The MLA style is the official style of literary scholars. You can find the handbook in the low shelf near the Research/IT desk in the library.
The German department does not have a single standard style, so if you wish to use something other than MLA Style, check out our Citing Sources guide for information on other styles.
There's a lot more detail about MLA Style on main citation guide, so check it out if you're new to the 8th edition of MLA Style. The examples on this page are meant as more of a cheat sheet for German majors than as a full guide.
Your bibliography should be alphabetized by author last name. For works that do not have an author, alphabetize by item title (omitting articles like "die" or "der"). Your bibliography should also be formatted using Hanging Indents.
Fagih, Ahmed Ibrahim al-. The Singing of the Stars. Translated by Leila El Khalidi and Christopher Tingley. Short Arabic Plays: An Anthology, edited by Salma Khadra Jayyusi, Interlink Books, 2003, pp. 140-57.
Haddad, Laura. Anerkennung und Widerstand: Lokale Islamische Identitätspraxis in Hamburg. Bielefeld, 2017.
Copeland, Edward. “Money.” The Cambridge Companion to Jane Austen, Edited by Copeland and Juliet McMaster, Cambridge UP, 1997, pp. 131-48.
Poe, Edgar Allan. "The Masque of the Red Death." The Complete Works of Edgar Allan Poe, edited by James A. Harrison, vol. 4, Thomas Y. Crowell, 1902, pp. 250-58. HathiTrust Digital Library, babel.hathitrust.org/cgi/pt?id=coo.3192407957368;view=1up;seq=266.
Podewski, Madleen. "'Realistisches' Judentum Aus Der Familienzeitschrift: Zu Wilhelm Raabes 'Holunderblüte' in 'Über Land Und Meer. Allgemeine Illustrirte Zeitung'." Jahrbuch Der Raabe-Gesellschaft, vol. 58, no. 1, May 2017, pp. 3-22. EBSCOhost, search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=mzh&AN=2017792126&site=ehost-live.
Siems, Dorothea. “Merkel Kann Nicht auf einen Frauen-Bonus Hoffen.” Die Welt, Innenpolitik, S.4 Heft 202/2005, 30 August 2005.
Mackin, Joseph. Review of The Pleasures of Reading in an Age of Distraction, by Alan Jacomb. New York Journal of Books, 2 June 2011, 222. nyjournalofbooks.com/book-review/pleasures-reading-age-distraction.
Weintraub, Arlene, and Laura Cohen. “A Thousand-Year Plan for Nuclear Waste.” Business Week, 6 May 2002, pp. 94-96.
“Maplewood, New Jersey.” Google Maps, www.google.com/maps/place/Maplewood,+NJ.
Quade, Alex. “Elite Team Rescues Troops behind Enemy Lines.” CNN.com, 19 Mar. 2007, www.cnn.com/2007/WORLD/meast/03/15/search.rescue/index.html?iref=newssearch.
Note that in this example, the optional original date of publication is included, as well as several people in the Other Contributors category. If you were studying a particular person associated with the work, that person could be listed in the Author position, like so: "Capra, Frank, director."
It’s a Wonderful Life. 1946. Directed by Frank Capra, Performance by James Stewart et al., Republic, 2001.
Whether you decide to put the episode director into the author position or not depends on the show and your use of the show in your writing. If the show features episodes with distinct story lines or dramatic styles, the director for each episode may take on authorial importance, otherwise the creator or director of the series as a whole may be placed in the author position. If no one takes authorial importance for your work, place the title of the episode in the first position.
Bernstein, Adam director. "Hazard Pay." Breaking Bad, season 5, episode 3, High Bridge Productions et al., 29 Jul 2012.
"Hush." Buffy the Vampire Slayer, created by Joss Whedon, performance by Sarah Michelle Geller, season 4, episode 10, Mutant Enemy, 1999.
Note that in the first example the title is in quotation marks because that is the name the author gave it. In the second and third examples the interview had no given title, so we present a brief description without quotation marks instead.
Blanchett, Cate. "In Character with: Cate Blanchett." Notes on a Scandal, Directed by Richard Eyre, Fox Searchlight, 2006.
Olivier, Laurence. Interview by Kenneth Tynan. Richard III, Directed by Laurence Olivier, 2004, The Criterion Collection, www.criterion.com/films/366-richard-iii.
Verbinski, Gore and Johnny Depp. Audio Commentary. Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl, Buena Vista Home Entertainment, 2004.
Aristophanes. Directed by Barbara Karger and Michael Preston, 20 April 2006, Goodwin Theater, Austin Arts Center, Hartford.
If you view it first hand, the Location is the physical location of the work. If you view a reproduction, follow the standard rules for Containers.
If your image has no title, give a brief description of the item in the title location. Do not include quotation marks or italicize this description.
DaVinci, Leonardo. Mona Lisa. 1503?, Louvre Museum, Paris.
DaVinci, Leonado. Mona Lisa. 1503?, Wikipedia, en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Mona_Lisa,_by_Leonardo_da_Vinci,_from_C2RMF_retouched.jpg.
Image of cat. 2016, img1.wsimg.com/fos/sales/cwh/8/images/cats-with-hats-shop-06.jpg.
Clowes, Daniel. David Boring. Eightball, no. 19, Fantagraphics, 1998.
See our "Citing Social Media" guide.
Parenthetical citations typically go at the end of a sentence that quote, paraphrases, or refers to a source. Closing punctuation for that sentence goes after the citation.
Each item cited in your text should have a corresponding item in your bibliography.
List the author's last name followed by a page number: (Barron 194).
Add a short title to your citation: (Barron, "Redefining" 194).
Use a short form of the title: (Reading at Risk 3)
Exclude page numbers or use a marker that is prominent in the text (like paragraph numbers, section numbers, time stamps, chapter numbers, line numbers, etc): (Chan, par. 41), (sec. 3), "Hush" 00:03:16-17), (ch. 17), ("Ode" 1-3), etc.
Separate the citations with a semicolon: (Baron 194; Jacobs 55).
Omit the author's name from the citation: (194).
Use the title, followed by abbreviated book name, followed by chapter and verse separated by a period: (Bible, Ezek. 1.5-10).
Use the play's abbreviated title followed by act, scene, and line numbers separated by periods: (Mac. 1.5.17).
Questions? Contact reference@carleton.edu
Powered by Springshare.