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MLA 9th

MLA (Modern Language Association) 9th edition is an author-page number referencing style requiring an in-text citation within the text of your document and a related entry in a works cited at the end of your document.

Newspaper - works cited

Article title: The article title is in quotation marks and in title case (capitalise the first letter of each major word).

Newspaper title: The Newspaper Title is in italics, and title case.

Date: For the date of publication, include the year, month, day. Add an edition if relevant, e.g. ‘early ed.’

Page numbers: For only one page, use p. 23. For a range of pages, use pp. 35-40. Do not repeat numbering e.g. 125-128, would be pp. 125-8.

Section name: Include the section name before the page number(s) if the article will be hard to locate, e.g. Travel sec.

URL: Use the newspaper's web address (URL). A permalink or stable URL is preferred. When including a URL, omit https:// or http:// - start from www. unless you want a hyperlink.

For more information on works cited format and style, see General information - basics of referencing.

Format (Electronic)

 "Title of Article." Title of Newspaper, edition if relevant, date of publication, section, pp. page/section numbers. URL.

Format (Print)

 "Title of Article." Title of Newspaper, edition if relevant, date of publication, section, pp. page/section numbers.

Examples

Girao, Luisa. "Female Artistry Focus of Event." Otago Daily Times, 26 Nov. 2024, www.odt.co.nz/southland/female-artistry-focus-event.

Sharland, Miriam. "Copenhagen's on a Roll." The New Zealand Herald, 5 Nov. 2024, Travel sec., pp. 10-1.

Reverse the order of the first author's name. Place a comma preceding an ‘and’ before the second author's name.

Format (Electronic)

Author One, Author Two. "Title of Article." Title of Newspaper, edition if relevant, date of publication, section, pp. page/section numbers. URL.

Format (Print)

Author One, Author Two. "Title of Article." Title of Newspaper, edition if relevant, date of publication, section, pp. page/section numbers.

Examples

Lapsley, Sophie, and Tina Law. "Fundraising Begins for $10 Million 'Regionally Significant' Seaside Sports Hub." The Press, 26 Nov. 2024. https://www.thepress.co.nz/nz-news/360497698/fundraising-begins-10-million-regionally-significant-seaside-sports-hub.

Orsman, Bernard, and Gareth Vaughan. "Rat Blamed for Latest Telecom Blackout." The New Zealand Herald, 21 June 2005, p. A3.

Include only the first author's name, followed by ‘et al.’

Format (Electronic)

Author One, et al. "Title of Article." Title of Newspaper, edition if relevant, date of publication, section, pp. page/section numbers. URL.

Format (Print)

Author One, et al. "Title of Article." Title of Newspaper, edition if relevant, date of publication, section, pp. page/section numbers.

Note: Group could be an organisation, association, government department, study group, etc.

Format (Electronic)

Name of Organisation. "Title of Article." Title of Newspaper, edition if relevant, date of publication, section, pp. page/section numbers. URL.

Format (Print)

Name of Organisation. "Title of Article." Title of Newspaper, edition if relevant, date of publication, section, pp. page/section numbers.

Examples

Ministry of Transport. (2016, March 5). "Reducing New Zealand's Transport Woes." Kaipara Times, A5. https://www.kaiparatimes.co.nz/2016/03/5/business/reducing-new-zealands-transport-woes.html.

World Health Organization. (2005, February 14). "Asthma Increasing in Developed Countries." Morning Post, 4.

If the author is unknown, place the title in the author position followed by the date of publication.

Format (Electronic) 

"Title of article." (Date of publication). Name of Newspaper, section/page number(s). https://xxx

Format (Print)

"Title of article." (Date of publication). Name of Newspaper, section/page number(s).

Examples

"Former Spy Boss David Irvine Appointed Head of Foreign Investment Board." (2017, April 8). The Sydney Morning Herald. https://bit.ly/2OrixWx

"Honey Gives Up Healthy Secret." (2009, April 18). New Zealand Herald, A13.  

Newspaper - in-text citations

Parenthetical citation: When you use another person’s ideas or words in your text, include the author’s name and page number/s in brackets, generally at the end of the sentence, e.g. ... education is a key factor (Wall 25).

Citation in prose: When you use the author’s name as part of a sentence (generally at the beginning of a sentence), include the page number in brackets at the end of the sentence, e.g. Thomas Jones discussed the appropriateness of using wet towelling ... (2).

Parenthetical citation

... travelling in Copenhagen, Denmark (Sharland 10).

Citation in prose

Miriam Sharland talks about travelling in Copenhagen (10).

Parenthetical citation

Use the word 'and' between two authors.

... fundraising for a multi-purpose seaside sports hub in Lyttelton (Lapsley and Law). 

Citation in prose

Cite both authors in full (first name surname (last name)) the first time.

Sophie Lapsley and Tina Law discuss the development of a multi-purpose seaside sport hub at Naval Point, Lyttelton.

If using the same reference again, only cite the surnames (last names).

Lapsley and Law stated that approximately $10 million is required to move the project into the construction phase.

Parenthetical citation

Cite only the surname of the first author followed by ‘et al.’

A recent study showed that the use of illustrations helped students to understand abstract concepts more readily (Bingham et al. 7).

Citation in prose

Cite the first author in full (first name surname (last name)) followed by 'and others' or 'and colleagues' to acknowledge the other authors the first time.

In a recent study, Patricia Bingham and colleagues showed that the use of illustrations helped students to understand abstract concepts more readily (7).

If using the same reference again, only cite the surname (last name) and others/and colleagues.

Bingham and others discussed how art in the abstract form improved the cognitive uptake of information (30). 

Note: A group could be an organisation, association, government department, study group, etc.

Use the name of the group as it appears in your works cited. However, the group name can be abbreviated if you use the author a lot. The first time, cite the full name with the abbreviation. Subsequently, only use the abbreviation. If the reader could be confused by the abbreviation use the full group name each time.

When using the group name in a parenthetical citation, shorten the name to the shortest noun phrase, e.g. the "National Academy of Sciences" would be shortened to "National Academy."

Parenthetical citation

... tackled various transport issues in New Zealand, with a focus on the Kaipara area (Ministry of Transport A5). 

Citation in prose

The Ministry of Transport addressed some of the transport challenges in New Zealand and particularly around the Kaipara region (A5).

For the title of the article with no author, use Title Case and quotation marks. For a long title, use only the first few words.

Parenthetical citation

Scientists found a compound in manuka nectar that becomes the antibacterial agent in active manuka honey ("Honey Gives Up Healthy Secret" A13).

Citation in prose

The article "Honey Gives Up Healthy Secret" talks about how scientists have found a substance in manuka nectar that develops into the antibacterial ingredient found in active manuka honey (A13).

In the works cited

Use title case (capitalise the first letter of each major word) and quotation marks around the article title.  

Example

"Honey Gives Up Healthy Secret." (2009, April 18). New Zealand Herald, A13.