how to cite a graph in an essay mla

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MLA Citation Guide (MLA 9th Edition): Charts, Graphs, Images, and Tables

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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, visit  Purdue OWL .

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.

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.

A figure refers to a chart, graph, image or photo. This is how to cite figures.

The caption for a figure begins with a description of the figure followed by the complete 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.

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

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

Images: More Examples

In the works cited examples below, the first one is seeing the artwork in person, the second is accessing the image from a website, the third is accessing it through a database, and the last example is using an image from a book.

Viewing Image in Person

Hopper, Edward. Nighthawks . 1942, Art Institute of Chicago.

Accessing Image from a Website

Hopper, Edward. Nighthawks . 1942. Art Institute of Chicago, www.artic.edu/aic/collections/artwork/111628 . 

Note : Notice the period after the date in the example above, rather than a comma as the other examples use. This is because the date refers to the painting's original creation, rather than to its publication on the website. It is considered an "optional element." 

Accessing Image from a Database

Hopper, Edward. Nighthawks . 1942, Art Institute of Chicago.  Artstor , https://library.artstor.org/#/asset/AWSS35953_35953_41726475 .

Using an Image from a Book

Hopper, Edward. Nighthawks . 1942, Art Institute of Chicago. Staying Up Much Too Late: Edward Hopper's Nighthawks and the Dark Side of the American Psyche , by Gordon Theisen, Thomas Dunne Books, 2006, p. 118.

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.

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.

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Citation guides

All you need to know about citations

How to cite a graph in MLA

It is common practice to cite the work the graph has been published in and provide the page number in the in-text citation. In case the graph has not been published in a journal article, book, or book chapter, but is rather found online take a look at our MLA photo citation guides below.

MLA citation format for a graph

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To cite a graph in a reference entry in MLA style 8th edition include the following elements:

• Author: Give the last name and name as presented in the source (e. g. Watson, John). For two authors, reverse only the first name, followed by ‘and’ and the second name in normal order (e. g. Watson, John, and John Watson). For three or more authors, list the first name followed by et al. (e. g. Watson, John, et al.)
• Title of the graph: Titles are italicized when independent. If part of a larger source add quotation marks and do not italize.
• Year of publication: Give the year of publication as presented in the source.
• Title of website: If the name of an academic press contains the words University and Press, use UP e.g. Oxford UP instead of Oxford University Press. If the word "University" doesn't appear, spell out the Press e.g. MIT Press.
• URL: Copy URL in full from your browser, include http:// or https:// and do not list URLs created by shortening services.

Here is the basic format for a reference list entry of a graph in MLA style 8th edition:

Author . Title of the graph . Year of publication . Title of website , URL .

• Author(s) of the book: Give the last name and name as presented in the source (e. g. Watson, John). For two authors, reverse only the first name, followed by ‘and’ and the second name in normal order (e. g. Watson, John, and John Watson). For three or more authors, list the first name followed by et al. (e. g. Watson, John, et al.)
• Title of the book:
• Publisher: If the name of an academic press contains the words University and Press, use UP e.g. Oxford UP instead of Oxford University Press. If the word "University" doesn't appear, spell out the Press e.g. MIT Press.

Author(s) of the book . Title of the book Publisher , Year of publication .

Take a look at our works cited examples that demonstrate the MLA style guidelines in action:

Graph citation from a digital source

Masoud, Carla . Social media usage in young adults . 2017 . Psych Publish , psychology-now.org/graphs/social-media-stats/ .

Graph citation from a book

Devito, Roberto . Cheese consumption in the USA . Chicago Publishing , 2021 .

How to do an in-text citation for a graph in MLA

When citing a graph in-text using the MLA style, you'll use the surname of the creator followed by the page number in parentheses.

In practice, you can expect your graph's in-text citation to be in this format (Author, Page Number) .

If you were to cite a graph from a book, the graph should be cited in-text using the creator's name, along with the corresponding year of publication.

Citation of a graph from a book on page 193

Survey showed that 80% of high-school students were sleep-deprived (Eid, 193) .

If the creator is not mentioned, you can place the graph's title or description instead.

Citation of a graph from a source with no creator

Zinc was found to be one of the most prevalent heavy metals in the Nile River ("Levels of heavy metals in the Nile River", 198) .

If the graph is found online, do not list a page number.

Citation of a graph found online

It is estimated that 60% of start-ups go bankrupt in the first 10 years (Eid) .

This citation style guide is based on the MLA Handbook (9 th edition).

More useful guides

• Citing Images in MLA 8th Edition
• MLA Style Center Citing online images

More great BibGuru guides

• MLA: how to cite a book chapter
• AMA: how to cite a software manual
• MLA: how to cite a PhD thesis

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MLA Citation Guide (MLA 9th Edition): Images, Infographics, Maps, Charts, & Tables

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Reproducing vs Citing Images

Reproducing vs. just citing .

This happens if you only cite information from an image, infographic, chart, table, or graph and do not reproduce it in your paper. If you're only citing information from an image, infographic, Chart, Table or Graph:

• Provide an in-text citation. Use the citation format of the source where the image is found. (e.g., if you find the image on a website, use the in-text citation of a website). 
• Cite the image in your Works Cited List. Use the citation format of the source where the image is found. (e.g., if you found the image on a website, cite the website). 

Reproducing happens when you copy or recreate an image, infographic, table, graph, or chart 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. 

Remember that if you are citing information or images in a digital assignment (PowerPoint, website, infographic, etc.), please see the Citing Sources in Digital Assignments guide. 

Example: Reproducing a table

Inserting a table you reproduced.

• Start by adding a label for your table (e.g., Table 1, bolded and aligned to the left) followed by a description of what information is contained in the table. 
• Below the table, add the word Adapted from:  followed by the full citation for the source where you found the information. For example, if you found the information on a website, use the Works Cited list citation format for citing a website. For sources with individual authors, do not invert the first and last names at the beginning of the citation.
• If the table is not cited in the text of your assignment, you do not need to include it in your Works Cited list.  

Variables in determining victims and aggressors

Adapted from: Andrea Mohr. "Family Variables Associated With Peer Victimization." Swiss Journal of Psychology,  vol .  65, no. 2, 2006, pp. 111.  Gale Psychology Collection ,  https://doi.org/10.1024/1421-0185.65.2.107 . PDF download. 

Your Photographs & Images

If you reproduce your own photograph or image in your coursework, you do not need to cite it. However, Seneca Libraries recommends adding a figure note beneath the image that reads "Photograph by author" or "Image by author."

Example: Reproducing a table from multiple sources

Inserting a table you adapted from multiple sources.

• Start by adding a label for your table (e.g., Table 1, bolded) followed by a description of what information is contained in the table. 
• Below the table, add the word Adapted from:  followed by the full citation for the sources where you found the information. For example, if you found the information on a website, use the Works Cited list citation format for citing a website. For sources with individual authors, do not invert the first and last names at the beginning of the citation.
• List your sources in alphabetical order by the author's last name. Separate each source with a semi-colon (;).

Total downloads (in millions) of communication apps Discord, Telegram and WeChat through Apple App store and Google Play store in September 2020

Adapted from: Airnow. "Leading communication apps in the Google Play Store worldwide in September 2020, by number of downloads." Statista , Oct. 2020.; Airnow. "Leading social networking apps in the Apple App Store worldwide in September 2020, by number of downloads." Statista , Oct. 2020. 

Example: Reproducing an image

Inserting an image reproduced from a source.

If you are recreating visual material which is not a table (e.g., infographic, maps, photo, graph):

• Under the image, add a figure number (e.g., Fig. 1.) and short description. 
• Add the full citation after the description. Follow the citation template for your source. For example, if you're citing an infographic from a website, use the template for citing infographics posted on a website. For sources with individual authors, do not invert the first and last names at the beginning of the citation.
• If the image is not cited in the text of your assignment, you do not need to include it in your Works Cited list.  

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

Fig. 2. Pauline Cheung. "Short Skirt S/S/ 15 China Womenswear Commercial Update." WGSN , 4 June 2016, p. 2. 

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Citing tables, figures & images: MLA (9th ed.) citation guide

This guide is based on the MLA Handbook for Writers of Research Papers, 9th ed. and provides selected citation examples for common types of sources.

For more detailed information, please consult the full manual: available in print and online .

Referring to a table/figure/image, and inserting a table/figure/image have different guidelines; both will be covered in this section.

See pages 6-8 (section 1.7) in the Handbook for more information on citing tables and illustrations. 

For information on how to cite images on social media sites, see Citing websites and other online media .

Referring to visual materials

To refer to a table, figure, image etc. that is within a larger work, cite using normal MLA formatting with author, title, etc.

For example, if you are citing an image from an article, your works cited would be for the entire article. The in-text citation should clearly indicate the work you are referring to.

Image of a painting found in an edited print book

Parenthetical (in-text).

Evidence of an abstract portrait can be seen Lassnig’s 1948 painting The Reader (54).

Works cited

Lassnig, M. The Reader. Maria Lassnig - ways of being , edited by Beatrice von Bormann, Antonia Hoerschelmann, and Klaus Albrecht Schröder, 1948, p.54.

Table, found in an online journal article

It is within table 1 that we can see the breakdown of how big the sample size was per year (Riddell and Riddell 337).

Riddell, Chris, and W. Craig Riddell. “Interpreting Experimental Evidence in the Presence of Postrandomization Events: A Reassessment of the Self-Sufficiency Project.” Journal of Labor Economics , vol. 38, no. 4, Oct. 2020, pp. 873–914. https://doi.org/10.1086/706513.

