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MLA Interactive

The tool will not work without CSS and JavaScript.

Select a type of source below to view customised interactive examples of how to format MLA Style references and in-text citations.

book

Book

book chapter

Edited book chapter

journal article

Journal article

web page

Web page

newspaper article

Newspaper article

magazine

Magazine article

report

Report

study material

Study material

other types

Other types

Book

Edited book chapter

Journal article

Web page

Newspaper article

Magazine article

Report

Study material

Other types

Not sure

(back)

exclamation markOnly choose this type if there is no more specific description. More info.

Options

Author:
Date:
Frequency:
Edition:
City:
Medium:
Reset all
Persistent link
EndNote fields

 

If you are new to referencing, we suggest you read introduction to referencing and MLA style before making use of this tool.

  • Works cited list
  • In-text citation
  • More information

Example works cited list entry:

Smith, John D. Smith, John D., and Vikram Khan. Smith, John D. et al. Ministry of Education. Research Ethics in New Zealand: A Student Guide. Research Ethics in New Zealand: A Student Guide. Rev. ed., 2nd ed., "Trends in Discourse Analysis." "Māori Voices: Approaches to Bilingual Research." "Kindergartens and Childcare Centres in New Zealand." "Research Awards Draw Industry Attention." "Tertiary Funding Models in New Zealand." National Employment Predictions and Recommendations. Report No. 122, Research Ethics in New Zealand: A Student Guide. Research Ethics in New Zealand: A Student Guide. Rev. ed., 2nd ed., Rata P, "Trends in Discourse Analysis." Readings in Qualitative Research Design, edited by George Schwartz and Una Owen, Rev. ed., 2nd ed., Rata P, "Māori voices: Approaches to Bilingual Research." Journal of Academic Methodologies, vol. 38, no. 3, "Kindergartens and Childcare Centres in New Zealand." Ministry of Education, 12 Sept. 2009, "Research Awards Draw Industry Attention." Albany Times, "Tertiary Funding Models in New Zealand." Tertiary Education Magazine, vol. 21, no. 1, National Employment Predictions and Recommendations. Report No. 122, Rata P, 2009. [2010]. 2009, [2010], 2009, [2010], pp. 15-59. www.example.com/thepage.htm. Accessed 20 July 2011. 12 Jan. 2009, p. 22. 12 Jan. 2009, Jan. 2009, Winter 2009, 2009. [2010]. pp. 21-24., pp. 15-59, Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment, www.example.com/thepage.htm. Accessed 5 July 2014. doi:10.1793/rethics/97801981835989.001.0003. Accessed 5 July 2014.

For more information about what to do when there is no year click here.

question markClick on parts of the example (e.g. the author or year) for the format and location.

exclamation markIf the author is an organisation or group, use ‘group author’ instead of ‘no author.’

exclamation mark If the document has a DOI, use ‘Internet (DOI)’ instead of ‘Internet.’ See DOI. See DOI.

exclamation markIf you found the source through a database, use the journal's homepage URL.

  • Paraphrase
  • Quotation
  • Source within a source

When paraphrasing, you put the source information into your own words and phrases.

A quotation is an exact copy of the wording used in an outside source.

Many academic books and journal articles quote earlier books or articles on the same topic. If you cannot access the original source (it is out of print, or unavailable through the library), you can cite the secondary source instead.

The source's title is used in place of the author. Write the book title in full the first time you cite the source. You can shorten the title in subsequent citations. The page number (if available) is in brackets:

All in-text citations

Every time the source is cited, give the first author's surname and replace the other author's names with "et al." The page number is always in brackets.

The authors' group's name can appear outside the brackets, incorporated into the sentence. The page number (if available) is in brackets:

According to Smith Smith and Khan Smith et al. the Ministry of Education Research Ethics “Trends in Discourse Analysis” “Māori Voices: Approaches to Bilingual Research” “Research Awards Draw Industry Attention” “Tertiary Funding Models in New Zealand” National Employment Predictions and Recommendations "Kindergartens" "the best source of …" (22).

