citing sources in mla research paper

MLA Citation Guide: Welcome

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• Journal Articles
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• Primary Sources
• Religious Texts
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• When Information Is Missing
• When a Work Is Quoted in Another Source
• In-Text Citation
• Works Cited & Paper Format
• Annotated Bibliography
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• Citation Tools
• When Creating Digital Assignments
• Quoting/Paraphrasing

What is MLA?

MLA style was created by the Modern Language Association of America. It is a set of rules for publications, including research papers.

In MLA, you must "cite" sources that you have paraphrased, quoted or otherwise used to write your research paper. Cite your sources in two places:

• In the body of your paper where you add a brief in-text citation.
• In the Works Cited list at the end of your paper where you give more complete information for the source.

MLA 8th ed. Core Principles

MLA 8th edition follows these 3 principles: 

• Cite simple traits shared by most works
• There is often more than one correct way to cite a source
• Make your citations useful to readers 

Major Changes in the 8th Edition

1. vol. and no. are now spelled out.

Instead of 32.3; it's: vol. 32, no. 3

2. Place of publication is omitted.

3. Page numbers are designated with pp.

4. Date of access is omitted.

5. Medium of publication is omitted.

Core Elements of an MLA citation

MLA 8th edition provides 9 core elements to complete any works cited entry. It is your job to try to fill in these core elements with the information you have about a source. If any element is missing or not applicable, you can skip that element.

Author. "Title of source." (title is in italics if the source is self-contained. For example, an entire book.)

Title of Container,  (for example, the title of a book, journal, web site) Other contributors, (such as editors, translators, or directors.) Version,  Number,  Publisher, Publication date, Location.

Note:  According to p. 42 of the  MLA Handbook , publisher information may be omitted for:

• periodicals (journals, magazines, newspapers)
• works published by an author or editor
• web sites whose title is the same as the name of the publisher
• a web site not involved in producing the work it makes (e.g. user-generated content sites like  YouTube )

Plagiarism is a violation of the Q uinnipiac Academic Integrity Policy and is defined as intentionally or unintentionally using someone else's words, works, thoughts, or expression of ideas without giving proper credit. Plagiarism also includes reusing one's own content from another paper or using one paper for more than one course without authorization to do so.

Commonly Used Terms

Access Date:  The date you first look at a source. The access date is added to the end of citations for all websites except library databases.

Citation : Details about one cited source.

Citing : The process of acknowledging the sources of your information and ideas.

In-Text Citation : A brief note at the point where information is used from a source to indicate where the information came from. An in-text citation should always match more detailed information that is available in the Works Cited List.

Paraphrasing : Taking information that you have read and putting it into your own words.

Plagiarism : Taking, using, and passing off as your own, the ideas or words of another.

Quoting : The copying of text originally published elsewhere. Direct quotations generally appear in quotation marks and end with a citation.

Works Cited List : Contains details on ALL the sources cited in a text or essay, and supports your research and/or premise.

With thanks to Seneca College Libraries

This guide is used and has been adapted with the permission of Seneca College Libraries . For information about reusing the guide, please contact [email protected] .

Note: When copying this guide, please retain this box.

This citation guide is based on the  MLA Handbook for Writers of Research Papers  (8th ed.). The contents are accurate to the best of our knowledge.

• Next: Purdue OWL >>
• Last Updated: Aug 27, 2024 11:24 AM
• URL: https://libraryguides.quinnipiac.edu/mla8

MLA Guide (7th edition)

The examples provided in this guide are meant to introduce you to the basics of citing sources using the MLA Handbook for Writers of Research Papers (seventh edition). For types of resources not included in this guide (e.g., government documents, manuscript collections, video recordings) and for further information about the examples included below, please consult the MLA Handbook itself , and/or a Reference Librarian . For help with layout, margins, spacing and page numbering, see the MLA Handbook (Fig. 12, page 131). Consider using RefWorks to help you track your research and automatically create a bibliography in MLA style.

If you need help with the current version of MLA, please see the guide for MLA ( 8th edition, 2016). If you are unsure which version of MLA to use, please consult with your professor.

Table of Contents:

Parenthetical Documentation Preparing the List of Works Cited A Brief Note on Footnotes and Endnotes For More Help

PARENTHETICAL DOCUMENTATION

When using MLA documentation style, you need to reference your sources by using a combination of a list of works cited (see below) and parenthetical notation . Whenever you refer to or use another's words, facts or ideas in your paper, you are required to cite the source. Generally, brief parenthetical notations consisting of the author's last name and a page reference are sufficient. For example: (Drucker 30) .

Note: If you mention the author in your sentence, then you need only cite the page number . And if you cite more than one work by the same author , include the title of the work in your notation. For example: (Drucker, Management Cases 30) .

1. ONE AUTHOR

The character Folly denies satirizing Christianity when she says, "it is no part of my present plan to rummage through the lives of popes and priests," yet she spends much of her encomium doing just that (Erasmus 115).

2. TWO OR MORE AUTHORS

Max Weber purported that value systems could be studied "without the social scientist's own values distorting such studies" (Keat and Urry 196).

