MLA Citation Style for Magazine Articles

MLA Style for Magazine Articles

This PDF document provides examples of how to properly format magazine article citations in a Works Cited list. (To view this document, you will need the Adobe Reader software - a free download available from http://www.adobe.com .)

In-text Parenthetical References

A standard in-text parenthetical reference for a magazine article includes the author's last name and the page number. The period goes after the reference. For example,

"Surveys have found that 80% to 90% of mobile-phone owners use their phones while driving at least some of the time, and about 30% of them regularly use their phones and drive at the same time" (Ropeik 14).

If you use a signal phrase that includes the author's name, the in-text parenthetical reference would list only the page number. For example,

According to David Ropeik, "Surveys have found that 80% to 90% of mobile-phone owners use their phones while driving at least some of the time, and about 30% of them regularly use their phones and drive at the same time" (14).

For a magazine article with

you will use

Your in-text parenthetical reference would look like this:

two authors

both authors' last names.

(Gray and Smith 21)

three authors

all three authors' last names.

(Moore, Trask, and Donnelly 13)

more than three authors

the last name of the first author followed by "et al."

(Gammon et al. 32)

no author

the title of the article (if brief) or the first word/few words of the article title in quotation marks.

("By the Numbers" 18)
("Innovations" 12)

no page numbers (such as HTML full-text articles from databases)

a paragraph number.

(Phillips, par. 5)

Formatting Long Quotes MLA Style

If a quote you are using in your paper is longer than four lines, you need to insert it as a block quote. On a new line, indent one inch from the left margin (two tabs). Double space the quote and do not include quotation marks. Place the in-text parenthetical reference at the end of the last line of the quotation. Insert the period before the reference. Below is an excerpt from a research paper that includes a block quote.

	There is no question that the use of cell phones over the last several years has increased. They are the ultimate in convenience, allowing for communication almost anywhere at anytime. People use cell phones on the street, in restaurants and movies, on airplanes, in grocery stores, etc. No place has the use of cell phones caused more uproar and debate than in vehicles - when the driver is the one doing the talking and the driving.
		Surveys have found that 80% to 90% of mobile-phone owners use their phones while driving at least some of the time, and about 30% of them regularly use their phones and drive at the same time. Depending on the region of the country, between 40% and 70% of calls from mobile phones are made by people who are driving. These people are DWP - driving while phoning - and their use of the phone as they drive is creating a risk. (Ropeik 14)
	What kind of a risk? Distraction. Many people are used to multi-tasking - doing multiple things at the same time. However, when operating a vehicle, the driver's full attention should be focused on driving and nothing else.