Source Citation Using MLA
For additional, very specific help, please go to: http://owl.english.purdue.edu/
The style that we will discuss comes from the MLA Handbook for Writer’s of Research Papers, (7th ed.) for 2009.
MLA uses what is called “parenthetical citation” or “in text citation.” This citation occurs in the text of your paper and refers to a source entry listed at the end of the text.
The typical in-text citation contains the author’s last name and the page number:
(Jones 5).
Ex. In 1556, Ronsard published his first secular sonnet cycle (Dunnigan 23).
Be aware the quotation marks occur before the citation.
Ex.
As Peter Herman suggests, “In 1556, Ronsard published his first secular sonnet cycle” (Dunnigan 23).
Note that you include the author’s name and the page number within the parentheses, which is then followed by the period. If you list the author’s name in the sentence, you only need to include the page number (usually).
Ex. Dunnigan claims that it was actually 1556, not 1554, that Ronsard published his first
secular sonnet cycle (23).
2 authors: list both authors and the page number = (Herman and Hopkins 54)
3 or more authors: either list all, or use “et al.” = (Herman et al. 67)
Et aliquid = and the others
Electronic Source: cite like print source, using author’s name or by title = (Colonial Encounters) (“Baseball Stats”)
Two or More Works by the same author: use a shortened version of the title of each source= (“Poetics of the Self” 43) (“Female Subjectivity” 20)
Indirect Source: when indicating that you found a source you quote within another source use “qtd. in” = (qtd. in Herman 24)
MLA Works Cited
Instead of a bibliography, MLA uses a Works Cited page.
- Title the list Works Cited. Do not put quotations around Works Cited.
- Double space list (though I have also been taught to single space each entry)
- Arrange entries alphabetically by the last name of the first author
- If a source doesn’t have an author, use the first significant word in the title to find its position
- Begin first line of entry at left margin. Indent subsequent lines by five spaces.
Basics of a works-cited entry (Write this down!):
- Reverse the names of the author, last name first, with a comma between. If there is more than one author, give the others’ names in normal order.
- Give the full title of the work, capitalizing the important words. Italicize the titles of books and periodicals; use quotation marks for the titles of parts of books and articles in periodicals.
- Give publication information.
- Books = city of publication, publisher, date of publication.
- Periodical = volume number, date of publication, and page numbers for the article you cite.
- Use periods between parts of each entry
Changes in the 7th (2009) Edition:
No more underlining
MLA Style now requires italicization for all titles of books, journals, films, etc.
No more URLs
Remember those long URLs that had to be included in any web-based reference? Now it’s only recommended if the instructor requires it, or if the document might be unusually hard to find without the URL.
Format is required
Each and every reference in the Works Cited List must have the format listed (Print, Web, CD, Television, Film, etc.).
New abbreviations for web sources
When no publisher name appears on the website, write N.p. for no publisher given.
When sites lack a date of publication, enter n.d. for no date. For journals that appear only online (no print version) or on databases that do not provide pagination, write n. pag. for no pagination.
Typical Entries
Books:
Author. Title of Book. City: Publisher Name in Shortened Form, date. Print.
Ex. Book, Single Author:
Fraser, Antonia. Mary Queen of Scots. New York: Delacorte Press,
1978. Print.
Articles in Newspaper:
Author. “Title of Article.” Name of Newspaper. date of publication: page
numbers.
Articles in Magazines:
Author. “Title of Article.” Name of Magazine. date of publication: page numbers. Print.
Articles in Scholarly Journals:
Author. “Title of Article.” Name of Journal. volume number. issue number (year
of publication): page numbers. Print.
Documents from Internet sites:
Here are some common features you should try and find before citing electronic sources in MLA style. Always include as much information as is available/applicable:
- Author and/or editor names
- Name of the database, or title of project, book, article
- Any version numbers available
- Date of version, revision, or posting
- Publisher information
- Date you accessed the material
- If you include the electronic address, printed between carets (< >).
An Entire Web Site
Name of Site. Date of Posting/Revision. Name of institution/organization affiliated with the site (sometimes found in copyright statements). Date you accessed the site [electronic address].
The Purdue OWL Family of Sites. 26 Aug. 2005. The Writing Lab and OWL at Purdue and Purdue University. Web. 23 April 2006. <http://owl.english.purdue.edu>.
A Page on a Web Site
Author. “Title of Document.” Information about print publication. Information
about electronic publication. Date of access <URL>.
Stolley, Karl. “MLA Formatting and Style Guide.” The OWL at Purdue. 10 May 2006.
Purdue University Writing Lab. Web. 12 May 2006. <http://owl.english.purdue.edu/owl/resource/557/01/>.
*Always try to print out a hard copy of a website when you access it, as they often change or even disappear. Try to pick sites that are stable and fairly unchanging so that readers may access it at a later date. Sites that are refereed, authoritative, or based on historical texts or that have print counterparts should prove to be fairly reliable and stable.
Those are the basics of MLA. For examples of each type of works cited entry, look at the end of Chapter 30.
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