How to Cite Articles in Periodicals in MLA

Periodical MLA citation is all about magazines, journals and newspapers. Pay attention to this – if you include month of publication, make sure to abbreviate it (Jan., Feb., or Mar.)

The general format of citations will look like this:

Example:

Author. Title. Title of Container (Journal), Volume and/or Number, Publisher, Date, Location (Page Numbers).

In our citation examples we use the following color coding:

  • Red – Author
  • Blue – Title of book/article/charter/webpage
  • Pink – Date
  • Green – Title of journal
  • Sienna – Pages
  • Peach – Additional information about the source (i.e. its type, specific features etc.)

Magazine

Example:

Park, Alice. “The Story about a Viral Photo of Opioid Overdose.” Time, 24 Jan. 2017, pp. 45-

46.

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Scholarly Journal (Paginated by Issue)

Example:

Zhang, Qun. “Lean Six Sigma: A Literature Review.” Interdisciplinary Journal of

Contemporary Research in Business, vol. 3, no. 10, 2012, pp. 599-605.

If there is no author at all, format your source this way:

Example:

“Understanding Benefits and Limitations of Six Sigma.” International Journal of Scientific

and Research Publications, vol. 2, no. 1, 2012, pp. 1-9.

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Daily Newspaper

Example:

Mathews, David. “From Draft Town to Gray Skies.” The Chicago Defender [Chicago, IL], 28

Apr. 2015, pp. 2-6.

Do you need to cite some well-known newspaper such as The Guardian or The New York Times?

Good for you – no brackets should be used in that case.

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Editorial in Newspaper

Editorial is cited as any article in a periodical, but it is necessary to state that it is ‘Editorial’ after the title of the work.

Example:

“Who’s Afraid of Betsy DeVos.” Editorial. The Wall Street Journal, 17 Jan. 2017, p. 10.

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Letter to the Editor

Example:

“Rebellion against the Weird.” Letter. The Guardian, 27 Jan. 2017, p. 12.

Don’t forget to include the word “Letter”. It’s really important to specify what you are citing.

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Book or Film Review

When it comes to book review, you should remember to include: 1) the reviewer and his work and 2) the original work that is reviewed.

Example:

Scott, Alexander. “M. Night Shyamalan’s ‘Split’ Has Personality. O.K., Personalities. Lots.”

Review of Split, directed by Night Shyamalan, New York Times, 19 Jan. 2017, p. 25.

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Further study