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MLA Style Guide for Citations (9th edition): Citing Periodicals

Basic Format

The basic format for periodicals is:


Author. "Title of Source." Title of Container, volume, number, date of publication, pages. Database, doi or URL.

There is some variation in periodical citations depending on whether the periodical is a print source, published on a website, located in a library database, or if it's a newspaper. This is a good time to use the MLA template and see which publication information your source includes.

Citation Examples of Periodicals

Newspaper article from a library database

Giang, Vivian. "Silicon Valley Had Its Time. Can Tech Ecosystems Thrive Elsewhere?" New York Times, 26 Sept. 2022, p. B1(L). Gale General OneFile, link.gale.com/apps/doc/A719570527/ITOF?u=txshracd2512&sid=bookmark-ITOF&xid=851091c8.

Journal article from a library database

Repova, Kristina, et al. “Melatonin as a Potential Approach to Anxiety Treatment.” International Journal of Molecular Sciences, vol. 23, no. 24, Dec. 2022, pp. 161-187. EBSCOhost, https://doi.org/10.3390/ijms232416187.

Article from a website

Elezaj, Rilind. “Autonomous Cars: Safety Opportunity or Cybersecurity Threat?” MachineDesign, 16 July 2019, https://www.machinedesign.com/ mechanical-motion-systems/article/21837958/autonomous-carssafety-opportunity-or-cybersecurity-threat.

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