English 10                                                                                 Bristol Community College

Research Project                                                                      Professor Diana McGee

MLA Documentation of Sources on a Works Cited Page

What is meant by documentation? In a research paper documentation means to identify
any source information used within the document and give credit to the source(s) used.
 

• Typically, documentation occurs in two places in a paper: in the text of the
  paper itself where the borrowed information is located and at the end of the
  paper where a list of all sources used in the paper is provided.
   
• In an English class, research documentation must follow the guidelines that
  have been established by the Modern Language Association (MLA).
   
• Within the text of the paper itself, a brief reference to the source used is
  included in parentheses immediately following the use of borrowed information.
  This is called a parenthetical reference.
   
• At the end of the paper a list of all sources used in the paper is included.
  This page is entitled “Works Cited” and is very similar to a Bibliography or
  List of References required in other research papers.
   
• Each Works Cited entry or citation is formatted in a very precise and
  comprehensive way according to MLA guidelines. The guidelines for how a
  citation is written vary according to the type of source. A newspaper article
  citation differs in a few ways from a journal article and a book citation differs
  in many ways from the citation of a newspaper or magazine article.

MLA Guidelines for Works Cited Citations for Articles from On-line Databases:

• Identify the type of source (newspaper, journal or magazine article).
   
• Next, include two kinds of information in the citation: the print publication data
  and the electronic data.
  (See assignment guidelines.)
   
• First follow the MLA guidelines for the print/publication information for that
  source.
   

*Typically, information needs to be documented in the following order:
author (last name first), article title
(in quotes), publication title (underlined), date, and page(s).
 

*Other information such as volume and issue numbers is needed for journals;
newspaper citations often need to identify the section and the edition, if such
information is given.
 

• Immediately following the print information, include the electronic information
  beginning with the database title, underlined (i.e. Expanded Academic ASAP or
  Master FILE Premier), followed by the medium (On-line),  followed by the retrieval
  date (day/month/year), and ending with the name of the server (Infotrac or
  EbscoHOST).

Examples of MLA Works Cited Citations for Articles from an On-Line Database:

A newspaper article citation from an on-line database:

Broad, William J. “Top astronaut safety official warned of safety on Mir, but says NASA

ignored him. The New York Times 28 May 1998: A18(N), A20(L).
            General Reference Center. On-Line. 7 May 2000. Infotrac.

A magazine article citation from an on-line database:

Meier, Andrew. “Cash-poor Moscow lays plans to ground Mir.” Time 20 July 1998: 16.

Expanded Academic Index ASAP. On-line. 7 May 2000. Infotrac.

A journal article citation from an on-line database:

Lyapustin, Alexei I., and T. Z. Muldashev. “Multiangle monitoring of atmospheric

aerosol and surface reflectance from MIR station.”
IEEE Transactions on Geoscience and Remote Sensing 37.1
(Jan. 1999): 589+. Expanded Academic ASAP. On-line. 7 May 2000.
Infotrac.

Sample “Works Cited” Page:

The list of references (Works Cited sample) below is based on the above citations
and has been formatted according to the following MLA guidelines:

• Begin this page with the centered title, “Works Cited.”
• Double-space the entire page.
• Alphabetize each entry according to the author’s last name or title of
  the article or work, if no author is given. Ignore A, An, and The when
  alphabetizing.
• Indent each line of an entry after the first.

Works Cited

Broad, William J. “Top astronaut safety official warned of safety on Mir, but says NASA

ignored him. The New York Times 28 May 1998: A18(N), A20(L).
            General Reference Center. On-Line. 7 May 2000. Infotrac.

Lyapustin, Alexei I., and T. Z. Muldashev. “Multiangle monitoring of atmospheric

aerosol and surface reflectance from MIR station.” IEEE Transactions on
Geoscience and Remote Sensing 37.1 (Jan. 1999): 589+.
Expanded Academic ASAP. On-line. 7 May 2000. Infotrac.

Meier, Andrew. “Cash-poor Moscow lays plans to ground Mir.” Time 20 July 1998: 16.

Expanded Academic Index ASAP. On-line. 7 May 2000. Infotrac.