Skip to Main Content

MLA 9th

Encyclopaedias and Dictionaries

General works cited tips for encyclopaedias and dictionaries

  • Omit the publisher if it is the same as the database.
  • Omit the edition if it is the first.
  • For encyclopaedia entries, the "author" is the author of the article itself.
  • Use the page range of an entry if available, where indicated.

In-text citation

One author

Format

(Author's surname Page number)

Example

(Kaemmer 19)


OR


Kaemmer's definition entry on...(19)

No author

Format

("Title of article" Page number)

Example

("Pastoral" 234)


OR


Pastoral is defined as...(234).

Tips

  • Go to Getting started > In-text citation to view detailed information on in-text citation using MLA, including other examples such as multiple authors and translators. Refer to this section to determine when to include/exclude a page(s) number, as it's not always necessary.
  • For dictionaries, include the assigned entry number or letter if one is provided.

Entry in an encyclopaedia with no editor (author provided)

Works cited

Format

Print

Last name, First name. "Article title." Title of work, edition, volume number (if applicable), Publisher, year of publication, page range of entry.

Online

Last name, First name. "Article title." Title of work, edition, volume number (if applicable), Publisher, year of publication, page range of entry (if provided). Title of database or website, DOI or URL.

Example

Online

Klein, Peter. "Epistemology." Routledge Encyclopedia of Philosophy, 1998. Routledge, https://doi.org/10.4324/9780415249126-P059-1.

Entry in an edited encyclopaedia (author's name provided)

Works cited

Format

Print

Last Name, First Name. "Article title." Title of work, edited by First Name Last Name, edition, volume number (if applicable), Publisher, year of publication, page range of entry.

Online

Online: Last Name, First Name. "Article title." Title of work, edited by First Name Last Name, edited by First name Last name, edition, volume number (if applicable), Publisher, year of publication, page range of entry (if provided). Title of database or website, DOI or URL.

Example

Print

Kaemmer, John E. "Music of the Shona of Zimbabwe." Garland Encyclopedia of World Music, edited by Ruth M. Stone, vol. 1, Routledge, 1997. p. 19.

Online

Mulvey-Roberts, Marie. "Shelley, Mary Wollstonecraft." Encyclopedia of Literary Romanticism, edited by Andrew Maunder, Facts on File, 2010, pp. 400-04. ProQuest, ebookcentral.proquest.com/lib/monash/reader.action?docID=592613&ppg=417.

Entry in an encyclopaedia (no author)

Works cited

Format

Print

"Article title." Title of work, edited by editor's First Name Last Name, edition, volume number, Publisher, year of publication, page range of entry.

Online

"Article title." Title of work, edited by First Name Last Name, edition, volume number, Publisher, year of publication, page range of entry (if provided). Title of database or website, DOI or URL.

Example

Online

"Angelou, Maya." Encyclopedia of African-American Writing, edited by Bryan Conn and Tara Bynum, 3rd ed., Grey Horse, 2018, pp. 19-21. ProQuest, ebookcentral.proquest.com/lib/monash/reader.action?docID=5570717&ppg=39.

"John Monash." Wikipedia: The Free Encyclopedia, Wikimedia Foundation, 31 Oct. 2023, en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Monash. Accessed 25 Nov. 2023.

Tips

  • Where there is no author, begin by listing the entry as the title.
  • For a reference that is frequently updated, such as Wikipedia, include the date you accessed it, rather than the date of publication - see section 5.14 of the MLA Handbook. Also, when consulting a source such as Wikipedia, it's recommended that you view the history of the entry.

Encyclopaedia (whole work)

Works cited

Format

Print

Last Name, First Name. Title of work. Edition, Publisher, year of Publication. Number of volumes.

Online

Last Name, First Name. Title of work. Edition, Publisher, year of Publication. Number of volumes. Title of database or website, DOI or URL.

Example

Print

Terrace, Vincent. Encyclopedia of Television Shows 1925 through 2010. 2nd ed., McFarland, 2011. 3 vols.

Online

Marrone, Gaetana. Encyclopedia of Italian Literary Studies. Routledge, 2007. 2 vols. Taylor and Francis, https://doi.org/10.4324/9780203943540.

Tips

  • Only use this format to cite an encyclopaedia as a whole.
  • If the encyclopaedia has more than one volume, include the total number of volumes.

Specific definition entry

Works cited

Format

Print

"Word defined." Title of work, edition, Publisher, year of publication, page number.

Online

"Word defined." Title of work, edition, Publisher, year of publication, URL.

Example

Print

"Pastoral." Macquarie Dictionary, 4th ed., Macmillan Publishers Australia, 2005. p. 234.

Online

"Pastoral." Macquarie Dictionary Online, Macmillan Publishers Australia, 2023, www-macquariedictionary-com-au.ap1.proxy.openathens.net/features/word/search/?search_word_type=Dictionary&word=pastoral+.

Tips

  • When referring to a term that has more than one definition, specify the entry number you are using - for example, (1) for the first entry, (2) for the second entry, etc.

Dictionary (whole work)

Works cited

Format

Print

Title of Dictionary, Edition, Publisher, Year of Publication.

Online

Title of Dictionary, Edition, Publisher, Year of Publication, Title of the database or website, DOI or URL.

Example

Macquarie Dictionary, Macmillan Publishers Australia, 2023, www.macquariedictionary.com.au/. Shorter Oxford English Dictionary, 3rd ed.,1944.

Tips

  • Only use this format to cite a dictionary as a whole.