According to Russell Keat and John Urry in Social Science as Theory, Max Weber believed that value systems could be studied "without the social scientist's own values distorting such studies" (196).

Max Weber believed that individuals can objectively study values without their own values interfering with their judgment (Keat and Urry 196).

3. CORPORATE AUTHOR

Children of Central and Eastern Europe have not escaped the nutritional ramifications of iron deficiency, a worldwide problem (UNICEF 44).

4. NO AUTHOR

Marketers of health services and products will find the National Center for Health Statistics' site useful, particularly its statistics on mortality rates. Discovering a population's leading causes of death "tells the researcher a lot about its underlying health problems" ("Information to Die For" 40).

5. WORK IN AN ANTHOLOGY

Cite the author of the essay or story and not the editor of the anthology unless they are the same.

Although some critics disliked Mel Brook's 1993 parody of Robin Hood, it is actually "in the mainstream of the Robin Hood tradition" (Knight 461).

6. INDIRECT QUOTATION

Chief Joseph concluded his surrender by stating eloquently: "[.. .] I will fight no more forever" (qtd. in Safire 108).

7. ONLINE RESOURCE

If the work is not paginated, include the name of the author or editor within the context of your sentence (for example, from a discussion list).

Posting on the VICTORIA listserv, Karen O'Connell mentioned a relevant novel by Wilkie Collins that deals with the 19th-century use of arsenic as a complexion improver.

If the work is paginated, cite it as you would a print resource.

Imagine that the sentences above could somehow be synthesized and used in a single paper. The works cited page would look like this:

WORKS CITED

Erasmus, Desiderius. The Praise of Folly. Trans. Clarence H. Miller. New Haven:

        Yale University Press, 1979. Print.

"Information to Die For."   Marketing Health Services 22.1 (2002): 40-42.  ABI/Inform.

        Web.  14 Aug. 2009.

Keat, Russell, and John Urry.   Social Theory as Science.   2nd ed.  London: Routledge

        and K. Paul, 1982.  Print.

Knight, Stephen.  "Robin Hood: Men in Tights: Fitting the Tradition Snugly."

        Robin Hood: An Anthology of Scholarship and Criticism.   Ed. Stephen

        Knight.  Woodbridge: D. S. Brewer, 1999.  461-467.  Print.

O'Connell, Karen.  "Re: Poisoning."  VICTORIA.  Indiana U.  3 Nov. 2000.  Web.

        14 Aug. 2009.

Safire, William.   Lend Me Your Ears: Great Speeches in History. New York: W. W.

         Norton and Company, 1992. Print.

UNICEF.   Generation in Jeopardy: Children in Central and Eastern Europe and the

         Former Soviet Union. Ed. Alexander Zouev. Armonk: M. E. Sharpe, 1999.

         Print.

PREPARING THE LIST OF WORKS CITED

As demonstrated above, a works cited page consists of an alphabetical listing of the books, articles and other sources that you parenthetically noted in your paper. The works cited page occurs at the end of your paper; however, it is useful to create a draft of it before you begin writing. Following are typical examples of the types of references you will use in your research.

Include some or all of the following elements in your book citation:

• Author or editor
• Title (italicized)
• Translator or compiler
• Volume(s) used
• Name of series
• Place of publication, publisher, and date of publication
• Page numbers
• Name of vendor, database, or provider (italicized)
• Medium of publication consulted (e.g., Print)
• Date of access (Web only; day, month, year)
• Supplementary information and annotation

1. ONE AUTHOR OR EDITOR

Cather, Willa.   The Professor's House.   New York: A. A. Knopf, 1925.  Print.

UNICEF.   Generation in Jeopardy: Children in Central and Eastern Europe

         and the Former Soviet Union.   Ed. Alexander Zouev.  Armonk: M. E.

         Sharpe, 1999.  Print.

Hudson, Valerie N., ed.   Culture and Foreign Policy.   Boulder: L. Rienner

         Publishers, 1997.  Print.

2. TWO OR MORE AUTHORS OR EDITORS

    Names should be given in the order in which they appear on the title page.

Keat, Russell, and John Urry. Social Theory as Science. 2nd ed. London: Routledge

         and K. Paul, 1982. Print.

Kennedy, Mary, Kathy Lubelska, and Val Walsh, eds. Making Connections: Women's

         Studies, Women's Movements, Women's Lives. London: Taylor and Francis,

        1993. Print.

3. ELECTRONIC BOOK

    Include the vendor, database, or provider's name (italicized) and date of access (day, month, year) .

Turam, Berna. Between Islam and the State: The Politics of Engagement. Stanford,

         CA: Stanford UP, 2007. NetLibrary. Web. 14 Aug. 2009.

     If the book is accessed from a SCHOLARLY PROJECT , also include the project     name, place of publication, and the date of the electronic publication if available.

Child, Lydia Maria. An Appeal in Favor of that Class of Americans Called Africans.

        Boston: Allen and Ticknor, 1833. Women Writers Online. Brown U. Web. 14

        Aug. 2009.

4. ANTHOLOGY

Knight, Stephen.  "Robin Hood: Men in Tights: Fitting the Tradition Snugly."          

