MLA Style: In-Text Citation and Works Cited Page
Documentation and MLA
Reasons for Documenting:• Allows readers to find out more about origins
of the ideas you present• Protects you from charges of plagiarismTwo Types of Documentation in MLA Style:• In-Text Citations• Works Cited
Basics of In-Text Citation• Author’s name, including first name the first
time name mentioned, in text of your essay • Note page number in parentheses—without pg.
or p—at end of citation; final punctuation comes after final parenthesis– If using block quotation, final punctuation comes
before the information in parentheses• If including author’s name in text of your essay is
awkward, then put only the last name in the parentheses before the page number:– (Lowe 79).
Additional Aspects of In-Text Citation • Last name of author is enough for reader to
reference in Work Cited • Page number makes it easy to find original quotation• If two authors have same last name, include first
name or, if in parentheses, initial:– (J. Mayers 79).
• If more than one work by same author, specify which work in essay with an abbreviation of the title, or, if in parentheses, put comma after last name and before title and use abbreviation of title: – (Mayers, “A Bad Man” 79).
Additional Aspects of In-Text Citation• Web sources usually don’t have page numbers, so
just give author’s name– MLA prefers author’s name in text instead of in
parentheses – If no author, mention title in text
• Poems: if quote all or part of 2 or 3 lines of poetry, put in quotation marks and separate lines using a slash / with a space on each side. In parentheses put line numbers (7-9).
• Plays: give the act, scene and line numbers when the work has them, page numbers when it doesn’t.
Additional Aspects of In-Text Citation
• Work quoted in another source, put “qtd. in” before the information about the indirect source: – (qtd. in Bauman 9).
• Mention direct source of quotation in signal phrase
• If two or more sources support a single point, separate them with a semicolon:– (Jones 8; Smith 7).
Basics of Works Cited Page• On a separate page at the end of your essay,
include the Works Cited page• Header: last name and page number. Page
number should follow the last page number of body of your paper
• Center and in regular type/font: Works Cited• Double space throughout • No extra spaces between title and entries or
between entries!• No numbers for entries!
More Basics of Works Cited• Use “hanging indentation”– First line of citation is flush left– Indent all subsequent lines for that citation one-half inch
• Alphabetize by author’s last name or, if no author, by title– “The” and “A” don’t count
• If you cite more than one source by same author, the individual works are alphabetized by title; author’s full name is given only for the first citation in the Works Cited, after which it is replaced by three hyphens:
Sears, Jules. “The Portrait.”---. “The Reversal Performed, Not Rehearsed.”
• The rest of the citation is as it would have been for that source
More Basics of Works Cited Page• Only include sources cited in your text• Don’t leave out any sources cited in your text! • Include primary and secondary sources• If any information called for is unavailable for
a particular source, skip that element and keep the rest of the entry as close as possible to the given format
Sears 18Works Cited
Abrams, Mark. “All’s Not Well.” Theatre Journal 11.2 (2007): 489-97. Print.
Collier, Judith, and Francine Prose. The Outsider within: Othello and the Military Code. Ed. Leslie Knox. Austin: U of Texas P, 2009. Print.
Glass, Meredith. “Rogue Performers.” PMLA 12.3 (2008): 245-49. Academic Search Premier. Web. 1 Nov. 2009.
---. “William Shakespeare.” The Shakespeare Project: Biography. Shakespeare Project, 21 Mar. 1999. Web. 30 Oct. 2009.
“Iago’s Motivation.” Notes on Othello. Theater Teacher’s Resource, 2006. Web. 28 Oct. 2009.
Othello. Dir. Oliver Parker. Perf. Lawrence Fishburne, Kenneth Branagh, and Irène Jacob. Castle Rock, 1995. DVD.
Shakespeare, William. Othello. Making Literature Matter: An Anthology for Readers and Writers. Ed. John Schilb and John Clifford. 4th ed. Boston: Bedford / St. Martin’s, 2009. 706-793. Print.
Citing a Book (skip any material not available)1. Name of the author(s) (or editor, if no author is listed), last name
first, followed by period2. Full Title, italicized, followed by period; if subtitle, put colon
between title and subtitle3. Name(s) of the editor(s) if the book has both an author and an
editor, following the abbreviation, Ed., followed by period4. Name(s) of translator or compiler, following abbreviation Trans. or
Comp. as appropriate, followed by period5. The edition, if other than the first—3rd ed.—followed by period6. Volume(s) used, if the book is part of a multivolume set—Vol. 8.—
followed by period7. City of publication (followed by a colon), name of the publisher
(comma), and year, followed by period8. Medium of publication: Print, followed by period9. Name of any series to which the book belongs, followed by period
More on Citing Books• If you have a book with multiple authors or
editors, list all names, but only the first name is given last name first and rest in normal order; put comma after first author’s name
• If there are four or more authors or editors, give only first full name listed on title page, followed by a comma and et al. (“and others”)
• A book with a corporate author—group, government agency, or organization listed as its author—treat as single author: National Society of Photographic Educators
Citing a Work in an Anthology
1. Name of the author(s) of the article/literary work, followed by period
2. Title of the shorter work, enclosed in quotation marks (unless longer work—full play—italics), followed by period
3. Title of the anthology in italics followed by a period4. Names(s) of editors of collection or anthology, followed by
period5. Relevant publication information as in book citation,
followed by period6. Inclusive page numbers for shorter work, followed by
period7. Medium of Publication: Print, followed by period
Cross-References from Same Anthology• If cite several articles or texts from same collection or
anthology, cross-reference them• Write a single general entry that provides full publication
information for whole collection • Also include entries for shorter works; only include author
and title of shorter work, last names of editors, and page numbers of shorter work
For example:Schilb, John, and John Clifford, eds. Making Literature Matter:
An Anthology for Readers and Writers. 4th ed. Boston: Bedford / St. Martin’s, 2009. Print.
