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ENGL: Major American Writers

A Library Subject Guide

MLA Citation Examples

Journal Article from a Library Database:

If there is a DOI: 

Author last name, Author first name. "Article Title." Journal Title, vol. #, no. #, publication date, pp. #-#. Database Name, DOI.

Robbins, Michael. "Paul Muldoon's Covert Operations." Modern Philology, vol. 109, no. 2, 2011, pp. 266-99. JSTOR, https://doi.org/10.1086/663233.


If there is no DOI, then use a URL (particularly a  permalink or stable URL, if one is available), and remove the beginning "http://" or "https://" from the link in your citation:

Author last name, Author first name. "Article Title." Journal Title, vol. #, no. #, publication date, pp. #-#. Database Name, URL.

Merriam, Alan P. "Music in American Culture." American Anthropologist, vol. 57, no. 6, 1955, pp. 1173-1181. JSTOR, www.jstor.org/stable/665962.

Print Book:

Author last name, Author first name. Book title. Publisher Name, publication date.

Manning, Susan. Poetics of Character: Transatlantic Encounters, 1700-1900. Cambridge UP, 2013.

Ebook from a Library Database:

Author last name, Author first name. Book title. Publisher Name, publication date. Database Name, URL.

​Magill, Frank Northern. Notable Poets. Salem Press, 1998. eBook Collection (EBSCOhost), ezproxy.umgc.edu/login?url=http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=nlebk&AN=51653&site=eds-live&scope=site.

Encyclopedia Article from a Library Database:

Author last name, Author first name. "Article Title." Encyclopedia Title, edited by Editor first name Editor last name, Publisher Name, publication date. Database Name, URL.

Chandler, James. "Keats, John." The Oxford Encyclopedia of British Literature, edited by David Scott Kastan, Oxford UP, 2006. Oxford Reference, www.oxfordreference.com.ezproxy.umgc.edu/view/10.1093/acref/9780195169218.001.0001/acref-9780195169218-e-0250?rskey=p7VzeM&result=249.

For more examples of MLA citations, see the library's MLA Citation Examples guide.