A Research Guide for Students

By I. Lee

Chapter 8. First Footnotes and Endnotes -
Examples in MLA Style


Note: Detailed Footnotes and Endnotes are needed only for sources cited for the first time. When citing the same work more than once, it is no longer fashionable to use ibid. or op cit., use short title or author's last name instead. For details, see Chapter 7 - How to Write Footnotes and Endnotes.

Contents:

1. Book with one author or editor
2. Book with two authors or editors
3. Book with three or more authors or editors
4. Book with no author or editor stated
5. Book that has been translated
6. Article in a collection by several authors, with an editor
7. Article from an encyclopedia with no author stated
8. Article from an encyclopedia with one author
9. Article from a magazine or newspaper with no author stated
10. Article from a magazine or newspaper with one author
11. Pamphlet or brochure with no author stated
12. Book, product, or software review
13. Government document
14. Interview
15. Film or video recording
16. Audio recording
17. Televisioin or radio
18. Computer software or CD-ROM
19. Internet
20. Reference to Shakespeare
21. Reference from the Bible, Catechism, or Sacred Texts
22. Citations for a single work throughout essay
23. Sources used more than once


1. Book with one author or editor:

 1 Michael Ignatieff, The Warrior's Honor: Ethnic
War and the Modern Conscience (Toronto: Viking, 1998) 188.

1 Jerry White, ed. Death & Taxes: Beating One
of the Two Certainties in Life (Toronto: Warwick
Publishing, 1998) 7-8.

2. Book with two authors or editors:

 2 Chris Maynard and Bill Scheller, Manifold
Destiny: The One! The Only! Guide to Cooking on Your
Car Engine! (New York: Villard Books, 1998) 144-145.

2 Andrew Cohen and J.L. Granatstein, eds.
Trudeau's Shadow: The Life and Legacy of Pierre
Elliott Trudeau, (Toronto: Random House of Canada,
1998) 391.

3. Book with three or more authors or editors:

 3 Jack Canfield, et al., Chicken Soup for
the Kid's Soul: 101 Stories of Courage, Hope and
Laughter, (Deerfield Beach, FL: Health Communications,
Inc., 1998) 68.

3 Mans O. Larsson, et al., eds. Let's
Go: Germany 1998, (New York: St. Martin's Press, 1998)
96-98.

4. Book with no author or editor stated:

 4 The 1990 Charlton Coin Guide, 29th ed.
(Toronto: Charlton Press, 1989) 39.

5. Book that has been translated:

 5 Anne Frank: The Diary of a Young Girl,
trans. M. Moyaart-Doubleday (Toronto: Bantam Books, 1993) 95.

6. Article in a collection by several authors, with an editor:

 6 Carmen DaSilva, "Life Insurance as a Tool for
Estate Planning," Death & Taxes: Beating One of the Two
Certainties in Life, ed. Jerry White (Los Angeles:
Warwick Publishing, 1998) 57-71.

7. Article from an encyclopedia with no author stated:

 7 "Malcolm X," Encyclopedia of Social Issues,
1997, Vol. 4, 985-987.

8. Article from an encyclopedia with one author:

 8 Arthur B. Ford, "Antarctica," New Encyclopaedia
Britannica, 1997, Vol. 13, 788-804.

9. Article from a magazine or newspaper with no author stated:

 9 "Windows 98: Ho-Hum Software," Consumer Reports Sept. 
1998: 8.

9 "Michael Jackson Eyes $100-Million Bond Thriller,"
Financial Post 16 Nov. 1998: C1.