Inserting visual materials into your work

According to the MLA guidelines, the use of tables/images/visual material in the body of your paper should be used sparingly . Determine if this medium will best suit your purposes and consider that an image is not a substitute for an explanation, but rather something that may enhance the reading of your paper. 

Place tables and illustrations as close as possible to the related text. Here are the key rules for inserting tables and other visual materials in your text:

 Tables: 

• Above the table, label and number the table (e.g. Table 1, Table 2) on its own line
• Capitalize the title and the table.
• Place the source of the table and any notes in a caption immediately below the table, and double space throughout. 
• Do not capitalize the word ‘table’ when referring to it in your writing.

 Images and other visuals:

• E.g. a picture, map, diagram, graph, chart, etc.
• Musical illustrations are an exception: they are labeled "Ex" (short for example) instead of “Fig".
• Include a caption below the image that includes key information, or is a full citation.

 Captions:

• May be the full citation, or it can be shortened to the key information (using commas); the full citation can be found in the works cited list.
• If you provide full bibliographic details, punctuate the caption like a works cited entry, but do not invert the name of the author.
• If the caption provides complete information about the source and it is not cited anywhere else in the text, no works cited entry is needed.

An inserted table

In the 1992 sample, (see table 1) 9601 people were interviewed, a number which decreased to 6309 people in 2006 (Platt et al., 2010).

Table in body or paper

Sample Attrition by Year and Number of Interviews Completed, for Panel A and B

Alyssa Platt et al. “Alcohol-Consumption Trajectories and Associated Characteristics Among Adults Older Than Age 50.” Journal of Studies on Alcohol and Drugs , vol. 71, no. 2, Mar. 2010, pp. 169–79, table 1, https://doi.org/10.15288/jsad.2010.71.169.

Platt, Alyssa et al. “Alcohol-Consumption Trajectories and Associated Characteristics Among Adults Older Than Age 50.” Journal of Studies on Alcohol and Drugs, vol. 71, no. 2, Mar. 2010, pp. 169–79, table 1, https://doi.org/10.15288/jsad.2010.71.169.

Photo found online

As illustrated in Three Planets Dance over La Silla (Beletsky), the phenomenon of 'syzygy' is when celestial bodies align in the sky (see fig. 1).

Image in body of paper 

Fig. 1. Yuri Beletsky, Three Planets Dance over La Silla , photograph, 2013.

Works cited 

Beletsky, Yuri. Three Planets Dance over La Silla. European Southern Observatory , 3 June 2013, www.eso.org/public/images/potw1322a/. Accessed 22 Mar. 2019.

Image with full bibliographic information in the caption

Fig. 1 Fred Davis, Haida Angel. Topographies : Aspects of Recent B.C. Art , edited by Grant Arnold, Monika Kin Gagnon, Doreen Jensen. Vancouver Art Gallery, 1996.

Still using MLA 8?

We've now updated our citation guides to MLA 9, but you can still use the printable version of our MLA 8 citation guide. 

Need more help? Check our Ask a Librarian services .

MLA Citation Guide (MLA 9th edition) CGS

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Citing vs. Reproducing

Citing images, charts, tables & graphs.

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Citing Information from an Image, Infographic, Chart, Table or Graph (not reproducing it)

This happens if you only cite information from an image, infographic, chart, table, or graph and do not reproduce it in your paper. If you're only citing information from an image, infographic, Chart, Table or Graph:

• Provide an in-text citation. Use the citation format of the source where the image is found. (e.g., if you find the image on a website, use the in-text citation of a website). 
• Cite the image in your Works Cited List. Use the citation format of the source where the image is found. (e.g., if you found the image on a website, cite the website). 

Reproducing Images, Infographics, Charts, Tables & Graphs ​

Reproducing happens when you copy or recreate an image, infographic, table, graph, or chart 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. 

• Stock Photos and Images from Websites
• Your Photos & Images
• Inserting an Image from a Library Database

Inserting an Image Reproduced from a Book

• Reproducing Tables

Inserting Stock Photos and Images from Websites

If you are including stock photos (e.g., from Flickr, Pixabay, Unsplash) or images from websites:

• Under the image, add a figure number (e.g., Fig. 1.) and short description. 
• Add the full citation after the description. Follow the citation template for a website. For sources with individual authors, do not invert the first and last names at the beginning of the citation.
• Follow the citation, if applicable, with any Creative Commons (e.g., CC BY) or copyright notes (e.g., reproduced with permission from author).
• If the image is not cited in the text of your assignment, you do not need to include it in your Works Cited list.  

Note:  It's important to be aware of copyright when using images from a website. Even if you include a citation, certain images still require the permission of the author before you can copy and include it in your work. Always check the terms of use of the image/website to ensure that you can include the image in your work and/or if you need to first get the copyright holder's permission. 

Fig. 3. City of Toronto. "Toronto: Union Station."   Flickr , 1 June 2010,  flic.kr/p/fZDBFK . CC-BY.

Your Photographs & Images

If your photograph or image is publicly accessible online, such as on a website, social media, or blog:

• Under the image, add a figure number (e.g., Fig. 1.) and short description. 
• Add the full citation after the description. Follow the citation template for your source. For example, if you're citing your image which is posted on a website, use the template for citing infographics posted on a website. For sources with individual authors, do not invert the first and last names at the beginning of the citation.
• If the image is not cited in the text of your assignment, you do not need to include it in your Works Cited list.  

If your photograph or image is not publicly accessible:

• Add a caption below your photograph with a figure number and image description (e.g., Fig. 1. CN Tower in Toronto, Ontario).
• There is no need to credit yourself as the author of the photograph. Library recommendation: If you'd like to make it clear that you created the image, you may add a note in the caption. (e.g., Fig. 1. CN Tower in Toronto, Ontario, photograph by author)

Inserting an Image Reproduced from a Library Database

If you are recreating visual material from a library database:

• Add the full citation after the description. Follow the citation template for your source. For example, if you're citing an infographic from a website, use the template for citing infographics posted on a website. For sources with individual authors, do not invert the first and last names at the beginning of the citation.

Fig. 2. Pauline Cheung. "Short Skirt S/S/ 15 China Womenswear Commercial Update."  WGSN , 4 June 2016, p. 2. 

If you are recreating visual material from a book:

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

Inserting a Table

If you copy or recreate a table that you found in your source:

• Start by adding a label for your table (e.g., Table 1, bolded and aligned to the left)
• On the next line, provide a caption for the table, most often the table title.
• Below the table, add the word "Source" followed by colon and the full citation for the source where you found the information. For example, if you found the information on a website, use the Works Cited list citation format for citing a website. For sources with individual authors, do not invert the first and last names at the beginning of the citation.
• If the table is not cited in the text of your assignment, you do not need to include it in your Works Cited list.  

Variables in Determining Victims and Aggressors

Source: Andrea Mohr. "Family Variables Associated With Peer Victimization."  Swiss Journal of Psychology,  vol .  65, no. 2, 2006, pp. 111.  Gale Psychology Collection ,  https://doi.org/10.1024/1421-0185.65.2.107 . PDF download. 

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MLA Citation Guide (MLA 8th Edition): Images, Charts, Graphs, Maps & Tables

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On This Page

• Figure (Photo, Image, Graph, or Chart)

Image from Microsoft Clip Art

• Google Map Inserted into a Research Paper

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 .

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.

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.

Seneca Libraries recommends that clip art images from Microsoft programs such as Word and Microsoft PowerPoint not be given a full citation. Instead put a note in-text after the image to specify which software package the clip art image came from, e.g. Image from Microsoft Word 2010.

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

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.

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

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.

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.

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.

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MLA Citation Guide: Images, Artwork, Charts, Graphs & Tables

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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 .

Abbreviating Months

In your works cited list, abbreviate months as follows: 

January = Jan. February = Feb. March = Mar. April = Apr. May = May June = June July = July August = Aug. September = Sept. October = Oct. November = Nov. December = Dec.

Spell out months fully in the body of your paper. 

Reproducing Images, Charts, Tables &  Graphs

​ 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 an Image, Chart, Table or Graph

If you refer to information from a photo, image, chart, graph, or table but do not reproduce it in your paper, your in-text and Works Cited citations will be for the source it came from.

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.

Table Numbers

Each table should be assigned a table number, starting with number 1 for the first table used in the assignment. E.g. Table 1.

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.

Photo, Image, Graph, Chart, or Table

If you refer to information from a table in an article in National Geographic magazine, you would cite the entire magazine article. For more information on how to cite magazine articles, look at the  How do I Cite: Magazine Articles  section of this site. 

If you refer to a photo that is posted on a webpage, you would cite the entire webpage. For more information on how to cite websites, look at the  How do I Cite: Websites section of this site. 

Photo, Image, Graph, or Chart - Inserted into Assignment (Figure)

An inserted photo, image, graph or chart is called a figure. You must create a caption for it, directly below the photo/image/graph/chart in your assignment. The caption follows this format:

  Note:  If you have more than one figure in your assignment, label your figures starting at 1.

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

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

Table - Inserted into Assignment

If you insert a table from another source into your assignment, you must create a caption for it directly below the table. Above the table, add a label (Table X) and below this add a description of what information is contained in the table.

The caption follows this format:

  Note:  If you have more than one table in your assignment, label your tables starting at 1.

If you do not refer to the table anywhere else in your assignment, you do not need to include the citation for this source in the Works Cited list.