        Robin Hood: An Anthology of Scholarship and Criticism.   Ed. Stephen

Barrick, Richard, John Sullivan, and Alexander White.  "The American Bloody Register."

       Pillars of Salt: An Anthology of Early American Criminal Narratives.   Comp. 

       Daniel E. Williams.  Madison: Madison House, 1993.  233-258.  Print.

5. INTRODUCTION, PREFACE, FOREWORD, OR AFTERWORD

Ritterson, Michael.  Introduction.   The Odin Field: A Story. By Wilhem Raabe.

      Trans. Michael Ritterson.  Studies in German Literature, Linguistics, and Culture.

      Rochester: Camden House, 2001.  xi-xxvii.  Print.

6. MULTIVOLUME WORK

Tomkins, Silvan S.   Affect, Imagery, Consciousness.   4 vols.  New York: Springer,

         1962-1992. Print.

Anthony, Robert N., and James S. Reece.   Accounting Principles.   7th ed.  Chicago:

        Irwin, 1995.  Print.

8. TRANSLATION

Erasmus, Desiderius.   The Praise of Folly.   Trans.  Clarence H. Miller.  New Haven:

        Yale, 1979. Print.

9. ARTICLE IN A REFERENCE BOOK

"Audubon, John James."   The New Encyclopaedia Britannica: Micropaedia.   15th

        ed.  2002.  Print.

"Audubon, John James."   Encyclopaedia Britannica Online.   Encyclopaedia

        Britannica, 2009.  Web.  14 Aug. 2009.

Ebeling, Richard, ed.   Global Free Trade: Rhetoric or Reality?  Hillsdale, MI: Hillsdale

        College Press, 1993.  Print.  Champions of Freedom 20.

B. Articles in Periodicals

Include some or all of the following in your article citation:

• Article title (usually in quotation marks)
• Periodical title (italicized)
• Series/Issue number or name
• Volume number
• Issue number (if available)
• Publication date (year for scholarly journals; day, month, year for others, as available)
• Medium of publication
• Name of database (italicized and placed before medium of publication) (Web only)
• Date of access (day, month, year) (Web only)

1. SCHOLARLY JOURNAL

Freedman, L.  "The Changing Forms of Military Conflict."   Survival 40.4 (1998): 39-56.

        Print.

Kirby, John T.  "Aristotle on Metaphor."   American Journal of Philology 118.4

        (1997): 517-554.  Print.

Online Journal -- Use n. pag. to indicate the absence of inclusive page numbers.

Ketabgian, Tamara.  Rev. of The Body Economic: Life, Death, and Sensation in

        Political Economy and the Victorian Novel, by Catherine Gallagher.  Bryn Mawr

        Review of Comparative Literature 6.2 (2007): n. pag.  Web.  19 Aug. 2009.

Chan, Winnie.  "Curry on the Divide in Rudyard Kipling's Kim and Gurinder Chadha's

        Bend it Like Beckham."  ARIEL: A Review of International English

        Literature 36.3-4 (2005): 1-23. Web.  14. Aug. 2009.

      Full text of an article from a Database -- Include the name of the      database, the name of the database provider and the date of access.      Use n. pag. to indicate the absence of inclusive page numbers.   

Freedman, Lawrence. "The Changing Forms of Military Conflict." Survival 40.4 (1998):

        39-56. ProQuest Research Library.  Web.  14 Aug. 2009.

  Kirby, John T.  "Aristotle on Metaphor."   American Journal of Philology 118.4 (1997):

       517-554.  JSTOR.  Web.  14 Aug. 2009.

2. MAGAZINE

     Monthly or Bimonthly

Goldberger, Paul. "Machines for Living: Architectonic Allure of the Automobile."

        Architectural Digest Oct. 1996: 82.

     Weekly

Levy, Steven, and Brad Stone.  "Silicon Valley Reboots."   Newsweek 25 Mar.

        2002: 42-50.  Print.

        2002: 42-50.  Academic Search Premier.  Web.  14 Aug. 2009.

3. ANONYMOUS ARTICLE

"Information to Die For."   Marketing Health Services 22.1 (2002): 40-42.  Print.

"Information to Die For."   Marketing Health Services 22.1 (2002): 40-42.   ABI/Inform.        14 Aug. 2009.

4. NEWSPAPER

Pianin, Eric.  "Use of Arsenic in Wood Products to End."   The Washington Post 13

       Feb. 2002, final ed.: A2.  Print.

Pianin, Eric.  "Use of Arsenic in Wood Products to End."   The Washington Post 13 Feb.

       2002, final ed.: A2.  LexisNexis Academic.   Web.  14 Aug. 2009.

Nash, Alanna.  "Hit 'em with a lizard!"  Rev. of   Basket Case, by Carl Hiaasen.  New

        York Times 3 Feb. 2002, late ed., sec. 7: 24.  Print.

        York Times 3 Feb.  2002, late ed., sec. 7: 24.  LexisNexis Academic.  Web.  14

C. Web Sites

Following are elements to include when citing entire Web sites. Keep in mind that

if you cannot find all of the elements, you should include whatever is available on the site . The URL is no longer required unless locating the site requires it or your professor requires it.

