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MLA In-Text Citations: The Basics
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MLA (Modern Language Association) style is most commonly used to write papers and cite sources within the liberal arts and humanities. This resource, updated to reflect the MLA Handbook (9 th ed.), offers examples for the general format of MLA research papers, in-text citations, endnotes/footnotes, and the Works Cited page.
Guidelines for referring to the works of others in your text using MLA style are covered throughout the MLA Handbook and in chapter 7 of the MLA Style Manual . Both books provide extensive examples, so it's a good idea to consult them if you want to become even more familiar with MLA guidelines or if you have a particular reference question.
Basic in-text citation rules
In MLA Style, referring to the works of others in your text is done using parenthetical citations . This method involves providing relevant source information in parentheses whenever a sentence uses a quotation or paraphrase. Usually, the simplest way to do this is to put all of the source information in parentheses at the end of the sentence (i.e., just before the period). However, as the examples below will illustrate, there are situations where it makes sense to put the parenthetical elsewhere in the sentence, or even to leave information out.
General Guidelines
- The source information required in a parenthetical citation depends (1) upon the source medium (e.g. print, web, DVD) and (2) upon the source’s entry on the Works Cited page.
- Any source information that you provide in-text must correspond to the source information on the Works Cited page. More specifically, whatever signal word or phrase you provide to your readers in the text must be the first thing that appears on the left-hand margin of the corresponding entry on the Works Cited page.
In-text citations: Author-page style
MLA format follows the author-page method of in-text citation. This means that the author's last name and the page number(s) from which the quotation or paraphrase is taken must appear in the text, and a complete reference should appear on your Works Cited page. The author's name may appear either in the sentence itself or in parentheses following the quotation or paraphrase, but the page number(s) should always appear in the parentheses, not in the text of your sentence. For example:
Both citations in the examples above, (263) and (Wordsworth 263), tell readers that the information in the sentence can be located on page 263 of a work by an author named Wordsworth. If readers want more information about this source, they can turn to the Works Cited page, where, under the name of Wordsworth, they would find the following information:
Wordsworth, William. Lyrical Ballads . Oxford UP, 1967.
In-text citations for print sources with known author
For print sources like books, magazines, scholarly journal articles, and newspapers, provide a signal word or phrase (usually the author’s last name) and a page number. If you provide the signal word/phrase in the sentence, you do not need to include it in the parenthetical citation.
These examples must correspond to an entry that begins with Burke, which will be the first thing that appears on the left-hand margin of an entry on the Works Cited page:
Burke, Kenneth. Language as Symbolic Action: Essays on Life, Literature, and Method . University of California Press, 1966.
In-text citations for print sources by a corporate author
When a source has a corporate author, it is acceptable to use the name of the corporation followed by the page number for the in-text citation. You should also use abbreviations (e.g., nat'l for national) where appropriate, so as to avoid interrupting the flow of reading with overly long parenthetical citations.
In-text citations for sources with non-standard labeling systems
If a source uses a labeling or numbering system other than page numbers, such as a script or poetry, precede the citation with said label. When citing a poem, for instance, the parenthetical would begin with the word “line”, and then the line number or range. For example, the examination of William Blake’s poem “The Tyger” would be cited as such:
The speaker makes an ardent call for the exploration of the connection between the violence of nature and the divinity of creation. “In what distant deeps or skies. / Burnt the fire of thine eyes," they ask in reference to the tiger as they attempt to reconcile their intimidation with their relationship to creationism (lines 5-6).
Longer labels, such as chapters (ch.) and scenes (sc.), should be abbreviated.
In-text citations for print sources with no known author
When a source has no known author, use a shortened title of the work instead of an author name, following these guidelines.
Place the title in quotation marks if it's a short work (such as an article) or italicize it if it's a longer work (e.g. plays, books, television shows, entire Web sites) and provide a page number if it is available.
Titles longer than a standard noun phrase should be shortened into a noun phrase by excluding articles. For example, To the Lighthouse would be shortened to Lighthouse .
If the title cannot be easily shortened into a noun phrase, the title should be cut after the first clause, phrase, or punctuation:
In this example, since the reader does not know the author of the article, an abbreviated title appears in the parenthetical citation, and the full title of the article appears first at the left-hand margin of its respective entry on the Works Cited page. Thus, the writer includes the title in quotation marks as the signal phrase in the parenthetical citation in order to lead the reader directly to the source on the Works Cited page. The Works Cited entry appears as follows:
"The Impact of Global Warming in North America." Global Warming: Early Signs . 1999. www.climatehotmap.org/. Accessed 23 Mar. 2009.
If the title of the work begins with a quotation mark, such as a title that refers to another work, that quote or quoted title can be used as the shortened title. The single quotation marks must be included in the parenthetical, rather than the double quotation.
Parenthetical citations and Works Cited pages, used in conjunction, allow readers to know which sources you consulted in writing your essay, so that they can either verify your interpretation of the sources or use them in their own scholarly work.
Author-page citation for classic and literary works with multiple editions
Page numbers are always required, but additional citation information can help literary scholars, who may have a different edition of a classic work, like Marx and Engels's The Communist Manifesto . In such cases, give the page number of your edition (making sure the edition is listed in your Works Cited page, of course) followed by a semicolon, and then the appropriate abbreviations for volume (vol.), book (bk.), part (pt.), chapter (ch.), section (sec.), or paragraph (par.). For example:
Author-page citation for works in an anthology, periodical, or collection
When you cite a work that appears inside a larger source (for instance, an article in a periodical or an essay in a collection), cite the author of the internal source (i.e., the article or essay). For example, to cite Albert Einstein's article "A Brief Outline of the Theory of Relativity," which was published in Nature in 1921, you might write something like this:
See also our page on documenting periodicals in the Works Cited .
Citing authors with same last names
Sometimes more information is necessary to identify the source from which a quotation is taken. For instance, if two or more authors have the same last name, provide both authors' first initials (or even the authors' full name if different authors share initials) in your citation. For example:
Citing a work by multiple authors
For a source with two authors, list the authors’ last names in the text or in the parenthetical citation:
Corresponding Works Cited entry:
Best, David, and Sharon Marcus. “Surface Reading: An Introduction.” Representations , vol. 108, no. 1, Fall 2009, pp. 1-21. JSTOR, doi:10.1525/rep.2009.108.1.1
For a source with three or more authors, list only the first author’s last name, and replace the additional names with et al.
Franck, Caroline, et al. “Agricultural Subsidies and the American Obesity Epidemic.” American Journal of Preventative Medicine , vol. 45, no. 3, Sept. 2013, pp. 327-333.
Citing multiple works by the same author
If you cite more than one work by an author, include a shortened title for the particular work from which you are quoting to distinguish it from the others. Put short titles of books in italics and short titles of articles in quotation marks.
Citing two articles by the same author :
Citing two books by the same author :
Additionally, if the author's name is not mentioned in the sentence, format your citation with the author's name followed by a comma, followed by a shortened title of the work, and, when appropriate, the page number(s):
Citing multivolume works
If you cite from different volumes of a multivolume work, always include the volume number followed by a colon. Put a space after the colon, then provide the page number(s). (If you only cite from one volume, provide only the page number in parentheses.)
Citing the Bible
In your first parenthetical citation, you want to make clear which Bible you're using (and underline or italicize the title), as each version varies in its translation, followed by book (do not italicize or underline), chapter, and verse. For example:
If future references employ the same edition of the Bible you’re using, list only the book, chapter, and verse in the parenthetical citation:
John of Patmos echoes this passage when describing his vision (Rev. 4.6-8).