Or itthey can appear inside the brackets:

… "was the case" (Smith (Smith and Khan (Smith et al. (Ministry of Education (Research Ethics (“Trends” (“Māori Voices” (“Research Awards” (“Tertiary Funding Models,” (National Employment ("Kindergartens" 22).

If a source does not have page numbers, omit this detail.

Some sources, particularly web pages, do not have page numbers indicated. In these cases, no page number is included in the in-text citation. You can, optionally, include a paragraph number in the in-text citation if the location is fixed and the same across all versions of the source (e.g. in an e-book):

(Smith (Smith and Khan (Smith et al. (the Ministry of Education (Research Ethics (“Trends” (“Māori Voices” ("Kindergartens" (“Research Awards” (“Tertiary Funding Models” (National Employment par. 4) …

When quoting, you must provide a page number if one is available. Because web pages often have no page numbers, you should either use the paragraph number (use ‘para.’ instead of ‘p.’) or nothing at all.

Note that only the source you have viewed directly (the quoting source) should appear in the works cited list. In the in-text citation both sources are mentioned, with the original source before the quoting source. Use "qtd. in" to denote "quoted in". As with other in-text citations with 3 or more authors, only the first author's surname is given and the other authors are replaced with "et al.":

Arnold's study of childhood obesity (qtd. in Smith Smith and Khan Smith et al. Ministry of Education Research Ethics: A Student Guide “Trends in Discourse Analysis” “Māori Voices” "Kindergartens" “Research Awards” “Tertiary Funding Models in New Zealand” National Employment 22) is a landmark in …

Works cited list

Entries are listed in alphabetical order at the end of the assignment.

  • MLA style principles
  • Sample list of works cited
  • List of works cited format
  • Referencing books Referencing chapters in edited books Referencing journal articles Referencing web pages Referencing newspaper articles Referencing magazine articles Referencing reports
  • Group author
  • No author

In-text citation

In-text citations are used in the body of the assignment.

  • In-text citations
  • Quoting, paraphrasing and summarising
  • Quoting
  • Secondary sources

Your lecturer provides material for you to study as part of your course.

Outside material

Some of the material your lecturer provides for you originates outside the course, common types of sources include: books, edited book chapters, journal articles, reports, etc.

This material should be referenced according to its original source type. For example, if the material is an article from a journal reference it normally as a journal article.

If you are unsure what type of source it is see What type of source is this? or ask your lecturer.

Material from the lecturer

Usually, some materials will have been created by the lecturer specially for the course. This can include study guides and lecture notes.

exclamation markYou should avoid using this material directly in your assignments.

Many lecturers prefer you to read and refer to outside academic sources rather than just referencing the course material. Using outside academic sources demonstrates that you can explore the topic yourself. So, where possible try and research the concepts/ideas/theories covered in your course and reference those outside sources instead. A good place to find academic sources is the Massey library Discover database.

In order to correctly reference material, you first need to identify the type of source: is it a book, a journal, or something else? Some other types of source are listed below.

If your source type isn't liked below, What type of source is this? has more on identifying source types.

Act of Parliament
Audio recording
Blog
Brochure
CD
Published conference proceedings
Dictionary entry
Doctoral dissertation
DVD
E-book reader book
Edited book
Email
Encyclopædia entry
Figure
Film
Government department materials

Illustration
Image
Interview
Master's thesis
Online discussion board
Online forum
Picture
Press release
Report
Study guide
Symposium proceedings
Television broadcast
Television episode
Thesis
Unpublished conference proceedings
Video
YouTube video

book Books are printed and bound documents on a particular topic or set of topics.
book chapter Edited books are books containing writing by several different authors. Typically, each chapter is written by a different author, and the whole compilation is organised by a named editor.
journal article Journals are periodically published collections of academic articles on a particular subject.
web page Web pages are online documents found on the World Wide Web. Only choose this type if there is no more specific description. More info.
newspaper article Newspapers are daily or weekly publications that focus on news and current events.
magazine Magazines are periodical publications of general interest or technical articles on a particular subject.
report Reports are official numbered publications analysing an issue or situation.
study material Study material is provided by your lecturer for you to study as part of your course.
other types Other types include encyclopædias, online video, theses, conference proceedings, and more.
not sure What type of source is this? has more on this topic.

