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MLA - Referencing Guide

Theses

Information

More specific information is available for Books and Journal Articles.

• Include the protocol (http:// or https://) with DOIs

Do not include the protocol (http:// or https://) in URLs unless hyperlinking to the resource (unless using a software program such as EndNote that does not allow links without the protocol).

 Cite by title if no author or editor is given.

Additional information must be provided (depending on the type of electronic publication) to correctly identify that you accessed the document in an electronic format.

The authors' names are given as they appear on the publication you have used, i.e., use full first name where provided or first name initials where initials only are provided.

Titles are given maximal capitalisation (title case)

Format

Standard format for citation

Unpublished:

Author, Given Names. Title of Thesis: Subtitle. Year. University, Thesis type.

 

Published:

Author, Given Names. Title of Thesis: Subtitle. Year of completion. University, Thesis type. Publisher, Year of publication.

 

From a full text database or repository:

Author, Given Names. (Year). Title of Thesis: Subtitle. Year of completion. University, Thesis type. Database or Repository Name (Identifier if given), internet address.

Examples

Thesis in print: Unpublished

Woznica, Mirek. A Counter-History of Art. 1997. Murdoch U, PhD thesis.

Thesis in print: Published

Darling, Charles W. Giver of Due Regard: The Poetry of Richard Wilbur. 1977. U. of CT, PhD dissertation. Merganser Press, 1979.

Thesis from a full text database

Kane, Sonia. Acts of Coercion: Father-Daughter Relationships and the Pressure to Confess in British Women's Fiction, 1778-1814. 2003. City U of New York, PhD dissertation. ProQuest, www.proquest.com/docview/305332804.

Thesis from a repository

Chew, Cynthia Mei-Li. "It's Stupid Being a Girl!': The Tomboy Character in Selected Children’s Series Fiction. 2009. Murdoch U, PhD thesis. Murdoch University Research Repository, researchrepository.murdoch.edu.au/id/eprint/454/.


See the All Examples page for examples of in-text and reference list entries for specific resources such as articles, books, and web pages.