Citing indirect sources
Sometimes you may have to use an indirect source. An indirect source is a source cited within another source. For such indirect quotations, use "qtd. in" to indicate the source you actually consulted. For example:
Note that, in most cases, a responsible researcher will attempt to find the original source, rather than citing an indirect source.
Citing transcripts, plays, or screenplays
Sources that take the form of a dialogue involving two or more participants have special guidelines for their quotation and citation. Each line of dialogue should begin with the speaker's name written in all capitals and indented half an inch. A period follows the name (e.g., JAMES.) . After the period, write the dialogue. Each successive line after the first should receive an additional indentation. When another person begins speaking, start a new line with that person's name indented only half an inch. Repeat this pattern each time the speaker changes. You can include stage directions in the quote if they appear in the original source.
Conclude with a parenthetical that explains where to find the excerpt in the source. Usually, the author and title of the source can be given in a signal phrase before quoting the excerpt, so the concluding parenthetical will often just contain location information like page numbers or act/scene indicators.
Here is an example from O'Neill's The Iceman Cometh.
WILLIE. (Pleadingly) Give me a drink, Rocky. Harry said it was all right. God, I need a drink.
ROCKY. Den grab it. It's right under your nose.
WILLIE. (Avidly) Thanks. (He takes the bottle with both twitching hands and tilts it to his lips and gulps down the whiskey in big swallows.) (1.1)
Citing non-print or sources from the Internet
With more and more scholarly work published on the Internet, you may have to cite sources you found in digital environments. While many sources on the Internet should not be used for scholarly work (reference the OWL's Evaluating Sources of Information resource), some Web sources are perfectly acceptable for research. When creating in-text citations for electronic, film, or Internet sources, remember that your citation must reference the source on your Works Cited page.
Sometimes writers are confused with how to craft parenthetical citations for electronic sources because of the absence of page numbers. However, these sorts of entries often do not require a page number in the parenthetical citation. For electronic and Internet sources, follow the following guidelines:
- Include in the text the first item that appears in the Work Cited entry that corresponds to the citation (e.g. author name, article name, website name, film name).
- Do not provide paragraph numbers or page numbers based on your Web browser’s print preview function.
- Unless you must list the Web site name in the signal phrase in order to get the reader to the appropriate entry, do not include URLs in-text. Only provide partial URLs such as when the name of the site includes, for example, a domain name, like CNN.com or Forbes.com, as opposed to writing out http://www.cnn.com or http://www.forbes.com.
Miscellaneous non-print sources
Two types of non-print sources you may encounter are films and lectures/presentations:
In the two examples above “Herzog” (a film’s director) and “Yates” (a presentor) lead the reader to the first item in each citation’s respective entry on the Works Cited page:
Herzog, Werner, dir. Fitzcarraldo . Perf. Klaus Kinski. Filmverlag der Autoren, 1982.
Yates, Jane. "Invention in Rhetoric and Composition." Gaps Addressed: Future Work in Rhetoric and Composition, CCCC, Palmer House Hilton, 2002. Address.
Electronic sources
Electronic sources may include web pages and online news or magazine articles:
In the first example (an online magazine article), the writer has chosen not to include the author name in-text; however, two entries from the same author appear in the Works Cited. Thus, the writer includes both the author’s last name and the article title in the parenthetical citation in order to lead the reader to the appropriate entry on the Works Cited page (see below).
In the second example (a web page), a parenthetical citation is not necessary because the page does not list an author, and the title of the article, “MLA Formatting and Style Guide,” is used as a signal phrase within the sentence. If the title of the article was not named in the sentence, an abbreviated version would appear in a parenthetical citation at the end of the sentence. Both corresponding Works Cited entries are as follows:
Taylor, Rumsey. "Fitzcarraldo." Slant , 13 Jun. 2003, www.slantmagazine.com/film/review/fitzcarraldo/. Accessed 29 Sep. 2009.
"MLA Formatting and Style Guide." The Purdue OWL , 2 Aug. 2016, owl.english.purdue.edu/owl/resource/747/01/. Accessed 2 April 2018.
Multiple citations
To cite multiple sources in the same parenthetical reference, separate the citations by a semi-colon:
Time-based media sources
When creating in-text citations for media that has a runtime, such as a movie or podcast, include the range of hours, minutes and seconds you plan to reference. For example: (00:02:15-00:02:35).
When a citation is not needed
Common sense and ethics should determine your need for documenting sources. You do not need to give sources for familiar proverbs, well-known quotations, or common knowledge (For example, it is expected that U.S. citizens know that George Washington was the first President.). Remember that citing sources is a rhetorical task, and, as such, can vary based on your audience. If you’re writing for an expert audience of a scholarly journal, for example, you may need to deal with expectations of what constitutes “common knowledge” that differ from common norms.
Other Sources
The MLA Handbook describes how to cite many different kinds of authors and content creators. However, you may occasionally encounter a source or author category that the handbook does not describe, making the best way to proceed can be unclear.
In these cases, it's typically acceptable to apply the general principles of MLA citation to the new kind of source in a way that's consistent and sensible. A good way to do this is to simply use the standard MLA directions for a type of source that resembles the source you want to cite.
You may also want to investigate whether a third-party organization has provided directions for how to cite this kind of source. For example, Norquest College provides guidelines for citing Indigenous Elders and Knowledge Keepers —an author category that does not appear in the MLA Handbook . In cases like this, however, it's a good idea to ask your instructor or supervisor whether using third-party citation guidelines might present problems.
- How It Works
How To Cite A Thesis MLA: Expert Tips And Guidelines
One of the biggest academic crimes is quoting or summarizing someone’s work without giving them due credit. This is known as plagiarism and could cut your academic career short in a ruthless way. To eliminate the chances of this happening, you need to cite your sources for your thesis or dissertation properly.
While a thesis is a document that precedes earning your degree at the university, a dissertation is a more advanced form for earning higher degrees like a doctorate. It’s time to find out everything you need to know about citing a thesis MLA correctly using our simple and straightforward guide.
Table of Contents
What you should know about mla.
- 1.1 Headers
- 1.2 Paper formatting
- 1.3 Creating your title page
- 1.4 Including page numbers and a running head while citing in MLA
- 1.5 Using quotations
- 1.6 Citing various media in MLA thesis
Best Way To Cite Your Thesis Or Dissertation
The first step in knowing how to cite a thesis MLA is to know exactly what the MLA format means.
The MLA format means Modern Language Association format. It is one of the most popular citation methods in thesis and dissertations. No worries, it’s actually pretty easy to master as well. If you have to write research papers on subjects in the field of humanities, chances are you would have to use the MLA format. So far, there are thousands of magazines, newsletters, and scholarly journals cited in the MLA format.
Therefore, an MLA thesis can be a master’s level work and a shorter version of research work that’s compulsory before getting an undergraduate degree. Regardless of the purpose, being in the humanities discipline will almost always guarantee that you would have to learn how to cite a thesis MLA.
If you’re writing a standard research project for your MLA thesis, there are specifications that you must adhere to. From the headers and margin size to the location of the listed names and the format for listing, you need to pay attention to these details while citing your dissertation in MLA format.
