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About Citation

About MLA

This guide is a quick introduction to the Modern Language Association 9th edition citation style. Be sure to consult the MLA Handbook or the online MLA Style Center for detailed standards and procedures. 

Check out the new library database, MLA Handbook Plus!

In-text Citations

For more guidelines and examples, check out the MLA Style Center In-Text Citations Overview.

Basic Format:

(Last Name Page #)

Or, introduce direct quotes with the author and title within the sentence or paragraph, then include the page number(s) at the end of the quote in parentheses.

I'm citing...

You only need the author's last name and the page number.

(Burke 3)

If there is no author...

Use a shortened title of the work

("Impact of Global Warming")

Connect both authors' last names with and, and include the page number.

(Best and Marcus 9)

Use the first author's last name and et al., and include the page number.

(Franck et al. 327)

Works Cited

Basic Format:
Author Last Name, First Name Middle Name or Initial. Title of Longer Work or "Title of Shorter Work." Publisher, Year. URL or DOI.

I'm citing a...

  1. Author(s). Note: Use the format Last Name, First Name Middle Name or Initial. If there are multiple authors, use and before the last author's name.
  2. "Title of the Article." Note: Include the title of a shorter work like an article in a journal in quotation marks and use headline-style capitalization.
  3. Title of the Journal, Note: Use italics for the title of a longer work like a journal and use headline-style capitalization.
  4. vol. #,
  5. no. #, Note: If there is no additional number after the volume, only include the volume number.
  6. Publication date,
  7. pp. xxx-xxx.
If accessed online or in a library database...
  • Database, Note: Use italics for names of databases.
  • URL or permalink.
Gosine, Kevin, and Emmanuel Tabi. "Disrupting Neoliberalism and Bridging the Multiple Worlds of Marginalized Youth via Hip-Hop Pedagogy: Contemplating Possibilities." Review of Education, Pedagogy, and Cultural Studies, vol. 38, no. 5, 2016, pp. 445-467. Research Gate, doi: 10.1080/10714413.2016.1221712.
  1. Author(s). Note: Use the format Last Name, First Name Middle Name or Initial. If there are multiple authors, use and before the last author's name.
  2. "Title of the Article." Note: Include the title of a shorter work in quotation marks and use headline-style capitalization.
  3. Title of the Newspaper or Publisher, Note: Use italics for the title of a longer work like a newspaper or online publication and use headline-style capitalization.
  4. Publication date, Note: Use the formate Date Abbreviated Month Year.
  5. URL.

 

Cochrane, Emily, and Noah Weiland. "Hillary Clinton, the N.F.L., Roy Moore and Other Asides from the President." The New York Times, 16 Nov. 2018, https://nyti.ms/2zf1TPB.
Print Book
  1. Author(s). Note: Use the format Last Name, First Name Middle Name or Initial. If there are multiple authors, use and before the last author's name.
  2. Title of the Book. Note: Use italics for the title of a longer work like a book and use headline-style capitalization.
  3. Edition Note: If there are multiple editions, use the format 1st/2nd/3rd ed.,
  4. Publisher,
  5. Publication date.

 

Lee, Harper. To Kill a Mockingbird. 1st ed., J. B. Lippincott & Co., 1960.
  1. Author(s). Note: Use the format Last Name, First Name Middle Name or Initial. If there are multiple authors, use and before the last author's name.
  2. Title of the Book, Note: Use italics for the title of a longer work like a book and use headline-style capitalization.
  3. Editors Note: If there is one editor, use the format edited by Last Name, First Name. If there are multiple editors, use and before the last author's name.
  4. Publisher,
  5. Publication date.
  6. Database, Note: Use italics for names of databases.
  7. URL or permalink.

 

Hughes, Langston. Fight for Freedom and Other Writings on Civil Rights, edited by Christopher C. De Santis. University of Missouri Press, 2001. EBSCOhost eBook Collection, https://libris.mtsac.edu/login?url=https://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=nlebk&AN=113858&site=ehost-live&scope=site;.
  1. Author(s) of the Chapter. Note: Use the format Last Name, First Name Middle Name or Initial. If there are multiple authors, use and before the last author's name.
  2. "Title of the Chapter." Note: Include the title of a shorter work like a chapter in quotation marks and use headline-style capitalization.
  3. Title of the Book, Note: Use italics for the title of a longer work like a book and use headline-style capitalization.
  4. Editors Note: If there is one editor, use the format edited by Last Name, First Name. If there are multiple editors, use and before the last author's name.
  5. Publisher,
  6. Publication date,
  7. pp. xxx-xxx.
  8. Database, Note: Use italics for names of databases.
  9. URL or permalink.

 

Tsai, Jack. "Homelessness Among US Veterans: A Critical Approach." Homeless Veterans and Use of Information Technology, edited by Keith McInnes and Sarah L. Cutrona, Oxford Scholarship Online, 2018. EBSCOhost eBook Collection, https://libris.mtsac.edu/login?url=https://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=nlebk&AN=1939678&site=ehost-live&scope=site.
  1. Author. Note: If there is no individual author, begin the citation with "Title of the Page."
  2. "Title of Page, Section, or Document."
  3. Publisher,
  4. URL.

 

"MLA Style." Modern Language Association, https://www.mla.org/MLA-Style.

Check out more examples of citing online sources from the MLA Style Center.

Formatting Your MLA Paper

What does the general format of an MLA paper look like? 

How do I make a hanging indent in Word?

1. Highlight the citaiton with your cursor. 

2. Right click. 

3. Select Paragraph.

4. Under Indentation, select Special and Hanging.

Animated gif of creating a hanging indent in Word. Highlight the full citation. Right click. Go to Paragraph. To to the Special drop down menu, select Hanging. Select Okay.

How can I save time formatting my paper? 

Microsoft Word and Google Docs have a Format Painter tool that will copy and apply basic formatting to any text! 

1. Highlight the formatting you want to apply. 

2. Select Format Painter

3. Highlight the text you want to change. 

Note: If using the Format Painter on the Reference List, you'll need to go back and add italics. 

Animated gif of using the Format Painter tool in Word.

Creative Commons License CC by NC 4.0 This guide was created by Tessa Withorn at CSUDH Library and licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-Share Alike 4.0 International License.