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MLA 9th

This Research Guide lists examples of how to cite sources according to the MLA Handbook, 9th edition.

Viewpoint Article from Opposing Viewpoints (Gale in Context)

Denny, David Anthony. “National Governments Have an Obligation to Refugees.” Refugees, edited by Margaret Haerens, Greenhaven Press, 2010. Gale in Context: Opposing Viewpoints, link.gale.com/apps/doc/EJ3010656215/OVIC?u=pittcc&sid=bookmark-OVIC&xid=3dbe58e9.

Author(s) of Article. “Complete Title of Article.” Title of Book That Supplied Article, Editor(s) of Book, Publisher, Year of Publication. Gale in Context: Opposing Viewpoints, URL of Article.

If you click the "Cite" button at the top of your article, you will see a choice for "MLA 9th Edition" (the citation is also at the bottom of your article). This database-supplied citation appears:

Denny, David Anthony. "National Governments Have an Obligation to Refugees." Refugees, edited by Margaret Haerens, Greenhaven Press, 2010. Opposing Viewpoints. Gale In Context: Opposing Viewpoints, link.gale.com/apps/doc/EJ3010656215/OVIC?u=pittcc&sid=bookmark-OVIC&xid=3dbe58e9. Accessed 26 Jan. 2022. Originally published as "Protecting Refugees a National Obligation," www.america.gov, 2007.

Note one capitalization error in the database title (highlighted in yellow). Although not incorrect to include series title, access date, and original publication information, these are optional (not required) for articles from a library database, and not currently recommended for most student papers unless your instructor directs you otherwise. Here is the citation (without the optional information) as it should appear in your Works Cited list:

Denny, David Anthony. “National Governments Have an Obligation to Refugees.” Refugees, edited by Margaret Haerens, Greenhaven Press, 2010. Gale in Context: Opposing Viewpoints, link.gale.com/apps/doc/EJ3010656215/OVIC?u=pittcc&sid=bookmark-OVIC&xid=3dbe58e9.

If you use the "Cite" feature, compare your citation carefully to the MLA example shown and change as necessary. Look at the information provided with the article itself to find anything that may be missing.

You will also need to:

Check to see if you have the "permalink" for your URL. Click the "Get Link" button at the top of your article to copy and paste the URL provided.

Check spacing and font. Citations may not paste with the correct font. Spacing between words and/or line spacing may not be correct.

Delete and retype quote marks to match font. Even if you change your font, quote marks may not change automatically. In Times New Roman, they should not be straight.

Database-Supplied Citation Information:

The database-supplied citations in Gale in Context: Opposing Viewpoints contain information that is considered optional (not required) for most student papers. Unless your teacher has directed you otherwise, you can leave the "optional" information out of your citation:

  • Many of the "viewpoint" articles come from one of the Gale print book series, and are also usually reprints of articles that were originally published in another source. Original publication information is not required, unless it is important to your research or may be useful to your readers.
  • It is not necessary to include the series title of a Gale print book series (e.g., Opposing Viewpoints).
  • Date of access is not required for library database articles as they are not likely to change. Some instructors may prefer you to include a date of access for all online articles, however. It is best to check if you are not sure of your instructor's preference.

URL:

  • Look for the "permalink" if you are copying the URL for your article. This may be found by clicking the "Get Link" button at the top of the article.

  • You do not have to include the initial "https://" (or "http://") unless you need it to make a clickable hyperlink (test to see if it works without it).
  • If your instructor does not require clickable hyperlinks, any URL that is longer than three lines (or longer than the rest of the citation) may be shortened to end after the host (database company) name (e.g., "link.gale.com"). MLA discourages the use of URL shortening services such as bitly.com.
  • Put a period at the end of your URL.
  • The exact format of your database article URL depends on your instructor's preferences. Make sure you know how your instructor prefers these database-supplied URLs to appear in your Works Cited list, or whether you should include them at all.

Article from Credo Reference

Bertonazzi, Judy M. “Indigenous Peoples Rights.” Global Social Issues: An Encyclopedia, edited by Christopher G. Bates and James Ciment, Routledge, 2013. Credo Reference, search.credoreference.com/articles/Qm9va0FydGljbGU6MzE1MzU1MQ==?aid=14630.