Thankfully, many schools hold research seminars to guide students on citing a dissertation MLA the right way. Although your university may have given out handbooks to help you master the MLA format for your thesis, it’s always best to also explore online guides. Getting as familiar as possible with the MLA format will definitely pay off in the long run when you have a finished thesis with absolutely no mistakes.
However, if you don’t really need or want that skill, you can custom thesis writing help and spend your free time to reach for your own goals.
Guide To MLA Citation Dissertation
Here is a detailed walk through on how to do MLA citations correctly:
Be sure that the space from the top of the first page to the first line is one inch Your full name, instructor’s name, course, and date should be on separate lines and double spaced. The title should not be in bold or underlined. Also, do not type the title in capital letters. No period is necessary after your headings or the title of your paper. Indent your paragraphs
John Berlin Professor Tokyo Sociology 502 20 February 2022 The Effects of COVID-19 in the Adoption of Remote Work It’s no secret that COVID-19 has changed the future of work as we know it. Now, it’s not a big deal to have people work from home instead of getting all dressed up for a typical 9-5 workday.
Recommended paper size is 8 ½-by-11-inch. Only one-inch margins are permitted for all pages. This is usually a default setting in most word processing programs. One-half-inch indentations are mandatory for the first word of every paragraph. Only use double spacing throughout your research paper. The standard font size is 12 points, and it’s best to use a font type that is easy to read. Recommended fonts are Times New Roman and Arial.
Align the title to the center of the page without italics, bold, or underlined fonts. If your title includes the title of another source, you may include quotation marks or italics. Every text on the title page should be double spaced Use the title case format for your titles, which means capitalizing only the first letter of each word. Your full name, instructor’s name, the course title, and due date of the assignment should be on separate lines at the bottom third of the page.
Your last name should come before the page number and be separated by a single space. While this usually begins on the second page, your professor may specifically request that you include the running head on the first page as well.
The name of the author shouldn’t be included in the sentence. Instead, this should be in parentheses after the sentence The quotes represent the direct statement or words of the author.
As the main character, we can get a bigger glimpse into his state of confusion when he states, “Nothing could have prepared me for the rude shock when I realized that the machine could double as my beginning and end” (Cesaro 254).
Place the image as close to the text as possible. Label the image starting with “Fig.” Include the MLA bibliography format citation below the image if you don’t plan to list it on the works cited page
Fig. 3. The Isle. “Geography of history’s most beautiful site, Paris.” Library of France, www.lof.gov/image/7373963/.
For both thesis and dissertations, the MLA format is usually the same. You will be required to state the type of degree you’re writing the paper for. This could be a Ph.D. dissertation or an undergraduate thesis. There are also crucial differences in citing your dissertation in MLA format if your source is a print document or gotten online. Here is an excellent example of how to cite your thesis in MLA.
Here are some examples to give you a better idea of how this citation works:
Edsel, Colin Perry. A Study of the Role of Students of Economics in Determining the Impact of Supply and Demand in Advanced Societies. 2014. University of Westminster, BSc thesis. Edsel, Colin Perry. A Study of the Role of Students of Economics in Determining the Impact of Supply and Demand in Advanced Societies. 2014. University of Westminster, Ph.D. dissertation. Edsel, Colin Perry. A Study of the Role of Students of Economics in Determining the Impact of Supply and Demand in Advanced Societies. 2014. University of Westminster, Ph.D. dissertation. Statistics in Motion, www.statisticsinmotion.com/role-of-students-of-economics.
For in-text citations, you should follow this structure:
(Last Name of the Author page number)
Here is an example of in-text citation:
(Cesaro 254)
Citing MLA Thesis Help
So far, this detailed guide has introduced you to the structure necessary for citing a dissertation in MLA format. However, it’s okay if you’re still a little confused about how to go about this successfully. This is where a reliable dissertation service comes in. While you can get all the tips you need on how to cite a thesis paper in MLA format from your college, professor, teacher, or even other students at school, you can take advantage of possibility to pay for thesis .
All you have to do is order for your custom dissertation or thesis, and you’ll be assigned experts online that are ready to deliver within a short time. In all of these, it’s essential to pay extra attention to the specific instructions of your teacher or professor as the guidelines here are recommendations to help you achieve the best work. If this doesn’t follow the structure laid down by your college or university, you may end up missing vital marks.
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- Knowledge Base
- A complete guide to MLA in-text citations
MLA In-text Citations | A Complete Guide (9th Edition)
Published on July 9, 2019 by Shona McCombes . Revised on May 19, 2022.
An MLA in-text citation provides the author’s last name and a page number in parentheses.
If a source has two authors, name both. If a source has more than two authors, name only the first author, followed by “ et al. ”
If the part you’re citing spans multiple pages, include the full page range. If you want to cite multiple non-consecutive pages at the same time, separate the page numbers with commas.
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Table of contents, where to include an mla in-text citation, citing sources with no author, citing sources with no page numbers, citing different sources with the same author name, citing sources indirectly, frequently asked questions about mla in-text citations.
Place the parenthetical citation directly after the relevant quote or paraphrase , and before the period or other punctuation mark (except with block quotes , where the citation comes after the period).
If you have already named the author in the sentence, add only the page number in parentheses. When mentioning a source with three or more authors outside of parentheses, use “and others” or “and colleagues” in place of “et al.”
- MLA is the second most popular citation style (Smith and Morrison 17–19) .
- According to Smith and Morrison , MLA is the second most popular citation style (17–19) .
- APA is by far “the most used citation style in the US” (Moore et al. 74) , but it is less dominant in the UK (Smith 16) .
- Moore and colleagues state that APA is more popular in the US than elsewhere (74) .
Combining citations
If a sentence is supported by more than one source, you can combine the citations in a single set of parentheses. Separate the two sources with a semicolon .
Livestock farming is one of the biggest global contributors to climate change (Garcia 64; Davies 14) .
Consecutive citations of the same source
If you cite the same source repeatedly within a paragraph, you can include the full citation the first time you cite it, then just the page number for subsequent citations.
MLA is the second most popular citation style (Smith and Morrison 17–19) . It is more popular than Chicago style, but less popular than APA (21) .
You can do this as long as it remains clear what source you’re citing. If you cite something else in between or start a new paragraph, reintroduce the full citation again to avoid ambiguity.
For sources with no named author , the in-text citation must match the first element of the Works Cited entry. This may be the name of an organization, or the title of the source.
If the source title or organization name is longer than four words, shorten it to the first word or phrase in the in-text citation, excluding any articles ( a, an, and the ). The shortened title or organization name should begin with the word the source is alphabetized by in the Works Cited.
Follow the general MLA rules for formatting titles : If the source is a self-contained work (e.g. a whole website or an entire book ), put the title in italics; if the source is contained within a larger whole (e.g. a page on a website or a chapter of a book), put the title in quotation marks.
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If a source does not have page numbers but is divided into numbered parts (e.g. chapters, sections, scenes, Bible books and verses, Articles of the Constitution , or timestamps), use these numbers to locate the relevant passage.
If the source does not use any numbering system, include only the author’s name in the in-text citation. Don’t include paragraph numbers unless they are explicitly numbered in the source.
Note that if there are no numbered divisions and you have already named the author in your sentence, then no parenthetical citation is necessary.
If your Works Cited page includes more than one entry under the same last name, you need to distinguish between these sources in your in-text citations.
Multiple sources by the same author
If you cite more than one work by the same author, add a shortened title to signal which source you are referring to.
In this example, the first source is a whole book, so the title appears in italics; the second is an article published in a journal, so the title appears in quotation marks.