Author

The person who wrote the bookarticleweb pagereport.

Format

The author's surname comes first, followed by a comma and the author's first name written in full. Initials are given for any other names and follow the author's first name without a comma. End with a full stop.

Do not include titles (e.g. 'Dr.').

Where is it?

On the cover of the book, or on the title page.At the start of the chapter, near the title, or in the book's table of contents.At the start of the article, near the title, or in the journal's table of contents.Near the title, at the bottom of the web page (as part of a copyright notice), or on the website's About page.As a byline at the start or end of the article.As a byline at the start or end of the report.

More information

Author

Two authors

The people who wrote the bookchapterarticleweb pagereport.

Format

The first author's surname is given first is, followed by a comma and the first name written in full with any other names denoted by initials. The second author's first name is given, followed by any middle name initials, then the surname. Put 'and' between the first and second author. The first author is written surname first, followed by the first name written in full. The second author is separated with an "and" and written in the order of first name, then surname. End with a full stop.

Use 'and' between the first and second author.

Where is it?

On the cover of the book, or on the title page.At the start of the chapter, near the title, or in the book's table of contents.At the start of the article, near the title, or in the journal's table of contents.Near the title, at the bottom of the web page (as part of a copyright notice), or on the website's About page.As a byline at the start or end of the article.On the report's title page.

More information

2+ authors

Three+ authors

The people who wrote the bookchapterarticleweb pagereport.

Format

The first author is given surname first, followed by a comma and the initial(s) of the author's first name(s). The remaining authors are replaced with "et al." (which means 'and others' in Latin) in both in-text citations and the works cited list.

Where is it?

On the cover of the book, or on the title page.On the cover of the book, or on the title page.At the start of the article, near the title, or in the journal's table of contents.Near the title, at the bottom of the web page (as part of a copyright notice), or on the website's About page.As a byline at the start or end of the article.On the report's title page.

More information

3+ authors

Group or organisational author

A group or organisational author is used only when there is no individually named author available.

Government departments, corporations, universities, and charities are all examples of group authors.

Format

Write out the group's name in full (don't abbreviate). End with a full stop.

Where is it?

In the same places as an individual author.

If the publisher is the same as website, only list it once, in the author position.

More information

Group authors

Year of publication

The year that the bookchapterarticleweb pagereport was published or released.

Format

Give the publication year, without brackets, after a comma after the publisher's name. End with a full stop. End with a comma followed by the chapter page range. Give after the volume and issue numbers. End with a comma.

Where is it?

On the copyright page, inside the front cover of the book. Look for the copyright (©) year. The year might also be listed in the Massey Library catalogue.On the journal's title page. The year may also be part of the header or footer of each page.Use the copyright (©) year or Last Updated year, usually found at the bottom of the page.On the report's title page. The year may also be part of the header or footer of each page.

More information

Year of publication

No year of publication

‘n.d.’ (for “no date”) is used if no year is available.

Format

‘n.d.’, in brackets. Put a full stop after the closing bracket.

More information

No year of publication

Book title

The name of the book

Format

Write in full, in italics. All words in a title should begin with an upper-case letter except for minor functional words (e.g. a, the, and, but, in, of, to, etc.). If there is a title and subtitle, put a colon between the two unless the title ends with a question mark or exclamation mark. End with a full stop.

Put a colon between the title and any subtitle, whether the original source uses it or not.

Where is it?

On the cover, and on the title page.

More information

Title

Publisher

The name of the company that published the bookreport.

Format

Put the name of the publisher, followed by a comma then the publication date. If the publisher name and the group author name are the same, write ‘Author’ here instead.

Do not include legal terms such as '& Co.' or 'Ltd.', 'Pty', 'Company', or 'Incorporated'. 'Publishing' can be included if it is part of the publishers name and inclusion will aid locating the source.

"University" is always shortened to "U", "Press" is shortened to "P", and "University Press" is always shortened to "UP". Do not give a full stop after the initials.

Note: The city of publication is only required if the book was published before 1900, or if the publisher has offices in more than one city, or if the publisher is unknown outside of North America. For university assignments not intended for publication, this detail is usually unnecessary.

