How to Create an MLA Bibliography Worksheet

Each book used in an academic paper must be properly cited.

The MLA (Modern Language Association) Handbook for Writer's of Research Papers contains one of the major systems writers use for documenting their sources. Writers of academic and research papers in the humanities and English are often required to format their bibliographies in the MLA style. Instructors (from elementary school teachers to university professors) can create course-specific MLA worksheets to help their students organize their bibliographic citations in the MLA format. One way to become familiar with this method of citing sources is to practice and take notes using an MLA Bibliography Worksheet.

Things You'll Need

• MLA Handbook for Writers of Research
• MLA Style Manual and Guide to Scholarly Publishing

Instructions

Creating an MLA Bibliography Worksheet

1. 

   If you're a high-school teacher or undergraduate professor, refer to the most recent edition of the MLA Handbook for Writers of Research Papers for high school and undergraduate students; MLA's Style Manual and Guide to Scholarly Publishing, on the other hand, is for graduate students, scholars, and professional writers.

2. 

   Draft a template for the MLA "Works Cited" or MLA Bibliography page.

3. Include a labeled section for each kind of source (books, articles, online, etc.).

4. Include a step number for each required citation detail.

5. Leave plenty of space following each step for students using the Worksheet to enter their specific data.

6. Type out general instructions for MLA citations at the top of the Worksheet's first page.

7. Find a relevant example for each type of citation and include it at the end of each section, after the steps.

Book Citation Steps for an MLA Worksheet

1. Type: "Author's last name, first name, middle initial, followed by a period. For works with two or three authors, reverse the name of only the first author; list other authors as they are listed in the source. Separate names by a comma and end entry with a period."

2. Add: "Editor(s) last name, first name, middle initial, followed by a comma and the abbreviation, 'ed.' for one editor or 'eds.' for multiple editors."

3. Type: "Title of book with title italicized, followed by a period. Capitalize the first word and all other principal words of the titles and subtitles of cited works listed."

4. Include: "Edition (if other than first edition)."

5. Type: "Place of publication, followed by a colon. Use only the first city when more than one city is listed for the same publisher."

6. Add: "Publisher's name, followed by a comma. Shorten the publisher's name by eliminating business abbreviations and descriptive words. Include all publishers, placing a semicolon between them."

7. Type: "Year of publication, followed by a period."

Citing Magazine and Newspaper Articles

1. Type: "List the article's author: last name, first name and middle initial."

2. Add: "Put the title of the article in quotation marks and italicize the periodical title."

3. Type: "Add the date of publication: day, abbreviated month and year, followed by a colon, then pages cited. The citation ends with specifying the publication's medium."

4. Add: "Citation for a newspaper article is similar to that of a magazine, but newspaper citations include section, pages and edition."

Citations of Electronic Sources

1. Type: "Author or editor names (if available)."

2. Add: "Article name in quotation marks (if applicable)."

3. Include: "Title of website, project or book in italics."

4. Add: "Publisher information, including name and date."

5. End with: "Date you accessed the material."

Tips & Warnings

• Note new MLA requirements before creating, using or sharing your MLA Bibliography Worksheet. The Purdue Online Writing Lab, for example, describes a recent change in the guidelines: "MLA no longer requires the use of URLs in MLA citations. Because Web addresses ... change often ... most readers can find electronic sources via title or author searches in Internet search engines." Another new requirement is that each citation must include the medium of publication, such as print, web, interview or DVD.

References

• Purdue Onine Writing Lab: MLA Citations

Resources

• SUNY Westchester Community College: MLA Guide to Citation Format
• Northern Michigan University: MLA Style