10. Article from a magazine or newspaper with one author:

 10 Michael Ventura, "Buffy, Nikita, Xena:
Warrior Women," Psychology Today Nov./Dec. 1998:
58-62.

10 Ethan Bronner, "As College Costs Increase,
Scholarship Fraud Follows," New York Times 15 Nov.
1998: 1, 22.

11. Pamphlet, with no author stated:

 11 More Natural Dry Eye Relief with TEARS
NATURALE II Artificial Tears (Mississauga, ON: Alcon
Canada Inc., 1997).

12. Book, product or software review:

 12 Henry Gordon, review of China! The Grand Tour,
CD-ROM by Hopkins Technology, in We Compute Feb. 1998: 15.

13. Government document:

 13 Canada, Ministry of Natural Resources, Annual
Report, 1986 (Ottawa: Queen's Printer, 1986) 29.

14. Interview:

 14 Hellmut Longin, President, European Steel Industries,
Personal interview, 31 Aug. 1999.

15. Film or video recording:

 15 Eternal Earth, prod. Rhombus Media, dir. Larry
Weinstein, 1987, 16 mm, 28 min. 37 sec.

16. Audio recording:

 16 Ginger, Solid Ground, Nettwerk Productions,
Vancouver, SPRO003, 1994.

17. Television or radio:

 17 Inside the Line, TVO, Toronto, 28 Jan. 1996.

18. Computer software or CD-ROM:

 18 National Parks: The Multimedia Family Guide,
CD-ROM, Woodland Hills, CA: Cambrix Publishing, 1995.

18 Sympatico, Version 4.04 EC, 
CD-ROM, Netscape Communications Corporation, 1995-1998.

19. Internet:

 19 Ray Weber, "50 States and Capitals,"
8 Apr. 1999, 20 Sept. 1999 <http://www.50states.com>.

19 "Edsitement: The Best of the Humanities
on the Web!" 22 Sept. 1999 <http://edsitement.neh.fed.us>.
Note: First date = Webpage creation or modification date. Second date = the date you accessed the Webpage. If the Webpage does not have a modification or creation date, leave it out, but always indicate your access date.

20. Reference to Shakespeare:

(Shakespeare's plays are cited with Roman capitals for the Act, small Roman numerals for the Scene, and Arabic numerals for the Lines).

 20 Hamlet IV, i, 15-18.

In-text Footnotes or Endnotes are also appropriate in an essay on a single Shakespearean play:

 20 Lear sums up his whole tragedy when he says, "I am a man more
sinned against than sinning." (III, ii, 57)

21. Reference from the Bible, Catechism, or Sacred Texts:

Click here to see Abbreviations for Books of the Bible

Example in text:

An interesting reference was made to the picking of corn on the Sabbath. 1

Example of Footnote citation, long form:
 1 Matthew 12:1-8.
Example of Footnote citation, short form:
 1 Mt 12:1-8.
List under Works Cited:
The New Jerusalem Bible: Reader's Edition. New York:
Doubleday, 1990.

Example in text:

The Catechism of the Catholic Church states that "Because of its common origin the human race forms a unity, for 'from one ancestor [God] made all nations to inhabit the whole earth.'" 2

Example of first Footnote or Endnote citation of the above quote taken from Catechism of the Catholic Church, Part I, Section 2, Chapter 1, Article 1, Paragraph 6I, Reference Number: 360, Page 103, would be:
 2 Catechism of the Catholic Church (New York:
Doubleday, 1994) 360.
Subsequent citation of the same quote:
 3 Catechism, 360.
Citation of a different quote from the same book:
 4 Catechism, 1499.
List under Works Cited:
Catechism of the Catholic Church. New York: Doubleday, 1994.
Examples of other Footnote or Endnote citations:
 5 Pius XII, encyclical, Summi Pontificatus 3.

6 Roman Catechism I, 10, 24.

22. Citations for a single work throughout essay:

If the entire essay is about one book, e.g. Carrie only and there are no other sources used, a Footnote or Endnote is needed only for the first quotation as follows:

 Stephen King, Carrie (New York: New American Library, 1974) 40.
All subsequent quotations are from this edition.

After this, it is only necessary to supply the page number of the text:

 Sheriff Otis Doyle testified that Miss Snell told him that
"Carrie did it. Carrie did it." (198)

23. Sources used more than once:

For more detailed treatment of this topic, see Chapter 7. How to Write Footnotes and Endnotes.

1. If a source was footnoted earlier, you can use a shortened Footnote or Endnote providing only the author's surname and the reference page number:

 1 King 197.

2. When two or more books by the same author are used as reference material, or there are sources by two or more authors with the same last name, include the short title or an abbreviated form of the title:

 2 King, Fire-Starter 279.


Last modified: 24 October 1999

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