Author(s) of Article (if listed). “Complete Title of Article.” Title of Reference Source That Supplied Article, Editor(s) of Reference Source (if listed), Edition of Reference Source (if listed), Publisher of Reference Source (if listed), Year of Publication (if listed). Credo Reference, URL of article.

If you click "Cite" appearing at the top of the article, you will get this citation for "MLA":

Bertonazzi, Judy, M. “Indigenous Peoples’ Rights.” Global Social Issues: An Encyclopedia, edited by Christopher G. Bates and James Ciment, 1st ed., Routledge, 2013. Credo Reference, https://search.credoreference.com/articles/Qm9va0FydGljbGU6MzE1MzU1MQ==?aid=14630.

Citation errors are highlighted in yellow. Note that edition information is not needed for first editions. The exact format of your URL depends on your instructor's preference (in this case, the "https://" is not needed even if your instructor requires a clickable hyperlink). Here is how the citation should look:

Bertonazzi, Judy M. “Indigenous Peoples’ Rights.” Global Social Issues: An Encyclopedia, edited by Christopher G. Bates and James Ciment, Routledge, 2013. Credo Reference, search.credoreference.com/articles/Qm9va0FydGljbGU6MzE1MzU1MQ==?aid=14630.

If you use the "Cite" feature, compare your citation carefully to the example shown and change as necessary.

You will also need to:

Check spacing and font. Citations may not paste with the correct font. Spacing between words and/or line spacing may not be correct.

Delete and retype quote marks to match font. Even if you change your font, quote marks may not change automatically. In Times New Roman, they should not be straight.

Finding Citation Information:

  • Articles in Credo Reference come from a variety of print and online reference sources; publication information included with the articles is sometimes missing some core elements. Record what you see; the database-supplied citation is often helpful in filling in some blanks, although it may not be completely correct.
  • Author information, if listed, may be found at the very end of the article.

URL:

  • Look for the "permalink" if you are copying the URL for your article. This may be found by clicking the "Page Link" button at the top of the article.

  • You do not have to include the initial "https://" (or "http://") unless you need it to make a clickable hyperlink (test to see if it works without it).
  • If your instructor does not require clickable hyperlinks, any URL that is longer than three lines (or longer than the rest of the citation) may be shortened to end after the host (database company) name (e.g., "search.credorefeence.com"). MLA discourages the use of URL shortening services such as bitly.com.
  • Put a period at the end of your URL.
  • The exact format of your database article URL depends on your instructor's preferences. Make sure you know how your instructor prefers these database-supplied URLs to appear in your Works Cited list, or whether you should include them at all.

Supplemental Access Date:

  • Note that the inclusion of an access date for articles stored in a database is not necessary, as these articles are unlikely to change. However, some instructors may prefer that you include a date of access for all your online sources. Check with your instructor if you are unsure.

Article from SIRS Issues Researcher

“Pollution Timeline.” SIRS Timelines, ProQuest, 2024. SIRS Issues Researcher, login.proxy138.nclive.org/login?url=https://explore.proquest.com/sirsissuesresearcher/document/2250547473?accountid=13209.

Author(s) of Article (if not ProQuest Staff). “Title of Article.Title of Source That Supplied Article (if listed), Publisher of Source (if listed and appropriate for your type of source), Date of  Publication (if listed). Name of Database, URL of Article.

If you copy and paste the citation that appears when clicking the "Cite" option (and choose "MLA 9"), this is the citation you will get:

"Pollution Timeline." SIRS TimelinesProQuest, 2024. ProQuest; SIRS Issues Researcher, https://login.proxy138.nclive.org/login?url=https://explore.proquest.com/sirsissuesresearcher/document/2250547473?accountid=13209.

The errors that appear in this database-supplied citation are highlighted in yellow. Here is how it should look:

“Pollution Timeline.” SIRS Timelines, ProQuest, 2024. SIRS Issues Researcher, login.proxy138.nclive.org/login?url=https://explore.proquest.com/sirsissuesresearcher/document/2250547473?accountid=13209.

For this example, ProQuest SIRS Issues Researcher (an alternate version of the database name) or ProQuest (the database company) would also be correct for the database name.

If you use the database-supplied citation, compare it carefully to the example shown and change as necessary. Look at the information provided with the article itself to find anything that is missing.

You will also need to:

Check for accurate author information. Many articles in SIRS may appear to be written by non-specific "staff" or have no author name listed. In this case, begin your citation with the title of the article.

