MLA Style Guide for Nontraditional Sources

Citation style guides, citation managers, and citation generators are built for peer reviewed sources and sources that are published (journal articles and books).

Nontraditional sources are often referred in academia as grey literature.

This guide will give you examples and formats for citing these sources using MLA, and it is based off of archival collection adaptations of MLA format. You can view more information here at Purdue OWL Citing Archival Resources.

What is Grey Literature?

Grey literature refers to a wide range of records and materials that were not published or distributed in traditional and commercial ways. Examples include reports, statistics, policies, newsletters, speeches, design or marketing standards, and other types of information that is produced at the organization level. Typically, grey literature is current and locally relevant. The records and materials in the UW-Stout Archives typically fall under the definition of grey literature.

This guide will give you formats and information on citing these types of sources.

Citing Grey Literature with MLA

For more information on MLA citations, you can refer to the MLA Style Center. Below are examples and descriptions of MLA guidelines for specific archival materials, nontraditional sources, and grey literature.

We are here to help! If you have any questions about specific collections or documents, please reach out to archives@uwstout.edu.

In-Text Citation Basic Format

(Author #)

If there is not an author, use the title or a description of the material being cited. The number is for the page number, if applicable for the source.

Works Cited Basic Format

Author Last Name, First Name Middle Name or Initial. Title or description of material. Day month year. Collection Name. Collection identifier, Box number, Folder number. Name of repository, Location of repository. URL if applicable.

Stout Examples of MLA Citations

Example 1: Commencement Programs

This is an example of citing a digitized print record in an online, open access repository. The commencement program is a physical document in the archives. There is a different citation for the physical commencement program. This example is specifically for citing the digitized, openly accessible version of the commencement program.

Works Cited

Stout State University. Commencement Stout State University. 4 June 1966. Commencement Programs. UW-Stout Archives, Menomonie, WI. https://uwstout.access.preservica.com/uncategorized/IO_5135d849-9ed7-41ce-89b7-63db565ed7f6/

In-Text Citation

(Stout State University 2)

Example 2: Stoutonia Article

This is an example of citing newspapers and publications in Stout Digital Collections. For this type of record, the newspaper MLA citation format is recommended.

Author Last Name, First Name. "Title of Article: Subtitle." Name of Newspaper [city of newspaper if not described in name], Day Month Year of Publication, p. Page number. Name of Database, URL.

Works Cited

Manke, Jason. "Blue Devils struggle against Eagles." Stoutonia [Menomonie], 20 October 1994, p. 13. Internet Archive, https://archive.org/details/StoutoniaVolume85/page/n99/mode/2up

In-Text Citation

(Manke 13)

Example 3: Image

Below is a citation for an image from Stout Digital Collections. Some images will have titles. If there is not a title, you will need to create a description for the image yourself representing what you see in the image.

Works Cited

Welding. 1936. History of the University of Wisconsin-Stout Collection. y-63. UW-Stout Archives, Menomonie, WI. https://search.library.wisc.edu/digital/ACQKJELLQQG7IU9C

In-Text Citation

(Welding)

Example 4: Physical Records from the Archives

Below is a citation for the following physical record located within Stout Series 293, Dwight Agnew Personal Papers. It is a brochure and is currently only located in the Archives, not in an online repository. For information on this collection and this record, a guide to the collection is located online: https://minds.wisconsin.edu/handle/1793/82194

Works Cited

The Menomonie Woman's Club. Mabel Tainter Memorial. Date unknown. Dwight Agnew Personal Papers, 1948-1972. Stout Series 293, Box 2, Folder 4. UW-Stout Archives, Menomonie, WI.

In-Text Citation

(The Menomonie Woman's Club)

Example 5: Stout Thesis

This is an example of citing a thesis or dissertation from a university's repository. The thesis record below is from Stout's Digital Repository. For this type of record, the thesis and dissertation MLA citation format is recommended.

Author Last Name, First Name. Title of Article: Subtitle. Day Month Year of Publication. University or College name, Degree conferred Thesis or Dissertation. Digital Repository, URL.

Works Cited

Kagan, Ashley. Flying Fox Conservation in an Anthropogenic World. 2022. University of Wisconsin Stout, MS Thesis. Minds@UW Stout, https://minds.wisconsin.edu/handle/1793/83571

In-Text Citation

(Kagan 24)

Chicago Style Citations for Nontraditional Sources