• Title of Web site (italicized)
• Site publisher/sponsor
• Date of site's publication (if none, use n.d. )
• Date of access (day, month, year)

1. SCHOLARLY PROJECT

Crane, Gregory, ed.  Perseus Digital Library.  Dept. of the Classics, Tufts U.

      n.d.  Web.  14 Aug. 2009.

2. PROFESSIONAL SITE

Financial Accounting Standards Board .  Feb. 2002.  Web.  14 Aug. 2009.

3. PERSONAL SITE

Lewis, Paul.  The Wilkie Collins Pages.   n.d.  Web. 14 Aug. 2009. 

       <http://www.paullewis.co.uk/>.

See also Electronic Book and Periodicals above.

D. Online Postings

To cite a posting from a discussion list, include the following elements if available:

• Author of posting
• Title of posting (from subject line of posting, in quotes)
• Name of discussion list
• Date of posting
• 5. Medium of publication
• Date of access

O'Connell, Karen.  "Re: Poisoning." VICTORIA. Indiana U.  3 Nov. 2000. Web.

A BRIEF NOTE ON FOOTNOTES AND ENDNOTES

Long explanatory footnotes or endnotes can distract the reader. Nevertheless, you may occasionally need to clarify a citation with a bibliographic note . Or you may wish to incorporate information that might interest your reader but which would seem tangential if included within the text of your paper. In this case, you would use a content note. Notes are indicated with consecutive superscript numbers within the text of your paper. The actual note is indented and can occur either as a footnote at the bottom of the page or as an endnote at the end of the paper.

1. BIBLIOGRAPHIC NOTE

Nineteenth-century critics of cheap, mass-produced fiction feared that the gory subject matter of stories like Sweeney Todd would lead a generation of youth into depravity. 1

          1 For a selection of penny fiction as well as 19th-century criticism of it, see

Haining's The Penny Dreadful .

2. CONTENT NOTE

Charles Knight did not rely solely on the cheaply printed word in publications like the Penny Magazine to educate people; he also mass-produced images to diffuse knowledge visually. 2

2 Patricia Anderson's The Printed Image and the Transformation of Popular Culture, 1790-1860 provides examples of Penny Magazine images, such as depictions of flamingos, reproduced portraits of people like Benjamin Franklin, and engravings of famous artworks like "The Dying Gladiator" and "Laocoon" (50-83).

FOR MORE HELP

Following are links to sites that have additional information and further examples:

• RefWorks : Once you have created an account, go to Tools/Preview Output Style to see examples of MLA style.
• Purdue's Online Writing Lab (OWL) : Excellent source for research, writing and citation tips.
• Citing Sources : Duke University's guide to citing sources. The site offers comparison citation tables with examples from APA , Chicago , MLA and Turabian for both print and electronic works.
• Citing Electronic Primary Sources : From the Library of Congress. Provides MLA and Turabian examples of citing formats such as films, photographs, maps and recorded sound that are accessed electronically.

• Library & Learning Center
• Research Guides

Format Papers & Cite Sources

Mla style (8th/9th ed.).

• Citing Sources
• Avoid Plagiarism

MLA Citation Style Video

Formatting your paper, formatting your works cited page, citation examples, in-text citation basics, mla annotated bibliography example, noodletools.

• APA Style, 7th Edition
• Chicago Style
• Harvard Style
• Other Styles
• Annotated Bibliographies
• How to Create an Attribution

What is MLA Style?

Created by the Modern Language Association, MLA is most often used by the Humanities, which includes languages, literature, philosophy, visual & performing arts.

Watch this short but excellent video from Hayden Memorial Library at Citrus College, It walks you through creating an MLA citation and the corresponding in-text citation

• Margins:  1" all around (except for the page number)
• Font:   Easily readable typeface set to a standard size (Times-New Roman 12pt is always safe)
• Line-spacing:  Double-space throughout the paper, including heading, title, block quotes, and Works Cited. 
• Page Numbers:  All pages are numbered in right hand corner, 1/2" from top. Last name appears before the page numbers.
• Heading:  Top left corner. Your name, your instructor's name, course number, date. Date must be written dd Month yyyy. 
• Title:  Centered. Plain (no italics, underlining, or font variation). Standard double-spacing between heading/title, and title/first line of paper.

Use Word to Format Your Paper:

This brief video will show you how to use Word 2010 to format your paper.

Use Google Docs to Format Your Paper:

This brief video will show you how to set up your document in MLA format using Google Docs.

Sample MLA Papers:

• MLA Sample Paper (Purdue OWL) This paper includes instructions for formatting your paper.
• Sample Paper from MLA Style Center

Placement: The Works Cited list appears at the end of the paper, on its own page(s) . For example, If your research paper ends on page 8, your Works Cited begins on page 9. 

Arrangement: Alphabetize entries by author's last name. If source has no named author, alphabetize by the title, ignoring A, An, or The.

Spacing: Like the rest of the MLA paper, the Works Cited list is double-spaced throughout. Be sure NOT to add extra spaces between citations.

Indentation: To make citations easier to scan, add a hanging indent to any citation that runs more than one line.