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.

Artwork from an Online Source

• 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 First Name Last Name.   Title of Website,  Publisher or Sponsoring Organization, Date of publication or last modified date, URL. Accessed Day Month Year site was visited .

 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.

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. 

Label your figures starting at 1.

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

Fig. 1. 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.

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Writing and Citing: MLA 9th Edition: Images, Figures, and Tables

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Illustrative Material

Visual illustrative material.

Images/photographs, maps, graphs, or charts should be cited in a format below and labeled as a figure when used in an assignment.

See Figure Example for formatting.

Basic Image Format:

Artist's Last Name, First. "Title of digital image ."   Date,  Website , Publisher or Sponsoring Organization, URL (no https://).

Warner, Mike. "Monet's Garden." 6 Oct. 2017,  Flickr , flic.kr/p/ZsF6q1.

Image Without Author:

“Title of the digital image.” Date, Website,  Publisher, URL (no https://).

"Orange grove - Clewiston, Florida. "  1920,  Florida Memory ,  www.floridamemory.com/items/show/138653

Image With No Author, Title, or Date

Image description. Title of the website , URL (no https://).

Photograph of person washing hands. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention , www.cdc.gov/

Google Images:

Go to the original location (website) of the image and cite in one of the above formats.

(Fig. #) or (Last Name)

(Fig. 1) or (Warner)

(Fig. #) or ("Title of Image")

(Fig. 2) or ("Orange grove - Clewiston, Florida. " )

Image With No Author, Title, or Date:

Additional resources.

For additional assistance and examples on citations, click the links below!

• MLA Style Center - How to Cite an Image
• OWL Purdue - MLA Tables, Figures, and Examples

Figure Example

Figure format.

Below is an example on formatting images and/ or figures:

Fig. 1. Flowers in Monet's Garden (Warner).

Fig. 1.  Warner, Mike. "Monet's Garden." 6 Oct. 2017,  Flickr , flic.kr/p/ZsF6q1.

Table Format

At the top of the table: Tables inserted into an assignment should have a label ( Table X ) and a brief description of the table if it was not included in the table.

At the bottom of the table: Directly below your table should include the caption, which includes the citation of the source (example: table from website, journal article, etc).

Source: "Tuition costs of colleges and universities." Fast Facts, U.S. Department of Education, National Center for Education Statistics,  2019, nces.ed.gov/fastfacts/display.asp?id=76

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MLA Style: Writing & Citation

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Is It a Figure or a Table?

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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 .

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.

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

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

Note: This is a Seneca Libraries recommendation.

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

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

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.

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.

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.

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.

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Citations - MLA: Images, Charts, Graphs, Maps & Tables

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Click and View: How Do I Cite?

• Figure (Photo, Image, Graph, or Chart)

Google Map Inserted into a Research Paper

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.

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.

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.

Free Images

If you are searching for images on Google, after your search, click the Images tab > Tools > Usage Rights > Labeled for Reuse

• Noun Project
• Open Click Art
• Pix4Learning

Reproducing Images, Charts, Tables & Graphs

​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 an Image, Chart, Table or Graph

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

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.

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

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

Note:  This is a LAHC Libraries recommendation.

Fig. X.   Description of the figure from: "City, State." Map,  Google Maps.

Fig. 1.  Map of Los Angeles Harbor College Library from: "Wilmington, CA." Map,  Google Maps.

Table Inserted Into a Research Paper

Above the table

• Label it beginning at Table 1.
• On a second line, add a description of what information is contained in the table.

Below 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.

Source: Citation for source table was found in.

• 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.

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.

This guide is used/adapted with the permission of Seneca College Libraries.

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MLA Citation Guide (9th Edition): Images, Artwork, Charts, Graphs and Tables

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Frequently Asked Questions:

Is It a Figure or a Table?

Photo, image, graph, chart, or table, photo, image, graph, or chart - inserted into assignment (figure), table - inserted into assignment, artwork from a book, artwork from an online source.

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 .

Reproducing Images, Charts, Tables &  Graphs

​ 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 an Image, Chart, Table or Graph

If you refer to information from a photo, image, chart, graph, or table but do not reproduce it in your paper, your in-text and Works Cited citations will be for the source it came from.

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.

Table Numbers

Each table should be assigned a table number, starting with number 1 for the first table used in the assignment. E.g. Table 1.

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.

If you refer to information from a table in an article in National Geographic magazine, you would cite the entire magazine article. For more information on how to cite magazine articles, look at the  How do I Cite: Magazine Articles  section of this site. 

If you refer to a photo that is posted on a webpage, you would cite the entire webpage. For more information on how to cite websites, look at the  How do I Cite: Websites section of this site. 

An inserted photo, image, graph or chart is called a figure. You must create a caption for it, directly below the photo/image/graph/chart in your assignment. The caption follows this format:

  Note:  If you have more than one figure in your assignment, label your figures starting at 1.

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

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

If you insert a table from another source into your assignment, you must create a caption for it directly below the table. Above the table, add a label (Table X) and below this add a description of what information is contained in the table.

The caption follows this format:

  Note:  If you have more than one table in your assignment, label your tables starting at 1.

If you do not refer to the table anywhere else in your assignment, you do not need to include the citation for this source in the Works Cited list.

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.

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.

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.

(Author's Last Name Page Number)

Example: (Da Vinci 223)

• 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 First Name Last Name. Title of Website, Publisher or Sponsoring Organization, Date of publication or last modified date, URL. Accessed Day Month Year site was visited.

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.

Da Vinci, Leonardo. Last Supper . 1498, Santa Maria della Grazie, Milan. "The Last Supper," by Beth Harris 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.

(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.

Label your figures starting at 1.

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

Fig. 1. 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.

MLA Handbook

Abbreviating Months

In your works cited list, abbreviate months as follows: 

January = Jan. February = Feb. March = Mar. April = Apr. May = May June = June July = July August = Aug. September = Sept. October = Oct. November = Nov. December = Dec.

Spell out months fully in the body of your paper. 

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Citation Guide (MLA 9th Edition) UNDER CONSTRUCTION

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Is It a Figure or a Table?

A figure is a photo, image, map, graph, or chart inserted into your research paper.

A table is a table of information inserted into your research paper.

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

Non-MLA Captions

Need help captioning or citing images outside of the academic context?

Check out Fair Use: Using Images for information on how to caption someone else's image on your own website.

Generic Image Credit Format:

"Title" by A. Creator, via source (photo attribution).

"Mt. Fuji" by Yayoi Kusama, via Art + Auction vol. 34, no. 4, Nov. 2010.

Skirt by Annakiki, via WGSN.

"Angel's Flight" by Millard Sheets, via LACMA .

Beatrice Took a Photo! by mstornadox, via Tumblr .

Six Apple logos from 1976 to now, via Rob Janoff (© RobJanoff 2012).

Man stretching, via Sports Digest , 8 May 2006.

Zaha Hadid's notebooks, via "Zaha Hadid" (photo Luke Hayes).

On This Page

• Image from a Library Database
• Image from a WGSN Report
• Work of Art
• Reproduction of a Work of Art
• Image from Social Media
• Image from a Website or Blog
• Using Captions Outside the Academic Context
• MLA Formatting of Tables and illustrations Shows numbering and citation options for tables, images, and musical scores

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.

When to Add to the Works Cited List

If the image appears in your paper and the full citation appears in the caption, it does not need to be included in the Works Cited List. If the full caption is not included in the figure's caption, include an entry 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.

If you have trouble finding specific information about an image, cite the entire book, magazine article, web site, etc. where you found it. For example if information came from a table in an article in National Geographic magazine, you would cite the entire magazine article and add the relevant page number to the caption or in-text citation.

Figure and Table 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. For example, Fig. 1 .

Do not abbreviate the word table. Each Table should be assigned a table number, starting with number 1 for the first table used in the assignment. For example, Table 1

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. Do not italicize or put this description in quotes.

Creator's Last Name, First Name. "Title of Image." Title of Journal , vol. Volume Number, Publisher Name, Date of Publication, pp. First Page - Last Page. Name of Database . 

For captions, use: Fig. #. Description of figure: from Citation.

For in-text citations, use (Fig. #) or (Creator's Last Name)

 Note : While MLA 8th edition recommends including URLs, they can be left out when citing a work found in a library database. Accessed date is also optional.

Creator or Company or Brand. Short Description from "Title of Report." Report by Author's First Name Last Name, Date of Publication. WGSN . 

Creator's Last Name, First Name. Title of Work. Date of Composition or Publication, Medium, Repository, City.

For captions, use: Fig. #. Title by artist, Citation.

If you are discussing a specific reproduction or version of a work of art, add information about where you found the image.

Creator's Last Name, First Name. Title of Work. Date of Composition or Publication, Medium, Repository, City. Title of Book or Web Site , Edition information, Contributors, Publisher, p. Page Number, URL. Accessed Date.

For captions, use: Fig. #. Description of figure: Citation.

Creator's Last Name, First Name (Username). "Title of Digital Image." Title of Website , Other Contributors, Version, Number, Publisher/Platform, Date of Publication, URL. Accessed date.

For captions, use: Fig. #. Description from: Citation.

Author's Last Name, First Name. "Title of Article." Title of Website , Other Contributors, Version, Number, Publisher/Platform, Date of Publication, URL. Accessed date.

For in-text citations, use (Fig. #) or (Author's Last Name) or  ("Words from Title or Article") .

