MLA (Modern Language Association) Style is widely used in the humanities, especially in literature. The Modern Language Association of America (MLA) is the publisher of the MLA Style manual. Typically, components include in-text citations and the Works Cited list. Do consult the Library's copy of the MLA Handbook or the online MLA Style Center for details.
Cite the source in the narrative (prose) or in parenthesis. MLA uses the author-page in-text citation.
Note that sources in any in-text citation must be listed in the Works Cited page.
Examples:
(a) Cite source & quote in prose
According to Roger Martin "In strategy, what counts is what have to be true - not what is true" (56).
Roger Martin suggested that strategy is "a set of choices about winning" (14) and the objective is about "shortening your odds" (183).
(b) Cite source & quote in parenthesis
One approach to strategy is "what counts is what have to be true - not what is true" (Martin 56).
(c) Cite multiple sources in a single parenthesis
(Lafley and Martin 14; Martin 56)
(d) Cite different locations in a single source
(Martin 56, 72-73)
(e) Cite a source with three or more authors
According to Lucio et al., it is essential to create models that are aligned across all organisations (154).
The authors noted that it is essential to create models that are aligned across all organisations (Lucio et al. 154).
Works Cited
Lafley, A. G., and Roger L. Martin. Playing to Win: How Strategy Really Works. Harvard Business Review, 2013.
Lucio, Robert, et al. "A Call to Action: Unifying School Social Work Practice Models." Children & Schools, vol. 46, no. 3, 2024, pp. 145-155,
https://doi.org/10.1093/cs/cdae009.
Martin, Roger L. A New Way to Think: Your Guide to Superior Management Effectiveness. Harvard Business Review, 2022.
If you use the MLA style, you must include a Works Cited page at the end of your research paper. Arrange the list in alphabetic order by author's name.
The following examples are in the MLA Style (9th edition):
Works Cited Format
Book by one author
Meyer, Erin. The Culture Map: Breaking through the Invisible Boundaries of Global Business. PublicAffairs, 2014.
Book by two authors
Grant, Catherine, and Patricia Lee Rubin. Creative Writing and Art History. John Wiley & Sons, 2012.
Book by three or more authors
Goddard, Michael, et al. Reverberation: The Philosophy, Aesthetics and Politics of Noise. Continuum Intl Pub Group, 2012.
Edition of a book
Headrick, Paul. A Method for Writing Essays about Literature. 3rd ed., Nelson Education, 2017.
Edited book
Kirszner, Laurie G., and Stephen R. Mandell, editors. Literature: Reading, Reacting, Writing. Compact 9th
ed., Cengage Learning, 2017.
Translated work
Natsume, Soseki. I Am a Cat. Translated by Aiko Ito. Tuttle, 2002.
Scholarly e-journal article in database
Hannah, Daniel K. “The Private Life, the Public Stage: Henry James in Recent Fiction.” Journal of Modern Literature, vol. 30,
no. 3, 2007, pp. 70–94. JSTOR, http://www.jstor.org/stable/30053134.
Film or video
The Lord of the Ring: The Fellowship of the Ring. Directed by Peter Jackson, WingNut Films / The Saul
Zaentz Company, 2001.
The Lord of the Ring: The Fellowship of the Ring. Directed by Peter Jackson, WingNut Films / The Saul
Zaentz Company, 2001. DVD.
Image artwork from a database
Katsushika Hokusai. The Great Wave off Kanagawa (Kanagawa oki nami ura), from the series
"Thirty-six Views of Mount Fuji (Fugaku sanjurokkei)". 1826-1836. Artstor,
library.artstor.org.remotexs.ntu.edu.sg/asset/AWSS35953_35953_41726495.
Image artwork viewed in person
Zhu Cheng. Hawk, Pine, Plum, and Rock. 1873, Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York City.
Image artwork viewed online
Zhu Cheng. Hawk, Pine, Plum, and Rock. 1873. Metropolitan Museum of Art,
www.metmuseum.org/art/collection/search/36178.
Article on a website
Yong, Clement. “Singapore’s Hawker Culture Added to Unesco List of Intangible Cultural Heritage.”
The Straits Times, 16 Dec. 2020. The Straits Times, https://www.straitstimes.com/singapore/singapores-hawker-
culture-added-to-unesco-list-of-intangible-cultural-heritage.
Poem from an anthology
Jonson, Ben. "To the Memory of My Beloved, the Author Mr. William Shakespeare." The Norton Anthology of Poetry, edited
by Alexander Allison et al., 3rd ed., W. W. Norton, 1983, pp. 239-40.
Short story from an anthology
Ye, Stephanie. “Seascrapers.” The Epigram Books Collection of Best New Singaporean Short Stories, edited by Jason Erik
Lundberg, vol. 1, Epigram Books, 2013, pp. 60-71.
Dissertations and theses
Lau, Wee Kiat. Behaviors Maintaining Perceptual Continuity. 2010. Nanyang Technological U, PhD dissertation. Digital
Repository of NTU, hdl.handle.net/10356/144248.
Rutberg, Leslie Faith. The Art of Educational Leadership, 2024. U of Colorado, PhD dissertation. ProQuest,
search.proquest.com/docview/3142481232/5E799E52C1444B4EPQ/1?.
Reports
a) Written and published by the same organisation
U.S. Patterns of Arts Participation: A Full Report from the 2017 Survey of Public Participation in the Arts. National
Endowment for the Arts, Dec. 2019.
b) With a different author and publisher
Clark, Christina, et al. Children and Young People’s Reading in 2024. National Literacy Trust, Nov. 2024.
Blog post
Benton, William. “Close Formation: My Friendship with James Salter.” The Paris Review, 3 Dec. 2024,
www.theparisreview.org/blog/2024/12/03/close-formation-my-friendship-with-james-salter/#more-169050. The Daily.
Song
Coldplay. “Yellow.” Parachutes, Parlophone, 2000. CD.
Coldplay. “Yellow.” Parachutes, Parlophone, 10 Jul. 2000. Spotify app.
MLA Handbook (9th edition) by 
MLA Handbook (8th edition) by