.

In-Text Citations:
("Marie Curie").
(Weiss).

Special Notes:
Check database tools for citation option.

Date of access is optional.