If you are citing an image from a source already included on your Works Cited list, you do not need to list it again. Instead, use the appropriate in-text citation and add the specific page number, when available.

For captions, use: Fig. #. Description (Author's Last Name Page Number) or ("Title of Article" Page Number) .

For in-text citations, use (Fig. #) or (Author's Last Name Page Number) or ("Title of Article" Page Number)

Articles: Author's Last Name, First Name. "Title of Article." Title of Journal , Other Contributors, Version, Number, Publisher, Date of Publication, p. Page Numbers.

Books: Author's Last Name, First Name. Title of Book , Edition, Publisher, Year of Publication.

Table # Label/description <TABLE GOES HERE> Source: Citation.

For in-text citations, use (Table #)

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How to Cite a Graph in a Paper

Last Updated: July 6, 2024 Fact Checked

This article was co-authored by Megan Morgan, PhD . Megan Morgan is a Graduate Program Academic Advisor in the School of Public & International Affairs at the University of Georgia. She earned her PhD in English from the University of Georgia in 2015. There are 14 references cited in this article, which can be found at the bottom of the page. This article has been fact-checked, ensuring the accuracy of any cited facts and confirming the authority of its sources. This article has been viewed 301,597 times.

Sometimes you may find it useful to include a graph from another source when writing a research paper. This is acceptable if you give credit to the original source. To do so, you generally provide a citation under the graph. The form this citation takes depends upon the citation style used in your discipline. Modern Language Association (MLA) style is used by English scholars and many humanities disciplines, while authors working in psychology, the social sciences and hard sciences often use the standards of the American Psychological Association (APA). Other humanities specialists and social scientists, including historians, use the Chicago/Turabian style, and engineering-related fields utilize the standards of the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE). Consult your instructor before writing a paper to determine which citation style is required.

Citing a Graph in MLA Style

• For example, you might refer to a graph showing tomato consumption patterns this way: "Due to the increasing popularity of salsa and ketchup, tomato consumption in the US has risen sharply in recent years (see fig. 1)."

• Figures should be numbered in the order they appear; your first graph or other illustration is "Fig. 1," your second "Fig. 2," and so on.
• Do not italicize the word “Figure” or “Fig.” or the numeral.

• For example, “Fig. 1. Rise in tomato consumption in the US, 1970-2000...”

• “Fig. 1. Rise in tomato consumption in the US, 1970-2000. Graph from John Green...”

• You also italicize the title of a website, such as this: Graph from State Fact Sheets...

• “Fig. 1. Rise in tomato consumption in the US, 1970-2000. Graph from John Green, Growing Vegetables in Your Backyard', (Hot Springs: Lake Publishers, 2002).
• If the graph came from an online source, follow the MLA guidelines for citing an online source: give the website name, publisher, date of publication, media, date of access, and pagination (if any -- if not, type “n. pag.”).
• For example, if your graph came from the USDA website, your citation would look like this: “Fig. 1. Rise in tomato consumption in the US, 1970-2000. Graph from State Fact Sheets. USDA. 1 Jan 2015. Web. 4 Feb. 2015. n. pag.”

• Fig. 1. Rise in tomato consumption in the US, 1970-2000. Graph from John Green, Growing Vegetables in Your Garden , (Hot Springs: Lake Publishers, 2002), 43. Print." [6] X Research source
• If you give the complete citation information in the caption, you do not need to also include it in your Works Cited page.

Citing a Graph in APA Format

• For example, you could write: “As seen in Figure 1, tomato consumption has risen sharply in the past three decades.”

• Figures should be numbered in the order they appear; your first graph or other illustration is Figure 1 , the second is Figure 2 , etc.
• If the graph has an existing title, give it in “sentence case.” This means you only capitalize the first letter of the first word in the sentence, as well as the first letter after a colon.

• For example: Figure 1. Rise in tomato consumption,1970-2000.
• Use sentence case for the description too.

• If the graph you’re presenting is your original work, meaning you collected all the data and compiled it yourself, you don’t need this phrase.
• For example: Figure 1. Rise in tomato consumption,1970-2000. Reprinted from...

• For example: Figure 1. Rise in tomato consumption,1970-2000. Reprinted from Growing Vegetables in Your Backyard (p. 43),

• For example: Figure 1. Rise in tomato consumption,1970-2000. Reprinted from Growing Vegetables in Your Backyard (p. 43), by J. Green, 2002, Hot Springs: Lake Publishers.

• Figure 1. Rise in tomato consumption, 1970-2000. Reprinted from Growing Vegetables in Your Backyard (p. 43), by J. Green, 2002, Hot Springs: Lake Publishers. Copyright 2002 by the American Tomato Growers' Association. Reprinted with permission. [13] X Research source

Citing a Graph Using Chicago/Turabian Standards

• For example, “Fig. 1. Rise in tomato consumption..."

• Fig. 1. Rise in tomato consumption (Graph by American Tomato Growers' Association. In Growing Vegetables in Your Backyard . John Green. Hot Springs: Lake Publishers, 2002, 43). [18] X Research source

Citing a Graph in IEEE Format

• If this marks the first time you've used this source, assign it a new number.
• If you've already used this source, refer back to the original source number.
• In our example, let's say this is the fifth source used in your paper. Your citation, then, will begin with a bracket and then "5": "[5..."

• TOMATO CONSUMPTION FIGURES [5, p. 43].
• Be sure to list complete source information in your endnotes. [21] X Research source

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You Might Also Like

• ↑ https://owl.purdue.edu/owl/research_and_citation/mla_style/mla_formatting_and_style_guide/mla_tables_figures_and_examples.html
• ↑ https://research.moreheadstate.edu/c.php?g=610039&p=4234946
• ↑ https://otis.libguides.com/mla_citations/images
• ↑ https://owl.english.purdue.edu/owl/resource/747/14/
• ↑ https://aut.ac.nz.libguides.com/APA7th/figures
• ↑ https://www.lib.sfu.ca/help/cite-write/citation-style-guides/apa/tables-figures
• ↑ https://guides.himmelfarb.gwu.edu/c.php?g=27779&p=170358
• ↑ https://graduate.asu.edu/sites/default/files/chicago-quick-reference.pdf
• ↑ https://guides.unitec.ac.nz/chicagoreferencing/images
• ↑ https://owl.purdue.edu/owl/research_and_citation/chicago_manual_17th_edition/cmos_formatting_and_style_guide/general_format.html
• ↑ https://libguides.dickinson.edu/c.php?g=56073&p=360111
• ↑ https://guides.lib.monash.edu/c.php?g=219786&p=6610144
• ↑ https://owl.purdue.edu/owl/research_and_citation/ieee_style/tables_figures_and_equations.html
• ↑ https://www.york.ac.uk/integrity/ieee.html

About This Article

To cite a graph in MLA style, refer to the graph in the text as Figure 1 in parentheses, and place a caption under the graph that says "Figure 1." Then, include a short description, such as the title of the graph, and list the authors first and last name, as well as the publication name, with the location, publisher, and year in parentheses. Finish the citation with the page number and resource format, which might be print or digital. If you want to cite a graph in APA, Chicago, or IEEE format, scroll down for tips from our academic reviewer. Did this summary help you? Yes No

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Demure tiktok trend explained: what it is and why it’s going viral, college dorm checklist must-have things to take with you, how to develop a homework routine that works, what should you try before graduating senior bucket list, how to cite a graph.

Did you ever notice, that most research articles you can look up include not only textual material but also some type of visualization? We are talking about graphs, diagrams, and tables. These are all the types of material that can help you strengthen or support your arguments as well as show your own findings in the paper. If you are planning on including (or already attached) one of these figures to your research, you need to know how to properly cite them. In this guide, we will give you some guidelines on how to properly cite graphs in APA and MLA.

However, before we move straight to the rules, we want to make a small note. Despite the formatting style you choose for your paper, the arrangement of your citation will largely depend on the source, and where the graph or diagram is coming from. So in both instances of APA and MLA citations, we will be looking into citation of graphs that come from online sources, and those that were found in books.

Citing a Graph: APA 7th Edition

APA 7th is a popular formatting style, especially in social sciences. And graphs are very widely used in that field so let’s quickly break down the general guidelines and move on to the examples.

General Guidelines for Citing Graphs

• Label the graph as a Figure followed by a number in bold: Figure 1
• Add a descriptive title in italic title case on the next line underneath
• The image of the graph itself should be clear, with any necessary legends or keys included within the figure to explain the symbols or colors used.
• If the graph is not original, a note should be included below the figure to provide copyright attribution, and if applicable, a statement of permission if the graph has been reproduced or adapted.
• This note should also contain the source of the graph. Here, though, there are a few differences. So, if your graphs come from: – a book, include: the title, author, year, and publisher; – an article, include: the title, author, year, journal title, volume, issue, and page number
• Additionally, in-text citations should refer to the figure by its number, and a corresponding reference list entry should be provided with full details of the source.

Now, as we sorted out the key rules, let’s take a look at a bright example of properly formatted APA 7th graph citations.

Figure 1. Calorie intake comparison by day

When mentioned in the text, this graph should be referenced the following way

“According to Figure 1, we see that…”

As to the reference list entry, you should use the structure in the picture below as an example:

It’s also important to consider the requirements for your work suggested by your professor. Sometimes, you might not be allowed to add colorful graphs, so be sure to check out those rules and whether they influence the information you present in your paper.

Let’s take a quick look at what a graph citation of a figure taken from an outside source would look like.

