Generally, when using the MLA style a reference in your paper requires only the name of the author (or authors) and the page number (with no punctuation between the two items).

References, whenever possible, should be placed at the end of a sentence (before the concluding punctuation). For example:

Alternatively, the author's surname may be integrated into the text, followed immediately by page number(s) in brackets.

If you need to reference a work written by four or more authors, write the first author's name followed by et al.

If the author's name is unknown you should give a shortened title of the article, book or webpage.

You may want to refer to a work that you haven't actually read but which has been summarised or discussed in somebody else's work.

In the list of references at the end of your work only include the reference where you have read about the original work. You cannot include details about the original study as you have not read it.

[Authors] [Title] [Edition] [Place of publication] [Publisher] [Year of publication] [Print]

Gombrich, E. H. The Story of Art. 13th ed. Oxford: Phaidon, 1978. Print.

Edited book
Kwint, Marius, Christopher Breward, and Jeremy Aynsley, eds. Material Memories. Oxford: Berg, 1999. Print.

More than 3 authors
Gibbons, Michael, et al. The New Production of Knowledge: The Dynamics of Science and Research in Contemporary Societies. London: Sage, 1994. Print.

No author
Encyclopedia of Paper-Folding Designs. Tokyo: P.I.E., 2001. Print.

Scholarly edition (eg a classic edited by someone other than the author)
Eliot, George. Daniel Deronda. Ed. Barbara Hardy. Harmondsworth: Penguin, 1967. Print.

Translation
Barthes, Roland. The Fashion System. Trans. Matthew Ward and Richard Howard. New York: Hill and Wang, 1983. Print.

[Chapter Author] [Chapter title] [Book title] [Editors] [Publisher and place of publication] [Year of publication] [Page numbers] [Print]

Frank, Barbara E. “Ceramics as Testaments of the Past: Field Research and Making Objects Speak.” Museums in the Material World. Ed. Simon Knell. London: Routledge, 2007. 60-64. Print.

When referencing e-books, include all the details as for a print book. You also need to include the name of the platform (MyiLibrary, Project Gutenberg, Google Books, etc) and the date you accessed the e-book.

[Author] [Book title] [Edition] [Publisher and place of publication] [Year of publication] [Platform] [Web] [Accessed date]

Lapsley, Robert and Michael Westlake. Film Theory: An Introduction. 2nd ed. Manchester: Manchester UP, 2006. MyiLibrary. Web. 12 Feb. 2012.

If you have used an e-book reader such as a Kindle, put "Kindle file" in your reference in place of "Web". If the place of publication has not been given, you can omit it from your reference. You do not need to include the accessed date.

Duncan, Carol. Civilizing Rituals: Inside Public Art Museums. Routledge-Taylor and Francis, 2005. Kindle file.

If the e-book is divided into stable numbered sections/chapters, the section/chapter number can be used in the citation. For example: ...... (Duncan, ch. 2).

Articles in print journals
[Author] [Title] [Journal] [Volume] [Year] [Pages] [Print]

Klepp, Ingun Grimstad. “Slimming Lines.” Fashion Theory: The Journal of Dress, Body & Culture. 15.4 (2011): 451-80. Print.

Magazine articles
For a weekly or biweekly magazine, include the day but leave out the volume and issue number.

Blackburn, Simon. "You are not helpful!" London Review of Books 29 Jan. 2009. 17-18. Print.

Articles in online collections
If you have accessed the journal article using an online source such as JSTOR or from a publisher's site such as Sage, you need to include this in your reference. You also need to include "Web" and the accessed date.

[Author] [Title] [Journal] [Volume] [Year] [Pages] [Online collection] [Web] [AccessDate]

Klepp, Ingun Grimstad. “Slimming Lines.” Fashion Theory: The Journal of Dress, Body & Culture. 15.4 (2011): 451-80. SAGE Journals. Web. 19 Feb. 2012.

[Author] [Title of page] [Name of website] [Year] [Web] [accessed date]

"Lady Susan". Jane Austin's Fiction Manuscripts, University of Oxford and King's College London, 2012. Web. 14 Mar. 2012.

Film
[Title] [Director] [Distributor] [Year of release] [Film]

Macbeth. Dir. Orson Wells. Republic Pictures, 1948. Film.

Films on DVD
[Title] [Director] [Distributor] [Year of release] [DVD]

The English Patient. Dir. Anthony Minghella. Buena Vista Home Video, 1996. DVD.

Television
[Title] [Channel or network] [Place of broadcast] [Date of Broadcast] [Television]

The Nuclear Age. ITV, 16 June 2009. Television.

Television programmes viewed on the Internet (eg iPlayer or Box of Broadcasts)

"Time & Entropy." Wonders of the Universe: Destiny. BBC2. 6 March 2011. Box of Broadcasts. Web. 15 Oct. 2011.

YouTube
[Name of person posting video] [Title of video] [Year video posted] [YouTube] [Web] [Accessed date]

Shakespeareanimated. BBC Shakespeare Animated Tales: A Midsummer Night's Dream, Part 2. 2008. YouTube. Web. 12 May 2011.

[Country or state] [Corporate author] [Title] [Place of publication and Publisher] [Year of publication] [Print]

Great Britain. Home Office. Criminal Statistics, England and Wales 2001. London: HMSO, 2002. Print.

Print newspaper article
[Author] [Title] [Newspaper] [Date] [Page number] [Print]

Godfrey, Miles. “Global Warming Blamed as Venomous Spider Nibbles Shocked Window Cleaner.” Argus [Brighton] 9 July 2008: 4. Print.

Online newspaper article
[Author] [Title] [Newspaper] [Date] [Web] [Accessed date]

Brown, Mark. "Read All About It: How Gilbert & George Stole the Headlines and Made Art". Guardian, 8 Mar. 2012. Web. 8 Mar. 2012.