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.
Title
Images may not have a set title. If this is the case give a description of the image where you would normally put the title.
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.
Examples:
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:
| Fig. X. Description of the figure from: Citation for source figure was found in (e.g. a website, a magazine article). |
Note: If you have more than one figure in your assignment, label your figures starting at 1.
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.
Example:
Fig. 1. Man exercising from: Green, Annie. "Yoga: Stretching Out." Sports Digest, 8 May 2006, p. 22.
Example:
Fig. 2. Annakiki skirt from: Cheung, Pauline. "Short Skirt S/S/ 15 China Womenswear Commercial Update." WGSN.
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:
| Source: Citation for source table was found in (e.g. a website, a journal article). |
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.
Example:
Table 1
Variables in determining victims and aggressors
Source: Mohr, Andrea. "Family Variables Associated With Peer Victimization." Swiss Journal of Psychology, vol. 65, no. 2, 2006, pp. 107-116, Psychology Collection, doi: http://dx.doi.org/10.1024/1421-0185.65.2.107.
When you refer to a photographic reproduction of an artwork, the citation is made up of two parts:
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)
When you refer to a photographic reproduction of an artwork, the citation is made up of two parts:
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.
Example:
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 by Teaching and learning MLA style is about to get easier. For nearly seventy years, the Modern Language Association has helped student writers choose trustworthy sources and use them to support their own ideas. Now, the authority on writing and research presents the clearest approach to MLA style yet with the ninth edition of the MLA Handbook. The ninth edition works as both a textbook and a reference guide. Focusing on source evaluation, it features a wealth of visual examples and updated advice on punctuation and grammar, footnotes and endnotes, annotated bibliographies, and paper formatting. An all-in-one resource that makes MLA style easier to learn and use, the MLA Handbook includes: Expanded, in-depth guidance on creating works-cited-list entries using the MLA template of core elements that explains what each core element is, where to find it in various sources, and how to style it. A new, easy-to-follow explanation of in-text citations. A new chapter containing recommendations for using inclusive language. A new appendix with hundreds of sample works-cited-list entries by publication format, including books, databases, websites, YouTube videos, interviews, and more. Updated guidelines on avoiding plagiarism. Although there are numerous websites, apps, reference works, and cheat sheets that claim to help with MLA style, there's only one truly authoritative resource to help your students on their paths to becoming better writers. The ninth edition of the MLA Handbook is the most comprehensive guide the MLA has ever produced, with an all-inclusive approach to writing, research, documentation, and formatting.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.
