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Cite reports and web documents (PDFs) in MLA

Learn how to cite reports and web documents in MLA style. Use correct templates for PDFs, printed reports, and Australian Bureau of Statistics sources to reference sources accurately in your writing.

Check with your teacher or lecturer before using a factsheet as a reference source. These are usually not acceptable as academic sources unless as objects of research.

In-text citations

Place direct quotes between double quotation marks (" ").

Citation format Example
Paraphrasing Women in Australian films are underrepresented due to …. (Screen Australia 2015).
Direct quote According to Screen Australia “to make a real difference to women’s participation and success in the industry, there needs to be a holistic, integrated approach to people, projects and business” (10).

Works cited

  • Give the author, the title (in italics), and publication details of the document.
  • Give the name of the website where the document was accessed.
  • If there is no publication date, include the retrieval date.
Reference format Example
Template Author. Title of Post or Page, Website Name, date, URL.
Works cited entry

Screen Australia. Gender Matters: Women in the Australian Screen Industry, Screen Australia, 2015, www.screenaustralia.gov.au/getmedia/f20beab8-81cc-4499-92e9-02afba18c438/Gender-Matters-Women-in-the-Australian-Screen-Industry.pdf

In-text citations

Place direct quotes between double quotation marks (" ") and provide the page number(s).

Citation format Example
Paraphrasing During 1985 the British Library purchased several rare Oriental titles including … (Department of Oriental Manuscripts and Printed Books 5).
Direct quote “An important project this year has been to procure several rare Oriental manuscripts” (Department of Oriental Manuscripts and Printed Books 5).

Works cited

  • Give the title of the report in italics. Add any series name or number (no italics) after the title.
  • Give the author. Use common abbreviations for groups’ e.g. ‘Dept. of Defence’, ‘Dept. of Treasury and Finance.’ Do not include 'The' before the name of any organisation.
  • Give the publication details. If published by the author, use the word ‘Author’ for the publisher name.
  • For Australian Government reports, the publisher is usually the same as the author, so to avoid repetition, it is only listed under publisher.
  • When a government agency is the author, begin with the name of the government, and then list the name of the department.
Reference format Example
Template Name of Organisation, Name of Department. Title of Work. Publisher, Date of Publication.
Works cited entry

Department of Oriental Manuscripts and Printed Books. Annual Report. British Library Board, 1986.

In-text citations

Place direct quotes between double quotation marks (" ") and provide the page number(s).

Citation format Example
Paraphrasing The Victorian Country Fire Association has over 50, 000 volunteers who … (“Emergency response times”).
Direct quote “High quality evaluation evidence is vital for informing policy and programme development and planning” (Commonwealth of Australia, 4).

Works cited

  • Give the title of the report in italics. Add any series name or number (no italics) after the title.
  • Give the author. Use common abbreviations for groups’ e.g. ‘Dept. of Defence’, ‘Dept. of Treasury and Finance.’ Do not include 'The' before the name of any organisation.
  • Give the publication details. If published by author, use the word ‘Author’ for the publisher name.
  • For Australian Government reports, the publisher is usually the same as the author, so to avoid repetition, it is only listed under publisher.
  • When a government agency is the author, begin with the name of the government, and then list the name of the department.
  • For online sources, add the website name in italics, publisher and publication date.
Reference format Example
Template Title of Work. Name of Government Agency/Organisation, Day Month Year, URL.
Works cited entry

Commonwealth of Australia. Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Health Performance Framework: 2017 Report. Australian Health Ministers' Advisory Council, 2017, pmc.gov.au/resource-centre/indigenous-affairs/health-performance-framework-2017-report.

Emergency Response Times. Country Fire Association, 30 Oct. 2025, www.cfa.vic.gov.au/about-us/publications/emergency-response-times.

In-text citations

Place direct quotes between double quotation marks (" ") and provide the page number(s).

Citation format Example
Paraphrasing Most parts of Australia experienced an increase in rainfall as of June 2017 (“Water use on Australian farms”)
Direct quote “Above average rainfall was recorded in most states contributing to record yields and production in 2016-17 and total volume of water applied for irrigation increased 9% to 9.1 million megalitres” (“Water use on Australian farms”).

Works cited

  • For Australian Bureau of Statistics reports, the organisation is both the author and publisher, so you can skip the author element.
  • Give the title of report in italics. Add any series name or number (no italics) after the title.
  • Do not include “The” before the name of any organisation.
  • For online sources, add the website name in italics, publisher and publication date.
Reference format Example
Template Title of Work. Catalogue no., Australian Bureau of Statistics, Release Date, URL.
Works cited entry

Water Use on Australian Farms, Catalogue no. 4618.0, Australian Bureau of Statistics, 7 July 2017, www.abs.gov.au/ausstats/abs@.nsf/mf/4618.0?OpenDocument.