Isabella Carter
The Modern Language Association (MLA) style is a widely adopted system for documenting sources in scholarly writing. This guide will explain how to cite a constitution in MLA 8th edition format, including the use of article/amendment and section numbers, the abbreviation of months, and the inclusion of URLs and DOIs. Whether you're citing the Constitution of the United States or another country's constitution, this guide will provide the information you need to format your citations correctly.
| Characteristics | Values |
|---|---|
| Country of origin | Should be specified if the title does not indicate what country the constitution belongs to |
| In-text citations | Use article/amendment and section numbers instead of page numbers |
| Article | Use the abbreviation "art." |
| Amendment | Use the abbreviation "amend." |
| Section | Use the abbreviation "sec." |
| Roman numerals | Convert any roman numerals used in the text to arabic numerals |
| Date format | Day Month (shortened) Year |
| Date of access | Optional in MLA 8th edition |
| URL | Include as part of the location |
| DOI | Include instead of the URL |
| Named edition | Treat it like the title of the book |
| Containers | The larger wholes in which the source is located |
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What You'll Learn
Citing the US Constitution
When citing the US Constitution in MLA (8th) style, you should include information about where you accessed it in the 'Works Cited' entry. In the in-text citation, use article/amendment and section numbers instead of page numbers. For example: ("Constitution of the United States," art. 1, sec. 4).
Use the abbreviations "art." (Article), "amend." (Amendment), and "sec." (Section) as appropriate in your citations; convert any Roman numerals used in the text to Arabic numerals (e.g., "XIV" becomes "14").
The US Constitution has also been published in book form in various editions. To cite one of these, write the title of the book in italics and list any editors, annotators, or other main contributors to the edition after the title.
When mentioning the Constitution in your paper, you can generally just call it the "Constitution" without using italics or quotation marks. However, in the parenthetical citation, you should specify the version cited to match the first words of the 'Works Cited' entry.
The date of access is optional in MLA 8th edition but is recommended for pages that may change frequently or that do not have a copyright or publication date.
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Using MLA in-text citations
When using the MLA style, in-text citations are inserted in the body of your research paper to briefly document the source of your information. In-text citations point the reader to more complete information in the Works Cited list at the end of the paper.
In MLA style, referring to the works of others in your text is done using parenthetical citations. This involves providing relevant source information in parentheses whenever a sentence uses a quotation or paraphrase. Usually, the simplest way to do this is to put all of the source information in parentheses at the end of the sentence (just before the period). However, there are situations where it makes sense to put the parenthetical elsewhere in the sentence or to leave information out. The source information required in a parenthetical citation depends on the source medium (e.g. print, web, DVD) and the source’s entry on the Works Cited page. Any source information provided in-text must correspond to the source information on the Works Cited page.
MLA format follows the author-page method of in-text citation. This means that the author's last name and the page number(s) from which the quotation or paraphrase is taken must appear in the text, and a complete reference should appear on your Works Cited page. The author's name may appear either in the sentence itself or in parentheses following the quotation or paraphrase, but the page number(s) should always appear in the parentheses, not in the text of your sentence. For example: "Romantic poetry is characterized by the 'spontaneous overflow of powerful feelings' (Wordsworth 263)."
When quoting directly from a source, enclose the quoted section in quotation marks. If your quotation is longer than four lines, it is considered a long quotation or a block quotation. There are three rules that apply to long/block quotations that are different from regular quotations: indent the entire quotation 0.5 inches from the rest of the text so that it looks like a block of text; do not put quotation marks around the quotation; and place the period at the end of the quotation before your in-text citation instead of after, as with regular quotations.
When creating in-text citations for media that has a runtime, such as a movie or podcast, include the range of hours, minutes, and seconds you plan to reference. For example: (00:02:15-00:02:35).
Note that the date of access is optional in MLA 8th edition; it is recommended for pages that may change frequently or that do not have a copyright or publication date.
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Citing a book in MLA
To cite a book in MLA 8th edition, you need to include the following pieces of information:
- The last name of the author, followed by a comma and their first name. If there are multiple authors, list them in the order they appear on the title page, with the first author's name formatted as above, and the second and subsequent authors' names written with the first name followed by the last name. For three or more authors, use only the name of the first author, followed by "et al." (meaning "and others").
- The title of the book in sentence case (i.e. only capitalise the first letter of the first word and any proper nouns). If the book has a subtitle, include this after the title, separated by a colon. Do not italicise or place the title in quotation marks.
- The version of the book (e.g. if it is the second edition, write "2nd ed."). Abbreviate "edition" to "ed." and "revised" to "rev."
- The name of the publisher (omit words like "Company", "Corporation", or "Limited", and use "UP" for "University Press").
- The year of publication.
For example:
> Smith, Jane. "The Book Title: A Subtitle." 2nd ed., Penguin Press, 2022.
If your book is part of a series, and you think it would be helpful to your reader to know this, include the series name and number after the date of publication. Do not italicise or put the series name in quotation marks.
> Smith, Jane. "The Book Title: A Subtitle." 2nd ed., Penguin Press, 2022, Penguin Classics.