Citation Examples and Template:  

Use the links below to see examples of source citations and practice using one of the templates.

If you don't find what you need below, check out the MLA's,  Ask the MLA .

• MLA Citations - Containers
• MLA Citation Examples (Yellow Handout)
• MLA Practice Template (Printable)
• Interactive Practice Template (Online)

Citation Examples by Format:

• How to Cite a Book
• How to Cite a Book Chapter or Handout Professor Uploaded to a Website
• How to Cite Online Work
• How to Cite an Online Lecture or Speech
• How Do I Cite Generative AI in MLA style?
• How to Cite a Song, Recording, or Performance
• How to Cite a Movie, Video, or Television Show
• How to Cite an Image

What Are In-Text Citations?

In-text citations are brief references within the body of your paper that tell your readers that a) you've used an outside source, and b) point them toward that source in your Works Cited list. Where relevant, the in-text citation also points your reader to the location in the source being cited (e.g. page number).

The in-text citation can appear within the body of your paper, within a parentheses, or a combination of the two.

You need to cite all direct quotations, paraphrased information, and summarized ideas.

What To Include in an In-Text Citation

• An in-text citation begins with the shortest piece of information that di­rects your reader to the entry in the Works Cited list. Therefore, it begins with what ever comes first in the entry: the author’s name or the title of the work.
• Most often, an MLA in-text citation begins with the  author's last name  followed by the page number : (Jones 14).
• If there is no author, use the "Title" of the source:  ("Global Warming" 129).

If page numbers are available, they MUST be listed. This often means examining the pdf version of database articles to locate page numbers.

Detailed Rules

• For most citations, the parenthetical reference is placed BEFORE the punctuation:

Magnesium can be effective in treating PMS (Haggerty 42).

• Direct quotes longer than 4 lines are indented an extra 1/2 inch, the quotation marks are removed, and the parenthetical comes AFTER punctuation.

A preliminary study presented recently at the American College of Cardiology annual meeting found that getting enough sleep was associated with greater protection of death from all causes.If magnesium does work to help someone get a little shuteye, that may be because it is acting on certain receptors on the surface of brain cells to quiet down brain cell activity.The nutrient acts on the benzodiazepine receptor, which is the same receptor used by Valium-type drugs and the sleep medication Ambien. (Gurubhagavatula)

• If author name or title is used within the text, do NOT list it again within parenthesis. 

Haggerty notes magnesium is effective at relieving some symptoms of PMS (42).

• MLA In-Text Citations: The Basics from the Online Writing Lab (OWL) at Purdue.
• In-Text Citations: An Overview from the MLA Style Center.

MLA tells us that, you should cite a source in an annotated bibliography just as you would in a list of works cited and then append an annotation to the end of the entry. Annotations describe and/or evaluate sources. Further, annotations should not rehash minor details, cite evidence, quote the author, or recount steps in an argument. Writing an effective annotation requires reading the work, understanding its aims, and clearly summarizing them.

To learn more about annotated bibliographies click on the link below from Purdue OWL

Sample annotated bibliography using mla.

• MLA 9 Annotated Bibliography Sample

Annotated Bibliography Template

You may also want to use the template below. Just type over the words in the template with your own information, citations, and annotations.

• MLA, 9th ed. Annotated Bibliography Template

Use NoodleTools to help you create your citations .

It's easy; it's a form you fill out with the information about your source; it helps you catch mistakes.

• NoodleTools Express Use NoodleTools Express to create citations on the fly in MLA, APA, or Chicago style.
• NoodleTools (Login Full Database) This link opens in a new window Create and organize your research notes, share and collaborate on research projects, compose and error check citations, and complete your list of works cited in MLA, APA, or Chicago style using the full version of NoodleTools. You'll need to Create a Personal ID and password the first time you use NoodleTools.

NoodleTools Help:

• NoodleTools Help Desk Look up questions and answers on the NoodleTools Web site
• NoodleTools for Researchers Research guide created for MJC students
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• URL: https://libguides.mjc.edu/citeyoursources

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MLA Style (9th Edition) Citation Guide: Introduction to MLA Style

• Introduction to MLA Style
• Journal Articles
• Magazine/Newspaper Articles
• Books & Ebooks
• Government & Legal Documents
• Biblical Sources
• Secondary Sources
• Videos/DVDs/TV Shows
• How to Cite: Other
• 9th Edition Updates
• Additional Help

Who should use MLA Style?

MLA style is used to cite sources within English, international languages, theater, cultural studies, and other humanities. 

What is MLA Style?

MLA style was created by the Modern Language Association of America. It is a set of rules for publications, including research papers.

In MLA style, you must cite sources that you have paraphrased, quoted or otherwise used to write your research paper. Cite your sources in two places:

• In the body of your paper where you add a brief in-text citation .
• In the Works Cited list at the end of your paper where you give more complete information for the source.
• MLA Style Sample Paper (Purdue OWL)
• Formatting Your MLA Paper (including paper template)

MLA Core Elements

When deciding how to cite your source, start by consulting the list of core elements. These are the general pieces of information that MLA suggests including in each Works Cited entry. In your citation, the elements should be listed in the following order:

• Title of source.
• Title of container,
• Other contributors,
• Publication date,

Each element should be followed by the punctuation mark shown here. Earlier editions of the handbook included the place of publication and required different punctuation (such as journal editions in parentheses and colons after issue numbers). In the current version, punctuation is simpler (only commas and periods separate the elements), and information about the source is kept to the basics.