Different authors with the same last name
To distinguish between different authors with the same last name, use the authors’ initials (or, if the initials are the same, full first names) in your in-text citations:
Sometimes you might want to cite something that you found quoted in a secondary source . If possible, always seek out the original source and cite it directly.
If you can’t access the original source, make sure to name both the original author and the author of the source that you accessed . Use the abbreviation “qtd. in” (short for “quoted in”) to indicate where you found the quotation.
In these cases, only the source you accessed directly is included in the Works Cited list.
You must include an MLA in-text citation every time you quote or paraphrase from a source (e.g. a book , movie , website , or article ).
Some source types, such as books and journal articles , may contain footnotes (or endnotes) with additional information. The following rules apply when citing information from a note in an MLA in-text citation :
- To cite information from a single numbered note, write “n” after the page number, and then write the note number, e.g. (Smith 105n2)
- To cite information from multiple numbered notes, write “nn” and include a range, e.g. (Smith 77nn1–2)
- To cite information from an unnumbered note, write “un” after the page number, with a space in between, e.g. (Jones 250 un)
If a source has two authors, name both authors in your MLA in-text citation and Works Cited entry. If there are three or more authors, name only the first author, followed by et al.
If a source has no author, start the MLA Works Cited entry with the source title . Use a shortened version of the title in your MLA in-text citation .
If a source has no page numbers, you can use an alternative locator (e.g. a chapter number, or a timestamp for a video or audio source) to identify the relevant passage in your in-text citation. If the source has no numbered divisions, cite only the author’s name (or the title).
If you already named the author or title in your sentence, and there is no locator available, you don’t need a parenthetical citation:
- Rajaram argues that representations of migration are shaped by “cultural, political, and ideological interests.”
- The homepage of The Correspondent describes it as “a movement for radically different news.”
Yes. MLA style uses title case, which means that all principal words (nouns, pronouns , verbs, adjectives , adverbs , and some conjunctions ) are capitalized.
This applies to titles of sources as well as the title of, and subheadings in, your paper. Use MLA capitalization style even when the original source title uses different capitalization .
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McCombes, S. (2022, May 19). MLA In-text Citations | A Complete Guide (9th Edition). Scribbr. Retrieved June 8, 2023, from https://www.scribbr.com/mla/in-text-citations/
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Guide on How to Cite a Thesis or Dissertation in MLA
Students and homework are synonymous in learning institutions today. Any high school or college student is no stranger to the different writing styles used when writing thesis and dissertations . However, you shouldn’t worry if you’re unfamiliar with these writing styles, as you’ll learn about them during your academic career. However, one format stands out among the various writing styles for being relatively easier to follow and implement. This article will discuss this commonly used MLA format and answer the question on how to cite a thesis paper MLA, “where does the thesis go in MLA format?” and, more so, the MLA format for thesis papers. Let’s begin.
What Is the MLA Dissertation Citation Background?
Who uses mla thesis formatting, how do you write a title page in thesis mla format, does a thesis mla format contain a summary, is mla dissertation citation complicated, does mla thesis format simplify your project, why use mla thesis citation, why your examiner wants a good mla citation thesis, advantages of using mla cite dissertation, we can help you cite a thesis mla.
Many students search “how to cite thesis MLA” or ” how to cite dissertation MLA” on the internet but don’t know what those three letters stand for. The letter MLA stands for Modern Language Association , an organization of language or literature scholars. This organization is responsible for publishing various journals in the Ph.D. format.
Perhaps this organization is mainly known for the general writing guidelines that its publication editors came up with. It all started when some literature scholars acknowledged the need of having a standard format for papers. They then came up with this format and asked their students to present their thesis statements in MLA format.
The thesis MLA format, MLA cite thesis, or citing a dissertation MLA may be a common writing style; however, it’s commonly used in the liberal arts and humanities. Here are the disciplines in which writers use the thesis MLA format example in their writing:
- Cultural studies
- Literary criticism
- Foreign languages
- English literature
Another advantage of citing dissertation MLA is the simplicity of making a title page. Unlike in other formats where the requirements for a title page are complicated, you only need your name, course name, instructor’s name, and the date. Remember to use the Times New Roman font with a measurement of 12 and double-space your work when using an MLA dissertation cite.
When using an MLA citation thesis or citing a thesis using this format, a summary is not necessary for other writing styles. Writing a summary is a task that many students find challenging or tedious as it is meant to be a stand-alone paper from your original assignment. However, when citing a dissertation MLA, the summary is not required, thus saving the student time and energy spent working on another paper.
Citing a thesis MLA or an MLA citation dissertation is easy to cite and reference your sources. MLA is simpler than other writing styles, such as the Harvard or Chicago style, where you must use complicated methods of citing and referencing your sources. Additionally, the reader can follow through with your ideas and identify your sources easily without turning pages or following certain numbers.
It’s also simpler to write your bibliography or works cited when using the MLA format as its only requirement is that the sources need to be in Alphabetical order.
This format aims to make students’ work clear and easy to follow by creating a framework for standardized methods of citations. An MLA thesis format example also creates a framework for putting down your bibliography with the help of a cite master at the end of the essay. This format also makes it easier to follow a paper through well-known cues. These cues help with easy referencing outsourced information.
When learning how to cite a master’s thesis MLA or how to cite a thesis in MLA, it’s important to learn why the format is the most common style for students online. Here are some of the reasons why you should use the MLA format thesis in your dissertation:
- To help you get a better grade, follow the required citation format in your MLA works cited thesis.
- To show your knowledge or skill by demonstrating that you are conversant with various methods of citing references.
- To show where you borrowed your ideas from, thus, preventing plagiarism.
The simple MLA rules have morphed into the guidelines used by all students worldwide in their MLA thesis statements. Examiners want you to follow the right MLA format for your thesis paper because:
- It enables them to follow through with your ideas and helps them find specific areas of your paper easily.
- It shows the student’s ability to present a professionally done paper and your knowledge of the writing style.
As previously mentioned, the MLA citation thesis format is students’ most common writing style. There are several benefits of using the MLA thesis style that make students type “how to cite a thesis MLA” or “how to cite a dissertation MLA” on their browsers.
Here are some of the advantages of how to cite a thesis using MLA format:
- Has no operating head: Unlike the headers required when you cite a dissertation APA, the process of putting a header is not applicable in MLA. This makes formatting your assignments much easier than it would use other formats.
- Fewer rules to follow: Unlike its counterparts, such as the Chicago or APA writing style, citing a dissertation, MLA has far fewer rules to remember. This makes it easier for students to cite thesis MLA correctly. Its simplicity makes it the best-suited writing style for those writing lengthy essays.
Do you need help citing a dissertation MLA or any other academic service, including writing a thesis statement in MLA format? If so, look no further, as we have a team full of experts ready to help you out with your thesis or dissertation. You can get in touch with us any day of the week for an MLA thesis example or the answer to “do you include Ph.D. in MLA citation?”
In your quest to learn how to format a thesis, how to cite a thesis, or how to cite a thesis, remember that MLA format is best suited for those who have never used writing styles before. You can always refer to us and we will help you with your Ph.D. formatting using the MLA format for help.
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Fire/Ice/Bang/Whimper
Downloadable content.
