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MLA

A guide to using MLA 9th referencing style

Author layout table

No. of Authors/ Editors Author Prominent Citation Information Prominent Citation Works Cited list (Double spacing required)
One Abrahamson theorises that … (46) It has been proposed that … (Abrahamson 46)

Abrahamson, Mark. Urban Sociology: A Global Introduction. Cambridge UP, 2014.
Two Helen and Boyd propose that the role of gender… (221) It is clear that gender has played a significant role … (Helen and Boyd 221)

Bee, Helen, and Denise Boyd. The Developing Child. 12th ed., Allyn and Bacon, 2014.
Three or more Brouillette et al. ponder the meaning and impact of contemporary literature. (xv) Literature has developed at different paces in varying cultures. (Brouillette et al. xix)

Brouillette, Sarah, et al., editors. Literature and the Global Economy. Palgrave Macmillan, 2017.
Corporate Author United Nations Environment Programme claims that … (42) There are a number of viable methods for sustainable development in rural areas. (United Nations Environment Programme 42)

United Nations Environment Programme. Towards a Green Economy: Pathways to Sustainable Development and Poverty Eradication. UNEP, 2011.

Notes

  • In the in-text citations
    • When citing a work with 2 authors, use only the surnames and join them with 'and'.
    • When citing a work with 3 or more authors, use only the first author's surname, followed by 'et al.'
  • In the Works Cited
    • Invert the first author's name, with surname first, for alphabetical sorting.
    • Maintain the original naming order (that is, don't invert) the names of first authors where the cultural naming convention places the family name first (as in many Asian, Hungarian and other naming traditions).
    • For works with three or more authors, list only the first author followed by 'et al.'

Secondary citation

Works Cited list

Brouillette, Sarah. "#YOLO." Literature and the Global Contemporary, edited by Sarah Brouillette, Mathias Nilges, and Emilio Sauri. Palgrave Macmillan, 2017, 67-82. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-63055-7.

In-text

The geographer Bradley Garrett describes urbex as an the collective need for "enthusiasm [for] exploring and recording liminal zones and derelict places" (qtd. in Brouillette 70).

Notes

  • Secondary sources should only be used if the original source cannot be found.
  • The works cited entry should list the work that was consulted, that is, the secondary source.
  • The abbreviation 'qtd.' is used to indicate the secondary source in in-text citations.
  • The abbreviation qtd. is not needed if your prose makes it clear that the source is secondhand.