Note: According to p. 42 of the MLA Handbook, publisher information may be omitted for:

• periodicals (journals, magazines, newspapers)
• works published by an author or editor
• web sites whose title is the same as the name of the publisher
• a web site not involved in producing the work it makes (e.g. user-generated content sites like YouTube)

Commonly Used Terms

Access Date:  The date you first look at a source. The access date is added to the end of citations for all websites except library databases.

Citation: Details about one cited source.

Citing: The process of acknowledging the sources of your information and ideas.

In-Text Citation: A brief note at the point where information is used from a source to indicate where the information came from. An in-text citation should always match more detailed information that is available in the Works Cited List.

Paraphrasing: Taking information that you have read and putting it into your own words.

Plagiarism: Taking, using, and passing off as your own, the ideas or words of another.

Quoting: The copying of words of text originally published elsewhere. Direct quotations generally appear in quotation marks and end with a citation.

Works Cited List: Contains details on ALL the sources cited in a text or essay, and supports your research and/or premise.

• Next: How to Cite: Common Sources >>
• Last Updated: Oct 31, 2024 2:30 PM
• URL: https://libguides.up.edu/mla

Cite Sources: MLA Style

• Chicago Style
• Citation Managers

General Information on MLA

• This page contains examples of commonly used citation formats from MLA-9th ed. There is essentially no difference between the MLA-8 and MLA-9, only more examples in MLA-9.
• Cite sources that you have used in the body of your paper ( in-text citation ) and in the Works Cited list at the end of your paper.
• Double space all of the citations on your Works Cited page.
• Indent the second and following lines of the citation 5-7 spaces.

NOTE: The MLA style is generally used in humanities disciplines, such as reading and English classes. Please check with your instructors which style to use in your assignments.

Create In-Text Citations in MLA Style

• In-Text Citation
• Quoting, Paraphrasing, & Summarizing
• Signal Phrases
• Verbs in Signal Phrases

What is an In-Text Citation? 

In-text citations are short references that lead the readers to the works-cited entries for the sources you have used in your research paper. The signal word/phrase that you use in the text must match the first thing that appears on the corresponding entry on the Works Cited page.

In MLA, the author's last name and the page number(s) from which the quotation or paraphrase is taken must appear in the text and a complete reference should appear on your Works Cited page.

Quoting Sources

When you quote a source, you include the author's  exact  words in your text. Use "quotation marks" around the author's words. Include signal phrases and an in-text citation to show where the quote is from.

Paraphrasing & Summarizing Sources

When you paraphrase or summarize a source, you restate the source's ideas in  your own words and sentence structure . Select what is relevant to your topic, and restate only that. Changing only a few words is not sufficient in paraphrasing/ summarizing. Instead, you need to completely rephrase the author's ideas in your own words. You do not need to use quotation marks.

Always use in-text citations when you paraphrase or summarize, to let the reader know that the information comes from another source. Continue to use signal phrases as well.

Signal phrases let your reader know that you are quoting or summarizing from another source.

• In the words of researchers Redelmeier and Tibshirani, "..."
• As Matt Sundeen has noted, "..."
• Patti Pena, mother of a child killed by a driver distracted by a cell phone, points out that "..."
• "...," writes Christine Haughtney.
• "...," claims wireless spokesperson Annette Jacobs.
• from Bedford Handbook  (583)

In-Text Examples in MLA Style

• Author Named in Your Text
• Author Not Named in Your Text
• Online Sources with No Page Numbers

Signal phrase with author's name, "quote" (page).

One or two authors: Signal phrase, "quote" (Author page).

More than two authors: Signal phrase, "quote" (Author et al. page).

If the source has no named author, use the first main word in the title. If it is a very short title, you may use the whole thing. Put the title in quotation marks if it's a short source (e.g., an article) or italicize it if it's a longer source, like a book.

You may also name the title in your text and provide the page number in parentheses: Signal phrase, "quote" (Shortened Title page). Signal phrase with title, "quote" (page).

One article states that, "A death row inmate may demand his execution for notoriety" ( Challenging Capital Punishment 135).

Challenging Capital Punishment states that "A death row inmate may demand his execution for notoriety" (135).

If there are no page numbers on the electronic source, use only the author name or the first main word of the title:

Signal phrase, "quote" (Author). Signal phrase, "quote" (Shortened Title).

According to a study, "Twins reared apart report similar feelings" (Palfrey).

Despite many myths in popular culture, young twins rarely create their own unique language ( Idioglossia and Secret Language ).

Create a Works Cited List in MLA

Some guidelines for the list of references at the end of your paper:

• Alphabetize your Works Cited list by the first word of the citation, usually the author's last name. If there is no author, alphabetize by the first main word in the title (ignore a, an, or the).
• Capitalize the main words in the document title. If there is a colon in the title (a subtitle), capitalize the main words after the colon.