Figure 2. The usage of school supplies across different types

Reference list entry :’Graph – Definition, Types, FAQs, Practice Problems, Examples’. Retrieved from https://www.splashlearn.com/math-vocabulary/geometry/graph

How to Cite a Graph in MLA

As we mentioned earlier, it is very important to consider which source your graphs are coming from before moving on to cite them. When a graph is published in a journal article, book, or book chapter, it is common practice to cite the work and provide the page number in the in-text citation. If the graph is found online and not published in a conventional source, refer to MLA photo citation guides for appropriate formatting.

There is an alternative, easy way to handle this task: our Free Citation Generator can speed up the daunting process and provide you with properly formatted academic citations in no time.

• Include an author’s last name and name as presented in the source. For two authors, reverse only the first name, followed by ‘and’ and the second name in normal order. For three or more authors, list the first name followed by et al.
• Then list the title of the graph. Here, italicize the title if it’s independent. However, if it’s a part of the bigger name, put the title in “quotes” and don’t italicize it.
• If the source presents the year of publication – state it after the title.
• List the title of the website (using UP for University Press where applicable, if there’s no name, the Press should be spelled out fully)
• and then add a URL, including the http:// or https:// prefix.

As to the in-text citations for a graph, they should include the surname of the creator and the page number in parentheses. If the creator is not mentioned, use the graph’s title or description instead. For online sources, do not list a page number at all.

Graph citation from a digital source : Mason, Clara. “Classroom media usage in young adults.” 2015. Psych Publish, psychology-now.org/graphs/social-media-stats/.

In-text citation of a graph from a book on page 208 : “Survey showed that 80% of high-school students were sleep-deprived” (Aldi, 208). If without author : “Survey showed that 80% of high-school students were sleep-deprived” (“Sleep deprivation in Students”, 208)

In-text citation of a graph found online : “It is estimated that 60% of start-ups go bankrupt in the first 10 years” (Eid).

How do you cite a graph from a website?

How do you cite a graph from a website? To cite a graph from a website in APA style, include the author’s name, the year of publication, the title of the graph in italics, the website name, and the URL.

For example: Smith, J. (2020). Trends in Renewable Energy . Energy Insights. Retrieved from http://www.energyinsights.com/trends-graph

If the graph is from an online academic journal, include the DOI instead of the URL. In MLA style, the citation would look like this: Smith, John. Trends in Renewable Energy . 2020, Energy Insights, www.energyinsights.com/trends-graph.

How do you cite a graph without an author?

If a graph does not have an author, start the citation with the title of the graph. For APA style: Trends in Renewable Energy . (2020). Energy Insights. Retrieved from http://www.energyinsights.com/trends-graph

For MLA style: Trends in Renewable Energy . Energy Insights, 2020, www.energyinsights.com/trends-graph.

How do you cite a graph from a book?

To cite a graph from a book in APA style, include the author’s name, the year of publication, the title of the graph (if available), the book title in italics, the page number, and the publisher. For example: Smith, J. (2020). Trends in Renewable Energy. In Energy Statistics Yearbook (p. 123). Energy Publishing.

In MLA style, the citation would look like this: Smith, John. “Trends in Renewable Energy.” Energy Statistics Yearbook , Energy Publishing, 2020,

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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 .

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.

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.

Image from Microsoft Clip Art

Typically, clip art images from Microsoft programs such as Word and Microsoft PowerPoint are not to be given a full citation. Instead put a note in-text after the image to specify which software package the clip art image came from (e.g. Image from Microsoft Word 2010).

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

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.

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

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

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.

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.

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Student's Guide to MLA Style (2021) | Citation & Format

To cite sources in MLA style, you need

• In-text citations that give the author’s last name and a page number.
• A list of Works Cited that gives full details of every source.

Make sure your paper also adheres to MLA format : one-inch margins, double spacing, and indented paragraphs, with an MLA style heading on the first page.

You can create citations automatically with our free MLA Citation Generator . Enter a URL, DOI , or ISBN, and the generator will retrieve the necessary information.

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Table of contents

Mla works cited list, the nine core elements of mla citations, mla in-text citations, free lecture slides, frequently asked questions about mla style.

The Works Cited list is where you give full details of all sources you have cited in the text. Other citation styles sometimes call this the “reference list” or “bibliography.” An annotated bibliography is slightly different.

Author . “Source Title.” Container Title , Other contributors , Version , Number , Publisher , Publication date , Location .

Prevent plagiarism. Run a free check.

Begin each source entry with the name of the author(s) or creator(s). The name of the first author is always inverted (Last name, First name).

When a source has two authors, the second author’s name is shown in the normal order (First name Last name).

For sources with three or more authors, state only the first author’s name, followed by “ et al. ”

The author of a source is not necessarily a person; it can also be an organization. If so, simply use the name of the organization.

However, if the organization is both the author and publisher , start with the title of the source instead.

MLA author element

Always include the full title of the source, including subtitles (separated by a colon and space).

Use title case —capitalize all words apart from conjunctions , prepositions , and articles . If there is no title, give a short description of the source, with normal sentence case capitalization.

The styling of the title depends on the type of source:

• Italics when the source is self-contained (e.g. a whole book, movie or website).
• Quotation marks when the source is part of a larger whole (e.g. a chapter of a book , a page on a website, or an article in a journal).
• No styling  when describing a source without a title.

3. Container

A container is the larger work that the source you’re citing appears in. For example, a chapter is part of a book, a page is part of a website, and an article is part of a journal.

If the source you’re citing is a self-contained whole (e.g. a whole book), leave out this element.

The container title is always italicized.

Elements 3 (container title) to 9 (location) all provide information about the container.

Sources with two containers

A source can also have two containers. If you watched an episode of a TV show on Netflix, the show title is the first container and Netflix is the second container. If you accessed a journal article through the database JSTOR, the journal name is the first container and JSTOR is the second container.

In most cases, only the title and location (often the URL or DOI ) of the second container are included in the source entry. This is because databases like JSTOR don’t have relevant contributors, versions, publishers, or publication dates.

• Datta, Hannes, et al. “The Challenge of Retaining Customers Acquired with Free Trials”. Journal of Marketing Research , vol. 52, no. 2, Apr. 2015, pp. 217–234. JSTOR , www.jstor.org/stable/43832354.

Pay attention to the punctuation. The author and source title elements each end with a period. Elements within a container are separated by commas, and a period is used to close the container.

4. Other contributors

Contributors are added right after the container title and always end with a comma. Use a description like “translated by,” “directed by,” or “illustrated by” to indicate the role of the contributor. For example:

• Latour, Bruno. Politics of Nature: How to Bring the Sciences into Democracy . Translated by Catherine Porter, Harvard UP, 2004.

When a source has three or more contributors with the same role, include the name of the first contributor followed by “et al.”

If there are no other relevant contributors, leave out this element.

When there is more than one version of a source, you should include the version you used. For example, a second-edition book , an expanded version of a collection, or a director’s cut of a movie would require the version to be included:

• Porter, Michael E. Competitive Strategy: Techniques for Analyzing Industries and Competitors . 2nd ed. , Simon and Schuster, 1998.
• Columbus, Chris, director. Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets . director’s cut, Warner Bros., 2002.

Sources such as journal articles (“vol. 18”), magazines (“no. 25”) and TV shows (“season 3, episode 5”) are often numbered. If your source has numbered parts, include this in the source entry:

• Wieseke, Jan, et al. “Willing to Pay More, Eager to Pay Less: The Role of Customer Loyalty in Price Negotiations.” Journal of Marketing , vol. 68, no. 6, 2014, pp. 17–37.

It is also possible for a source to have an edition, volume, and number. Just separate them using commas.

7. Publisher

Book and movie citations always include the publisher element. The publisher is the company responsible for producing and distributing the source—usually a book publisher (e.g. Macmillan or Oxford UP ) or a movie production company (e.g. Paramount Pictures or Warner Bros ).

Note that “University Press” is abbreviated to “UP” in a Works Cited entry. For example, the University of Minnesota Press becomes “U of Minnesota P”; Oxford University Press becomes “Oxford UP.”

When not to add a publisher Sometimes the publisher is already included elsewhere in the source entry, such as in the container title or author element. For example, the publisher of a website is often the same as the website name. In this case, omit the publisher element.

You generally don’t need to include a publisher for the following source types:

• Newspapers and magazines
• Platforms like YouTube, Netflix, or JSTOR

8. Publication date

When available, always include the publication year . If you also know the month, day, or even time of publication, you can include this if it helps the reader to locate the source. Date ranges are also possible. For example:

• 25 Jan. 2019
• 14 Aug. 2017, 4:45 p.m.
• Jan. 2017–Apr. 2018

Multiple publication dates If there is more than one publication date, use the one that is most relevant to your research and take the date of the edition that you have used.

No date When a source does not state a publication date, add the date on which you accessed the information. For example: Accessed 22 Sep. 2018 .

9. Location

What you include in the location element depends on the type of source you are citing:

• Book chapter : Page range of the chapter (e.g. pp. 164–180. )
• Web page : URL, without “https://” (e.g. www.scribbr.com/mla-style/quick-guide/. )
• Journal article : DOI , with “https://”—or stable URL, without: (e.g. https://doi.org/10.1080/02626667.2018.1560449. or www.jstor.org/stable/43832354. )
• Physical object or live event : Name of the location and city (e.g. Moscone Center, San Francisco. or The Museum of Modern Art, New York. )

MLA in-text citations are brief references in the body of your document which direct your reader to the full reference in the Works Cited list. You must include an in-text citation whenever you quote or paraphrase  a source.

