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MLA Style Guide, 7th Edition: Pagination

This is a guide for MLA Style. It is based on the Modern Language Association of America's MLA Handbook for Writers of Research Papers, Seventh Edition.

General Rules for Pagination

  • When citing inclusive page numbers, shorten the second number when appropriate:

333-47   96-101

923-58   923-1,054

385-99   385-401

  • If no page numbers are given, use "n. pag."
  • If pages are not numbered consecutively, record the first page number and a plus sign (84+).

Books

If you are citing from a basic book or reference book, no pagination is necessary. Cite the page numbers in the text of the document.

Example:

 Brown, Thomas. A Year in the Life. Miami: Penguin. 2011. Print.

"Japan." The Encyclopedia Americana. 2004 ed. Print.

Anthology

For a chapter or article in an anthology give the inclusive page numbers of the part you are citing (the chapter, article, poem, etc.) not just the pages you used. Page numbers follow the publication date.

Example:

Allende, Isabel. "Toad's Mouth." Trans. Margaret Sayers Peden. A Hammock Beneath the Mangoes: Stories from Latin America. Ed. Thomas Colchie. New York: Plume, 1992. 83-88. Print.

Journal articles (5.4.2)

The inclusive page numbers cited should encompass the complete article, not just the pages you used.

Retain page numbers as they appear in the publication, as 15-28, v-vii, N37-N49, 230s-252s.

Example:

Landau, Haley. "Of Love and War." Critical Thinking 15.7 (2004): 218-32. Print.

Magazines 

Use the inclusive page numbers of the article, if given. If the article is not printed on consecutive pages, record the first page number and a plus sign as in 29+. Do not give volume and issue numbers.

Example:

Wood, Jason. "Spellbound." Sight and Sound Dec. 2005: 28-30. Print. 

Newspapers

Pagination differs in newspaper articles. Write the page numbers the same as they appear in the newspaper, most newspapers use a number and section letter (i.e. A1; 1H; B5-B7; 1D-2D, 7D). Include the section name if there is no section letter.

Example:

Roy, Rob, Joseph Garcia, and John Kennedy. (2005, July 12). "Dennis' Trail of Destruction - Panhandle Sustains Pockets of Destruction; At Least 4 Dead." The Orlando Sentinel 12 July 2005: A1+. Print.

Dwyer, Janet. "Locals Meet the Digital Age." Press Journal 20 June 2007, special ed., Luminaries sec.: 1+. Print.