Where is it?

On the copyright page, inside the front cover of the bookreport. On the spine or cover of the bookreport.

The publisher might also be listed in the Massey Library catalogue.

More information

Publisher

Par. 4

If the source (e.g. a webpage) does not have a page number, then omit this detail. Alternatively, you can include a paragraph number if the paragraphing is the same across all versions of the book (e.g. different e-book versions).

More information

No page number

Chapter title

The name of the specific chapter of the book.

Format

Write in full, without italics. All words in a title should begin with an upper-case letter except for minor functional words (e.g. a, the, and, but, in, of, to, etc.). If there is a title and subtitle, put a colon between the two unless the title ends with a question mark or exclamation mark. The chapter title should be in double quotation marks. End with a full stop within the quotation marks.

Put a colon between the title and any subtitle, whether the original source uses it or not.

Use an uppercase letter for the first word of the title, the first word of any subtitle, and any proper nouns (the names of places, people, organisations, etc.).

Where is it?

At the start of the chapter (near the author's name) or in the book's table of contents.

More information

Edited books and anthologies

Book title (edited book)

The name of the book

Format

Write in full, in italics, with the beginning of words more than 3 letters capitalised. End with a comma followed by editor details.

Put a colon between the title and any subtitle, whether the original source uses it or not.

Where is it?

On the cover, and on the title page.

More information

Title

Editor(s)

The people that compiled and prepared the chapters for publication.

Format

After the chapter title, write "edited by" then give the first name and last name of the editor(s). Multiple editors are separated by "and". End with a comma followed by publisher details.

Where is it?

On the cover of the book, or on the title page.

More information

Chapter in an edited book

Chapter page range

The first and last page of the chapter being cited.

Format

Begin with 'pp.', and put a dash ('-') between the first page number and the last page number. End with a full stop or end with a comma if providing URL/DOI details.

Where is it?

The first page number of the chapter, usually containing the title and introduction.

The final page number of the chapter, usually containing the end of the references or footnotes.

More information

Chapter in an edited book

Article page range

The first and last page of the chapter being cited.

Format

Denote page range with "p." for one page or "pp." for a range of pages. Put a dash ('-') between the first page number and the last page number. End with a comma.

Where is it?

The first page number of the chapter, usually containing the title and introduction.

The final page number of the chapter, usually containing the end of the references or footnotes.

More information

Journal

Article title (journal)

The name of the specific article in the journal.

Format

Write in full, without italics, within double quotation marks. End with a full stop within the end quotation mark.

All words in a title should begin with an upper-case letter except for minor functional words (e.g. a, the, and, but, in, of, to, etc.). If there is a title and subtitle, put a colon between the two unless the title ends with a question mark or exclamation mark.

Where is it?

At the start of the article (near the author's name) or in the journal issue's table of contents.

More information

Title

Journal title

The name of the journal.

Format

All words in a title should begin with an upper-case letter except for minor functional words (e.g. a, the, and, but, in, of, to, etc.). If there is a title and subtitle, put a colon between the two unless the title ends with a question mark or exclamation mark.

Where is it?

On the cover or title page of the issue. Often on the top (header) or bottom (footer) of every page.

The title often (but not always) has words like ‘Journal’ or ‘Studies’ in it.

Journal titles can be found using Massey Library's catalogue search.

More information

Title

Volume number

The volume number refers to a set of issues. It is usually related to the year of publication: volume 7 of a journal would include issues published in the 7th year of that journal's existence.

Format

Use "vol." to denote volume, followed by the volume number. End with a comma. Omit if there is no volume number.

Where is it?

On the cover, copyright / title page, table of contents of the issue. Often on the top (header) or bottom (footer) of every page, after the journal title.

More information

Journal

Issue number

Each issue of a journal is allocated a number. It usually indicates when in the year it was published: issue 3 of a journal would be the 3rd issue published that year.

Format

Write "no." to denote issue number, followed by a space, then the issue number. End with a comma. Omit if there is no issue number.

Where is it?

On the cover, copyright / title page, table of contents of the issue. Often on the top (header) or bottom (footer) of every page, after the volume number.