Shakespeare, William. Othello. Schilb and Clifford 706-793.---. “Sonnet 116.” Schilb and Clifford 574.
Citing Articles in Periodicals1. Name(s) of the author(s) of the article/short
text, last name first followed by period2. Title of the article/short text in quotations,
followed by period: – “Theatre of the Obtuse.”
3. Title of the periodical italicized4. All relevant publication information (see next
slide) 5. Medium of publication: Print, followed by a
period
Different Types of Periodicals• For a scholarly journal—volume number and issue number
(sometimes only issue); year of publication in parentheses, followed by a colon, and the page numbers of the shorter work, followed by period: – PMLA 121.6 (2006): 1526-35. Print.
• For a magazine—month(s) of publication for monthly/bimonthly magazine OR date (day, abbreviated month, then year) for weekly/biweekly, followed by a colon, and page numbers, followed by period: – New Yorker 5 Nov. 2005: 65-73. Print.
• For a newspaper article—date (day, abbreviated month, year), edition if listed on the masthead, followed by colon and page numbers (including section number or letter, if applicable), followed by period:– New York Times 24 Mar. 2007, late ed.: A1+. Print.
Citing Library Databases
1. Print publication information—author’s name, title, publication information
2. Name of the database (italicized)—like Academic Search Premier, followed by period
3. Medium of publication—Web, followed by period
4. Date you accessed site (day, month abbreviated, and year), followed by period:– 30 Oct. 2010.
Citing the Internet: World Wide Web1. Name of the author(s), last name first, followed by a period2. Title of the section of the work accessed in quotation marks,
followed by a period; if not titled, identify by label like Home page or Introduction,but not in quotation marks
3. Title of the full document or site italicized (if different than title of the work accessed), followed by a period
4. Publisher’s or sponsor’s name, followed by a comma; if neither available, use N.p.
5. Date of publication by day, month, and year if available, followed by a period; if date isn’t available, use n.d.
6. The medium of publication—Web, followed by a period7. Date you accessed site (day, month abbreviated, and year),
followed by a period– 30 Oct. 2010.
Citing Publication on Web with Print Publication Data
1. Name of author, followed by period2. Print Publication Information (same format as
usual)3. Name of the Web site in italics, followed by
period4. Medium of publication—Web, followed by
period5. Date you accessed the site (day, month,
year), followed by period
Article in Scholarly Journal Published Only on Web
1. Name of author, followed by period2. Title of article, followed by period3. Name of journal in italics4. Volume and issue number (or just issue number)5. Year of publication in parentheses, followed by
colon6. Page numbers or n. pag., followed by period7. Medium of publication—Web, followed by period8. Date you accessed the site (day, month
abbreviated, year), followed by period
Article in Newspaper on Web1. Name of author, followed by period2. Title of article, followed by a period3. Name of newspaper in italics, followed by period4. Publisher’s name (New York Times) or N.p.,
followed by comma5. Date of publication (day, month abbreviated,
year), followed by period6. Medium of publication—Web, followed by period7. Date you accessed the site (day, month
abbreviated, year), followed by period
Article in Magazine on Web1. Name of author, followed by period2. Title of article, followed by period3. Name of magazine in italics, followed by
period4. Publisher’s name or N.p., followed by comma5. Date of publication (day, month abbreviated,
year), followed by period6. Medium of publication—Web, followed by
period7. Date you accessed the site, followed by period
Personal Communication or LecturePersonal Communication:1. Name of the person who gave you the information,
followed by period2. Type of communication (interview, letter, email),
followed by period3. Date of communication, followed by periodLecture, Public Talk, or Debate:4. Name of lecturer/speaker, followed by period5. Name of lecture or lecture series, followed by comma6. Place, followed by comma7. Date (day, month abbreviated, year), followed by period8. Medium (lecture, debate, commencement address)
Multimedia SourcesIf Film or DVD:1. Title in italics, followed by period2. Director’s name beginning with Dir., followed by period3. Optional—performers’ names, starting with Perf., followed by period4. Distributor (Universal, Paramount), followed by comma5. Year, followed by a period6. Medium (Film or DVD), followed by periodIf TV or Radio Program:7. Title of episode or segment in quotation marks, followed by period8. Title of the program and series, if any, in italics, followed by period9. Performers, narrators, directors or others who might be pertinent, followed
by period10. Name of network or call numbers and city for local station, followed by
period11. Broadcast date, followed by period12. Medium (either Television or Radio), followed by period
Informational Notes• Use if a piece of information is interesting or useful but
can’t be worked into body of essay without interrupting flow of ideas
• Use a small superscript number in text to signal a note, which will be on a separate page at end of essay before Works Cited page
• Be sure to include any sources mentioned in end notes in Works Cited page:
End Notes1 Several critics interpret this scene as revealing Iago’s
suspicions about Emilia’s fidelity (Roberts 72; Bond 89-91; Crowley 655-56).
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