Check spacing and font. Citations may not paste with the correct font. Spacing between words and/or line spacing may not be correct.

Delete and retype quote marks to match font. Even if you change your font, quote marks may not change automatically. In Times New Roman, they should not be straight.

Finding Citation Information:

  • Publication information in this database is sometimes limited, especially for those articles produced by the ProQuest/SIRS staff. Look at what information is provided after the article title for clues on the publication author, source, and date.
  • The example shown is for a reference article produced by ProQuest staff, but most articles found in SIRS Issues Researcher come from outside magazines, newspapers, websites, or books. If you use a source that was not produced by the ProQuest staff, cite it in the format appropriate to the source.

No Author:

  • If no author is listed for your article, start your citation with the article title.
  • You do not need to list "ProQuest Staff" as an author name.

No Publication Date:

  • If you cannot find an actual publication date for your article, skip it and move on to the database name.

URL:

  • Use the URL that comes up when clicking the "Cite" option for your article.
  • Omit the initial "http://" when inserting your URL.
  • Put a period at the end of your URL.
  • Although MLA recommends that you include either a DOI or URL at the end of your citation for all electronic sources, some instructors may prefer that you do not include these. Make sure to check with your instructor if you are unsure.

Supplemental Access Date:

  • You may add your date of access after the URL if you feel it might be important, and especially if no publication date is listed for your article.

Article Reprint from Gale Literature Resource Center or Gale Literature Criticism

Parrish, Timothy L. “Imagining Slavery: Toni Morrison and Charles Johnson.” Contemporary Literary Criticism, edited by Janet Witalec, vol. 163, Gale, 2003. Gale Literature Resource Center, link.gale.com/apps/doc/H1100044689/LitRC?u=nclivepitcc&sid=bookmark-LitRC&xid=2c0f33f3.

Author(s) of Article. “Complete Title of Article.” Title of Gale Reference Source That Supplied Article, Editor(s) of Gale Reference Source, Volume of Gale Reference Source, Publisher, Year of Publication. Name of Database, URL of article.

If you click the "Cite" button at the top of your article, you will see a choice for "MLA 9th Edition" (the citation is also at the bottom of your article). This database-supplied citation appears:

Parrish, Timothy L. "Imagining Slavery: Toni Morrison and Charles Johnson." Contemporary Literary Criticism, edited by Janet Witalec, vol. 163, Gale, 2003. Gale Literature Resource Center, link.gale.com/apps/doc/H1100044689/LitRC?u=nclivepitcc&sid=bookmark-LitRC&xid=2c0f33f3. Accessed 26 Jan. 2022. Originally published in Studies in American Fiction, vol. 25, no. 1, Spring 1997, pp. 81-100.

Although not incorrect to include access date and original publication information, these are optional (not required) for articles from a library database, and not currently recommended for most student papers unless your instructor directs you otherwise (note that the "s" in "spring" should be lowercase in MLA 9th). Here is the citation (without the optional information) as it should appear in your Works Cited list:

Parrish, Timothy L. “Imagining Slavery: Toni Morrison and Charles Johnson.” Contemporary Literary Criticism, edited by Janet Witalec, vol. 163, Gale, 2003. Gale Literature Resource Center, link.gale.com/apps/doc/H1100044689/LitRC?u=nclivepitcc&sid=bookmark-LitRC&xid=2c0f33f3.

Note: If your article is from Gale Literature Criticism, you may include the article page numbers that appear in your e-book volume. Insert page range information after the publication year and before the database information, as follows:

Gale, 2003, pp. 243-51. Gale Literature Criticism,

You will also need to:

Check spacing and font. Citations may not paste with the correct font. Spacing between words and/or line spacing may not be correct.

Delete and retype quote marks to match font. Even if you change your font, quote marks may not change automatically. In Times New Roman, they should not be straight.

Database-Supplied Citation Information:

The database-supplied citations in Gale literary databases often contain information that is considered optional (not required) for most student papers. Unless your teacher has directed you otherwise, you can leave the "optional" information out of your citation:

  • Many of the articles come from one of the Gale print book series, and are also usually reprints of articles that were originally published in another source. Original publication information is not required, unless it is important to your research or may be useful to your readers.
  • Date of access is not required for library database articles as they are not likely to change. Some instructors may prefer you to include a date of access for all online articles, however. It is best to check if you are not sure of your instructor's preference.