Works Cited

Clift, Eleanor. "When Women Said 'No.'" Newsweek , 31 Dec. 2012, pp. 44-50. Academic Search Complete , montgomerycollege.idm.oclc.org/login?url=https://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&AuthType=ip,cookie,url,uid&db=aph&AN=84583654&site=ehost-live&scope=site.

Food Allergies: Reducing the Risks . Food and Drug Administration, Department of Health and Human Services, United States, 2009.

"Japan." Webster's New World Encyclopedia, 9th ed., Prentice Hall, 1992.

North, Stephen. "The Idea of a Writing Center." College English , vol. 46, no. 5, 1984, pp. 433-446. JSTOR , www.jstor.org/stable/377047.

Robinson, Ken. "Do Schools Kill Creativity?" YouTube , TED Conferences, 6 Jan. 2007, youtu.be/iG9CE55wbtY.

Walsh, John. Emily Dickinson in Love: The Case for Otis Lord . Rutgers University Press, 2012. Project Muse , muse.jhu.edu/book/13760.

Wymand-Marchand, Tracy. "Kahlo, Frida (1907 - 1954)." Encyclopedia of Activism and Social Justice , 2007. Credo Reference , search.credoreference.com/content/topic/kahlo_frida_1907_1954.

Cite Books, E-Books, and More in MLA Style

• Books with No Authors or One Author
• Books with Two or More Authors
• Books with an Editor

One author:

Last Name, First Name. Title of Book . Publisher, Year.

Morrison, Toni. Song of Solomon.  Vintage, 2004.

Title of Book . Publisher, Year.

World Almanac and Book of Facts . Funk, 2007.

Books with two authors:

Last Name, First Name and First Name Last Name. Title of Book. Publisher, Year.

Twycross, Meg, and Sarah Carpenter.  Masks and Masking in Medieval and Early Tudor England . Routledge, 2002.

Books with more than two authors:

Last Name, First Name et al. Title of Book. Publisher, Year.

Vaughan, Samantha, et al.  Half Empty Half Full . Harcourt, 2000.

Entire book: You may cite an essay from a book with an editor and multiple authors, or cite the whole book. This will depend on what you have quoted within your paper.

Last Name, First Name, editor. Title of Book. Publisher, Year.

Grover, Jan, editor.  Healthcare . Greenhaven Press, 2007.

Essay from an edited book:

Last Name, First Name. "Essay Title." Title of Book , edited by (Editor) First Name Last Name, Publisher, Year, p(p). Page(s).

Williams, Walter. "Bogus Rights." Healthcare , edited by Jan Grover, Greenhaven Press, 2007, pp. 127-136.

An e-book citation follows the same rules as a print book citation. E-books may have been published in different file formats (e.g., EPUB or Kindle). If you have that information you can list the file format as a supplemental element at the end of the entry.

Last Name, First Name. Title of Book. Publisher, Year. Title of database or website, DOI or Permalink or shortened Database URL.

MLA Handbook . 8th ed., E-book ed., Modern Language Association of America, 2016. EPUB. 

Rowling, J. K. Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets . Kindle ed., Arthur A. Levine Books, 1999.

If you can't tell the specific file format, use "E-book" as a description:

Silva, Paul J.  How to Write a Lot: A Practical Guide to Productive Academic Writing.  E-book, American Psychological Association, 2007.

A book published in audiobook format:

Last Name, First Name.  Title of Book . Narrated by Narrator Name, edition. Publisher, Publication Date.

Lee, Harper. To Kill a Mockingbird. Narrated by Sissy Specek, audiobook ed., unabridgd ed., HarperAudio, 2014.

Cite Articles and Reports in MLA Style

• Database and Web Articles
• Magazine Articles
• Newspaper Articles

If a permalink or DOI (Digital Object Identifier) is available, include either of those after the name of the database. If it is not, you may use the basic URL for the database home page. For more than 2 authors, provide only the first author, followed by et al. (e.g., Wingert, Peter, et al.)

Note:  Check with your instructor if you need to provide the date that the article was accessed.

Article in a database with a DOI:

Last Name, First Name. "Title of Article." Title of Journal , vol. #, no. #, Year, p(p). Page(s). Name of Database , DOI.

Cutler White, Carol. “Higher Education Governance and the Attainment Agenda: Arrangements With Benefits for Community Colleges?”  Community College Review , vol. 47, no. 3, July 2019, pp. 219–41. Academic Search Complete,   https://doi.org/10.1177/0091552119852158 .

Article in a database with a permalink:

Last Name, First Name. "Title of Article." Title of Journal , vol. #, no. #, Year, p(p). Page(s). Permalink. 

Teranishi, Robert T., et al. “Immigrants in Community Colleges.”  The Future of Children , vol. 21, no. 1, 2011, pp. 153–69, http://www.jstor.org/stable/41229015 . Accessed 9 May 2022.

Journal article published online/web:

Last Name, First Name. "Title of Article." Title of Journal , vol. #, no. #, Year, p(p). Page(s). URL.

