MLA style edition and punctuation
The examples on this page use the MLA 9th edition.
Punctuation is important. Use the same punctuation and formatting as the order instructions and examples (commas, full stops and brackets). Use 1 space after any punctuation mark.
In this edition, you don't need to state the publishing medium. For example, 'Print' for physical books and journals and 'Web' for online material.
Key points
Each source entry has 3 basic parts:
- Artist or creator – write the artist's name in reverse order, family name first.
- Title – capitalise the first letter of all words over 3 letters long.
- Publication information – use the date the actual work was created, not the publication date and start the URL with www, not https:// or http://.
Audio and video material
The order of elements depends on what you wish to emphasise, for example, the show, the director or the performer. Films and television shows usually begin with the title. If you want to emphasise the contributions of 1 person, such as the director or actor, place their name before the title.
Film
Order: Title, director, producers or actors, Second container title, Uploader details, year of release, URL.
Use the distributor or website name for the second container title.
Include the uploader details and URL if applicable.
Examples
Black Sheep. Directed by Jonathan King, performances by Nathan Meister and Tammy Davis. New Zealand Film Commission, 2007.
King, Jonathon, director. Black Sheep. New Zealand Film Commission, 2007.
TV show
Order: "Episode title." Show title, creators, directors or performers' details, season and episode numbers, network, broadcast date.
The director or performers' details are optional.
Example
"Take Me Out to the Ballgame". Sex and the City, performance by Sarah Jessica Parker, season 2, episode 1, HBO, 1999.
TV series
Order: Show title. Creators' details, director, producers or performers' details, production company details, years screened.
Place the title of the show first when citing the entire series.
The producers or performers' details are optional.
Entire series example
Buffy the Vampire Slayer. Created by Joss Whedon, performance by Sarah Michelle Gellar, Mutant Enemy, 1997-2003.
If the show is part of a boxed series with a different collection title than the original series, for example, Sex and the City: The Complete Season 2, list the title that would help researchers locate the recording. Give the distributor name followed by the date of distribution.
Boxed series example
"Take Me Out to the Ballgame." Sex and the City: The Complete Season 2, written by Michael Patrick King, directed by Allen Coulter, HBO, 1988.
Audio material
Order: Artist. "Song." Title of the recording, Production label, year, Site name of download, URL.
The site name of the download and URL are optional.
Audio recording examples
Stevens, Sufjan. "Chicago." Illinois, Asthmatic Kitty, 2005. Stevens, Sufjan. "Chicago". Illinois, Asthmatic Kitty, 2005. Spotify, open.spotify.com/track/0OPSE78fioh58590dutuGTnxf.
Stevens, Sufjan. "Chicago". Illinois, Asthmatic Kitty, 2005, asthmatickitty.com/merch/chicago-demo/.
Published music score
Order: Composer, Title of the work, year of composition, Place of publication, Publisher name, publication date.
If the reader is unlikely to know the publisher, include the city of publication before the publisher's name to help locate the source.
Example
Mahler, Gustav. Symphony No. 5 in C# Minor. 1904. London, Ernst Eulenburg.
Image on a webpage
There is flexibility in how you can cite images. You can add extra information to increase the accuracy of your citation. Following the MLA template of core elements, sometimes you can reference an image found on a webpage as a work contained in another work.
Order: Artist. Title of work. Date work created. Publisher or Website name. URL
Example
Ambercrombie, Gertrude. Photograph of Untitled (Tree at Aledo Variation). 1963. Contemporary Art Daily, www.contemporaryartdaily.com/2018/09/gertrude-abercrombie-at-karma/. Accessed 7 Sept. 2018.
The date the work was created is enclosed in full stops. This is because the date shown in these examples is not when the image was published on the website (the publication date), but when the work was originally created. Therefore, the creation date is optional and should be placed right after the element it relates to, such as the title.
For further details, go to sec. 5.108 of the MLA Handbook 9th edition. You can find the handbook using the Massey Library Discover search.
Examples
Loonan, Tom. Photograph of Ouizi's Wildflowers for Buffalo. 2018. "Bursts of Stylized Wildflowers by Ouizi Transform Buildings Into Floral Canvasses," by Laura Staugaitis, 8 Nov. 2018. Colossal, www.thisiscolossal.com/2018/11/ouizi/. Accessed 12 Nov. 2018.
Ouizi. Wildflowers for Buffalo. 2018. Photograph by Tom Loonan, 2018. "Bursts of Stylized Wildflowers by Ouizi Transform Buildings Into Floral Canvasses," by Laura Staugaitis, 8 Nov. 2018. Colossal, www.thisiscolossal.com/2018/11/ouizi/. Accessed 12 Nov. 2018.
The format you choose depends on the citation element you want to emphasise.
Your caption should refer to the artist, location of the work and the author of the webpage where you found the image.
Painting, photo or sculpture
Order: Artist. Title of the work. Date of composition, institution housing the work, city of the institution.
Examples
Brueghel, Pieter. The Tower of Babel. 1563, Kunsthistorisches Museum, Vienna.
Canova, Antonio. Psyche Revived by Cupid's Kiss. 1793, Louvre, Paris.
If the city is given in the institution's name, for example, Auckland War Memorial Museum, leave it out of the citation.
If a source is viewed online, give the URL as the location detail.
