How to Cite a Story in an Anthology (MLA Style)
MLA Guide to Referencing a Short Work in a Collection or Anthology
Jan 4, 2009
Citing a single work (story, essay or article) within a collection or anthology? Many parts of the reference are similar to the way in which the collection itself is cited, but there are significant differences in the MLA style.
To cite a collection itself, list the name(s) of the editor(s), followed by the title of the collection or anthology which should be underlined or italicized. Standard publication information then follows. The template is:
Name(s) of Editor(s), ed(s). Title of Collection. City of Publication: Publisher, Year. Pages.
- McCallum, Rachelle, ed. Frontier: A Collection of New Canadian Short Stories. Maple Ridge, BC: Polar Expressions, 2008.
Compare that to a citation for a single work within a larger volume, where the basic template is:
Author Last name, First name. "Title of Short Work." Title of Anthology. Ed. Editor's Name(s). Place of Publication: Publisher, Year. Pages.
- Gray, Thomas Alan. "One Day Winner." Frontier: A Collection of New Canadian Short Stories. Ed. Rachelle McCallum. Maple Ridge, BC: Polar Expressions, 2008. 36.
Author
The name of the author of the short work is listed as it is given in the actual collection. The order is Surname, Given Names(s). The surname is separated from given names or initials with a comma, and followed by a period. If initials are used, a second period is not necessary (however, some automated citation sites will add one).
- Shaw, Bernard.
- Eliot, T. S.
If there are two or more authors (uncommon for short fiction or poetry, but frequent for articles), only the first name is reversed. Names are separated by commas and the final name ends with a period.
- Dominique, Richard and Frieda Frampton.
- Dominique, Richard, Frieda Frampton and Sheldon Gillespie.
Title of Short Work
Next comes the title of the short work (story, essay, poem, or article). The title should be followed by a period and enclosed in quotation marks. Note that the period is within the quotation marks.
- "Living with Children."
- "Silent Strength."
Title of Larger Work
The title of the collection comes next. This title should be underlined (preferred) or italicized, and is followed with a period. Since Suite 101 does not support underlining, the title must be in italics.
- Anthology of Aboriginal Art.
- Best Short Stories of 2007.
Editor(s) Name(s)
After the collection title comes the abbreviation Ed. and the name(s) of the editor(s) or Comp. and the name(s) of compiler(s). If there are two or more names, list them in the order in which they appear on the title page of the collection. Names of editors or compilers are not inverted. With two or more names, the abbreviation is still Ed. (edited by) not Eds, and likewise for Comp (Compiled by).
- Ed. James Beringer.
- Comp. Richard Fenwick
- Ed. Donna Flaherty and Justine Simpson
Publishing Information
Publishing information is normally found on the cover page (and its back) and includes
- City of Publication - If the place of publication is not a major city, include the state or province symbol. This must be followed by a colon. Chicago: New Age, 2004. or New Westminster, BC: Golden Grill, 2007.
- Publisher - If the publisher is well-known, use a shortened form of the publisher's name: New York: Morrow, 2003 rather than New York: William Morrow & Company, 2003. If the publisher is a minor house, give the full name. The publisher name is followed by a comma.
- Year - This is the year of publication of the collection or anthology, followed by a period.
Pages
- Pages - the page or pages on which the short work appears.
- Show the range with an en dash and no spaces (240–243 or 240–3).
Finish Up
- Check that all parts of the citation are present.
- Check spelling especially of names
- Check punctuation
This step-by-step approach will help you correctly cite a short work from a collection or anthology and add authority to your writing.
References
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