How To Cite A Short Story In MLA And APA With Formatting Examples

Correctly citing sources is essential in academic writing, ensuring both credibility and intellectual honesty. Among the various citation styles, MLA and APA formats are commonly used in the humanities and social sciences fields. 

This guide outlines how to cite a short story using both styles, with clear formatting examples.

How To Cite A Short Story In MLA?

To create an MLA Works Cited entry for a short story, include these core elements in this order:

• Author’s Last Name, First Name.

• Title of Short Story. In quotation marks, followed by a period inside the closing quote.

• Title of container, in italics.

• Editor’s name, preceded by edited by.

• Publisher, followed by a comma.

• Publication Year, followed by a comma.

• Page Range, preceded by pp. and a space.

Example

Reference List Entry:

Smith, John. The Midnight Garden. Evening Tales, edited by Mary Jones, HarperCollins, 2021, pp. 45–58.

In-Text Citation:

(Smith 47)

How a Short Story Is Cited in APA

In APA’s Reference list, arrange elements as follows:

• Author’s Last Name, First Name Initial.

• Include the Year in parentheses, followed by a period.

• Title of the short story, only the first word and proper nouns capitalised.

• Editor Last Name (Ed.), if the story is edited.

• Title of container, in italics, followed by page range in parentheses and a period.

• Publisher.

Example

Reference List Entry:

Smith, J. (2021). The midnight garden. In M. Jones (Ed.), Evening tales (pp. 45–58). HarperCollins.

In-Text Citation:

(Smith, 2021, p. 47)

Quoting and Citing a Short Story in MLA and APA

When quoting, introduce the passage with a signal phrase and include the citation after the quote. For block quotes exceeding four lines in MLA and 40 words in APA, set the text off in a block format without quotation marks.

Additionally, always include page numbers.

Examples

1. MLA Block Quote Example (Over 4 lines):

The black box grew shabbier each year: by now, it was no longer completely black but splintered badly along one side to show the original wood color. Nevertheless, the villagers still turned to it.

(Jackson 3)

2. APA Block Quote Example (Over 40 words):

The black box grew shabbier each year: by now, it was no longer completely black but splintered badly along one side to show the original wood color. Nevertheless, the villagers still turned to it.

(Jackson, 1949, pp. 3–4)

Citing a Short Story from Various Sources

From a Book in MLA and APA

• MLA: Author, Story Title, Book Title, editor, Publisher, Year, pp. xx–xx.

Example: Smith, John. The Midnight Garden. Evening Tales, edited by Mary Jones, HarperCollins, 2021, pp. 45–58.

In-Text: (Smith 47)

• APA: Author. (Year). Story title. In Editor (Ed.), Book Title (pp. xx–xx). Publisher.

Example: Smith, J. (2021). The Midnight Garden. In M. Jones (Ed.), Evening tales (pp. 45–58). HarperCollins.

In-Text: (Smith, 2021, p. 47)

From a Newspaper in MLA and APA

• MLA: List the author, story title, periodical title, date, and page range. 

Example: Coetzee, J. M. The Dog. The New Yorker, 4 Dec. 2017, pp. 15–19.

In-Text: (Coetzee 16)

• APA: Follow the periodical format: author, date in parentheses, story title, periodical title, page range, and URL if online.

Example: Coetzee, J. M. (2017, December 4). The dog. The New Yorker, 15–19.

In-Text: (Coetzee, 2017, p. 16)

Online Short Story in MLA and APA

• MLA: Include the author’s name, story title, website name, publication date, and URL.

Example: Hughes, Caoilinn. A Woman of No Information. Granta, 10 Jun. 2020, granta.com/a-woman-of-no-information/. 

In-Text: (Hughes)

• APA: Include the author, date, title, site name, and URL. 

Example: Hughes, C. (2020, June 10). A woman of no information. Granta. https://granta.com/a-woman-of-no-information/

In-Text: (Hughes, 2020)

Still Struggling With Citation Formatting?

Isgen’s Citation Machine offers a simple, reliable solution to generate accurate MLA and APA citations, even if some publication details are missing.

There are two ways to streamline the citation process:

• Using Citation Machine Manually

If you know the title, author, editor, publication date, and page numbers, you can enter them into Isgen’s form. The tool will automatically create a properly formatted citation according to your selected style.

Here's how to use the apa citation machine:

1. Select the citation style you’re working with and then select Cite Manually. 

2. Provide title, author, publication date, and other essential information.

3. Citations will be ready to use from the references section. You can copy the entry list's citation as well as in-text citation from this page.

• Using Automatic Citation

If you only have a quote or a short excerpt and not the full reference details, Isgen can identify the source for you. Paste the excerpt into the tool, and it will retrieve and format the correct citation automatically.

Here are the steps that you need to follow:

1. Choose the citation style and add the excerpt you want to cite, and proceed with the search.

2. Choose from the many sources that seem relevant to your excerpt.

3. That's it, your citation is ready to use in the work cited list.

FAQs

1. How do you cite a short story in MLA and APA if there is no author?

If no author is listed, start the citation with the title of the story.

• MLA: Story Title. Container Title, edited by Editor, Publisher, Year, pp. xx–xx. 

In-Text: (Story Title 23)

• APA: Story title. (Year). In Editor (Ed.), Container Title (pp. xx–xx). Publisher.

In-Text: (Story Title, Year, p. 23)

2. How to cite a short story from an anthology in MLA?

List the story's author, story title in quotes, anthology title in italics, editor, publisher, year, and page range. Example: Doe, Jane. Echoes. Modern Voices, edited by Tom Lee, Beacon Press, 2020, pp. 101–115.