More information

Journal

Web page title

The name or heading of the web page.

Format

Write in full, without italics, within double quotation marks. End with a full stop within the end quotation mark.

All words in a title should begin with an upper-case letter except for minor functional words (e.g. a, the, and, but, in, of, to, etc.). If there is a title and subtitle, put a colon between the two unless the title ends with a question mark or exclamation mark.

Where is it?

Use the heading of the web page.

If there is no heading, use whatever appears in the title bar of your browser (usually at the very top of the screen).

More information

Web page

Title

Website title

The name of the organisation that has published the webpage. Sometimes this will also be the author. This is what MLA refers to as a second container.

Format

Write the website or publishing organisation name in full, in italics. All words in a title should begin with an upper-case letter except for minor functional words (e.g. a, the, and, but, in, of, to, etc.). If there is a title and subtitle, put a colon between the two unless the title ends with a question mark or exclamation mark. End with a comma followed by the web address.

Where is it?

This might be part of the pages web address, or there may be a logo for the publishing organisation somewhere on the webpage. Often there is a home button that will identify who the publishing organisation is. Omit this detail if not available.

More information

Web page

No authors

Containers

Webpage publication date

The date the web page content was published or released.

Format

The date goes after the publishing organisation or website title details and ends with a comma. Give the date in the order of day, month, and year with no commas between each element. If the day or month is missing, then omit. Long months can be truncated with a full stop (e.g. Sept., Oct., Jan.)

Where is it?

Use the copyright (©) year or Last Updated year, usually found at the bottom of the page, but sometimes it can be found at the top of the page, alongside title and author details. Be careful not confuse the general copyright date for the entire website (which is usually found at the bottom of the page and is the same across all the other pages in the website) with the publication date for the page you are referencing.

If no year of publication is indicated in the source, then you can either omit this detail or, if you can find the publication from another reliable source (such as the catalogue), you can give the date in square brackets. Square brackets indicate the information does not come from the source.

More information

No year of publication

“Retrieved from”

This phrase comes before the URL address.

If the material is likely to change frequently (e.g. the source is a wiki), the date of retrieval can be included here as well: begin with ‘Retrieved’. Put the month (written as a word) and the day, then a comma and the year. End with a comma and ‘from‘

More information

Web page

URL address

The location of the web page / web document.

Format

MLA only requires the www. address so if possible, delete https:// when citing URLs. End in a full stop. If the DOI is available, cite this instead of the URL.

Do not include an address that requires a password to access (e.g. an ezproxy URL pointing to Stream or an article database). Instead, use the URL of the publishing body (e.g. the publisher's homepage).

Where is it?

Copy from the address bar of your web browser.

The URL address usually begins with ‘http://’

More information

Web page

Access date

This is the date you found the source.

Format

Write in full. End in a full stop.

Where is it?

This is the actual date you were online and found the source. You are not required to give an access date but it is encouraged particularly when there is not a copyright date listed on the website.

More information

List of works cited

Online material

Digital Object Identifier (DOI)

The Digital Object Identifier is a unique number allocated to an online publication. It is often used to identify online journal articles and other online documents.

Format

Write doi: then the number in full, including any punctuation such as slashes or full stops. End with a full stop.

Where is it?

If an online source has a DOI it will be identified with the copyright information.

The DOI may also be part of the online citation for the source and may be found via http://www.crossref.org/.

More information

The DOI can be looked up via http://www.crossref.org/

Online material

Article title (newspaper)

The name of the specific article in the newspaper.

Format

All words in a title should begin with an upper-case letter except for minor functional words (e.g. a, the, and, but, in, of, to, etc.). If there is a title and subtitle, put a colon between the two unless the title ends with a question mark or exclamation mark. Place the article title within double quotation marks with a full stop within the final quotation mark.

Where is it?

At the start of the article, in large text.

More information

Newspaper article

Newspaper title

The name of the newspaper.

Format

Write in italics. All words in a title should begin with an upper-case letter except for minor functional words (e.g. a, the, and, but, in, of, to, etc.). If there is a title and subtitle, put a colon between the two unless the title ends with a question mark or exclamation mark. End with a comma.

