Citation How-to
MLA Basics
Getting Started: gather information about your sources
WHO is the author of your source?
WHAT is the title of your source?
HOW was the source published?
WHERE did you find your source?
WHEN was the source published?
Source Citation Guidelines
1. The goal of source citation is connecting your reader to your sources. Include all
information that is relevant and necessary for your reader to find your research.
2. Arrange your information according to the 9 Source Elements described in more
detail below. Arrange all of your citations in alphabetical order
(ignoring a, an, and the) on a ‘Works Cited’ page at the end of your paper.
3. Every source is cited in the same way, but not every source has all the elements-
cite what is there, omit what is not.
4. The required format for your “Works Cited” page is: double-spaced, size 12 font, in
Times New Roman. Sources with two or more lines should have a hanging indent.
5. When citing digital sources omit the “https://” from the beginning of the URL. Inclusion
of the URL and the access date is optional and up to teacher discretion.
In-text Citation Guidelines
1. Your goal: provide enough information to lead your reader directly to the source
listed in your Works Cited without disrupting the flow of your argument.
2. There are usually two parts to an in-text citation: the element that comes first in
your Works Cited citation (usually the author’s last name) and a page number (if
your source has numbered pages).
3. The required format places the relevant elements in parentheses at the end of your
sentence, but before the final punctuation. Ex: “Your quote” (Steinbeck 194).
MLA Source Elements
Gather the following information to construct a citation:
1. Author.
List the person or persons responsible for creating the work. List last name first. If there are two or more authors, list them in the order they appear in your source:
Dorris, Michael, and Louise Erdrich. The Crown of Columbus. HarperCollins Publishers, 1999.
2. Title of source.
Write titles in italics and include any subtitle. Titles of an article, story, or poem in a collection are placed in “quotation marks” as shown:
Hollmichel, Stefanie. “The Reading Brain: Difference between Digital and Print.” So Many Books, 25 Apr. 2013, somanybooksblog.com/2013/04/25the-reading-brain-differences-between-digital-and-print/.
3. Title of Container,
When your source is “contained” inside a larger whole, list its title in italics. A source may have more than one container. An article from within a periodical (container 1) that you accessed through a database (container 2):
Goldman, Anne. “Questions of Transport: Reading Primo Levi Reading Dante.” The Georgia Review, vol. 64, no. 1, 2010, pp. 69-88. JSTOR, www.jstor.org/stable/ 41403188.
4. Other contributors,
Aside from the author, list anyone relevant who contributed to creating the source preceded by a descriptor such as: adapted by, directed by, edited by, illustrated by, introduced by, narrated by, performed by, translated by, etc.
5. Version,
If your source states that it is a specific edition or version, list its descriptor such as Expanded ed., Updated ed., 7th ed., unabridged version, director’s cut, etc.:
The Bible. Authorized King James Version, Oxford UP, 1998.
6. Number,
If you consult a particular volume or issue that is part of a larger set, list all the relevant information as shown:
Baron, Naomi S. “Redefining Reading: The impact of Digital Communication Media.” PMLA, vol. 128, no. 1, Jan. 2013, pp. 193-200.
7. Publisher,
List the organization primarily responsible for producing or making your source public:
Lessig, Lawrence. Remix: Making Art and Commerce Thrive in the Hybrid Economy. Penguin Press, 2008.
8. Publication date,
Dates can be up to the minute (ex: a tweet), a specific day, a season (ex: a quarterly periodical) or a year. Be as specific as your source allows. Use Day Month Year (28 Dec. 2014).
9. Location.
Your source type determines what ‘location’ means- page or page range for printed works, a URL for web sources, a disc number for a multi-disc DVD documentary, etc.:
“Because You Left.” Lost, Season 5, episode 1, ABC, 2009. Netflix, www.netflix.com/watch/70123451.
mla works cited examples
Reminder: Citations should always be formatted in a hanging indent style on your final works cited page.Example 1: A Print Book
1. Author. Dickens, Charles.
2. Title of source. A Tale of Two Cities.
3. Title of Container,
4. Other contributors,
5. Version,
6. Number,
7. Publisher, Penguin Books,
8. Publication date, 2003.
9. Location.
Example 1 - Final Citation:
Dickens, Charles. A Tale of Two Cities. Penguin Books, 2003.
Example 2: An article from a website
1. Author. Deresiewicz, William.
2. Title of source. “The Death of the Artist.”
3. Title of Container, The Atlantic,
4. Other contributors,
5. Version,
6. Number,
7. Publisher,
8. Publication date, 28 Dec. 2014,
9. Location. theatlantic.com/magazine/archive/2015/01the-death-of-the-artist/383497/.
Example 2 - Final Citation:
Deresiewicz, William. “The Death of the Artist.” The Atlantic, 28 Dec. 2014, theatlantic.com/magazine/archive/2015/01the-death-of-the-artist/383497/.
Example 3: A source with two containers
1. Author. Gilsinan, Kathy.
2. Title of source. "The Church of the Flying Spaghetti Monster."
Container 1
3. Title of Container, The Atlantic,
4. Other contributors,
5. Version,
6. Number,
7. Publisher,
8. Publication date, Nov. 2016
9. Location. p. 23.
Container 1
3. Title of Container, Opposing Viewpoints in Context,
4. Other contributors,
5. Version,
6. Number,
7. Publisher,
8. Publication date,
9. Location. link.galegroup.com/apps/doc/A469315183/OVIC?u=idaho_s_borah&xid=9961be94.
Example 3 - Final Citation:
Gilsinan, Kathy. "The Church of the Flying Spaghetti Monster." The Atlantic, Nov. 2016, p. 23. Opposing Viewpoints in Context, link.galegroup.com/apps/doc/A469315183/OVIC?u=idaho_s_borah&xid=9961be94.
mla in-text citation examples
Excerpts with in-text citation and corresponding Works Cited
Example 1: Antigone places the highest value on the “laws of the gods” where Ismene respects Creon’s authority and “laws that were made for the public good” (Sophocles, Antigone 730).
Example 2: A theme developed in both plays is “the notion that an individual believes he or she is acting justly, but is actually guilty of breaking divine law” (Korovessis).
Excerpt with multiple In-text citations of the same source
Romeo and Juliet presents an opposition between two worlds: “the world of the everyday,” associated with the adults in the play, and “the world of romance,” associated with the two lovers (Zender 138). Romeo and Juliet’s language of love nevertheless becomes “fully responsive to the tang of actuality” (141).
Excerpt with in-text citation and block quote (used for 4+ lines)
Understanding Whitman’s Poetry
By examining sectional division in Walt Whitman’s Song of Myself, we can show that 1891 revisions underscore the function of each section as a unit of meaning governed by its own rhythm (Strauch 64). Fred Mitchell calls this “group size pattern”:
Whitman is doing more than simply distributing a pattern of groups in some sensible fashion over the lines of a poem, creating what some critics are calling a group/line pattern. Whitman is also conscious of the size of his groups and of their progression in terms of size pattern. (16)
Such an analysis demonstrates the method governing Whitman’s formation of stanzas and...
For more details see MLA Handbook: Eighth Edition on Borah Library’s Self-Service Shelf or click here for more examples.
All examples in this guide were taken from MLA Handbook: Eighth Edition or authored by Borah Library staff