Citing Research Sources, Print and Electronic

There are many different methods of citing sources used in research papers. At Brewster Academy, the Kenison librarians recommend the MLA (Modern Language Association) style. This style has been widely adopted in high schools and colleges for student research papers format.

1. List all entries alphabetically according to the last name of author or title, if no author.
2. Begin first line of each entry at left margin, and indent 5 spaces if entry takes more than one line.

Book

A single author
Author's last name, first name. Book Title. City of publication;
publisher, publication date.

Example
Hoig, Stanley. Night of the Cruel Moon. New York: Facts on File, 1996.

Two or more authors
Give their names in the same order as on the title page—not necessarily in alphabetical order. Reverse only the name of the first author, add a comma, and give other names in normal form.

Example
Marquart, James. W., Sheldon E Olson, and Jon R. Sorensen. The Rope, the Chair, and the Needle: Capital Punishment in Texas, 1923-1990. Austin: U of Texas P. 1994.

No author given
Book Title. City of publication; publisher, publication date.

Video

Video Title. Director. Distributor, year.

Example
Donner Party. Director Ric Burns. PBS Home Video, 2000.

Website (list author's name first if available; no author/start with Title)

Author's last name, first name Title of Document . URL (http).
Date of visit to site.

Example
Dodson, Edward J. The Cherokee Nation. http://www.cherokee.org
Accessed Feb 13, 2002

Electronic Database (Ebsco, Proquest, HW Wilson, WorldBook)

Author's last name, first name, "Article Title." Original Source of Article
Name of Database Used. Name of Service. Date of Access

Example
Strauss, Neill. 1996. "Cherokee Sunset." Tennessee History. v. 32.
MAS-Ultra. Ebscohost. Accessed Feb. 6, 2002

Gibaldi, Joseph. The MLA Handbook for Writers of Research Papers. New York: The Modern Language Association of America, 1995.