If the newspaper is not very well-known, and the location is not evident in the title, then include the city name, not italicised, in square brackets after the title of the newspaper:

Smith, John D. "Research Awards Draw Industry Attention." Financial Times [Albany], 12 Jan. 2009, p. 22.

Where is it?

On the front page of the newspaper, in the masthead.

More information

Newspaper article

Page number

The page that the article appears on.

Format

Begin with ‘p.’, and end with a full stop.

If the newspaper has different sections, include the section as well (e.g. ‘B5’).

If the article stretches over multiple pages, use ‘pp.’ and put a dash (‘–’) between the first and last number.

Where is it?

On the top (header) or bottom (footer) of the page.

More information

Newspaper article

Article title (magazine)

The name of the specific article in the magazine.

Format

Write in full, without italics, within double quotation marks. End with a full stop within the end quotation mark.

All words in a title should begin with an upper-case letter except for minor functional words (e.g. a, the, and, but, in, of, to, etc.). If there is a title and subtitle, put a colon between the two unless the title ends with a question mark or exclamation mark.

Where is it?

At the start of the article (near the author's name) or in the magazine's table of contents.

More information

Title

Magazine title

The name of the magazine.

Format

Write in italics. All words in a title should begin with an upper-case letter except for minor functional words (e.g. a, the, and, but, in, of, to, etc.). If there is a title and subtitle, put a colon between the two unless the title ends with a question mark or exclamation mark. End with a comma.

Where is it?

On the cover or title page of the issue. Often on the top (header) or bottom (footer) of every page.

More information

Title

Magazine volume number

The volume number refers to a set of magazines. It is usually related to the year of publication: volume 7 of a magazine would include issues published in the 7th year of that magazine's existence.

Format

Use "vol." to denote volume, followed by the volume number. End with a comma. Omit if there is no volume number.

Where is it?

On the cover, copyright / title page, table of contents of the issue. Often on the top (header) or bottom (footer) of every page, after the magazine title.

More information

Magazine

Magazine issue number

Each issue of a magazine is often allocated a number. It usually indicates when in the year it was published: issue 3 of a magazine would be the 3rd issue published that year.

Format

Write "no." to denote issue number, followed by a space, then the issue number. End with a comma. Omit if there is no issue number.

Where is it?

On the cover, copyright / title page, table of contents of the issue. Often on the top (header) or bottom (footer) of every page, after the volume number.

More information

Magazine

Magazine article page range

The first and last page of the article being cited.

Format

Denote page range with "p." for one page or "pp." for a range of pages. Put a dash ('-') between the first page number and the last page number. End with a comma.

Where is it?

The first page number of the article, usually containing the title and introduction.

The final page number of the article.

More information

Magazine

No page numbers

Web page title

The name or heading of the web page.

Format

Write in full. If the web page stands alone, put the title in italics. If it is part of a larger section (e.g. a blog post) do not put it in italics.

Put a colon between the title and any subtitle, whether the original source uses it or not.

Use an uppercase letter for the first word of the title, the first word of any subtitle, and any proper nouns (the names of places, people, organisations, etc.).

Where is it?

Use the heading of the web page.

If there is no heading, use whatever appears in the title bar of your browser (usually at the very top of the screen).

More information

Title

Revised edition

Indicates a newer version of an existing book, usually correcting errors and introducing additional material.

Format

Write 'Rev. ed' followed by a comma then the publisher details.

Where is it?

On the cover, copyright page, title page of the book.

More information

Book (later edition)

2nd + edition

Indicates a later version of an existing book, usually correcting errors and introducing additional material.

Format

Write '2nd. ed.' (or 3rd, 4th etc.) with a full stop followed by a comma then the publisher details.

Where is it?

On the cover, copyright page, title page of the book.

More information

Book (later edition)

Publication date (newspaper)

The date that the newspaper was published or released.

Format

Write in brackets. Give the date in the order of day, month, and year with no commas between each element. If the day or month is missing, then omit. Long months should be truncated with a full stop (e.g. Sept., Oct., Jan.)

