Purdue OWL MLA Formatting and Style Guide
"MLA style is most commonly used to cite sources within the language arts, cultural studies, and other humanities disciplines. This resource, revised according to the 9th edition of the MLA manual published in April 2021, offers examples for the general format of MLA research papers, in-text citations, and the Works Cited page. For more information, please consult the official MLA Handbook (9th ed.)."
Abbreviations for Months:
Jan. Feb. Mar. Apr. May June July Aug. Sept. Oct. Nov. Dec.
Sample Publisher Abbreviations:
Alfred A. Knopf, Inc. = Knopf
Cambridge University Press = Cambridge UP
Macmillan Publishing Co., Inc. = Macmillan
MIT Press = MIT P
Random House, Inc. = Random
Simon and Schuster, Inc. = Simon
St. Martin’s Press, Inc. = St. Martin’s
University of Chicago Press = U of Chicago P
Book
Nice, David. Prokofiev: From Russia to the West, 1891-1935. Yale UP, 2003.
Multivolume Books
Roberts, Peter Deane. Modernism in Russian Piano Music: Skriabin, Prokofiev, and Their Russian Contemporaries. Indiana UP, 1993. 2 vols.
Book with Editor or Compiler instead of Author
Fielden, Jan, editor. Composer’s Letters. Marginalia, 1994.
Translated Book
Prokofiev, Sergey. Sergey Prokofiev Diaries 1915-1923: Behind the Mask. Translated and annotated by Anthony Phillips, Cornell UP, 2013.
Dissertations
Rifkin, Deborah Anne. Tonal Coherence in Prokofiev’s Music: A Study of the Interrelationships of Structure, Motives, and Design. 2000. University of Rochester, PhD dissertation.
Rifkin, Deborah Anne. Tonal Coherence in Prokofiev’s Music: A Study of the Interrelationships of Structure, Motives, and Design. 2000. University of Rochester, PhD dissertation. ProQuest. Accessed 17 Sept. 2013.
Journal Article in Printed format
Holopov, Ûrij Nikolaevič. “Why Did Prokofiev Write the 'Classical Symphony'?” Trans. David Fanning. Three Oranges no. 13, May 2007, pp. 10-13.
Journal Article from JSTOR
Lockspeiser, Edward. "Prokofieff's Seventh Symphony." Tempo, no. 37, Autumn 1955, pp. 24-27. JSTOR. Accessed 17 Sept. 2013.
Rifkin, Deborah. “A Theory of Motives for Prokofiev’s Music.” Music Theory Spectrum, vol. 26, no. 2, Fall 2004, pp. 265-290. JSTOR. Accessed 23 Oct. 2013.
Newspaper Article in a Database
Eichler, Jeremy. “Matching Classical Mozart with ‘Classical’ Prokofiev.” New York Times, 15 Aug. 2003, p. E23. ProQuest. Accessed 23 Oct. 2013.
Websites
Rodda, Richard. “Symphony No. 1 in D Major, Op. 25, ‘Classical’.” The Kennedy Center, 2009, www.kennedy-center.org/calendar/?fuseaction=composition&composition_id=4176. Accessed 23 Oct. 2013.
If no publisher or sponsor of the site is listed, you can put N.p. If there is no date available, put n.d.
San Francisco Classical Voice. "Sergei Prokofiev." San Francisco Classical Voice, www.sfcv.org/learn/composer-gallery/prokofiev-sergei. Accessed 12 Sept. 2013.
Scores
Capitalize abbreviations No. and Op. in the title. Include the date of composition (it can be a range of years) after the title of the piece. Include medium of publication. If the score is part of a series, include the information about the series after the medium of publication. If there is no publisher listed, you can write N.p. No date, n.d.
Prokofiev, Sergey. Symphonie Classique: Op. 25. 1916-1917. Boosey, 1942.
Score with no date of publication:
Prokofieff, Sergei. Symphony No. 1: Classical Symphony, Op. 25. 1916-1917. Luck’s Music, n.d.
CD Recording
Write the title of the piece as it appears on the CD cover.
Prokofiev, Sergey. Symphony No. 1 in D, Op. 25 'Classical.' Perf. Scottish National Orchestra, Cond. Neeme Järvi, Chandos, 1985.
LP Recording
No collective title for the recording:
Prokofiev, Sergey. Classical Symphony, Op. 25. Perf. Philadelphia Orchestra, Cond. Eugene Ormandy, Columbia, 1973.
Collective Title:
Prokofiev, Sergey. “Classical Symphony in D Major, Op. 25.” All the Works for Orchestra. Perf. Orchestre national de l'ORTF, Paris, Cond. Jean Martinon, Vox, 1972.
Naxos Recording
Prokofiev, Sergey. Symphony No. 1, 'Classical.' Ukraine National Symphony Orchestra, Cond. Theodore Kuchar, Naxos, 1997. Naxos. Accessed 17 Sept. 2013.
Liner Notes
Goodwin, Noël. Liner notes. Symphony No. 1 in D, Op. 25 'Classical.' Music by Sergey Prokofiev, Perf. Scottish National Orchestra, Cond. Neeme Järvi, Chandos, 1985.
Online Encyclopedia Entry
List the author first if there is one. This example does not have an author.
“passacaglia.” Encyclopedia Britannica, www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/445625/passacaglia. Accessed 23 Oct. 2013.
Grove Music Online / Oxford Music Online
. "Prokofiev, Sergey." Grove Music Online, Oxford Music Online. Accessed 30 Oct. 2013.