Example
Bearden, Romare. The Train. 1975, MOMA, www.moma.org/collection/works/65232?locale=en.
A reference for a photograph or a photograph of a work of art taken from another source should also contain publication information about the source.
Example
Peryer, Peter. Dead Steer. Chartwell Collection, Auckland Art Gallery Toi o Tamaki. Into the Light: A History of New Zealand Photography, by David Eggleton, Craig Potton, 2006, p. 130.
Art in an exhibition
To cite art viewed in an exhibit, you include the exhibit's name as the title of your source. Use the museum name and city for the exhibit location details.
Order: Artists. Title of the work. Exhibit title, exhibit opening and closing dates, exhibit location.
Example
Kennedy, Erin. Pussyhat. Doing it for Themselves: Women Fight for Equality, 19 Sept.– 28 Feb. 2019, The Museum of New Zealand Te Papa Tongarewa, Wellington.
Captions for images
A caption is the text accompanying an image, usually directly below it. Each image should be labelled Figure, which is usually abbreviated to Fig., with a sequential Arabic number, for example, Fig. 1 or Fig. 2, in the in-text reference.
The caption format is slightly different from that in the works cited list. The artist or creator is listed by first-name surname. Commas are placed between each referencing element. Name the artist, if known. Give the title of the work in italics or include a description (not italicised) if there is no title – a description of the medium is optional. Add the date. If the date is unknown, omit this detail. When you do not have an exact date but have a rough idea, use circa, which means 'about', 'before the year' or 'range,' for example, circa 1900 or circa the early 19th century.
In the works cited list, references for images are formatted using MLA style principles. There is no need to list an image in a works cited list if the caption provides complete bibliographic information about the source and the source is not cited in the text.
For further details, refer to sec.1.7 of the MLA Handbook. You can find the handbook using the Library Discover search.
Generally, an image is not included in an assignment if it's not discussed in the text. MLA does not require a separate Illustrations list.
Image scanned from a book or magazine
Order: Artist. Title of work, medium, Institution or collection holding work, date created. Second container author, Title, Publisher, year, page or plate number or DOI or URL.
The medium is optional.
Examples
Works cited list
Singleton Copley, John. Mrs. Joseph Mann, Museum of Fine Arts, Boston, 1753. Sylvan Barnet, A Short Guide to Writing about Art, Pearson, 2011, p. 143.
Caption
Fig.1. John Copley. Mrs Joseph Mann. 1753.
No title
If there is no title, give a brief informative description.
Examples
Works cited list
Leibovitz, Annie. Photograph of Kirsten Dunst in Alexander McQueen at the Grand Trianon. Vogue, September 2006, p. 46.
Caption
Fig. 1. Annie Leibovitz, photo of Kirsten Dunst in Alexander McQueen at the Grand Trianon, 2006.
No creator
If there is no creator, give a brief description in place of the author.
Examples
Works cited list
Street art of a girl with a balloon on a wall in Wellington. Photograph by author, 5 September, 2015.
Caption
Fig. 1. Photograph of street art of a girl with a balloon on a wall in Wellington, 2015.
Works cited list
Postcard of a lithograph of chickens in a farmyard, circa 1899. Metropolitan Museum of Fine Art, New York, 2011.
Caption
Fig. 2. Postcard of a lithograph of chickens in a farmyard, circa 1899.
Downloaded image
Order: Artist or creator, Title of Work, medium of work, date created, institution or collection holding work. Second container database or website. Collection identifier number or URL.
Include the collection identifier number if available.
Examples
Works cited list
Sargent, John Singer, Madame X (Madame Pierre Gautreau). 1883-84. The Metropolitan Museum of Art. ARTstor, 12492.
Caption
Fig. 1. John Singer Sargent, Madame X, 1883-84.
Works cited list
Bourne, George. Rua. Auckland War Memorial Museum Collections, PH-CNEG-C5879.
Caption
Fig. 1. George Bourne, Rua.
Works cited list
Eakins, Thomas. William Rudolf O'Donovan. 1891, Archives of American Art, Smithsonian Institution. Flickr Commons, www.flickr.com/photos/smithsonian/2547841439/in/photolist-4T9muF.
Caption
Fig. 1. Thomas Eakins, William Rudolf O’Donovan, 1891.
Personal work
Examples
Works cited list
Your family name, your first name. Photograph of South Crater Tongariro by the author, 14 June 2015.
Caption
Fig. 9. Photograph of South Crater Tongariro, personal photograph by author, 14 June 2015
Screenshot or frame capture
Examples
Works cited list
Black Sheep. Directed by Jonathon King. New Zealand Film Commission, 2007.
Caption
Fig. 5. Screenshot from Black Sheep (45:07), 2007.
Captions for tables
A table will have a title with a number, for example, Table 1, above the table. A brief and descriptive caption is given under the title.
Example
Table 1.
Results from 46 Patients Using Three Kinds of Pedometers.
Give the source (if adapted from the source, preface with 'Adapted from:') and any notes (denoted with superscript lowercase letters) below the table. Format the source as you would other similar references, for example, a journal article or a web page. If you are using data from your own research, then it is not included in the works cited list because you are not citing another work.
Referencing disclaimer
This page is a guide to proper referencing. Your course, department, school or institute may prescribe specific conventions. Their recommendations supersede these instructions. If your questions are not covered here, ask your course coordinator or ask on our Academic Q&A forum.
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