Works Cited Formats

Works Cited Formats

Directions:  Use the following models to create your works cited for your comparative literary analysis paper.  List your sources alphabetically by the author’s last name.  Note:  I have headed each sample with the format (painting, book, song, etc.  You will not use these labels in your works cited.  They are here only to help you find the format you need.

Basic Format

The author’s name or a book with a single author's name appears in last name, first name format. The basic form for a book citation is:

Lastname, Firstname. Title of Book. City of Publication: Publisher, Year of Publication. Medium of Publication.

Book with One Author

Gleick, James. Chaos: Making a New Science. New York: Penguin, 1987. Print.

Painting:

Include the artist's name. Give the title of the artwork in italics. Provide the date of composition. If the date of composition is unknown, place the abbreviation n.d. in place of the date. Name the medium of the piece, and finally, provide the name of the institution that houses the artwork followed by the location of the institution.

Goya, Francisco. The Family of Charles IV. 1800. Oil on canvas. Museo del Prado, Madrid.

Movie:

List films by their title. Include the name of the director, the distributor, and the release year. If relevant, list performer names after the director’s name. Use the abbreviation perf. to head the list. End the entry with the appropriate medium of publication (e.g. DVD, VHS, Laser disc).

Ed Wood. Dir. Tim Burton. Perf. Johnny Depp, Martin Landau, Sarah Jessica Parker, Patricia Arquette. Touchstone, 1994. DVD.

Sound Recording (Songs):

List sound recordings in such a way that they can easily be found by readers. Generally, citations begin with the artist name. They might also be listed by composers (comp.) or performers (perf.). Otherwise, list composer and performer information after the album title.

Nirvana. "Smells Like Teen Spirit." Nevermind. Geffen, 1991. Audiocassette.

PDFs:

Determine the type of work to cite (e.g., article, image, sound recording) and cite appropriately. End the entry with the name of the digital format (e.g., PDF, JPEG file, Microsoft Word file, MP3). If the work does not follow traditional parameters for citation, give the author’s name, the name of the work, the date of creation, and the medium of publication. Use Digital file when the medium cannot be determined.

Bentley, Phyllis. “Yorkshire and the Novelist.” The Kenyon Review 30.4 (1968): 509-22. JSTOR. PDF file.