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MLA Style:  Newspaper etc.

UON Library guide to MLA referencing style 8th edition for UON students

Magazine and newspaper articles: General rules

 

Magazine and newspaper articles are cited similarly to journal articles.

Author Names

  • Appear first in the reference. Use the full names of authors and invert only the first author.
  • If a magazine or newspaper article does not have an author move the title to the author position.

Article Titles

  • Capitalise all major words in the title and sub-title (except for common words - of, and, etc.).
  • Article titles appear in double quotation marks.

Magazine or Newspaper Title

  • Capitalise all words in the magazine or newspaper title (except for common words - of, and, etc.).
  • Magazine or newspaper titles appear in full (not abbreviated), and in italics. e.g. New York Times.
  • Include the initial The/A/An as part of the periodical title (do not remove them).

Volume Number

  • If available, the volume number follows the magazine or newspaper title, separated by a comma and preceded by vol. e.g. , vol. 66, no. 5.
  • If the volume is dated with a month or season, the month (abbreviated) or season is cited along with the year.

Issue Number

  • if available, the issue number follows the volume number, separated by a comma and preceded by no. e.g. , vol. 66, no. 5-6.

Page Numbers

  • If available, include the beginning and ending page numbers of the entire article, preceded by pp. e.g. pp. 458-67.
  • If a work is not printed on consecutive pages, include only the first page number and a plus sign, leaving no intervening space, e.g. pp. 4+

Date of Publication

  • The day and month of the newspaper/magazine should appear with the year as this highlights the publishing date, e.g. 21 Oct. 2018.
  • Months longer than 4 letters should be abbreviated as: Jan. Feb. Mar. Apr. Aug. Sept. Oct. Nov. and Dec.
  • If the date of publication is unavailable, omit this element, as n.d. (no date) is not used; include the access date instead. 

Database Name

  • If the source is located from a library database, add the database name in italics before the DOI or URL, followed by a comma, e.g. JSTOR, www.xxxx.xxx.

Digital Object Identifier (DOI)

  • If a DOI is available, include it at the end of reference in the format of: doi:xxxxxxx, e.g. doi:10.1086/679716.

  • In the absence of a DOI, include the URL if available. If the source is located from a library database, add the database name. 

  • Check What are DOIs? for more information on DOIs.

Secondary Sources

For citations taken from secondary sources, see Secondary Sources.

Magazine articles

 

The following is the general format of a reference to a print and an online magazine article with one author.

See general rules for magazine and newspaper articles for more details. 

 

In-text citation: format and example

... (Author's Last Name page/s cited) ...

... (Walker 24) ...

 

Works-cited list entry: format and example

Author's Last Name, First Name. "Article Title: Subtitle." Title of Magazine, vol no, issue no, Date of Publication, pp. page range, URL if available.

Sinnott-Armstrong, Walter. "How to Win Every Argument." Time, 2 July 2018, time.com/5318965/how-to-win-an-argument/.

Walker, Mandy. “Secrets to Stress-Free Flying.” Consumer Reports, vol. 81, no. 10, Oct. 2016, pp. 18-31.

Newspaper articles

 

Newspaper articles are cited similarly to magazine articles.

  • The cited page numbers of an online newspaper article can be omitted if the article is not numbered. Citations of print editions may include a specific page reference.
  • Column titles are capitalised but without quotation marks when included in a reference, see example 2 below.
  • Editorials and published letters to the editor may be described generically, see the last example below.
  • If a newspaper article is unsigned, the short title of the article stands in place of the author, e.g. ("Sweet Taste") see example 4 below.
  • For a book review published in a newspaper, see example 3 below.
  • If you consulted the article online, include a DOI or URL. If it is located in a library database, add the name of the database.

The following is the general format of a reference to a newspaper article. The examples include:

  • an online newspaper article
  • an online newspaper article with a column title
  • a book review published in a newspaper
  • an unsigned editorial of an online newspaper, and
  • an online newspaper article from a library database (need to include the database name before the URL).

See general rules for magazine and newspaper articles for more details. 

 

In-text citation: format and example

... (Author's Last Name page/s cited) ...

... (Hard) ...

.. (Jaffe) ...

.. (Kakutani) ...

.. ("Sweet Taste") ...

 

Works-cited list entry: format and example

Author's Last Name, First Name. "Article Title: Subtitle." Title of Newspaper, vol no, issue no (if available), Day Month Year, pp. page range (if available), URL if available.

Hard, Lauren. “Your Graduation Speeches in 50 Words.” New York Times, 6 June 2018, www.nytimes.com/2018/06/06/us/graduation-commencement-speech.html.

Jaffe, Marc. “Finding Love in Seesawing Libidos.” Modern Love. New York Times, 6 Mar. 2015, www.nytimes.com/2015/03/08/style/finding-equilibrium-in-seesawing-libidos.html.

Kakutani, Michiko. “Friendship Takes a Path That Diverges.” Review of Swing Time, by Zadie Smith. New York Times, 7 Nov. 2016, www.nytimes.com/2016/11/08/books/zadie-smiths-swing-time-explores-friends-diverging-paths.html.

"The Sweet Taste of Excess," editorial. Sydney Morning Herald, 27 June 2018, www.smh.com.au/national/nsw/the-sweet-taste-of-excess-20180626-p4znua.html.

Wilson, Jake. “Tackling the Beauty Myth from All Edgy Angles.” Sydney Morning Herald, 19 Apr. 2018, p. 24. ANZ Newsstand (Proquest), search.proquest.com.

 

Note: If the newspaper article is located in a library database, add the database name as a new container before the URL, as shown in the last example above.