"Duplicate" Articles in Gale Literature Resource Center:

  • Occasionally you may find what looks like the same article twice in the results list in Gale Literature Resource Center, and this is likely because one is from the original source and the other is the reprint version as it appeared in the Gale reference source. Either version is equally valid, but note that the article from the original source will be cited as in the "Journal Article from Library Database" examples on the "Articles" page of this guide.

URL:

  • Look for the "permalink" if you are copying the URL for your article. This may be found by clicking the "Get Link" button at the top of the article.

  • You do not have to include the initial "https://" (or "http://") unless you need it to make a clickable hyperlink (test to see if it works without it).
  • If your instructor does not require clickable hyperlinks, any URL that is longer than three lines (or longer than the rest of the citation) may be shortened to end after the host (database company) name (e.g., "link.gale.com"). MLA discourages the use of URL shortening services such as bitly.com.
  • Put a period at the end of your URL.
  • The exact format of your database article URL depends on your instructor's preferences. Make sure you know how your instructor prefers these database-supplied URLs to appear in your Works Cited list, or whether you should include them at all.

Article from Biography Reference Source

Bradley, Michael R. “Richard Petty.” Great Athletes, Salem Press, 2001, pp. 1998-2001. Biography Reference Source, research.ebsco.com/linkprocessor/plink?id=cb92a070-5667-351f-b8da-faf5a2c681c2.

Author(s) of Article (if listed). “Title of Article.” Title of Reference Source That Supplied Article, Editor(s) of Reference Source (if listed), Edition of Reference Source (if listed), Publisher of Reference Source (if listed), Year of Publication (if listed), Page(s) Where Article Appears in Reference Source (if listed). Biography Reference Source, URL of article.

If you click on the cite button (looks like quote marks) and choose "MLA 9th Edition," you will get this database-supplied citation:

"Richard Petty." Great Athletes (Salem Press), Oct. 2001, p. 1998. EBSCOhost, research.ebsco.com/linkprocessor/plink?id=cb92a070-5667-351f-b8da-faf5a2c681c2.

Database-supplied citations are automatically generated and are often not completely correct. Errors in this example are highlighted in yellow; here is how it should look in your Works Cited list:

Bradley, Michael R. “Richard Petty.” Great Athletes, Salem Press, 2001, pp. 1998-2001. Biography Reference Source, research.ebsco.com/linkprocessor/plink?id=cb92a070-5667-351f-b8da-faf5a2c681c2.

Note that listing either the actual database name (Biography Reference Source) or the database provider (EBSCOhost) is correct for this example, although database names should always be italicized.

If you use the "Cite this article" feature, compare your citation carefully to the example shown and change as necessary. Look at the information provided with the article itself to find anything that is missing, such as author information and complete page range.

You will also need to:

Check spacing and font. Citations may not paste with the correct font. Spacing between words and/or line spacing may not be correct.

Delete and retype quote marks to match font. Even if you change your font, quote marks may not change automatically. In Times New Roman, they should not be straight.

Finding Citation Information:

  • Articles in Biography Reference Source come from a variety of print and online reference sources; publication information included with the articles is often missing several core elements. Record what you see; the database-supplied citation is often helpful in filling in some blanks, although it may not be completely correct.
  • Author information, if listed, may be found at the very end of the article.

URL:

  • Look for the "permalink" if you are copying the URL for your article. This may be found in the "Citation" information at the top of the article.

  • You do not have to include the initial "https://" (or "http://") unless you need it to make a clickable hyperlink (test to see if it works without it).
  • If your instructor does not require clickable hyperlinks, any URL that is longer than three lines (or longer than the rest of the citation) may be shortened to end after the host (database company) name (e.g., "search.ebscohost.com"). MLA discourages the use of URL shortening services such as bitly.com.
  • Put a period at the end of your URL.
  • The exact format of your database article URL depends on your instructor's preferences. Make sure you know how your instructor prefers these database-supplied URLs to appear in your Works Cited list, or whether you should include them at all.

Supplemental Access Date:

  • Note that the inclusion of an access date for articles stored in a database is not necessary, as these articles are unlikely to change. However, some instructors may prefer that you include a date of access for all your online sources. Check with your instructor if you are unsure.