MLA Citation Guide (MLA 7th Edition): Journal Articles

Note: For your Works Cited list, all citations should be double spaced and have a hanging indent.

A "hanging indent" means that each subsequent line after the first line of your citation should be indented by 0.5 inches.

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Not sure whether your article is from a journal? Look for these characteristics:

• Main purpose is often to report results of original search
• Articles usually have a very specific subject focus
• May see sections such as abtract, discussion, results, and conclusion
• Author of the article is an expert or specialist in the field and often their credentials are listed
• Article is intended for students, scientists, researchers and/or professionals instead of the general public
• Usually includes a References list at the end

Articles may also come from magazines or newspapers.

Access Date

For all content found on the Web, you must list the date you first viewed the resource. This comes last in a citation.

Authors/Editors

An author can be a person but can also be an organization, or company. These are called group or corporate authors.

Leave out author distinctions, such as PhD.

Database Names

The name of the database will usually apear at the top of the search screen. Note that ProQuest and EBSCOhost are NOT database names, they are database providers. The name of the database will appear separately.

If you have used the function to search multiple databases at once and therefore do not know the individual database name, enter the name of the database provider (e.g. ProQuest) as the database.

Dates

The format of all dates is: Date Month (shortened) Year. E.g., 5 Sept. 2012.

If no date is listed, write n.d.

Page Numbers

If no page number is listed, write n. pag. in the Works Cited list.

If the article appears on non-consecutive pages (e.g., the article starts on page 5 then continues on page 12), write the first page number and a plus (+) sign. E.g., 5+

For page numbers with the same first digit, you can leave out the first digit on the second page number listed. E.g., An article spanning pages 156 to 179 can be written as 156-79. An article spanning pages 72-79 can be written as 72-9.

Titles

Capitalize the first letter of every important word in the title. You do not need to capitalize words such as: in, of, or an.

If there is a colon (:) in the title, include what comes after the colon (also known as the subtitle).

Author's Last Name, First Name. "Title of Article: Subtitle if Any." Name of Journal Volume.Issue (Year of publication): Page numbers. Name of Database. Format. Access date.

Author's Last Name, First Name, and Second Author's First Name Last Name. "Title of Article: Subtitle if Any." Name of Journal Volume.Issue (Year of publication): Page numbers. Name of Database. Format. Access date.

Note: Only the first author listed appears in "Last Name, First Name" format. Authors' names are separated by a comma. Before the last author to be listed, add the word "and."

If you have four or more authors you may choose to list only the first author's name followed by et al. instead of listing all authors names. For example Smith, John, et al. The first author is the first name listed on the work you are citing, not the first name alphabetically.

Author's Last Name, First Name. "Title of Article: Subtitle if Any." Title of Journal Volume.Issue (Year of publication): Page numbers. Format. Access date.

Author's Last Name, First Name, Second Author's First Name Last Name, and Third Author's First Name Last Name. "Title of Article: Subtitle if Any." Title of Journal Volume.Issue (Year of publication): Page numbers. Format. Access date.

Note: Only the first author listed appears in "Last Name, First Name" format. Authors' names are separated by a comma. Before the last author to be listed, add the word "and."

If you have four or more authors you may choose to list only the first author's name followed by et al. instead of listing all authors names. For example Smith, John, et al. The first author is the first name listed on the work you are citing, not the first name alphabetically.

"Title of Article: Subtitle if Any." Name of Journal Volume.Issue (Year of publication): Page numbers. Format.

Author's Last Name, First Name, Second Author's First Name Last Name, and Third Author's First Name Last Name. "Title of Article: Subtitle if Any." Name of Journal Volume.Issue (Year of publication): Page numbers. Format.

Note: Only the first author listed appears in "Last Name, First Name" format. Authors' names are separated by a comma. Before the last author to be listed, add the word "and."

If you have four or more authors you may choose to list only the first author's name followed by et al. instead of listing all authors names. For example Smith, John, et al. The first author is the first name listed on the work you are citing, not the first name alphabetically.