1.08 MLA Citation and Documentation
What is MLA?
Modern Language Association (MLA) style is the format most frequently used by undergraduates in college—especially those studying English, history, art, and other liberal arts fields. (Graduate level courses and scientific fields sometimes use American Psychological Association [APA] format or Chicago, both of which are very similar.) MLA style encompasses general manuscript formatting guidelines and internal and external citations.
Internal Citations
Whenever you craft a research paper, you will select scholarly articles and books on your topic (your sources), read them thoroughly, synthesize the information, and build your paper by incorporating quotes, summaries, paraphrases, or other references to those sources. Your in-text citations, also called parenthetical citations, support your credibility as an informed writer by showing your reader where you obtained your information. MLA style in-text citations typically follow the author-page format, meaning the author's last name and the page number of the quoted material appear in your text. Explore the ways to use internal citations below: PRINT SOURCES: For a print source, such as a book, scholarly journal, magazine, or newspaper, the author and page number should be included as shown in the following examples: 1) According to Mark Jones, author of Encouraging Independence, teenagers need many opportunities to make decisions prior to moving out of the family home (16). 1) Because the author's name is included in the signaling phrase, it does not need to be repeated in the parentheses at the end of the sentence. 2) Teenagers need many opportunities to make decisions prior to moving out of the family home (Jones 16). 2) The author's last name and the page number are included in the parenthetical citation because they do not appear in the sentence. 3) Jones explains, "Wise and compassionate parents will prepare their teenage children for independence by allowing them to make their own decisions" (16). 3) The author's last name is used in the signaling phrase and, therefore, does not need to be included in the parenthetical citation. If the quotation was said by one person but located in a book or article by another person, then the speaker of the quotation should be mentioned in the sentence and the author who published the quotation should be cited in the parentheses. PRINT SOURCES WITHOUT AUTHOR: For a print source with no author, the title of the work and page number, if available, should be included as shown in the following examples: 1) In "Let Them Decide," teenagers explain how being able to make their own decisions made them feel confident, independent, and prepared to make major decisions in the future (28). 1) The parenthetical citation contains only a page number because the article title is used in a signaling phrase. 2) According to one study, teenagers who were encouraged to make their own decisions felt more confident, independent, and prepared to make major decisions in the future ("Let Them Decide" 28). 2) Because there is no author, the article title and page number are included in this example of parenthetical citation. WEBSITES: Complete URLs or web addresses should not appear within your paper or on the Works Cited page. Instead, use the primary website address in your Works Cited entry. For a website, database, or film, include the information first available: author, article title, website name, or film title. Page numbers do not need to be included for these nonprint sources. 1) According to the website Independent Teen Studies, making major decisions with the support of an adult is an important step toward independence. 1) A signaling phrase is used to let readers know the source of this information. The website title is used, which tells us that there is no author or article title available. 2) Making major decisions with the support of an adult is an important step toward a teenager's independence (Independent Teen Studies). 2) The website title appears in the parentheses because it is not referenced within the sentence. If an author were available, the last name would appear in the parentheses instead. INTERVIEWS: Cite interviews by using the last name of the interviewee. You do not use a page number as shown in the following examples: 1) "Teenagers need chances to make decisions in order to become more independent" (Jones). 1) Because there is no signaling phrase, the name of the person interviewed is in parentheses at the end of the sentence. 2) According to Jones, teens must make decisions "to become more independent." 2) Because a signaling phrase with the interviewee's name is used, no further citation is necessary. SPECIAL CIRCUMSTANCES: Some unusual circumstances that may occur are as follows: 1) More than one author with the same name: (M. Shelley 224) (P. Shelley 321) 2) More than one work from the same author: (Joyce, Portrait 132) (Joyce, Ulysses 316) 3) Citing an indirect source: (Taylor qtd. in Hughes 2:40) 3) The abbreviation qtd. is used to indicate material that is quoted in another source 4) Citing a work with multiple authors: (Jones, Smith, and Anderson 51)
Works Cited Page Formatting
Each entry on your Works Cited page may look a little different. That is because each type of source—whether it's a website, a book, an article, or even a Tweet (which was added to the MLA Handbook three years ago)—has its own unique format for how it is cited on the Works Cited page. There are literally dozens of variations in format, which is why writers use a guide, such as this one available online at the Purdue Online Writing Lab.
Works Cited Page Purpose
Since you are referencing outside material in your paper, you will need to list the "works" (books, articles, websites, etc.) that you cited in your paper. The Works Cited page provides the complete citations for the corresponding parenthetical citations in the body of your paper. If your reader wanted more information about one of your in-text citations—or your subject in general—he or she would come to the Works Cited page to get the full citation. Therefore, your Works Cited page should only include works referenced in the essay.