- June 7, 2021
- Affiliation: College of Arts and Sciences, Department of English and Comparative Literature – Creative Writing
- Other Affiliation: Creative Writing in Poetry
- The world as we know it has ended. What's left of humanity stumbles around, ghosts of their former selves, confused and yearning for things they will never experience again. How did we get here? In Fire/Ice/Bang/Whimper, each poem is a premonition of a world where the rich and powerful chose property over people one too many times. Join Sam Bible-Sullivan as he guides you through a future we hope will remain foreign, but oftentimes hits too close to home.
- April 30, 2021
- https://doi.org/10.17615/0g7g-eh81
- Honors Thesis
- In Copyright
- Bachelor of Arts
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Deposit your masters paper, project or other capstone work. Theses will be sent to the CDR automatically via ProQuest and do not need to be deposited.
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- How to cite a thesis in MLA and APA formatting styles correctly and easily
How to cite a thesis in MLA formatting style
When you get to the point of writing a thesis and then defending it, you are at the end of your important educational journey stage. How to cite a thesis in MLA? This paper should showcase your skills and ability to search for relevant data in a specific discipline and present research results in your original content. Feel free to use this guide as well as our help with writing a thesis if you need assistance in citing your thesis in MLA style (Modern Language Association).
A thesis is a final result of your independent doctoral work. You need to write the best one to earn a master’s degree. Whenever you include information in your English paper, state how and where you retrieved it in the right order and based on university rules.
The importance of citing sources
Your bibliography or reference list should contain all the online directories, magazines, studies and books that you use to design and write your thesis. Ensure that you have a background research plan. It will help you find a database of interesting sources. The more details you note down about each source (its author, published date or year, URL, and others), the simpler it will be to find.
When you are writing your thesis, use sources to remind you of background information or different facts that can help you strengthen your research. Every time you use data from other places, you need to cite them. You need to know how to cite a thesis in MLA style because if you fail to do that in the right format or style, you risk facing plagiarism problems and low grades.
Popular referencing formats
There are certain academic standards that you should use to document all sources of information in your thesis. What are referencing formats? Most professors ask their students to write a thesis in MLA and APA referencing styles, but there are also Chicago, Turabian, and other alternatives.
The number of sources may vary, but you should provide readers with the same basic information about each one (dates, titles, and authors). MLA style requirements call a page with references as Works Cited. Please contact your tutors to determine the right set of rules to cite your thesis correctly.
Key information to cite in your thesis
Make a list to keep track of different magazines, books, and sites that you visit while following your thesis research plan. It will become a bibliography later. Write down key information for every source you use:
- Publication date;
- Author names;
- Publication titles;
- Publishing companies;
- Publication places;
- Page numbers;
- Editor names if available;
- Page titles if available;
- Volume numbers if needed;
- Organizations or companies posting web pages;
- The date you visited a web page.
Where to find bibliographic information?
You can find bibliographic data for different types of sources that you use in your thesis writing in many different places. That’s why it’s necessary to do some detective work to get the necessary details for to cite them all and references in your paper correctly. What are the best places to check? Try searching in:
- Article headings;
- Title pages of dictionaries, books, or encyclopedias;
- Contents pages of magazines or journals;
- Second, front, or editorial pages of newspapers;
- Contact or About pages of websites;
- Footers or headers of web pages.
What to do next?
When it’s time to turn your notes into a thesis bibliography, type all the sources into a special list and use formatting examples to ensure that you cite each of them correctly. List them all in the right alphabetical order using the last names of authors and follow the necessary thesis guidelines based on the MLA style.
What if sources have more than one author? Alphabetize them using the first one. If authors are unknown, alphabetize such sources of information based on their title to cite them properly in your thesis and earn the grade you deserve.
Why is it important?
You should cite your thesis in MLA style to let readers know that the facts and details you use have their authors or sources. The credibility and strength of your thesis paper depend on their validity, not only on your ability to represent sources of information clearly and without plagiarizing. If you don’t do that, academic consequences will be severe.
If you still have problems or difficulties with writing references in MLA style, get our professional help online to benefit from their effective solutions. Our qualified and experienced writers are willing to give their assistance whenever you need it and guarantee the best final result. Grab their helping hand and enjoy our service benefits!
Dissertations and Master's Theses
Master's thesis or dissertation can be used by others as sources. Following the 8th edition of MLA style rules, there is no difference in published or unpublished papers.
Here are the main elements of a dissertation citation in MLA style (in fact, they are the same as for a book): author's name, title (written in italics), and the date of publishing. In the end, you should write the type of document (e.g. "Ph.D. dissertation"). Include the institution before the type (it's not a necessary step). If you have accessed this manuscript online, please make sure you have placed it after all other elements as a second container.
Margareth, Joan Walter. Worldwide Institutional Agency: Strategic Reading in the NTSC Campaign. 2015. Whinston University. Ph.D. dissertation.
Samuel, George. Friendship, Communication, and Revised Critical Views: Worldwide Partnership. 2009. Saint Louis University,
Ross, Mary. The Impact of Brands on the Value of Received Capital: Evidence from Worldwide Companies. 1999. Ph.D. dissertation. ProGuide Theses and Dissertations.
Example and Explanations
Below, you can view an example and explanations of the cited work in MLA style:
Lois, Fridrich. How Stress Management Helps to Increase the Effectivity of Work. MS Thesis, The College of St. Patrick, 2018.
Autor: Lois, Fridrich.
Write the last name at the start and add the first and middle names.
Title and subtitle: How Stress Management Helps to Increase the Effectivity of Work.
Separate the title and subtitle by a colon. The proper words should be capitalized. Italicize the title and end it with a period.
Publishing Status: MA Thesis,
Place a comma after the status. If it's a dissertation or a project, please use the words "MA project" or "dissertation".
Name of Institution of the Granted Degree: The College of St. Patrick,
Add the name of the college and place a comma in the end.
Year of Publication: 2018.
Place the year and end your citation with a period. Don't miss our guide on Chicago dissertation citation and research denfense to get more useful details.
Dissertation writing is one of the prerequisites for earning a degree and obtaining an academic diploma. In order to deliver a winning project, you have to spend a lot of time reading guides, researching different thesis ideas, and working with the endless list of literature entries. Strict formatti...
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How do I format a thesis or dissertation in MLA style?
Note: This post relates to content in the eighth edition of the MLA Handbook . For up-to-date guidance, see the ninth edition of the MLA Handbook .
The MLA Handbook does not provide guidelines for formatting a thesis or dissertation—or for preparing the parts of such a project, like a preface, dedication, or acknowledgments page—because most schools maintain their own formatting requirements. Although the MLA Style Manual and Guide to Scholarly Publishing , out of print since 2016, summarized some of these requirements, it did so only in a very general way.
Writers of theses and dissertations should follow any guidelines their schools provide. If a school does not provide such guidelines, a successfully defended dissertation in the writer’s department might provide an example to follow.
Home / Guides / Citation Guides / APA Format / How to Cite a Thesis or Dissertation in APA
How to Cite a Thesis or Dissertation in APA
In this citation guide, you will learn how to reference and cite an undergraduate thesis, master’s thesis, or doctoral dissertation. This guide will also review the differences between a thesis or dissertation that is published and one that has remained unpublished. The guidelines below come from the 7th edition of the Publication Manual of the American Psychological Association (2020a), pages 333 and 334. Please note that the association is not affiliated with this guide.
Alternatively, you can visit EasyBib.com for helpful citation tools to cite your thesis or dissertation .
Guide Overview
Citing an unpublished thesis or dissertation, citing a published dissertation or thesis from a database, citing a thesis or dissertation published online but not from a database, citing a thesis or dissertation: reference overview, what you need.
