Citations: MLA Citation

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The Purdue OWL MLA Formatting and Style Guide is another helpful resource for MLA citation. This page provides information about citing (giving credit for any quotes, facts, paraphrases, or summaries in your paper). Check here for help with your works cited page (bibliography page).

Citation & Writing Guides              

Citing Sources                                

Citation & Copyright                      

Citing Sources: Getting Started  

Click the image for an informative example of a research paper with explanations of MLA formatting:

In-Text Citation For Two or More Authors/Editors

Unknown Author

Where you'd normally put the author's last name, instead use the first one, two, or three words from the title. Don't count initial articles like "A", "An" or "The". You should provide enough words to make it clear which work you're referring to from your Works Cited list.

If the title in the Works Cited list is in italics, italicize the words from the title in the in-text citation.

If the title in the Works Cited list is in quotation marks, put quotation marks around the words from the title in the in-text citation.

Examples:

(Cell Biology 12)

("Nursing" 12)

In-Text Citation For More Than One Source

If you would like to cite more than one source within the same in-text citation, simply record the in-text citations as normal and separate them with a semi-colon.

Examples:

(Smith 42; Bennett 71). 

(It Takes Two; Brock 43).

 Note: The sources within the in-text citation do not need to be in alphabetical order for MLA style.

About In-Text Citation

In MLA, in-text citations are inserted in the body of your research paper to briefly document the source of your information. Brief in-text citations point the reader to more complete information in the Works Cited list at the end of the paper.

• In-text citations include the last name of the author followed by a page number enclosed in parentheses. "Here's a direct quote" (Smith 8).
• If the author's name is not given, then use the first word or words of the title. Follow the same formatting that was used in the Works Cited list, such as quotation marks. This is a paraphrase ("Trouble" 22).

 Note: The period goes outside the brackets, at the end of your in-text citation.

Quoting Directly

When you quote directly from a source, enclose the quoted section in quotation marks. Add an in-text citation at the end of the quote with the author name and page number:

Mother-infant attachment has been a leading topic of developmental research since John Bowlby found that "children raised in institutions were deficient in emotional and personality development" (Hunt 358).

No Page Numbers

When you quote from electronic sources that do not provide page numbers (like Web pages), cite the author name only.

"Three phases of the separation response: protest, despair, and detachment" (Garelli).

Long Quotations

What Is a Long Quotation?

If your quotation extends to more than four lines as you're typing your essay, it is a long quotation.

Rules for Long Quotations

There are 4 rules that apply to long quotations that are different from regular quotations:

1. The line before your long quotation, when you're introducing the quote, usually ends with a colon.
2. The long quotation is indented half an inch from the rest of the text, so it looks like a block of text.
3. There are no quotation marks around the quotation.
4. The period at the end of the quotation comes before your in-text citation as opposed to after, as it does with regular quotations.

Example of a Long Quotation

At the end of Lord of the Flies the boys are struck with the realization of their behavior:

The tears began to flow and sobs shook him. He gave himself up to them now for the first time on the island; great, shuddering spasms of grief that seemed to wrench his whole body. His voice rose under the black smoke before the burning wreckage of the island; and infected by that emotion, the other little boys began to shake and sob too. (Golding 186)

Paraphrasing

When you write information or ideas from a source in your own words, cite the source by adding an in-text citation at the end of the paraphrased portion.

Paraphrasing from One Page

Include a full in-text citation with the author name and page number (if there is one). For example:

Mother-infant attachment became a leading topic of developmental research following the publication of John Bowlby's studies (Hunt 65).

Paraphrasing from Multiple Pages

If the paraphrased information/idea is from several pages, include them. For example:

Mother-infant attachment became a leading topic of developmental research following the publication of John Bowlby's studies (Hunt 50, 55, 65-71).

Signal Phrases

Readers should be able to move from your own words to the words you quote without feeling an abrupt shift. Signal phrases provide clear signals to prepare the readers for the quotation. If you refer to the author's name in a sentence you do not have to include the name again as part of your in-text citation, instead include the page number (if there is one) at the end of the quotation or paraphrased section. For example:

Hunt explains that mother-infant attachment has been a leading topic of developmental research since John Bowlby found that "children raised in institutions were deficient in emotional and personality development" (358).

Repeated Use of Sources

If you're using information from a single source more than once in succession (i.e., no other sources referred to in between), you can use a simplified in-text citation.

Example:

Cell biology is an area of science that focuses on the structure and function of cells (Smith 15). It revolves around the idea that the cell is a "fundamental unit of life" (17). Many important scientists have contributed to the evolution of cell biology. Mattias Jakob Schleiden and Theodor Schwann, for example, were scientists who formulated cell theory in 1838 (20). 

 Note: If using this simplified in-text citation creates ambiguity regarding the source being referred to, use the full in-text citation format.

-For more information about in-text citation, see OWL Purdue MLA In-Text Citation.

The last page of your essay is called the "Works Cited" page. This is where you list the full citation of your sources in MLA format.

This page will help you create a "Works Cited" page.

Pattern for Citing a Book in MLA (8th edition)

1. The author’s full name (First Name, Last name)
2. Titles of any chapters or sections that were used
3. The title of the book
4. Volume number of the book (if applicable)
5. The publisher of the book
6. The year the book was published
7. City the book was published in (only necessary if the book was printed prior to 1900, has versions that are different in one country than in another, or if it is a rare book)
8. The name of any editors or translators, if applicable
9. Page numbers or ranges that were used

Structure for a Book Citation

Author’s Last name, First name. “Title of chapter or section.” Title of the work, translated by or edited by First name Last name, vol. number, City of Publication*, Publisher, Year the book was published, page number(s).

