Wayne G. Basler Library: MLA Citation Guide (MLA 9th Edition): Images, Charts, Graphs, Maps & Tables

Is It a Figure or a Table?

There are two types of material you can insert into your assignment: figures and tables.

A figure is a photo, image, map, graph, or chart.

A table is a table of information.

For a visual example of each, see the figure and table to the right.

Still need help?

For more information on citing figures in MLA, see Purdue OWL.

Tips

Reproducing Figures and Tables

Reproducing happens when you copy or recreate a photo, image, chart, graph, or table that is not your original creation. If you reproduce one of these works in your assignment, you must create a note (or "caption") underneath the photo, image, chart, graph, or table to show where you found it. If you do not refer to it anywhere else in your assignment, you do not have to include the citation for this source in a Works Cited list.

Citing Information From a Photo, Image, Chart, Graph, or Table

If you refer to information from the photo, image, chart, graph, or table but do not reproduce it in your paper, create a citation both in-text and on your Works Cited list.

If the information is part of another format, for example a book, magazine article, encyclopedia, etc., cite the work it came from. For example if information came from a table in an article in National Geographic magazine, you would cite the entire magazine article.

Figure Numbers

The word figure should be abbreviated to Fig. Each figure should be assigned a figure number, starting with number 1 for the first figure used in the assignment. E.g., Fig. 1.

Title

Images may not have a set title. If this is the case give a description of the image where you would normally put the title.

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

Schedule an Appointment

Figure (Photo, Image, Graph, or Chart) Inserted Into a Research Paper

Fig. X. Description of the figure from: citation for source figure was found in.

The caption for a figure begins with a description of the figure, then the complete Works Cited list citation for the source the figure was found in. For example, if it was found on a website, cite the website. If it was in a magazine article, cite the magazine article.

Label your figures starting at 1.

Information about the figure (the caption) is placed directly below the image in your assignment.

If the image appears in your paper the full citation appears underneath the image (as shown below) and does not need to be included in the Works Cited List. If you are referring to an image but not including it in your paper you must provide an in-text citation and include an entry in the Works Cited List.

Example:

Fig. 1. Man exercising from: Green, Annie. "Yoga: Stretching Out." Sports Digest, 8 May 2006, p. 22.

Example:

Fig. 2. Annakiki skirt from: Cheung, Pauline. "Short Skirt S/S/ 15 China Womenswear Commercial Update." WGSN.

Image Reproduced from Google Maps

Note: This is a Seneca Libraries recommendation.

Fig. X. Description of the figure from: "City, Province." Map, Google Maps. Accessed Access Date.

Example:

Fig. 1. Map of Newnham Campus, Seneca College from: "Toronto, Ontario." Map, Google Maps. Accessed 23 Apr. 2014.

Table Inserted Into a Research Paper

Source: Citation for source table was found in.

Above the table, label it beginning at Table 1, and add a description of what information is contained in the table.

The caption for a table begins with the word Source, then the complete Works Cited list citation for the source the table was found in. For example, if it was found on a website, cite the website. If it was in a journal article, cite the journal article.

Information about the table (the caption) is placed directly below the table in your assignment.

If the table is not cited in the text of your assignment, you do not need to include it in the Works Cited list.

Example:

Table 1

Variables in determining victims and aggressors

Source: Mohr, Andrea. "Family Variables Associated With Peer Victimization." Swiss Journal of Psychology, vol. 65, no. 2, 2006, pp. 107-116, Psychology Collection, doi: http://dx.doi.org/10.1024/1421-0185.65.2.107.

Artwork From a Book

When you refer to a photographic reproduction of an artwork, the citation is made up of two parts:

Part 1: Lists the original artist's name, the name of the work, and the date the work was created.
Part 2: Cites where you found the reproduction of the work such as a book. The example below is for an image taken from a book with a single author. For more information on how to cite books, look at the How do I Cite: Books section of this site.

Artist's Last Name, First Name. Title of Work: Subtitle if Any. Year, Location of Work. Book Title, by Author's Last Name, First Name, Publisher Name often shortened, Year of publication, p. number.

Works Cited List Example

Da Vinci, Leonardo. Last Supper. 1498, Santa Maria della Grazie, Milan. Great Paintings of the Western World, by Gallup, Alison, et al., Barnes & Noble, 1998, p. 223.

In-Text Citation Example

(Author's Last Name Page Number)

Example: (Da Vinci 223)

Artwork From an Online Source

When you refer to a photographic reproduction of an artwork, the citation is made up of two parts:

Part 1: Lists the original artist's name, the name of the work, and the date the work was created.
Part 2: Cites where you found the reproduction of the work such as a website. The example below is for an image taken from a webpage written by two authors. For more information on how to cite websites, look at the How do I Cite: Websites section of this site.

If you refer to the information from the artwork but do not reproduce it in your paper, create a citation both in-text and on your Works Cited list.

Artist's Last Name, First Name. Title of Work: Subtitle if Any. Year, Location of Work. "Title of Webapge," by Author's Last Name, First Name. Title of Website, Publisher or Sponsoring Organization, Date of publication or last modified date, URL. Accessed access date

Note: Date of access is now optional in MLA 8th edition. If no publication date is included, we recommend including the date you last accessed the site.

Works Cited List Example

Da Vinci, Leonardo. Last Supper. 1498, Santa Maria della Grazie, Milan. "The Last Supper," by Harris, Beth and Steven Zucker, Khan Academy, 2015, www.khanacademy.org/humanities/ap-art-history/early-europe-and-colonial-americas/renaissance-art-europe-ap/a/leonardo-last-supper. Accessed 14 July 2018.

In-Text Citation Example

(Author's Last Name)

Example: (Da Vinci)

If you place the artwork in your paper, you must label the figure. The caption should be the Works Cited list citation for the source the figure was found in. For example, if it was found on a website, cite the website.