Since unpublished theses can usually only be sourced in print form from a university library, the correct citation structure includes the university name where the publisher element usually goes.
Author’s last name, F. M. (Year published). Title in sentence case [Unpublished degree type thesis or dissertation]. Name of institution.
Ames, J. H., & Doughty, L. H. (1911). The proposed plans for the Iowa State College athletic field including the design of a reinforced concrete grandstand and wall [Unpublished bachelor’s thesis]. Iowa State University.
In-text citation example:
- Parenthetical : (Ames & Doughty, 1911)
- Narrative : Ames & Doughty (1911)
If a thesis or dissertation has been published and is found on a database, then follow the structure below. It’s similar to the format for an unpublished dissertation/thesis, but with a few differences:
- The institution is presented in brackets after the title
- The archive or database name is included
Author’s last name, F. M. (Year published). Title in sentence case (Publication or Document No.) [Degree type thesis or dissertation, Name of institution]. Database name.
Examples 1:
Knight, K. A. (2011). Media epidemics: Viral structures in literature and new media (Accession No. 2013420395) [Doctoral dissertation, University of California, Santa Barbara]. ProQuest Dissertations Publishing.
Trotman, J.B. (2018). New insights into the biochemistry and cell biology of RNA recapping (Document No. osu1523896565730483) [Doctoral dissertation, Ohio State University]. OhioLINK Electronic Theses & Dissertations Center.
In the example given above, the dissertation is presented with a Document Number (Document No.). Sometimes called a database number or publication number, this is the identifier that is used by the database’s indexing system. If the database you are using provides you with such a number, then include it directly after the work’s title in parentheses.
If you are interested in learning more about how to handle works that were accessed via academic research databases, see Section 9.3 of the Publication Manual.
In-text citation examples :
- Parenthetical citation : (Trotman, 2018)
- Narrative citation : Trotman (2018)
Author’s last name, F. M. (Year Published). Title in sentence case [Degree type thesis or dissertation, Name of institution]. Name of archive or collection. URL
Kim, O. (2019). Soviet tableau: cinema and history under late socialism [Doctoral dissertation, University of Pittsburgh]. Institutional Repository at the University of Pittsburgh. https://d-scholarship.pitt.edu/37669/7/Olga%20Kim%20Final%20ETD.pdf
Stiles, T. W. (2001). Doing science: Teachers’ authentic experiences at the Lone Star Dinosaur Field Institute [Master’s thesis, Texas A&M University]. OAKTrust. https://hdl.handle.net/1969.1/ETD-TAMU-2001-THESIS-S745
It is important to note that not every thesis or dissertation published online will be associated with a specific archive or collection. If the work is published on a private website, provide only the URL as the source element.
In-text citation examples:
- Parenthetical citation : (Kim, 2019)
- Narrative citation : Kim (2019)
- Parenthetical citation : (Stiles, 2001)
- Narrative citation : Stiles (2001)
We hope that the information provided here will serve as an effective guide for your research. If you’re looking for even more citation info, visit EasyBib.com for a comprehensive collection of educational materials covering multiple source types.
If you’re citing a variety of different sources, consider taking the EasyBib citation generator for a spin. It can help you cite easily and offers citation forms for several different kinds of sources.
To start things off, let’s take a look at the different types of literature that are classified under Chapter 10.6 of the Publication Manual :
- Undergraduate thesis
- Master’s thesis
- Doctoral dissertation
You will need to know which type you are citing. You’ll also need to know if it is published or unpublished .
When you decide to cite a dissertation or thesis, you’ll need to look for the following information to use in your citation:
- Author’s last name, and first and middle initials
- Year published
- Title of thesis or dissertation
- If it is unpublished
- Publication or document number (if applicable; for published work)
- Degree type (bachelor’s, master’s, doctoral)
- Thesis or dissertation
- Name of institution awarding degree
- DOI (https://doi.org/xxxxx) or URL (if applicable)
Since theses and dissertations are directly linked to educational degrees, it is necessary to list the name of the associated institution; i.e., the college, university, or school that is awarding the associated degree.
To get an idea of the proper form, take a look at the examples below. There are three outlined scenarios:
- Unpublished thesis or dissertation
- Published thesis or dissertation from a database
- Thesis or dissertation published online but not from a database
American Psychological Association. (2020a). Publication manual of the American Psychological Association (7th ed.). https://doi.org/10.1037/0000165-000
American Psychological Association. (2020b). Style-Grammar-Guidelines. https://apastyle.apa.org/style-grammar-guidelines/citations/basic-principles/parenthetical-versus-narrative
Published August 10, 2012. Updated March 24, 2020.
Written and edited by Michele Kirschenbaum and Elise Barbeau. Michele Kirschenbaum is a school library media specialist and the in-house librarian at EasyBib.com. Elise Barbeau is the Citation Specialist at Chegg. She has worked in digital marketing, libraries, and publishing.
APA Formatting Guide
APA Formatting
- Annotated Bibliography
- Block Quotes
- et al Usage
- In-text Citations
- Multiple Authors
- Paraphrasing
- Page Numbers
- Parenthetical Citations
- Reference Page
- Sample Paper
- APA 7 Updates
- View APA Guide
Citation Examples
- Book Chapter
- Journal Article
- Magazine Article
- Newspaper Article
- Website (no author)
- View all APA Examples
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To cite a published thesis in APA style, it is important that you know some basic information such as the author, publication year, title of the thesis, institute name, archive name, and URL (uniform resource locator). The templates for an in-text citation and reference list entry of a thesis, along with examples, are given below:
In-text citation template and example:
Use the author surname and the publication year in the in-text citation.
Author Surname (Publication Year)
Cartmel (2007)
Parenthetical:
(Author Surname, Publication Year)
(Cartmel, 2007)
Reference list entry template and example:
The title of the thesis is set in sentence case and italicized. Enclose the thesis and the institute awarding the degree inside brackets following the publication year. Then add the name of the database followed by the URL.
Author Surname, F. M. (Publication Year). Title of the thesis [Master’s thesis, Institute Name]. Name of the Database. URL
Cartmel, J. (2007). Outside school hours care and schools [Master’s thesis, Queensland University of Technology]. EPrints. http://eprints.qut.edu.au/17810/1/Jennifer_Cartmel_Thesis.pdf
To cite an unpublished dissertation in APA style, it is important that you know some basic information such as the author, year, title of the dissertation, and institute name. The templates for in-text citation and reference list entry of an online thesis, along with examples, are given below:
Author Surname (Year)
Averill (2009)
(Author Surname, Year)
(Averill, 2009)
The title of the dissertation is set in sentence case and italicized. Enclose “Unpublished doctoral dissertation” inside brackets following the year. Then add the name of the institution awarding the degree.
Author Surname, F. M. (Publication Year). Title of the dissertation [Unpublished doctoral dissertation]. Name of the Institute.
Averill, R. (2009). Teacher–student relationships in diverse New Zealand year 10 mathematics classrooms: Teacher care [Unpublished doctoral dissertation]. Victoria University of Wellington.
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How to cite a master's thesis in MLA
To cite a master's thesis in a reference entry in MLA style 9th edition include the following elements:
- Author(s) name: Give the last name and name as presented in the source (e. g. Watson, John). For two authors, reverse only the first name, followed by ‘and’ and the second name in normal order (e. g. Watson, John, and John Watson). For three or more authors, list the first name followed by et al. (e. g. Watson, John, et al.)