Structure of a Book Citation in an Anthology

Last name, First name. "Title of Essay." Title of Collection, edited by Editor's Name(s), Publisher, Year, Page range of entry.

Swanson, Gunnar. "Graphic Design Education as a Liberal Art: Design and Knowledge in the University and The 'Real World.'" The Education of a Graphic Designer, edited by Steven Heller, Allworth Press, 1998, pp. 13-24.

Citation for an Online Book

Author's Last Name, First Name Middle Name or Initial. Edition, Publisher, Year of online publication. Name of website or database, URL or doi number.

Mead, Lawrence M., et al. Grumman Aerospace and Gulfstream American Gulfstream III Case Study in Aircraft Design.  American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics, 1980. ebrary, doi: 10.2514/4.868061.

Speed, Harold. The Practice and Science of Drawing. Seeley. Project Guttenberg, www.gutenberg.org/files/14264/14264-h/14264-h.htm.

MLA Book Examples

Basic Style for Citations of Electronic Sources (Including Online Databases)

Here are some common features you should try to find before citing electronic sources in MLA style. Not every Web page will provide all of the following information. However, collect as much of the following information as possible both for your citations and for your research notes:

• Author and/or editor names (if available); last names first.
• "Article name in quotation marks."
• Title of the website, project, or book in italics.
• Any version numbers available, including editions (ed.), revisions, posting dates, volumes (vol.), or issue numbers (no.).
• Publisher information, including the publisher name and publishing date.
• Take note of any page numbers (p. or pp.) or paragraph numbers (par. or pars.).
• URL (without the https://) DOI or permalink. 
  • ​Many scholarly journal articles found in databases include a DOI (digital object identifier). If a DOI is available, cite the DOI number instead of the URL.
  • “permalink,” which is a shortened, stable version of a URL. Look for a “share” or “cite this” button to see if a source includes a permalink. If you can find a permalink, use that instead of a URL.
• Date you accessed the material (Date Accessed)—While not required, it is highly recommended, especially when dealing with pages that change frequently or do not have a visible copyright date.
• Remember to cite containers after your regular citation. Examples of containers are collections of short stories or poems, a television series, or even a website. A container is anything that is a part of a larger body of works.

Journal Article From Library Database with DOI or a URL

Cite online databases (e.g. LexisNexis, ProQuest, JSTOR, ScienceDirect) and other subscription services as containers. Thus, provide the title of the database (italicized) before the DOI or URL. If a DOI is not provided, use the URL instead. Provide the date of access if you wish.

The eighth edition of the MLA Handbook does not require that you include a date of access—the date on which you consulted a work—when you cite an online work from a reliable, stable source. However, you may include an access date as an optional element if it will be useful to others. (See the MLA Handbook, eighth edition, pp. 50–53, for more on optional elements.)

Including an access date for an online work may be especially useful if the work lacks a publication date or if you suspect that the work may be altered or removed, which is more common with informal or self-published works. Place the access date at the end of the entry.

One Author

Author's Last Name, First Name. "Title of Article: Subtitle if Any." Name of Journal, vol. Volume Number, no. Issue Number, Date of Publication, pp. First Page Number-Last Page Number. Name of Database, doi:DOI number/URL/Permalink. 

Works Cited List Example:

Cardanay, Audrey. “Illustrating Motion, Music, and Story.” General Music Today, vol. 29, no. 3, 2016, pp. 25-29. Academic Search Premier, doi:10.1177/1048371315626498.

In-Text Citation Example:

(Author's Last Name Page Number)

Example: (Cardanay 444)

Two Authors

First Author's Last Name, First Name, and Second Author's First Name Last Name. "Title of Article: Subtitle if Any." Name of Journal, vol. Volume Number, no. Issue Number, Date of Publication, pp. First Page Number-Last Page Number. Name of Database, doi:DOI number/URL/Permalink.

Works Cited List Example:

Best, David, and Sharon Marcus. “Surface Reading: An Introduction.” Representations, vol. 108, no. 1, Fall 2009, pp. 1-21. JSTOR, doi:10.1525/rep.2009.108.1.1.

In-Text Citation Example:

(First Author's Last Name and Second Author's Last Name Page Number)

Example: (Best and Marcus 18)

Three or More Authors

For sources with three or more authors, list only the first author’s name followed by the phrase et al. (Latin for “and others”)

First Author's Last Name, First Name et al. "Title of Article: Subtitle if Any." Name of Journal, vol. Volume Number, no. Issue Number, Date of Publication, pp. First Page Number-Last Page Number. Name of Database, doi:DOI number/URL/Permalink. 

Works Cited List Example:

Isaac, Kathleen et al. "Incorporating Spirituality in Primary Care." Journal of Religion and Health, vol. 55, no. 3, 2016, pp. 1065-77. ATLA Religion Database, login.ezproxy-eres.up.edu/login?url=https://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=aph&AN=114118885&site=ehost-live&scope=site.

In-Text Citation Example:

(First Author's Last Name et al. Page Number)

Example: (Isaac et al. 1067)

Journal Article in Print

Author's Last Name, First Name. "Title of Article: Subtitle if Any." Name of Journal, vol. Volume Number, no. Issue Number, Date of Publication, pp. First Page Number-Last Page Number.  

Works Cited List Example:

Poythress, Vern S. "Rain Water Versus a Heavenly Sea in Genesis 1:6-8." The Westminster Theological Journal, vol. 77, no. 2, 2015, pp. 181-91.

In-Text Citation Example:

(Author's Last Name Page Number)

Example: (Poythress 183)

For more information about creating a works cited list, see OWL Purdue MLA Works Cited.   There you will find examples of how to cite many different types of sources.

For more information about creating a works cited list, see OWL Purdue MLA Works Cited.   There you will find examples of how to cite many different types of sources.