Thimann, Heidi. "Marginal Beings: Hybrids as the Other in Late Medieval Manuscripts." Hortulus , vol. 5, no. 1, 2009, hortulus-journal.com/journal/volume-5-number-1-2009/thimann/ .

Magazine article online from a database:

Last Name, First Name. "Title of Article." Title of Magazine , Day Month Year, p(p). Page(s). Database Name , URL.

Clift, Eleanor. "When Women Said 'No.'" Newsweek , 31 Dec. 2012, pp. 44-50.  Academic Search Complete, search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=a9h&AN=84583654&site=eds-live&scope=site .

Magazine article free from web:

Last Name, First Name. "Title of Article." Title of Magazine , Day Month Year, URL. 

"The Decline of the American Summer Job." Economist , 6 July 2017, www.economist.com/news/united-states/21724850-it-striking-how-often-self-made-americans-have-stories-tell-about-boring-summer .

If a newspaper article is several pages long but the pages are not continuous, use the first page number followed by a + sign (e.g., pp. 14+).

Online newspaper article from database:

Last Name, First Name. "Title of Article." Newspaper Title , Day Month Year, Edition (if available), Page(s). Name of Database , DOI or Permalink or shortened Database URL.

Will, George. "A Health 'Reform' to Regret." Washington Post , 28 June 2009, final ed., p. A17.  ProQuest Newspapers , search.proquest.com/docview/410321858?accountid=39773 .

Online newspaper article from the web:

Last Name, First Name. "Title of Article." Newspaper Title , Day Month Year, URL.

Ruane, Michael. "Rare Tiger Cub Born at National Zoo." Washington Post , 11 July 2017,  wapo.st/2u9dVuO?tid=ss_mail&utm_term=.91331eedc7c7 .

Cite Websites, Streaming Media, and More in MLA Style

• Social Media
• Streaming Media

Internet sources can be difficult to cite because the information available is not consistent. When creating your citation, follow the guidelines and use as much information as you have. If information is not available, leave out that part of the citation.  Copy the URLs from your web browser, but remove the http:// or https:// from the beginning.

Website with no author:

Title of Web Site. Publisher of site, Date of Publication or Update Date, URL.

Medline Plus. U.S. National Library of Medicine and National institutes of Health, 26 Aug. 2016, medlineplus.gov .

Webpage with an author:

Last Name, First Name. "Title of Page, Document, or Section." Title of Web site , Publisher or Sponsor of site, Date of Publication, URL.

Welch, Ashley. "What Are the Symptoms of Zika Virus?" CBS News , CBS Interactive, 2 Aug. 2016, www.cbsnews.com/news/zika-virus-symptoms-how-do-you-know-if-youre-infected/ .

Webpage with no author:

"Title of Page, Document, or Section." Title of Web site , Publisher or Sponsor of site, Date of Publication, URL.

"Underage Drinking." Medline Plus, U.S. National Library of Medicine and National Institutes of Health, 26 June 2017, medlineplus.gov/underagedrinking.html . 

Twitter Handle [Full User Name if available]. "The entire tweet word-for-word." Twitter,   Day Month Year, time, URL. 

@librarycongress [Library of Congress]. "Pinterest users: Dreaming of the Beach? Don't Miss Out on Our Seaside Images https://www.pinterest.com/LibraryCongress/the-beach/" Twitter, 7 July 2017, 4:00 p.m., twitter.com/librarycongress .

User Name. "The entire post word-for-word." Instagram,   Day Month Year, URL. 

librarycongress. "What an amazing day with Wonder Woman herself, Lynda Carter, joining us for the Library of Awesome event!" Instagram , 16 Jun 2017, www.instagram.com/p/BVasbqBhwYw/?taken-by=librarycongress . 

Author Last Name, First Name. "Title." Blog Name,  Day Month Year, URL. 

Naish, Darren. "If Bigfoot Were Real."  Scientific American Blogs , 27 June 2016,  blogs.scientificamerican.com/tetrapod-zoology/if-bigfoot-were-real/ . Accessed 28 June 2016.

Note: MLA recommends starting with the title of the video since it is often hard to tell if the user who uploaded the video is also the creator.

"Title."  Platform,  uploaded by username, Day Month Year, URL.

"Dog Turns Roomba Off." You Tube , uploaded by ilovetobemom, 28 Dec. 2016, www.youtube.com/watch?v=ei5H-wd3BIU . 

Note: The publication date for the audio recording in a physical format is generally on the album or CD, or the accompanying booklet.

An entire audio CD:

Artist Name. Title. Publisher, Year. Format.

Odetta. One Grain of Sand. Vanguard Recording Society, 1963.Vinyl.

A song streamed from an app:

Artist Name. "Song Title."  Album Title.  Publisher, Date. Streaming platform.

Odetta."Sail Away, Ladies." One Grain of Sand, Vanguard Records, 1 Jan. 1963. Spotify app.

Access the e-book version of MLA with your MC ID to learn more about how to create citations using MLA -9.

• MLA Style Center (official site)

Practice building a citation in the MLA format using the template linked here from the MLA Style Center.

• MC Library's MLA Citations, 9th Edition Tutorial

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