- Thesis title: Titles are italicized when independent. If part of a larger source add quotation marks and do not italize.
- Year of publication: Give the year of publication as presented in the source.
- University: Give the name of the institution.
- Degree: Type of degree.
Here is the basic format for a reference list entry of a master's thesis in MLA style 9th edition:
Author(s) name . Thesis title . Year of publication . University , Degree .
Take a look at our works cited examples that demonstrate the MLA style guidelines in action:
A psychology master's thesis with one author
Bauger, Lars . Personality, Passion, Self-esteem and Psychological Well-being among Junior Elite Athletes in Norway . 2011 . U of Tromsø , Master's Thesis .
A master's thesis with one author
Aube, Kyle Eric . A Comparison of Water Main Failure Prediction Models in San Luis Obispo, CA . 2019 . Cal Poly , Master's Thesis .
This citation style guide is based on the MLA Handbook (9 th edition).
More useful guides
- MLA 8th ed. Style Guide: Dissertations, Theses
- MLA, 8th Edition: Master's Thesis or Project
- How do I cite a dissertation in MLA style?
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How to Cite a Website | APA, MLA, Chicago & Vancouver
What is a website? And what is a webpage?
A website is a collection of interconnected pages and multimedia content that is typically accessible through a unique domain name on the Internet. Websites range from simple static pages that display text and images to complex dynamic sites with interactive features. Websites are used to share information, provide services, conduct business, and engage with online communities. Examples of static websites are blogs, portfolio websites, and event/conference sites. Dynamic websites are built to handle real-time interactions, data processing, and frequent content updates, and often incorporate various multimedia elements to enhance the user experience.
A web page , which is what you usually refer to when citing content on a website, is a single document presented within the framework of a static or dynamic website, such as an article published by an online newspaper or a single blog article. To properly cite a website/webpage, you need a short citation included in the text of your manuscript and a corresponding reference list entry that contains the author name, the publication date, the title of the webpage, the name of the website, and its URL. Depending on the formatting style you are following, these details are listed in a slightly different way. In the following, we summarize the main requirements for citing a website in the most common styles.
Citing a Website in APA Style
To cite a website in APA 7 Style , include the following elements: the last name and initials of the author(s), the full date of publication, the webpage title (in italics), the website name (in plain text), and the URL.
The in-text citation for a website only lists the author’s last name and year. If the page is long or cluttered, you can help the reader identify the quote by guiding them to a specific subsection or paragraph.
APA website citation examples
Remember to italicize the title of the web page or article. The URL should be included as a clickable hyperlink without any additional punctuation:
Note that when the author and site name are the same, you can omit the site name altogether:
Citing an entire website vs a webpage
If you want to reference an entire website (not a specific page within that website), you do not need to provide an APA-style citation—simply cite the website in the text, followed by the URL in parentheses:
The New York Times’ online edition is the news website with the most monthly visits in the United States.
Blog posts and online articles
When citing a blog post or article from an online newspaper, provide (and italicize) the name of the blog/newspaper, not the title of the post/article.
How to cite a blog:
How to cite a news article:.
Note that articles on news sites such as Reuters and BBC News that are not linked to a print newspaper are not cited using this format—follow the general website citation format above for such articles ( title in italics , site name in plain text).
Citing a website with no author or date
If there is no specific author listed, start the citation with the organization that created it, or with the title of the web page or article. If there is no publication date provided, you can use “n.d.” (for no date) instead, or the date you accessed the article.
APA reference section
Generally, for APA in-text citations , you include the author’s last name and the year of publication in parentheses:
(Lowry et al., 1951)
If you directly quote a source, include the page number as well:
(Lowry et al., 1951, p. 45).
At the end of your paper, you create a reference list , arranged in alphabetical order by the author’s last name, that contains the following details for each source
- author’s name
- publication date
- title of the work
- journal’s title/publisher (in italics), volume (issue), page numbers
- DOI (digital object identifier) if available,
- URL if there is no DOI but the article is accessible online
Examples of APA citation list entries:
Lowry, O. H., Rosebrough, N. J., Farr, A. L., & Randall, R. J. (1951). Protein measurement with the Folin phenol reagent. Journal of Biological Chemistry , 193, 265-275. https://www.cabdirect.org/cabdirect/abstract/19511404458
Thompson, J. D., Gibson, T. J., & Higgins, D. G. (2003). Multiple sequence alignment using ClustalW and ClustalX. Current Protocols in Bioinformatics , (1), 2-3. https://doi.org/10.1002/0471250953.bi0203s00
You can use our APA Citation Generator if you want to make sure your references are in order before you press that “submit” button!
Citing a Website in MLA Style
Wondering how to cite a website in MLA 8 Style ? MLA website citations list the same elements as APA citations, with small differences in author names (full names vs initials), capitalization, and the use of italics. MLA in-text citations for a website also only list the name and year, but the MLA does not recommend referring to paragraphs by numbers unless they are indeed numbered on the webpage. Point the reader to a subsection instead.
MLA website citation examples
As for APA website citations, if you do not find a publication date, provide the date at which you accessed the article or use “n.d.” for “no date”.
Citing an online newspaper site
Citations to blog posts and online newspaper/magazine articles follow the same format. If you cite the entire website, not just a specific page, start with the site name—unless the whole site/blog is written by the same author. When no author is listed at all, list the organization that publishes the blog/website as the author (but leave the website name out if it is identical to the organization’s name).
MLA reference section
When referring to a source within the text of your paper in MLA style, include only the author’s last name and the page number or page range in parentheses:
(Smith 45-47)
If the author’s name is mentioned in the sentence, only include the page number in parentheses:
Smith (45-47) has argued…
At the end of your paper, you then create a “Works Cited” page that lists all your sources arranged in alphabetical order and includes the following:
- publisher/journal title
- URL if applicable
- date of publication, page ranges
Lowry, Oliver H., et al. “Protein measurement with the Folin phenol reagent.” Journal of Biological Chemistry 193 (1951): 265-275. https://www.cabdirect.org/cabdirect/abstract/19511404458
Thompson, J. D., T. J. Gibson, and D. G. Higgins. “Multiple sequence alignment using ClustalW and ClustalX.” Current Protocols in Bioinformatics 1 (2003): 2-3. https://doi.org/10.1002/0471250953.bi0203s00
Use our MLA Citation Generator to correctly cite websites in your paper.
Citing a Website in Chicago Style
Chicago 17th Style uses two different citation formats: long or short footnotes (with superscripts) that refer to a bibliography at the end of the document, and an alternative author-date citation style.
When a web source does not list the name of an author, use the name of the organization responsible for the content for your bibliography entry and short-form footnote. As for APA and MLA citations, don’t repeat the organization’s name if it is also the name of the website. The full note should start with the title instead.
Add the date when you accessed the website in the following situations: if there is no publication date, if the content you want to cite was published a long time ago, or if you are unsure whether the website might undergo regular changes.
