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MLA Citation Guide (MLA 9th Edition): Government Documents

Formatting

Note: For your Works Cited list, all citations should be double spaced and have a hanging indent.

A "hanging indent" means that each subsequent line after the first line of your citation should be indented by 0.5 inches.

Tips

Access Date

In the 9th edition of the MLA Manual, accessed dates are no longer used for most entries.  The exception is if you have a web source without a publication date or which has been altered or removed.  This date will be added to the end of the entry. E.g. Accessed 23 July 2022.

Dates

The format of dates is: Day Month (shortened) Year. E.g. 5 Sept. 2012.

Whether to give the year alone or include a month and day depends on your source: write the full date as you find it there.

If no date is listed, omit it unless you can find that information available in a reliable source.

Titles

Capitalize the first letter of every important word in the title. You do not need to capitalize words such as: in, of, or an.

If there is a colon (:) in the title, include what comes after the colon (also known as the subtitle).

Getting Help - The Writing Center

The Writing Center [TWC] is located on the first floor of the Library in room L101. Writing center staff will be available to help with your essays, research, and more.  

At the Writing Center, they can help with any writing assignment for any class at any stage in the process. That means they can help you:

  • brainstorm a topic
  • refine your thesis
  • organize a rough draft
  • practice paraphrasing or incorporating source material
  • understand a citation style like MLA, APA, or Turabian
  • revise your work before final submission

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Government Document From a Website

Name of Government Department, Agency or Committee. Title of Document: Subtitle if Given. Edition if given and is not first edition, Publication Date, URL. 

Works Cited List Example

 United States, Department of Education. Tips for Helping Students Recovering from Traumatic Events. Sept. 2005.  www2.ed.gov/parents/academic/help/recovering/part.html. 
In-Text Citation Example

 (Department, Agency, or Committee)

 Example: (United States, Dept. of Education)

 Note: You can use a shortened form of the Department, Agency, or Committee by listing the first word or words of the full name.

Government Document in Print

Name of National, State or Local Government, Name of Government Department, Agency or Committee. Title of Document: Subtitle if Given. Edition if given and is not first edition, Publication Date.

Works Cited List Example

 United States, Department of Homeland Security, Citizenship, and Immigration Services. Welcome to the United States: A Guide for New Immigrants. Government Printing Office, 2007.
In-Text Citation Example

 (Department, Agency, or Committee page number)

 Example: (United States, Dept. of Homeland Security 4)

 Note: You can use a shortened form of the Department, Agency, or Committee by listing the first word or words of the full name.

Government Document From a Database

Name of National, State or Local Government, Name of Government Department, Agency or Committee. Title of Document: Subtitle if Given. Edition if given and is not first edition, Publication information, Publication Date. Database Name, URL. 

Works Cited List Example

 United States, Department of Health and Human Services, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. "CDC Awards $60 Million to Help States and Territories Battle Zika." CDC Press Release, 21 July 2016. SIRS Government Reporter, www.northeaststate.edu:3443:/login?url=sks.sirs.com/webapp/article?artno=0000384364&type=ART. 
In-Text Citation Example

 (Department, Agency, or Committee)

 Example: (United States, Dept. of Health and Human Services, Centers for Disease Control)

 Note: You can use a shortened form of the Department, Agency, or Committee by listing the first word or words of the full name.