Your Works Cited List

The works cited list should appear at the end of your essay. It provides the information necessary for a reader to locate and be able to read any sources you cite in the essay. Each source you cite in the essay must appear in your works-cited list; likewise, each entry in the works-cited list must be cited in your text.

List Format

Begin your works cited list on a separate page from the text of the essay under the label Works Cited (with no quotation marks, underlining, etc.), which should be centered at the top of the page.
Make the first line of each entry in your list even with the left margin. Subsequent lines in each entry should be indented one-half inch. This is known as a hanging indent.
Double space all entries, with no skipped spaces between entries.
Keep in mind that underlining and italics are equivalent; you should select one or the other to use throughout your essay. Don’t use both!
Alphabetize the list of works cited by the first word in each entry (usually the author's last name),

Basic Rules for Citations

Authors' names are inverted (last name first); if a work has more than one author, invert only the first author's name, follow it with a comma, then continue listing the rest of the authors.
If you have cited more than one work by a particular author, order them alphabetically by title, and use three hyphens in place of the author's name for every entry after the first.
When an author appears both as the sole author of a text and as the first author of a group, list solo-author entries first.
If no author is given for a particular work, alphabetize by the title of the piece and use a shortened version of the title for parenthetical citations.
Capitalize each word in the titles of articles, books, etc. This rule does not apply to articles, short prepositions, or conjunctions unless one is the first word of the title or subtitle.
Underline or italicize titles of books, journals, magazines, newspapers, and films.
Use quotation marks around the titles of articles in journals, magazines, and newspapers. Also use quotation marks for the titles of short stories, book chapters, poems, and songs.
List page numbers efficiently, when needed. If you refer to a journal article that appeared on pages 225 through 250, list the page numbers on your Works Cited page as 225-50.
If you're citing an article or a publication that was originally issued in print form but that you retrieved from an online database, you should provide enough information so that the reader can locate the article either in its original print form or retrieve it from the online database (if they have access).

Basic Forms for Sources in Print

Books

Author(s). Title of Book. Place of Publication: Publisher, Year of Publication.

Gillespie, Paula, and Neal Lerner. The Allyn and Bacon Guide to Peer Tutoring. Boston:

Allyn, 2000.

Book with a corporate author

American Allergy Association. Allergies in Children. New York: Random, 1998.

Book or article with no author named

Encyclopedia of Indiana. New York: Somerset, 2003.

"Cigarette Sales Fall 30% as California Tax Rises." New York Times 14 Sept. 1999: A17.

Anthology or collection

Peterson, Nancy J., ed. Toni Morrison: Critical and Theoretical Approaches. Baltimore:

Johns Hopkins UP, 1997.

Essay in a collection

Harris, Muriel. "Talk to Me: Engaging Reluctant Writers." A Tutor's Guide: Helping Writers

One to One. Ed. Ben Rafoth. Portsmouth, NH: Heinemann, 2000. 24-34.

L'Eplattenier, Barbara. "Finding Ourselves in the Past: An Argument for Historical Work on

WPAs." Rose and Weiser 131-40.

Article from a reference book

"Jamaica." Encyclopedia Britannica. 2002 ed.

An article in a periodical (such as a newspaper or magazine)

Author(s). "Title of Article." Title of Source Day Month Year: pages.

Magazine or newspaper article

Poniewozik, James. "TV Makes a Too-Close Call." Time 20 Nov. 2000: 70-71.

Trembacki, Paul. "Brees Hopes to Win Heisman" Purdue Exponent 5 Dec. 2001: 20.

Basic Forms for Electronic Sources

If no author is given for a web page or electronic source, start with and alphabetize by the title of the piece and use a shortened version of the title for parenthetical citations.

A web site

Author(s). Name of Page. Date of Posting/Revision. Name of institution/organization affiliated with the site. Date of Access <electronic address>.

It is necessary to list your date of access because web postings are often updated, and information available at one date may no longer be available later. Be sure to include the complete address for the site. Also, note the use of angled brackets around the electronic address; MLA requires them for clarity.

