MLA Citation Style Guide: 7th Edition

Many articles or entries do not have an author listed. In that case, begin citation with title of article or entry.

If you cite an entry or defintion which is numbered, include that information: use Def. for definition; use Entry for article.

General Rule, Print:

Author's Last Name, First Name. "Title of Entry." Name of Reference Source. Number ed. Year. Format.

Example (Author Given):

Dunlap, Martin.  Entry 3. "Baseball: AL." The Encyclopedia Americana. 44th ed. 2012. Print.

Example (No Author Given):

"Baseball." Def. 4c. The Encyclopedia Americana. 44th ed. 2012. Print.

General Rule, Electronic:

Author's Last Name, First Name. "Title of Entry." Name of Reference Source. Title of Electronic Source if distinct from Reference Source. Number ed. Year. Format.

Example:

Dunlap, Martin.  "Baseball." The Encyclopedia Americana. CREDO. 44th ed. 2012. Web.

Example:

"Baseball." The Encyclopedia Americana. CREDO. 44th ed. 2012. Web.

General Rule, Print:

Author's Last Name, First Name. "Title of Entry." Name of Reference Source. Ed. Editor's First Name Last Name. Number ed. Vol. number. Place of Publication: Year. Format.

Example:

Weihman, Lisa.  "Joyce, James." The Encyclopedia of Modernism. Ed. Harold Bloom. 4th ed. Vol. 7. New York: Macmillen-Thomson, 2011. Print.

General Rule, Electronic:

Author's Last Name, First Name. "Title of Entry." Name of Reference Source. Title of Electronic Source if distinct from Reference Source. Number ed. Year. Format.

Example:

Weihman, Lisa.  "Joyce, James." The Encyclopedia of Modernism. CREDO. 4th ed. 2011. Web.