- Books
- Articles in Print Periodicals
- Government Publications
- Electronic Books
- Articles in Digital Periodicals
- Web Sites
- Other Digital Resources: Blogs, Tweets, YouTube Videos
Professor of Library Services
Room 902H 516-463-5052 Subjects: English, Literature, Writing Studies & Composition (WSC)
Citing Print Government Publications
A government publication is one that emanates from some level of government (federal, state, city, etc.) and from a government agency (United Sates Department of Justice, New York State Education Department, etc.) Like other documents produced by a corporate author,often you will not know the personal author of the document. Cite the government agency that issued it as author listing the name of the government followed by the name of the agency (you may abbreviate this if it is identifiable by context), followed by the title of the publication. Then list publication information as usual. Because they may differ so considerably from each other in terms of authorship, government publications may p resent some difficulty. Be sure to consult the MLA Handbook.
CONTENTS OF THIS BOX
Publications from Government Agencies
Basic Format
Name of Government from which the publication emanates, Name of Responsible Agency.
Title of the publication (italicized). Publisher's Name, Date.
What does a citation look like?
United States. General Accounting Office. Vietnamese Amerasian Resettlement: Education, Employment and Family
Outcomes in the United States. General Accounting Office, 1994.
Congressional Publications
Basic Format
Name of Government. Part of Congress that produced the document. Title of the document (italicized),
number, session (optional). Publisher's Name, Date.
What does a citation look like?
United States. Cong. S. Committee on Government Operations. Watergate Reorganization and Reform
Act of 1975. Hearings 94th Cong., first sess. Washington: GPO, 1975 .
Acts and Court Cases
Act
To cite an act, give the name of the act, its Public Law number, the date and its Statutes at Large Cataloging number. Use Pub. L. to abbreviate Public Law and Stat for Statures at Large.
Basic Format
Name of Act, Public Law Number. Date it was enacted. Statues at Large. Cataloging Number.
What does a citation look like?
Aviation and Transportation Security Act. Pub L. 107-71. 19 Nov. 2001. Stat. 115.597.
Court Case
To cite a court case, list the names of the first plaintiff and the defendant, the number of the case, the name of the court that decided the case, and the date of the decision
Basic Format
Name of first plaintiff, Name of first defendant. Case Number. Name of Court. Date of decision.
What does a citation look like?
Board of Education, Island Trees Union Free School District v. Pico. No. 80-2043. Supreme Ct. of the US,