Felluga, Dino. Undergraduate Guide to Literary Theory. 17 Dec. 1999. Purdue University. 15

Nov. 2000 <http://omni.cc.purdue.edu%7Efelluga/theory2.html>. Purdue Online Writing Lab. 2003. Purdue University. 10 Feb. 2003 <http://owl.english.purdue.edu>.

An article on a web site

Author(s)."Article Title." Name of web site. Date of posting/revision. Name of institution/organization affiliated with site. Date of access <electronic address>.

Poland, Dave. "The Hot Button." Roughcut. 26 Oct. 1998. Turner Network Television. 28

Oct. 1998 <http://www.roughcut.com>.

"Using Modern Language Association (MLA) Format." Purdue Online Writing Lab. 2003.

Purdue University. 6 Feb. 2003 <http://owl.english.purdue.eduhandouts/research/r_mla.html>.

An article in an online journal or magazine

Author(s). "Title of Article." Title of Journal Volume. Issue (Year): Pages/Paragraphs. Date of Access <electronic address>.

Wheelis, Mark. "Investigating Disease Outbreaks Under a Protocol to the Biological and

Toxin Weapons Convention." Emerging Infectious Diseases 6.6 (2000): 33 pars. 5 Dec. 2001 <http://www.cdc.gov/ncidod/eid/vol6no6/wheelis.htm>.

An article or publication retrieved from an electronic database

If you're citing an article or a publication that was originally issued in print form but that you retrieved from an online database that your library subscribes to, you should provide enough information so that the reader can locate the article either in its original print form or retrieve it from the online database (if they have access).

Provide the following information in your citation:

Author's name (if not available, use the article title as the first part of the citation)
Article Title
Publication Name
Publication Date
Page Number/Range
Database Name
Service Name
Name of the library where service was accessed
Name of the town/city where service was accessed
Date of Access
URL of the service (but not the whole URL for the article, since those are very long and won't be able to be re-used by someone trying to retrieve the information)

The generic citation form would look like this:

Author. "Title of Article." Publication Name Volume Number (if necessary) Publication Date: page number-page number. Database name. Service name. Library Name, City, State. Date of access <electronic address of the database>.

Smith, Martin. "World Domination for Dummies." Journal of Despotry Feb. 2000: 66-72.

Expanded Academic ASAP. Gale Group Databases. Purdue University Libraries, West Lafayette, IN. 19 February 2003 <http://www.infotrac.galegroup.com>.

Article in a reference database on CD-ROM

"World War II." Encarta. CD-ROM. Seattle: Microsoft, 1999.

Article from a periodically published database on CD-ROM

Reed, William. "Whites and the Entertainment Industry." Tennessee Tribune 25 Dec. 1996:

28. Ethnic NewsWatch. CD-ROM. Data Technologies. Feb. 1997.

Other Types of Sources

Government publication

United States Dept. of Health and Human Services. Healthy People 2010: Understanding and

Improving Health. Washington: GPO, 2002.

Pamphlet

Office of the Dean of Students. Resources for Success: Learning Disabilities and Attention

Deficit Disorders. West Lafayette, IN: Purdue University, 2000.

Interview that you conducted

Purdue, Pete. Personal Interview. 1 Dec. 2004.

A lecture or a speech

To cite a lecture or a speech, "give the speaker's name, the title of the lecture or speech (if known) in quotation marks, the meeting and the sponsoring organization (if applicable), the location [including place and city, if available], and the date. If there is no title, use an appropriate descriptive label (e.g., Lecture, Address, Keynote speech), neither underlined nor enclosed in quotation marks"

Harris, Muriel. "Writing Labs: A Short History." 2003 Writing Center Conference. National

Writing Centers Association. La Swank Hotel, Seattle. 28 March 2003.

Lufthansa. Advertisement. Time 20 Nov. 2004: 151.

Television or radio program

"The Blessing Way." The X-Files. Fox. WXIA, Atlanta. 19 Jul. 1999.

Sound recording

U2. All That You Can't Leave Behind. Interscope, 2003.

Film

The Usual Suspects. Dir. Bryan Singer. Perf. Kevin Spacey, Gabriel Byrne, Chazz

Palminteri, Stephen Baldwin, and Benecio del Toro. Polygram, 1997.

TV Advertisement

Staples. Advertisement. CBS. 3 Dec. 2002.