How to cite a magazine in mla format

Q: How do you cite a magazine?

Authors Last Name, First Name Middle Name or Initial. Title of Article.” Name of Magazine, volume number, issue number, date of online publication, page numbers.

Q: How do you cite a magazine article in an essay?

Cite by listing the articles author, putting the title of the article in quotations marks, and italicizing the periodical title. Follow with the date of publication. Remember to abbreviate the month.

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Consider your source's credibility. Ask these questions:
Contributor/Author
How to Cite a Journal Article in MLA | Format & Examples
Citing an online journal article
Citing an article in a database
Articles in special issue journals
Frequently asked questions about MLA style
How DOI cite an online magazine article in MLA?
How do you cite a magazine?
How do you cite a magazine article in an essay?

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Consider your source's credibility. Ask these questions:

Contributor/Author

Has the author written several articles on the topic, and do they have the credentials to be an expert in their field?
Can you contact them? Do they have social media profiles?
Have other credible individuals referenced this source or author?
Book: What have reviews said about it?

Publisher

What do you know about the publisher/sponsor? Are they well-respected?
Do they take responsibility for the content? Are they selective about what they publish?
Take a look at their other content. Do these other articles generally appear credible?

Bias

Does the author or the organization have a bias? Does bias make sense in relation to your argument?
Is the purpose of the content to inform, entertain, or to spread an agenda? Is there commercial intent?
Are there ads?

Currency

When was the source published or updated? Is there a date shown?
Does the publication date make sense in relation to the information presented to your argument?
Does the source even have a date?

Reproduced

Was it reproduced? If so, from where?
If it was reproduced, was it done so with permission? Copyright/disclaimer included?

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Citation Machine® uses the 9th ed. of MLA, 7th ed. of APA, and 17th ed. of Chicago (9th ed. Turabian).

How to Cite a Journal Article in MLA | Format & Examples

Published on April 16, 2019 by Courtney Gahan. Revised on June 16, 2022.

An MLA Works Cited entry for a journal article contains the author(s); article title; journal name; volume and issue; month and year; page range; and a DOI if accessed online. In the in-text citation, include the author’s last name and the page number.

Generate accurate MLA citations with Scribbr

Citing an online journal article

When citing an online journal article, first look for a DOI, as this is more stable and less likely to change than a URL. A DOI should be formatted as a full link beginning with “https://”, even if not listed as such on the page with the article.

Ahmed, Sara. “A Phenomenology of Whiteness.” Feminist Theory, vol. 8, no. 2, Aug. 2007, pp. 149–168. https://doi.org/10.1177/1464700107078139.

If there is no DOI, you can add a URL instead. If the article is in PDF form, you can optionally note this in your reference.

Citing an article in a database

For sources that you accessed via a database, include the database name along with the DOI or permanent URL.

Geidel, Molly. “Building the Counterinsurgent Girl.” Feminist Studies, vol. 44, no. 3, 2018, pp. 635–665. JSTOR, www.jstor.org/stable/10.15767/feministstudies.44.3.0635.

In MLA style, up to two authors are included in citations. List them in the order they appear in the source, separated by commas, and don’t invert the second author’s name.

MLA journal citation: 2 authors

MLA format	Author last name, First name, and Author first name last name. “Article Title.” Journal Name, vol. Volume, no. Issue, Month Year, Page range. DOI or URL.
MLA Works Cited entry	Eve, Martin Paul, and Joe Street. “The Silicon Valley Novel.” Literature and History, vol. 27, no. 1, May 2018, pp. 81–97. https://doi.org/10.1177/0306197318755680.
MLA in-text citation	(Eve and Street 84)

If an article has three or more authors, include only the first author’s name, followed by “et al.”

MLA journal citation: 3+ authors

MLA format	Author last name, First name, et al. “Article Title.” Journal Name, vol. Volume, no. Issue, Month Year, Page range. DOI or URL.
MLA Works Cited entry	Steffen, Will, et al. “The Trajectory of the Anthropocene: The Great Acceleration.” The Anthropocene Review, vol. 2, no. 1, Jan. 2015, pp. 81–98. https://doi.org/10.1177/2053019614564785.
MLA in-text citation	(Will et al. 92)

Articles in special issue journals

Special issue journals focus on a specific theme, are written by a specific group of authors, or are compiled from a special event.

In these cases, include the special issue name, the phrase “special issue of,” and the journal’s regular name. If the special issue lists editors or other contributors, their names should also be included.

Font, Sarah. A., and Jamie Cage. “Dimensions of Physical Punishment and Their Associations with Children’s Cognitive Performance and School Adjustment.” Highlighting Education and Learning in the Context of Childhood Abuse, Neglect, and Related Stressors, special issue of Child Abuse and Neglect, edited by Shanta Rishi Dube, vol. 75, Jan. 2018, pp. 29–40. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.chiabu.2017.06.008.

Frequently asked questions about MLA style

Are article titles italicized in MLA?

The title of an article is not italicized in MLA style, but placed in quotation marks. This applies to articles from journals, newspapers, websites, or any other publication. Use italics for the title of the source where the article was published. For example:

“A Complete Guide to MLA Citation” is published on the Scribbr website.

Use the same formatting in the Works Cited entry and when referring to the article in the text itself.

How do I cite information from a footnote in MLA style?

Some source types, such as books and journal articles, may contain footnotes (or endnotes) with additional information. The following rules apply when citing information from a note in an MLA in-text citation:

To cite information from a single numbered note, write “n” after the page number, and then write the note number, e.g. (Smith 105n2)
To cite information from multiple numbered notes, write “nn” and include a range, e.g. (Smith 77nn1–2)
To cite information from an unnumbered note, write “un” after the page number, with a space in between, e.g. (Jones 250 un)

Cite this Scribbr article

If you want to cite this source, you can copy and paste the citation or click the “Cite this Scribbr article” button to automatically add the citation to our free Citation Generator.

Gahan, C. (2022, June 16). How to Cite a Journal Article in MLA | Format & Examples. Scribbr. Retrieved November 19, 2022, from https://www.scribbr.com/mla/journal-citation/

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How DOI cite an online magazine article in MLA?

An Article in a Web Magazine Provide the author name, article name in quotation marks, title of the web magazine in italics, publisher name, publication date, URL, and the date of access.

How do you cite a magazine?

Author's Last Name, First Name Middle Name or Initial. “Title of Article.” Name of Magazine, volume number, issue number, date of online publication, page numbers.

How do you cite a magazine article in an essay?

Cite by listing the article's author, putting the title of the article in quotations marks, and italicizing the periodical title. Follow with the date of publication. Remember to abbreviate the month.