It is common practice to refer to the table and its corresponding numeral in-text in parentheses. In case the graph has been published in a journal article, or government report, take a look at our MLA table citation guides below.
To cite a table in a reference entry in MLA style 8th edition include the following elements:
Author(s) name: 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 table: Titles are italicized when independent. If part of a larger source add quotation marks and do not italize.
Title of the journal:
volume number: Give the volume number preceded by vol. (e. g. vol. 56).
issue number: Give the number of the source preceded by no. (e. g. no. 7).
Year of publication: Give the year of publication as presented in the source.
Page numbers: Give the full page range preceded by pp. If only one page, precede with one p.
DOI: 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 table in MLA style 8th edition:
Author(s) name."Title of the table."Title of the journal,vol. volume number,no. issue number,Year of publication,pp. Page numbers,DOI.
To cite a table in a reference entry in MLA style 8th edition include the following elements:
Author(s) name: 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 report: Titles are italicized when independent. If part of a larger source add quotation marks and do not italize.
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.
Year of publication: Give the year of publication as presented in the source.
Here is the basic format for a reference list entry of a table in MLA style 8th edition:
Author(s) name,Title of the report,Publisher,Year of publication.
Take a look at our works cited examples that demonstrate the MLA style guidelines in action:
Examples
table citation from a journal
Ahmed, Bakr. "Cholestrol levels in a cohort of 250 participants." Journal of Obesity, vol. 56, no. 4, 2012, pp. 107-116, dx.doi.org/10.4201/1421-0185.65.2.107.
table citation from a government report
Environment Protection Agency,Heavy Metal Contamination in the Nile River, USGPO, 2008.
How to do an in-text citation for a table in MLA
When citing a table in-text using the MLA style, refer to the table by number in parentheses.
In practice, you can expect your table's in-text citation to be in this format (see table 1).
How to do a caption for a table in MLA
Below the table, use the descriptor "Source," followed by a colon, then provide the information for the source in caption form.
Examples
Citation of a table from a journal
Source:Galal, Mariam. "Levels of MxA gene expression." Journal of Cancer Biology, vol. 65, no. 2, 2006, pp. 107-116, dx.doi.org/10.1024/1421-0185.65.2.107.
If you provide source information below the table, you do not need to provide the same information in the references list.
This citation style guide is based on the MLA Handbook (9th edition).
