Citing Sources: MLA

Basic Format:
(Remember to include the journal name and database name [e.g. EBSCOhost, JSTOR] in italics. The citation should also include the DOI [digital object identifier]. Unlike a database link, which can expire, a DOI is like a unique barcode.)

Last Name, First Name. "Title of Article." Title of Journal, volume number, issue number, Date of Publication, Page Numbers, Database Name, DOI. Date accessed (optional).

Example:
(Scholarly Journal/Magazine/Newspaper from Database)

Alegi, Peter. “Rewriting Patriarchal Scripts: Women, Labor, and Popular Culture in South African Clothing Industry Beauty Contests, 1970s-2005.” Journal of Social History, vol. 42, no. 1, Fall 2008, pp. 31–56. EBSCOhost, doi:10.1353/jsh.0.0070.

No DOI:
(​If you do not see a DOI number include a link to the article.  Some databases have a button that gives you a "permalink" which is a permanent link to the article that will not expire.)

Pouillard, Véronique. "Design Piracy in the Fashion Industries of Paris and New York in the Interwar Years." The Business History Review, vol. 85, no. 2, Summer 2011, pp. 319-344. JSTOR,  https://libproxy.fitsuny.edu:2598/stable/41301394

3 or more authors:
(List only the first author then use the phrase "et al." (Latin for "and others") instead of listing all the remaining authors.)

Van Tyne, Daria, et al. "Structure, Function, and Biology of the Enterococcus Faecalis Cytolysin." Toxins, vol. 5, no. 5, May 2013, pp. 895-911. EBSCOhost, doi:10.3390/toxins5050895.

If you are citing an article that is online-only (does not appear in print) and does not have page numbers then leave the page numbers out.  The date accessed is optional, but can be helpful when there is no publication date.

Grimes, Ivy. "Dream Where Paul Simon Was My Boyfriend." Box of Jars, vol. 6, www.boxofjars.com/vol6/dream-where-paul-simon-by-ivy-grimes.html. Accessed 30 March 2017.

Scholarly journals and magazines are cited in very similar styles.  (What's the difference between a scholarly journal and a magazine?)  

Author(s). "Title of Article." Title of Periodical, Day Month Year, pages.

Magazine Example:

Fiori, Pamela. "All About Audrey."  Harper's Bazaar, Feb. 2013, pp. 200-203, 213.​

Scholarly Journal Example:
(Include volume and issue information.)

Alegi, Peter. "Rewriting Patriarchal Scripts: Women, Labor, and Popular Culture in South African Clothing Industry Beauty Contests, 1970s-2005." Journal of Social History, vol. 42, no. 1, Fall 2008, pp. 31-56. 

Citing a newspaper is similar to citing a magazine article but newspapers usually have a different style of page number.  If newspaper is the late or early edition (usually marked on the front page), you make a note of it after the article title.  

Jargon, Julie. "Starbucks CEO Faces U.S. Challenge." Wall Street Journal, 3 April 2017, p. B3.

Krugman, Andrew. "Fear of Eating." New York Times, 21 May 2007, late ed., p. A1. 

Some databases such as Mintel, Hoover's and MRI contain reports rather than articles.  If there is no author, begin with the title.  The company name can usually be used for the publisher information.

DeSalva, Alexis. "Men's and Women's Footwear - US." May 2018. Mintel Academic, http://libproxy.fitsuny.edu:2151/display/860397/.

"Nail Care Products & Polish (Women)."  Reporter Gfk MRI: Health & Beauty Aids, Spring 2015. Gfk MRI's University Reporter, www.gfkmrismartsystem.com/UniversityReporter/Report.aspx.

The date you accessed the report is optional, but can be helpful to your professor or other researchers if there is no publication date.

"Lululemon Athletica Canada Inc Company Description." D & B Hoovers, https://app.avention.com/company/2daee78d-d97d-3c08-9dfd-5732be06758f#report/company_description_report. Accessed 3 Jan. 2019.