A standard MLA in-text citation includes the author’s last name and a page number in parentheses. The page number refers to the exact location of the quote or information that you are citing:

• 66% of voters disagree with the policy (Smith 13) .

If the author is already named in the sentence, you only need to include the page number in parentheses:

• According to Smith , 66% of voters disagree with the policy (13) .

Multiple authors

For a source with two authors, include the last names of both authors. If a source has three or more authors, only include the last name of the first author, followed by “et al.” if in parentheses or “and colleagues” if in the text.

• Smith and Morrison claim that “MLA is the second most popular citation style” (17) .
• According to Reynolds and colleagues , social and demographic circumstances still have a major effect on job prospects (17–19) .

If a source does not state a specific author, the in-text citation should match the first word(s) of the Works Cited entry, whether that’s an organization name or the source title.

Format titles the same as they appear in the Works Cited, with italics or quotation marks. Use the full title if mentioned in the text itself, but an abbreviated title if included in parentheses.

• The article “New Ways to Slow Down Global Warming” claims that . . . (4).
• Reducing carbon emissions slows down climate change (“New Ways” 4) .

No page number

If a source has no page numbers, but is divided into numbered sections (e.g. chapters or numbered paragraphs), use these instead:

• Morrison has shown that there is a great need for . . . (par. 38) .
• Reynolds devotes a chapter to the rise of poverty in some states in the US (ch. 6) .

For audiovisual sources (such as YouTube videos ), use a timestamp:

• In his recent video, Smith argues that climate change should be the main political priority of all governments today (03:15–05:21) .

If there is no numbering system in the original source, include only the author’s name in your citation.

Are you a teacher or professor looking to introduce your students to MLA style? Download our free introductory lecture slides, available for Google Slides and Microsoft PowerPoint.

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MLA Style  is the second most used citation style (after APA ). It is mainly used by students and researchers in humanities fields such as literature, languages, and philosophy.

The MLA Handbook is currently in its 9th edition , published in 2021.

This quick guide to MLA style  explains the latest guidelines for citing sources and formatting papers according to MLA.

A standard MLA Works Cited entry  is structured as follows:

Only include information that is available for and relevant to your source.

The fastest and most accurate way to create MLA citations is by using Scribbr’s MLA Citation Generator .

Search by book title, page URL, or journal DOI to automatically generate flawless citations, or cite manually using the simple citation forms.

If information about your source is not available, you can either leave it out of the MLA citation or replace it with something else, depending on the type of information.

• No author : Start with the source title.
• No title : Provide a description of the source.
• No date : Provide an access date for online sources; omit for other sources.

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Home / Guides / Citation Guides / MLA Format / How to Cite an Essay in MLA

How to Cite an Essay in MLA

The guidelines for citing an essay in MLA format are similar to those for citing a chapter in a book. Include the author of the essay, the title of the essay, the name of the collection if the essay belongs to one, the editor of the collection or other contributors, the publication information, and the page number(s).

Citing an Essay

Mla essay citation structure.

Last, First M. “Essay Title.” Collection Title, edited by First M. Last, Publisher, year published, page numbers. Website Title , URL (if applicable).

MLA Essay Citation Example

Gupta, Sanjay. “Balancing and Checking.” Essays on Modern Democracy, edited by Bob Towsky, Brook Stone Publishers, 1996, pp. 36-48. Essay Database, www . databaseforessays.org/modern/modern-democracy.

MLA Essay In-text Citation Structure

(Last Name Page #)

MLA Essay In-text Citation Example

Click here to cite an essay via an EasyBib citation form.

MLA Formatting Guide

MLA Formatting

• Annotated Bibliography
• Bibliography
• Block Quotes
• et al Usage
• In-text Citations
• Paraphrasing
• Page Numbers
• Sample Paper
• Works Cited
• MLA 8 Updates
• MLA 9 Updates
• View MLA Guide

Citation Examples

• Book Chapter
• Journal Article
• Magazine Article
• Newspaper Article
• Website (no author)
• View all MLA Examples

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To cite your sources in an essay in MLA style, you need to have basic information including the author’s name(s), chapter title, book title, editor(s), publication year, publisher, and page numbers. The templates for in-text citations and a works-cited-list entry for essay sources and some examples are given below:

In-text citation template and example:

For citations in prose, use the first name and surname of the author on the first occurrence. For subsequent citations, use only the surname(s). In parenthetical citations, always use only the surname of the author(s).

Citation in prose:

First mention: Annette Wheeler Cafarelli

Subsequent occurrences: Wheeler Cafarelli

Parenthetical:

….(Wheeler Cafarelli).

Works-cited-list entry template and example:

The title of the chapter is enclosed in double quotation marks and uses title case. The book or collection title is given in italics and uses title case.

Surname, First Name. “Title of the Chapter.” Title of the Book , edited by Editor(s) Name, Publisher, Publication Year, page range.

Cafarelli, Annette Wheeler. “Rousseau and British Romanticism: Women and British Romanticism.” Cultural Interactions in the Romantic Age: Critical Essays in Comparative Literature , edited by Gregory Maertz. State U of New York P, 1998, pp. 125–56.

To cite an essay in MLA style, you need to have basic information including the author(s), the essay title, the book title, editor(s), publication year, publisher, and page numbers. The templates for citations in prose, parenthetical citations, and works-cited-list entries for an essay by multiple authors, and some examples, are given below:

For citations in prose, use the first name and surname of the author (e.g., Mary Strine).

For sources with two authors, use both full author names in prose (e.g., Mary Strine and Beth Radick).

For sources with three or more authors, use the first name and surname of the first author followed by “and others” or “and colleagues” (e.g., Mary Strine and others). In subsequent citations, use only the surname of the first author followed by “and others” or “and colleagues” (e.g., Strine and others).

In parenthetical citations, use only the author’s surname. For sources with two authors, use two surnames (e.g., Strine and Radick). For sources with three or more author names, use the first author’s surname followed by “et al.”

First mention: Mary Strine…

Subsequent mention: Strine…

First mention: Mary Strine and Beth Radick…

Subsequent mention: Strine and Radick…

First mention: Mary Strine and colleagues …. or Mary Strine and others

Subsequent occurrences: Strine and colleagues …. or Strine and others

…. (Strine).

….(Strine and Radick).

….(Strine et al.).

The title of the essay is enclosed in double quotation marks and uses title case. The book or collection title is given in italics and uses title case.

Surname, First Name, et al. “Title of the Essay.” Title of the Book , edited by Editor(s) Name, Publisher, Publication Year, page range.

Strine, Mary M., et al. “Research in Interpretation and Performance Studies: Trends, Issues, Priorities.” Speech Communication: Essays to Commemorate the 75th Anniversary of the Speech Communication Association , edited by Gerald M. Phillips and Julia T. Wood, Southern Illinois UP, 1990, pp. 181–204.

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MLA Citation Guide (9th Edition): Images, Charts, Graphs, & Tables

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• Encyclopedias, & Dictionaries
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• Journal Articles
• Magazine Articles
• Newspaper Articles
• Personal Communications (Interviews, Emails, etc.)
• Religious Works
• Social Media
• Unpublished Manuscript or Paper
• Websites (includes documents/PDFs posted online)
• When Information Is Missing
• When a Work Is Quoted in Another Source
• Works in Another Language / Translations
• Permalinks, URLs, & DOIs!
• Quoting vs. Paraphrasing
• Works Cited & Paper Format
• Citation Tools

Reproducing vs. Just Citing 

This happens if you only cite information from an image, infographic, chart, table, or graph and do not reproduce it in your paper. If you're only citing information from an image, infographic, Chart, Table or Graph:

• Provide an in-text citation. Use the citation format of the source where the image is found. (e.g., if you find the image on a website, use the in-text citation of a website). 
• Cite the image in your Works Cited List. Use the citation format of the source where the image is found. (e.g., if you found the image on a website, cite the website). 

Reproducing happens when you copy or recreate an image, infographic, table, graph, or chart 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. 

Inserting a Table You Reproduced

• Start by adding a label for your table (e.g., Table 1, bolded and aligned to the left) followed by a description of what information is contained in the table. 
• Below the table, add the word Adapted from: followed by the full citation for the source where you found the information. For example, if you found the information on a website, use the Works Cited list citation format for citing a website. For sources with individual authors, do not invert the first and last names at the beginning of the citation.
• If the table is not cited in the text of your assignment, you do not need to include it in your Works Cited list.  

Variables in determining victims and aggressors

Adapted from: Andrea Mohr. "Family Variables Associated With Peer Victimization."  Swiss Journal of Psychology,  vol .  65, no. 2, 2006, pp. 111.  Gale Psychology Collection ,  https://doi.org/10.1024/1421-0185.65.2.107 . PDF download. 

Your Photographs & Images

If you reproduce your own photograph or image in your coursework, you do not need to cite it. However, Simmons Library recommends adding a figure note beneath the image that reads "Photograph by author" or "Image by author."

Inserting a Table You Adapted from Multiple Sources

• Start by adding a label for your table (e.g., Table 1, bolded) followed by a description of what information is contained in the table. 
• Below the table, add the word  Adapted from:  followed by the full citation for the sources where you found the information. For example, if you found the information on a website, use the Works Cited list citation format for citing a website. For sources with individual authors, do not invert the first and last names at the beginning of the citation.
• List your sources in alphabetical order by the author's last name. Separate each source with a semi-colon (;).