If there is more than one edition (such as an early and late edition of the paper) then identify the edition after the date and before the section and page details. If any of these elements are missing, omit the element:

Smith, John D. "Research Awards Draw Industry Attention." Albany Times, 12 Jan. 2009, late ed., p. 22.

Where is it?

On the front page of the newspaper, in the masthead.Near the article title or author information (byline).

More information

Newspaper article

No date

Publication date (weekly)

The date that the magazine was published or released.

Format

Give after the volume and issue numbers. Give the day then the year. End with a comma. Omit if the year is not given.

If you can find the publication from another reliable source (such as the catalogue) then you can give the date in square brackets. Square brackets indicate the information does not come from the source.

If a publication date that you supply is only approximated, put it after "circa" (which means around):

[circa 2010]

If you are uncertain about the accuracy of the information, then add a question mark:

[2010?]

Where is it?

On the cover or title page of the magazine.Near the article title or author information (byline).

More information

No year of publication

Magazine article

Publication date (monthly)

The month that the magazine was published or released.

Format

Give after the volume and issue numbers. Give the month then the year. End with a comma. Omit if the year is not given.

If you can find the publication from another reliable source (such as the catalogue) then you can give the date in square brackets. Square brackets indicate the information does not come from the source.

If a publication date that you supply is only approximated, put it after "circa" (which means around):

[circa 2010]

If you are uncertain about the accuracy of the information, then add a question mark:

[2010?]

Write in brackets. Write the year, then a comma, then the month. Put a full stop after the closing bracket.

Where is it?

On the cover or title page of the magazine.Near the article title or author information (byline).

More information

No year of publication

Magazine article

Publication date (quarterly)

The month or season that the quarterly / seasonal magazine was published or released.

Format

Give after the volume and issue numbers. Give the month or season then the year. End with a comma. Omit if the year is not given.

If you can find the publication from another reliable source (such as the catalogue) then you can give the date in square brackets. Square brackets indicate the information does not come from the source.

If a publication date that you supply is only approximated, put it after "circa" (which means around):

[circa 2010]

If you are uncertain about the accuracy of the information, then add a question mark:

[2010?]

Where is it?

On the cover or title page of the magazine.Near the article title or author information (byline).

More information

No year of publication

Magazine article

Report title

The name of the report.

Format

All words in a title should begin with an upper-case letter except for minor functional words (e.g. a, the, and, but, in, of, to, etc.). If there is a title and subtitle, put a colon between the two unless the title ends with a question mark or exclamation mark.

Where is it?

On the cover, the title page, and/or the copyright page.

More information

Title

Report identification number

Reports are often produced in series, and each report is assigned an identification number.

Format

Write the number descriptor (e.g. report number, contract number, monograph number, etc.), then the number itself. End with a comma.

If there is no identifying number, omit this detail.

Where is it?

On the cover, title page, or copyright page of the report.

More information

Reports

Author

Only the surname of the author is included in the in-text citation.

More information

In-text citation

Authors

Only the surnames of the authors are included in the in-text citation.

Use 'and' between the first and second author.

More information

In-text citation

Authors

Only the surname of the first author is included in the in-text citation.

The other author names are replaced with "et al".

More information

In-text citation

Group author

The group author's name should be identical to the name used in the works cited list.

More information

No author

Book title

A shortened version of the book title appears in the in-text citation, in italics.

Usually the first few words of the title are used – enough to uniquely identify the source.

More information

No author

Chapter / article title

A shortened version of the chapterarticle title appears in the in-text citation, inside quotation marks.

Usually the first few words of the title are used – enough to uniquely identify the source.

If the title is inside brackets, the comma comes before the closing quotation mark.

More information

No author

Report title

A shortened version of the report title appears in the in-text citation, in italics.

Usually the first few words of the title are used – enough to uniquely identify the source.

More information

No author

Web page title

A shortened version of the web page title appears in the in-text citation.

If the title appears in italics in the works cited list, it should appear in italics here. If it appears inside quotation marks, then it should appear inside quotation marks here.

Usually the first few words of the title are used – enough to uniquely identify the source.