Chicago website citation examples
Cite a page with no author and no publication date, published on a website created by a corporation, group, or organization:
To cite blog posts and online articles from newspapers, italicize the name of the blog/publication (not the name of the page/article). If the name does not already contain the word “blog” itself, add it in parentheses, for clarity:
Walsh, Brendan. “Lorenzo Bini Smaghi on the Impact of Basel III.” Irish Economy (blog). April 2, 2011. http://www.irisheconomy.ie/index.php/2011/04/02/lorenzo-bini-smaghi-on-the-impact-of-basel-iii/
Chicago style reference section
The general format for a Chicago reference entry includes:
- author names
- “title of the work” in quotation marks
- journal/publisher/place of publication
- year of publication
- specific page numbers (if applicable)
- DOI/URL (if applicable)
Lowry, Oliver H., Nira J. Rosebrough, A. Lewis Farr, and Rose J. Randall. “Protein measurement with the Folin phenol reagent.” Journal of biological chemistry 193 (1951): 265-275. https://www.cabdirect.org/cabdirect/abstract/19511404458
Thompson, Julie D., Toby J. Gibson, and Des G. Higgins. “Multiple sequence alignment using ClustalW and ClustalX.” Current protocols in bioinformatics 1 (2003): 2-3. https://doi.org/10.1002/0471250953.bi0203s00
Our Chicago Citation Generator helps you cite websites in Chicago 17th style.
Citing a Website in Vancouver Style
Vancouver style is commonly used in the field of medicine and biomedical sciences and differs from other styles in that it is not too concerned with some of the more trivial details such as title/sentence case, punctuation, and italics. In the broader sense, the Vancouver system refers to any author–number system that contains the usual information, regardless of the specific formatting details. Source/journal names are often abbreviated for brevity, following the standard formats of Index Medicus or PubMed.
A source within the text of your paper in Vancouver style refers to a numbered list, with an Arabic numeral following the quote/citation in superscript or in brackets/parentheses:
Smith 5 has argued that…
Whether the author’s name is mentioned in the sentence or not does not change the in-text citation:
An earlier study on the relationship between sleep and cognition [5] reported that…
The reference list at the end of the main text is thus numbered in the order of the appearance of each source in the text, rather than alphabetically.
Vancouver Style website citation example
Website citations in Vancouver Style list all the usual information, but details can vary across publishers and outlets. Substitute missing publication dates with the date the information was accessed, but use [place unknown], [publisher unknown] if these details are not available.
Not sure if your website citations are in line with Vancouver style? Use our Vancouver Style Citation Generator .
And if you want professional input on your manuscript, then request our paper editing service or professional proofreading service . Our academic editors will help you impress journal editors and increase your chance of publication.
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How to Cite a Thesis or Dissertation in MLA 3.5 ( 46) Citation Generator Source Type Citing a Thesis or Dissertation Thesis - A document submitted to earn a degree at a university. Dissertation - A document submitted to earn an advanced degree, such as a doctorate, at a university.
Cite your source automatically in MLA Cite Using citation machines responsibly Powered by Note: For more information about services for the Purdue University community, including one-to-one consultations, ESL conversation groups and workshops, please visit the Writing Lab site. Creating a Works Cited list using the ninth edition
Citations for dissertations/master's theses should include the following: 1. Name of Author 2. Title of dissertation/thesis (italicized) 3. Date of Publication 5. Institution granting the degree (optional) 6. Description of the work (optional) 7. Database and URL if accessed through a database or repository Sample Citation - Dissertations
Cite your source automatically in MLA Cite Using citation machines responsibly Powered by General Guidelines The source information required in a parenthetical citation depends (1) upon the source medium (e.g. print, web, DVD) and (2) upon the source's entry on the Works Cited page.
To cite an undergraduate thesis in a reference entry in MLA style 9th edition include the following elements: Author (s) name: Give the last name and name as presented in the source (e. g. Watson, John). For two authors, reverse only the first name, followed by 'and' and the second name in normal order (e. g. Watson, John, and John Watson).
To cite a dissertation, include in the entry the author, title, and date of publication as core elements. As an optional element, list the institution granting the degree and a description of the work. Njus, Jesse. Performing the Passion: A Study on the Nature of Medieval Acting. 2010. Northwestern U, PhD dissertation.
Thesis / Dissertation. Cite a thesis or dissertation (unpublished, published online, or accessed through a database). Use other forms to cite books, journal articles, reports, and conference proceedings.
The Scribbr Citation Generator will automatically create a flawless MLA citation. Table of contents. Formatting the Works Cited page; ... Shona has a bachelor's and two master's degrees, so she's an expert at writing a great thesis. She has also worked as an editor and teacher, working with students at all different levels to improve their ...
Best Way To Cite Your Thesis Or Dissertation What You Should Know About MLA The first step in knowing how to cite a thesis MLA is to know exactly what the MLA format means. The MLA format means Modern Language Association format. It is one of the most popular citation methods in thesis and dissertations.
Revised on May 19, 2022. An MLA in-text citation provides the author's last name and a page number in parentheses. If a source has two authors, name both. If a source has more than two authors, name only the first author, followed by " et al. ". If the part you're citing spans multiple pages, include the full page range.
Another advantage of citing dissertation MLA is the simplicity of making a title page. Unlike in other formats where the requirements for a title page are complicated, you only need your name, course name, instructor's name, and the date. Remember to use the Times New Roman font with a measurement of 12 and double-space your work when using ...
Citing a thesis in MLA follows the format for citing a dissertation. Use our free citation generator below to build your citation accordingly, filling out as many fields as you have information for. Citation Information Citation Style APA MLA Chicago Source Contributor First Name Middle Initial Last Name Suffix Full Citation In-text Citation
Citation. MLA Bible Sullivan, Sam. Fire/ice/bang/whimper. 2021. APA Bible Sullivan, S. (2021). Fire/Ice/Bang/Whimper. Chicago ... Deposit your senior honors thesis. Scholarly Journal, Newsletter or Book. Deposit a complete issue of a scholarly journal, newsletter or book. If you would like to deposit an article or book chapter, use the ...
Italicize the title and end it with a period. Publishing Status: MA Thesis, Place a comma after the status. If it's a dissertation or a project, please use the words "MA project" or "dissertation". Name of Institution of the Granted Degree: The College of St. Patrick, Add the name of the college and place a comma in the end.
The MLA Handbook does not provide guidelines for formatting a thesis or dissertation—or for preparing the parts of such a project, like a preface, dedication, or acknowledgments page—because most schools maintain their own formatting requirements.
How to Cite a Thesis or Dissertation in APA | EasyBib Citations Certain features require a modern browser to function. Please use a different browser, like Firefox, Chrome, or Safari Citation Generator APA Citation Generator MLA Citation Generator Harvard Referencing Generator Writing Resources Grammar Guides Plagiarism Guide Writing a Paper
To cite a master's thesis in a reference entry in MLA style 9th edition include the following elements: Author (s) name: Give the last name and name as presented in the source (e. g. Watson, John). For two authors, reverse only the first name, followed by 'and' and the second name in normal order (e. g. Watson, John, and John Watson).
Status of Publishing: MA Thesis, Use the words MA Thesis followed by a comma. If it is a project, then use the words MA project. If it is a doctoral dissertation, use the word Dissertation. Name of Institution Where Degree was Granted: The College of St. Scholastica, The full name of the college or university followed by a comma. Year of ...
Citing a Website in APA Style. To cite a website in APA 7 Style, include the following elements: the last name and initials of the author (s), the full date of publication, the webpage title (in italics), the website name (in plain text), and the URL. The in-text citation for a website only lists the author's last name and year.
Last Name of the Author (s), Initial (s). The title is placed in italics. The number goes in parentheses. Publishing organization or the government. URL (if it can be accessed online). Here is the template format: Last Name, First Name. (Year). Report title: Subtitle (Report No. number).