Total downloads (in millions) of communication apps Discord, Telegram and WeChat through Apple App store and Google Play store in September 2020

Adapted from: Airnow. "Leading communication apps in the Google Play Store worldwide in September 2020, by number of downloads."  Statista , Oct. 2020.; Airnow. "Leading social networking apps in the Apple App Store worldwide in September 2020, by number of downloads."  Statista , Oct. 2020.

Inserting an Image Reproduced from a Source

If you are recreating visual material which is not a table (e.g., infographic, maps, photo, graph):

• Under the image, add a figure number (e.g., Fig. 1.) and short description. 
• Add the full citation after the description. Follow the citation template for your source. For example, if you're citing an infographic from a website, use the template for citing infographics posted on a website. For sources with individual authors, do not invert the first and last names at the beginning of the citation.
• If the image is not cited in the text of your assignment, you do not need to include it in your Works Cited list.  

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

Fig. 2. Pauline Cheung. "Short Skirt S/S/ 15 China Womenswear Commercial Update."  WGSN , 4 June 2016, p. 2. 

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In text MLA citation for graph

In the body of the text, the graph must be references as Fig. 1. Then the graph gets inserted along with the caption in the following format :Fig. 1 Some Explanation Source.

My question is should the caption be double spaced, or would single space suffice? The reason being is that I copied the bibliography from the Work Cited page as the source, hence it is very long

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Purdue Online Writing Lab Purdue OWL® College of Liberal Arts

MLA Formatting and Style Guide

Welcome to the Purdue OWL

This page is brought to you by the OWL at Purdue University. When printing this page, you must include the entire legal notice.

Copyright ©1995-2018 by The Writing Lab & The OWL at Purdue and Purdue University. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, reproduced, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed without permission. Use of this site constitutes acceptance of our terms and conditions of fair use.

The following overview should help you better understand how to cite sources using MLA  9 th edition, including how to format the Works Cited page and in-text citations.

Please use the example at the bottom of this page to cite the Purdue OWL in MLA. See also our MLA vidcast series on the Purdue OWL YouTube Channel .

Creating a Works Cited list using the ninth edition

MLA is a style of documentation that may be applied to many different types of writing. Since texts have become increasingly digital, and the same document may often be found in several different sources, following a set of rigid rules no longer suffices.

Thus, the current system is based on a few guiding principles, rather than an extensive list of specific rules. While the handbook still describes how to cite sources, it is organized according to the process of documentation, rather than by the sources themselves. This gives writers a flexible method that is near-universally applicable.

Once you are familiar with the method, you can use it to document any type of source, for any type of paper, in any field.

Here is an overview of the process:

When deciding how to cite your source, start by consulting the list of core elements. These are the general pieces of information that MLA suggests including in each Works Cited entry. In your citation, the elements should be listed in the following order:

• Title of source.
• Title of container,
• Other contributors,
• Publication date,

Each element should be followed by the corresponding punctuation mark shown above. Earlier editions of the handbook included the place of publication and required different punctuation (such as journal editions in parentheses and colons after issue numbers) depending on the type of source. In the current version, punctuation is simpler (only commas and periods separate the elements), and information about the source is kept to the basics.

Begin the entry with the author’s last name, followed by a comma and the rest of the name, as presented in the work. End this element with a period.

Bhabha, Homi K. The Location of Culture. Routledge, 1994.

Title of source

The title of the source should follow the author’s name. Depending upon the type of source, it should be listed in italics or quotation marks.

A book should be in italics:

Henley, Patricia. The Hummingbird House . MacMurray, 1999.

An individual webpage should be in quotation marks. The name of the parent website, which MLA treats as a "container," should follow in italics:

Lundman, Susan. "How to Make Vegetarian Chili." eHow, www.ehow.com/how_10727_make-vegetarian-chili.html.*

A periodical (journal, magazine, newspaper) article should be in quotation marks:

Bagchi, Alaknanda. "Conflicting Nationalisms: The Voice of the Subaltern in Mahasweta Devi's Bashai Tudu." Tulsa Studies in Women's Literature , vol. 15, no. 1, 1996, pp. 41-50.

A song or piece of music on an album should be in quotation marks. The name of the album should then follow in italics:

Beyoncé. "Pray You Catch Me." Lemonade, Parkwood Entertainment, 2016, www.beyonce.com/album/lemonade-visual-album/.

*The MLA handbook recommends including URLs when citing online sources. For more information, see the “Optional Elements” section below.

Title of container

The eighth edition of the MLA handbook introduced what are referred to as "containers," which are the larger wholes in which the source is located. For example, if you want to cite a poem that is listed in a collection of poems, the individual poem is the source, while the larger collection is the container. The title of the container is usually italicized and followed by a comma, since the information that follows next describes the container.

Kincaid, Jamaica. "Girl." The Vintage Book of Contemporary American Short Stories, edited by Tobias Wolff, Vintage, 1994, pp. 306-07.

The container may also be a television series, which is made up of episodes.

“94 Meetings.” Parks and Recreation, created by Greg Daniels and Michael Schur, performance by Amy Poehler, season 2, episode 21, Deedle-Dee Productions and Universal Media Studios, 2010.

The container may also be a website, which contains articles, postings, and other works.

Wise, DeWanda. “Why TV Shows Make Me Feel Less Alone.”  NAMI,  31 May 2019,  www.nami.org/Blogs/NAMI-Blog/May-2019/How-TV-Shows-Make-Me-Feel-Less-Alone . Accessed 3 June 2019.

In some cases, a container might be within a larger container. You might have read a book of short stories on Google Books , or watched a television series on Netflix . You might have found the electronic version of a journal on JSTOR. It is important to cite these containers within containers so that your readers can find the exact source that you used.

“94 Meetings.” Parks and Recreation , season 2, episode 21, NBC , 29 Apr. 2010. Netflix, www.netflix.com/watch/70152031?trackId=200256157&tctx=0%2C20%2C0974d361-27cd-44de-9c2a-2d9d868b9f64-12120962.

Langhamer, Claire. “Love and Courtship in Mid-Twentieth-Century England.” Historical Journal , vol. 50, no. 1, 2007, pp. 173-96. ProQuest, doi:10.1017/S0018246X06005966. Accessed 27 May 2009.

Other contributors

In addition to the author, there may be other contributors to the source who should be credited, such as editors, illustrators, translators, etc. If their contributions are relevant to your research, or necessary to identify the source, include their names in your documentation.

Foucault, Michel. Madness and Civilization: A History of Insanity in the Age of Reason. Translated by Richard Howard , Vintage-Random House, 1988.

Woolf, Virginia. Jacob’s Room . Annotated and with an introduction by Vara Neverow, Harcourt, Inc., 2008.

If a source is listed as an edition or version of a work, include it in your citation.

The Bible . Authorized King James Version, Oxford UP, 1998.

Crowley, Sharon, and Debra Hawhee. Ancient Rhetorics for Contemporary Students. 3rd ed., Pearson, 2004.

If a source is part of a numbered sequence, such as a multi-volume book or journal with both volume and issue numbers, those numbers must be listed in your citation.

Dolby, Nadine. “Research in Youth Culture and Policy: Current Conditions and Future Directions.” Social Work and Society: The International Online-Only Journal, vol. 6, no. 2, 2008, www.socwork.net/sws/article/view/60/362. Accessed 20 May 2009.

Quintilian. Institutio Oratoria. Translated by H. E. Butler, vol. 2, Loeb-Harvard UP, 1980.

The publisher produces or distributes the source to the public. If there is more than one publisher, and they are all are relevant to your research, list them in your citation, separated by a forward slash (/).

Klee, Paul. Twittering Machine. 1922. Museum of Modern Art, New York. The Artchive, www.artchive.com/artchive/K/klee/twittering_machine.jpg.html. Accessed May 2006.

Women's Health: Problems of the Digestive System . American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists, 2006.

Daniels, Greg and Michael Schur, creators. Parks and Recreation . Deedle-Dee Productions and Universal Media Studios, 2015.

Note : The publisher’s name need not be included in the following sources: periodicals, works published by their author or editor, websites whose titles are the same name as their publisher, websites that make works available but do not actually publish them (such as  YouTube ,  WordPress , or  JSTOR ).

Publication date

The same source may have been published on more than one date, such as an online version of an original source. For example, a television series might have aired on a broadcast network on one date, but released on  Netflix  on a different date. When the source has more than one date, it is sufficient to use the date that is most relevant to your writing. If you’re unsure about which date to use, go with the date of the source’s original publication.

In the following example, Mutant Enemy is the primary production company, and “Hush” was released in 1999. Below is a general citation for this television episode:

“Hush.” Buffy the Vampire Slayer , created by Joss Whedon, performance by Sarah Michelle Gellar, season 4, Mutant Enemy, 1999 .

However, if you are discussing, for example, the historical context in which the episode originally aired, you should cite the full date. Because you are specifying the date of airing, you would then use WB Television Network (rather than Mutant Enemy), because it was the network (rather than the production company) that aired the episode on the date you’re citing.

“Hush.” Buffy the Vampire Slayer, created by Joss Whedon, performance by Sarah Michelle Gellar, season 4, episode 10, WB Television Network, 14 Dec. 1999 .

You should be as specific as possible in identifying a work’s location.

An essay in a book or an article in a journal should include page numbers.

