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MLA 7th ed. Style Guide: Scholarly Journal Articles

Selected guide from the MLA Handbook for Writers of Research Papers, Seventh Edition.

Essential Elements

Citations for scholarly articles should include the following:

1. Name of Author(s)

2. Full Title of Article (in quotations)

3. Title of Journal (italicized)

4. Volume Number of Journal

5. Issue Number of Journal

6. Year of Publication

7. Page Numbers of Article

8. Medium of Publication

Note: Articles accessed through databases and on the Web require additional information. See the examples to the right for details.

Sample Citations - Scholarly Articles

Scholarly Article in a Print Journal

Example:

Bordia, Prashant, and Nicholas DiFonzo. "Problem Solving in Social Interactions on the Internet: Rumor as Social Cognition." Social Psychology Quarterly 67.1 (2004): 33-49. Print.

Scholarly Article from an Online Database

Cite the article as you would a print article, followed by:

  • the database in which you accessed the article (italicized)
  • the medium of publication (Web)
  • the date of access

Beckhard, Sven. "From Tuskegee to Togo: The Problem of Freedom in the Empire of Cotton." Journal of American History 92.2 (2005): 498-526. JSTOR. Web. 28 Aug. 2009.

Example 2:

Arnas, Yasare Aktas. "The Effects of Television Food Advertisement on Children's Food Purchasing Requests." Pediatrics

International 48.2 (2006): 135-45. Academic Search Premier. Web. 14 Aug. 2009.

 

*See Online Databases section for more information.

Scholarly Article in an Online Journal (Not Accessed Through a Database)

If the article has page numbers, include them after the year of publication. If no page numbers are given, note this with the abbreviation "n. pag."

Example:

Connaway, Lynn, and Heather Wicht. "What Happened to the E-book Revolution?: The Gradual Integration of E-books into Academic Libraries." Journal of Electronic Publishing 10.3 (2007): n. pag. Web. 27 Aug. 2009.