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PBHL2950: Disparities in Health: MLA Citations

MLA Citation Style

MLA Style

MLA (Modern Language Association) style is commonly used at William Paterson University to cite your sources when writing a research paper.  

It uses a set of rules to format information in a specific way.  To get you started, we've provided some examples of the types of sources you might be citing for this class.  Use the tabs below to see examples of Journal Articles, TV Shows, and TV Episodes.  Hover over the different parts of the citation for tips.

A good rule of thumb is to compare your own references and citations against the examples provided.

Reach out to the Library (973-720-2116 or refdesk@wpunj.edu) with questions or you can find additional information on the Library's Citation Resources page or the Purdue OWL website's MLA Formatting and Style Guide. 

General MLA Rules

General Works Cited Guidelines

  • Add your Works Cited at the end of your paper.

  • Center the page title, Works Cited, at the top of the page.

  • Arrange sources alphabetically.

  • You used the hanging indent format

  • Double space.

  • Include only sources that you've cited.

In-Text Citations

The number of authors (or writers, directors, executive producers) determines how you cite:

  • When a source has one author, include the author's last name every time you cite
    example: (Martin 45)
  • When a source has two authors, include both authors' last name ever time
    example: (Martin and Smith 163)
  • When a source has three or more authors, use only the first author's last name, followed by et al.
    example: (Martin et al. 56)

Let's Try This

Journal articles follow a standard format.  Below are two examples to compare your own references to.  Be careful when generating references with websites or databases, as they may need corrections.

Mooney, Alyssa C., et al. “Racial/Ethnic Disparities in Arrests for Drug Possession after California Proposition 47, 2011–2016.” American Journal of Public Health, vol. 108, no. 8, 2018, pp. 987–93, https://doi.org/10.2105/AJPH.2018.304445.

In-Text Citatons: (Mooney et al. 988)
If there are three or more authors, use only the first author and 'et al.'

Denney, Matthew G. T., and Ramon Garibaldo Valdez. “Compounding Racialized Vulnerability: COVID-19 in Prisons, Jails, and Migrant Detention Centers.” Journal of Health Politics, Policy and Law, vol. 46, no. 5, 2021, pp. 861–87. Duke University Press, https://doi.org/10.1215/03616878-9156019.

In-Text Citatons: (Denney and Garibaldo Valdez 880-1)
If there are one or two authors, use their names each time you cite.

When creating a reference for an entire TV series, you may need some information that is not readily available. Use thetvdb.com or imdb.com to locate more specific information.

Simon, David, creator. The Wire. Blown Deadline Productions and Home Box Office (HBO), 2002.

In-Text Citatons: (Simon)
When there is no specific page or timestamp to reference, simply use the creator's name in the text of your sentence or in parentheses.

IMDB Links

Television episodes may require you to locate information from an external source.  When viewing, look for something that looks like S03E22.  This indicates the Season and Episode number of that particular episode.  Use thetvdb.com or imdb.com to locate more specific information.

“Unto Others.” The Wire, season 4, episode 7, HBO, 29 Oct. 2006.

In-Text Citatons: ("Unto Others" 00:22:14–24:22)
When referencing a part of a recorded work, use the timestamp range in place of page numbers.

IMDB Links

In-Text Citations

Use in-text citations in your paper, whenever you use someone else's ideas or when referring to a specific part of a recording.

Citations are based on your References (see above) and should be used when quoting (using the exact words of someone else) or paraphrasing (putting someone's ideas into your own words).

MLA uses an author-page format for in-text citations.

Quoting:

  • Include quotation marks around the text you're using.
  • Use the author(s) last name and the page number where they information is found.
  • Follow this basic format when you're first learning: 
    "quoted text" (Author ###).
  • The same format applies if quoting from a TV episode or recording.

Paraphrasing:

  • Use the author(s) last name and the page number where they information is found.
  • Follow this basic format when you're first learning: 
    paraphrased text (Author ###).
  • The same format applies if quoting from a TV episode or recording.

Things to Consider

Hover over the citations to see a list of things to watch out for.

See Citation Guides for more information.

Article Title
  • Does the article title use ‘title’ capitalization?
  • Is the title surrounded by quotation marks and is there a period before the closing quote?
Authors:
  • Does the first author (only) use LastName, FirstName M. format?
  • Are all other authors written as FirstName M. LastName?
  • Is there a comma between each author?
  • If more than one author, is the word 'and' used before the last one?
  • If there are three or more authors, have you included only the first author, followed by 'et al.'?
Source Information
  • Does the journal title use ‘title’ capitalization?
  • Is the journal title in italics?
  • Does the article have both a volume and issue number, listed as: vol. ###, no. ###?
  • Is the year listed after the volume and issue?
  • Is there a page range starting with pp. (or p. for single page articles)?
  • Is a Digital Object Identifier (DOI) available? If not, leave this blank
  • Are there commas between each of the parts of the source?
  • Does the reference end with a period?
Episode Title
  • Does the episode title use ‘title’ capitalization?
  • Is the episode title wrapped in quotation marks and is there a period before the closing quote?
Show Information (source)
  • Does the series title use ‘title’ capitalization?
  • Is the series title in italics?
  • Are the season and episode numbers listed as: season #, episode #?
  • Is the production studio listed?
  • Is the release date listed in the following format: DD MMM YYYY?
  • If the month name is longer than 4 letters, has it been abbreviated to the first three followed by a period (Oct., Sep. etc.)?
  • Does the reference end with a period?
Executive Producers
  • Does the first creator (only) use LastName, FirstName M. format?
  • Are all other creators written as FirstName M. LastName?
  • Is there a comma between each creator?
  • Is there a note following the last creator, indicating their role(s)?
  • If more than one creator, is the word 'and' used before the last one?
  • If there are three or more creators, have you included only the first creator, followed by 'et al.'?
TV Series Name
  • Does the series title use ‘title’ capitalization?
  • Is the series title in italics?
TV Studios (source)
  • Are the production studios listed?
  • If there are two or more production studios, is the word 'and' used before the last one?
  • If there are three or more production studios, are they separated by commas?
  • Is the first year of production listed at the end?
  • Does the reference end with a period?

Title Capitalization

With Title Capitalization, always capitalize:

  • The first word & the first word of subtitles
  • Major words (not words like, 'a,' 'the,' 'and,' etc.)
  • The first word after certain punctuation (colon, dash, exclamation point, question mark, period)
  • Words that are normally capitalized (names, places, products, acronyms)