Adiche, Chimamanda Ngozi. “On Monday of Last Week.” The Thing around Your Neck, Alfred A. Knopf, 2009, pp. 74-94 .

The location of an online work should include a URL.  Remove any "http://" or "https://" tag from the beginning of the URL.

Wheelis, Mark. "Investigating Disease Outbreaks Under a Protocol to the Biological and Toxin Weapons Convention." Emerging Infectious Diseases , vol. 6, no. 6, 2000, pp. 595-600, wwwnc.cdc.gov/eid/article/6/6/00-0607_article. Accessed 8 Feb. 2009.

When citing a physical object that you experienced firsthand, identify the place of location.

Matisse, Henri. The Swimming Pool. 1952, Museum of Modern Art, New York .

Optional elements

The ninth edition is designed to be as streamlined as possible. The author should include any information that helps readers easily identify the source, without including unnecessary information that may be distracting. The following is a list of optional elements that can be included in a documented source at the writer’s discretion.

Date of original publication:

If a source has been published on more than one date, the writer may want to include both dates if it will provide the reader with necessary or helpful information.

Erdrich, Louise. Love Medicine. 1984. Perennial-Harper, 1993.

City of publication:

The seventh edition handbook required the city in which a publisher is located, but the eighth edition states that this is only necessary in particular instances, such as in a work published before 1900. Since pre-1900 works were usually associated with the city in which they were published, your documentation may substitute the city name for the publisher’s name.

Thoreau, Henry David. Excursions . Boston, 1863.

Date of access:

When you cite an online source, the MLA Handbook recommends including a date of access on which you accessed the material, since an online work may change or move at any time.

Bernstein, Mark. "10 Tips on Writing the Living Web." A List Apart: For People Who Make Websites, 16 Aug. 2002, alistapart.com/article/writeliving. Accessed 4 May 2009.

As mentioned above, while the MLA handbook recommends including URLs when you cite online sources, you should always check with your instructor or editor and include URLs at their discretion.

A DOI, or digital object identifier, is a series of digits and letters that leads to the location of an online source. Articles in journals are often assigned DOIs to ensure that the source is locatable, even if the URL changes. If your source is listed with a DOI, use that instead of a URL.

Alonso, Alvaro, and Julio A. Camargo. "Toxicity of Nitrite to Three Species of Freshwater Invertebrates." Environmental Toxicology , vol. 21, no. 1, 3 Feb. 2006, pp. 90-94. Wiley Online Library, doi: 10.1002/tox.20155.

Creating in-text citations using the previous (eighth) edition

Although the MLA handbook is currently in its ninth edition, some information about citing in the text using the older (eighth) edition is being retained. The in-text citation is a brief reference within your text that indicates the source you consulted. It should properly attribute any ideas, paraphrases, or direct quotations to your source, and should direct readers to the entry in the Works Cited list. For the most part, an in-text citation is the  author’s name and the page number (or just the page number, if the author is named in the sentence) in parentheses :

When creating in-text citations for media that has a runtime, such as a movie or podcast, include the range of hours, minutes and seconds you plan to reference. For example: (00:02:15-00:02:35).

Again, your goal is to attribute your source and provide a reference without interrupting your text. Your readers should be able to follow the flow of your argument without becoming distracted by extra information.

How to Cite the Purdue OWL in MLA

Entire Website

The Purdue OWL . Purdue U Writing Lab, 2019.

Individual Resources

Contributors' names. "Title of Resource." The Purdue OWL , Purdue U Writing Lab, Last edited date.

The new OWL no longer lists most pages' authors or publication dates. Thus, in most cases, citations will begin with the title of the resource, rather than the developer's name.

"MLA Formatting and Style Guide." The Purdue OWL, Purdue U Writing Lab. Accessed 18 Jun. 2018.

• Spartanburg Community College Library
• SCC Research Guides
• Citing Generative AI

Please see below for MLA guidelines on how to cite Generative AI (artificial intelligence) tools like ChatGPT, Dall-e, Grammarly, etc used for sources. 

General Rules

• Paraphrasing or Quoting from AI Text

AI-Generated Images

• AI Creative Textual Work
• Help Resources

See SEICAI Student Guide to Generative AI and your instructor's policy about the appropriate use of generative AI for any academic assignments.

Author:  None

Title:  Use the prompt you entered (in quotes) to generate the content followed by the word "prompt" (no quotes). 

Name of the AI Tool & Version:  The name of the AI tool will be in italics, followed by a comma, and the version of the AI not in italics  (examples: ChatGPT , version 3.5, or  AutoDraw , May 2017 version, etc.). If you cannot find a version for the AI, just list the AI tool.

Publisher:  Name of the Company who created the tool (OpenAI, Google, etc.).

Date:  Give the date you used the AI tool to generate the content. Dates should be in MLA Format (example: 15 Oct. 2024)

URL:  Give the general URL for the AI tool unless the AI provides a specific shareable link to the conversation/content (example: the tool DALL-E creates images and allows users to generate a publicly-available URL that leads back to that image).

Asking AI to Answer a Question or Prompt and Then Writing in Your Own Words (Paraphrasing)

You still need to give credit if you used material created from an AI tool, even if you put the information in your own words the same as you would paraphrasing from any source. 

Format:  "The prompt you entered to generate the content" plus the word prompt.  Name of A I Tool in Italics , Version, Publisher, Date, URL.

Example 1:  " What are some age appropriate lessons to teach sharing to children age 3 to 5"   prompt. Magic School AI,  Oct. version, Magic School, 3 Oct. 2024, www.magicschool.ai.

Example 2:  "What skills from the job ad should I highlight in my cover letter"   prompt. ChatGPT ,  version 3.5, OpenAI, 3 June 2024, chat.openai.com/chat.

When using an AI-generated image in your assignments, use a description of the prompt, followed by the AI tool, version, and date created, URL.  See our guide on  Citing Images or Graphs for more information about citing and using images in your project.

Format:  "The prompt you entered to generate the image" plus the word prompt.  Name of A I Tool in Italics , Version [if available], Publisher, Date, URL.

Example:  "10ft x 12ft garden with 3 Dwarf Palmetto shrubs" prompt. Canva,  Canva Inc., 23 Aug. 2024, www.canva.com/ai-image-generator/.

Asking AI to Create a Text like a Poem, Song, or Short Story

How you cite a creative text depends on if you told the AI tool a title for the text it created. 

Text with a Title 

Format:  “Title of Text" plus an explanation of the prompt.  Name of A I Tool in Italics , Version, Publisher, Date, URL.

Example:  “The Tale of Which Came First the Egg or the Chicken” a short story answering the riddle.  ChatGPT , version 3.5, OpenAI, 23 Sept. 2024, chat.openai.com/chat.

Text without a Title

If you did not tell the AI tool a title for the work, then you will use either all or part of the first line (depending on how long) as the title plus an explanation of the prompt.

Format:  “All or Part of First Line of Text" plus an explanation of the prompt.  Name of A I Tool in Italics , Version, Publisher, Date, URL.

Example:  “In 1920, Wilson wins reelection over Harding...” write a chapter about the outcome of the 1920 US presidential election if women did not get the right to vote.  ChatGPT , version 3.5, OpenAI,15 Nov. 2024, chat.openai.com/chat.

MLA Style Center

How do I cite generative AI in MLA style?

Grammarly 

How to Cite ChatGPT and AI in MLA Format

Purdue University 

How to Cite AI-Generated Content

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Check an Expert Guide on Citing TikTok in Papers

Table of Contents

Social media citing in research projects, published articles, and other written works is commonplace due to niche growth. “How to cite a TikTok?” concerns have rapid solutions when you are familiar with experts’ “how to cite a TikTok” techniques. Check out formatting peculiarities for several styles and make your writing literate.

Citing a TikTok Sticking to MLA Standards 

The normal MLA “how to cite a TikTok” template for referencing a profile account in the text may look as follows.

• Account owner’s full name. 
• Username in brackets. 
• Video title (sometimes with a concise description) in quotation marks. 
• Platform name (TikTok).
• Then date in the format, “Day month. Year,” without quotation marks. 
• URL address after date divided by a comma.

“How to cite a TikTok” editors separate each point by a full stop except for the two last points. You can avoid the full date and indicate solely a year when you wonder how to cite a TikTok account. Omitting the video author’s full name is possible when you replace it with the account owner’s first name and @username.

APA TikTok Citing Practice

APA citation generator is a viable option for prompt and correct TikTok citation without reading a vast bulk of “how to cite a TikTok in APA” guides. In APA, you can use shortened name versions like “Scott, J.” If you wonder how to cite a TikTok in APA for video materials, indicate [Video] after the post title. Write dates in parentheses after usernames.

Chicago TikTok Citation Peculiarities

Need insights into how to cite a TikTok in Chicago? Adhere to APA rules considering some intricacies. Divide all the citation points with commas. Include solely parentheses with the account owner’s name, username, and date for in-text references.

Intricacies of Citing TikTok in Harvard Style

When you face visual material relevant to your subject and seek rules for how to cite a TikTok video in Harvard methodology, consider it differs from previous “how to cite a TikTok” standards. Last name and year are sufficient for in-text citations. If you need updates on how to cite a TikTok account in references, follow the template “Scott (2024) 7 August. Available at URL address (Accessed: 8 August 2024). “How to cite a TikTok video” guidelines have the same instructions.

No extremely puzzling formatting issues can occur when you are familiar with an updated “how to cite a TikTok” guide. Cite social media content as a professional sticking to expert advice on how to cite a TikTok!

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