More information

No author

Date in square brackets/no date

If no year of publication is indicated in the source, then you can either omit this detail or, if you can find the publication from another reliable source (such as the catalogue), you can give the date in square brackets. Square brackets indicate the information does not come from the source.

If a publication date that you supply is only approximated, put it after "circa" (which means around):

[circa 2010]

If you uncertain about the accuracy of the information, then add a question mark:

[2010?]

Where is it?

The year of publication is usually inside the cover, with the copyright details.

More information

Massey Library's catalogue lists publisher details for each book in its collection.

No year of publication

Page number(s)

The page number should be included in in-text citations. It follows the author's name without a comma. If a source does not have page number, omit this detail.

More information

Page numbers

Secondary source's page number

This is the page number for the source that you have seen directly- the source that is quoting or citing another source.

Give the page number in the same way you would for any ordinary in-text citation.

Some sources, particularly web pages, do not have page numbers indicated. In these cases, no page number is included in the in-text citation. You can, optionally, include a paragraph number in the in-text citation if the location is fixed and the same across all versions of the source (e.g. in an e-book):

(Bartleby par. 4)

More information

Secondary source

"qtd. in"

"qtd. in" (quoted in) indicates that you have only seen the first source quoted or cited within the second source.

It should be written in brackets.

More information

Secondary source

Quoted source

The source that you have not seen directly, but that has been quoted in another source. This source does not appear in the works cited list.

Give the author's surname followed by "qtd. in" then the source that you have sighted.

More information

Secondary source

“as cited in”

This phrase indicates that you have only seen the first source quoted or cited within the second source.

It should be written in brackets.

More information

Secondary source

Secondary source's author

This is the author of the source that you have seen directly, the source that is quoting another source.

Write it the same as you would for a normal in-text citation with 3 or more authors.

More information

Secondary source

Secondary source's year of publication

This is the year of publication of the source that you have seen directly, the source that is quoting another source.

Write it the same as you would for a normal in-text citation with 3 or more authors.

More information

Secondary source

No page number

If the source (e.g. a webpage) does not have a page number, then omit this detail. Alternatively, you can include a paragraph number if the paragraphing is the same across all versions of the book (e.g. different e-book versions).

More information

No page number

EndNote fields

If you are using the EndNote programme, use the following EndNote type:

  • Book
  • Book section
  • Journal articleElectronic article
  • Web page
  • Newspaper articleWeb page
  • Magazine article
  • Report

This is the set of fields to enter. If you are missing any of these fields (e.g. page number), simply omit:

  • Author (Note: Insert a comma at the end of group/corporate authors in the Endnote library to ensure it is displayed correctly)Reporter (Note: Insert a comma at the end of group/corporate authors in the Endnote library to ensure it is displayed correctly)Author
  • Year
  • Title
  • Publisher
  • Book Title
  • Editor
  • Publisher
  • Pages
  • Journal
  • Volume
  • Issue
  • Pages
  • Name of database provider
  • URL (Search for the homepage of the source rather than use a password protected ezproxy address, e.g. www.example.com/thepage.htm)
  • Short Title (the first few words if the title is long)
  • Newspaper
  • Pages
  • Issue Date
  • Series Title
  • Pages
  • Last Update Date
  • Magazine
  • Volume
  • Frequency
  • Issue Number
  • Pages
  • Date (put the month, or the day and month)
  • Place published
  • Institution (insert a full stop after the institution name)
  • Type
  • Report number
  • Pages
  • URL (Search for the homepage of the source rather than use a password protected ezproxy address, e.g. www.example.com/thepage.htm)DOI
  • Access Date (e.g. November 12)
  • Access Year (e.g. 2015)

For information on and help with Endnote see:

  • Endnote
  • Endnote@Massey

Online source types

Many different types of source can be found online. ‘Web page’ is only used as a last resort, if no other type is appropriate.

If your source is also a journal article, report, or other source type, choose that type instead. Specify that it was found online by selecting ‘Internet’ as the medium.

For example, if your source is an online report PDF produced by a government department, choose ‘Report’ as the type and ‘Internet’ as the medium.

Page authorised by Director - Centre for Learner Success
Last 11 January, 2021

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