If your book has a single author or editor and is an e-book on a device such as a Kindle, include the e-book format after the publisher:
> Smith, Jane. "The Book Title: A Subtitle." 2nd ed., Penguin Press, 2022, Kindle ed.
If the type of e-book is not known, simply use the word "e-book".
> Smith, Jane. "The Book Title: A Subtitle." 2nd ed., Penguin Press, 2022, e-book.
If your book is available from a website, include the website name in italics, followed by the URL:
> Smith, Jane. "The Book Title: A Subtitle." 2nd ed., Penguin Press, 2022, https://www.examplebooks.com.
If you are citing an entire book that has been compiled by an editor, place the editor's name in the author position, followed by "editor":
> Smith, Jane, editor. "The Book Title: A Subtitle." 2nd ed., Penguin Press, 2022.
Abbreviate months as follows: Jan., Feb., Mar., Apr., May, June, July, Aug., Sept., Oct., Nov., Dec. Spell out the months in full in the body of your paper.
Use MLA capitalization style for titles, even when the original source title uses different capitalization. Capitalize the first letter of every important word in the title, but do not capitalize words such as "in", "of", or "an".
The format of dates is: Day Month (shortened) Year. For example, "5 Sept. 2012". Whether to give just the year, or to include the month and day as well, depends on your source: write the full date as it appears there. If no date is listed, omit it unless you can find that information in a reliable source.
Include the date you accessed the book if the page may change frequently, or if it does not have a copyright or publication date.
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Citing online sources
Core Elements and General Format:
According to the MLA Handbook, each citation should include the following core elements in this order:
- Author's last name, followed by their first name.
- Title of the source.
- Title of the container (if applicable), italicized and followed by a comma.
- Other contributors (if applicable), such as editors or translators.
- Version (including editions, revisions, or e-book format), numbers (volume or issue), and/or publication details.
- Publisher.
- Publication date.
- URL or permalink (if available and at your discretion).
- Date of access (recommended for online sources as content may change).
The specific format and punctuation for each citation may vary depending on the type of online source.
Examples of Online Sources:
Website or Web Page:
Last name, First name. "Title of Web Page or Article." Title of Website, Publisher, Publication date, URL. Date of access.
Example:
Keller, Helen. “Letter to John Hitz 29 Aug. 1893.” 1893, Library of Congress, Washington, D.C. Typescript. Library of Congress. www.loc.gov/item/magbellbib004020. Accessed 16 Feb. 2017.
Online Journal Article:
Last name, First name. "Title of Article." Title of Journal, vol. number, no. number, Publication date, URL. Date of access.
Example:
Dolby, Nadine. “Research in Youth Culture and Policy: Current Conditions and Future Directions.” Social Work and Society: The International Online-Only Journal, vol. 6, no. 2, 2008, www.socwork.net/sws/article/view/60/362. Accessed 20 May 2009.
Online Magazine Article:
Last name, First name (if available). "Title of Article." Title of Magazine, Publication date, URL. Date of access.
Example:
"All Things Nittany." About Penn State. Penn State University, 2006, www.psu.edu/ur/about/nittanymascot.html.
E-book:
Last name, First name. Title of E-book. E-book, Publisher, Publication date. [E-book or App/Service name] ed.
Example:
Machiavelli, Niccolo. The Prince, translated by W. K. Marriott, Kindle ed., Library of Alexandria, 2018.
In-Text Citations:
In MLA style, in-text citations are typically placed in parentheses at the end of a sentence. The specific information included in the in-text citation depends on the source medium and its entry on the Works Cited page. The in-text citation should correspond to the first item in the respective entry on the Works Cited page.
For example, an in-text citation for the above "All Things Nittany" online magazine article could be: ("All Things Nittany").
Additional Considerations:
- If page numbers are unavailable, use "par." or "pars." to denote paragraph numbers.
- For works with three or more authors, use "et al." after the first author's name.
- When citing a work within a larger source, provide the page number of your edition followed by a semicolon and the appropriate abbreviation (vol., bk., pt., ch., sec., or par.).
- Always consult the MLA Handbook or a reliable MLA citation generator for further guidance and specific examples.
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Citing legal documents
In your in-text citations, use article, amendment, and section numbers instead of page numbers. Convert any Roman numerals to Arabic numerals, such as changing "XIV" to "14". For example, you could write: ("Constitution of the United States," art. 1, sec. 4). When mentioning the Constitution in your text, simply refer to it as "the Constitution" without using italics or quotation marks.
If you're citing an online legal document, include the URL as part of the location. However, if your instructor asks you not to include the URL, then omit it. Instead of including "http://," use the permalink option if available, or provide the DOI if the source has one.
For an in-print book, the general format is:
> Author's Last Name, First Name. "Title of Book." Publisher, Year.
For an online book, the format is similar, with the addition of the website or database and a URL or other location indicator:
> Author's Last Name, First Name. "Title of Book." Publisher, Year, Website or Database Name, URL.
Remember to include a Works Cited list at the end of your document, providing full details of your sources. For online sources, the date of access is optional, but it is recommended for pages that may change frequently or lack a clear publication date.
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