WORKS CITED PAGE...the basics

1. The list of sources/references should be the very last page of an essay.

2. The top of the page should include the running header and the final page number.

3. The words 'Works Cited' should be at the top of the page, centered-do not italicize/bold face/underline.

4. All sources/references should be placed in alphabetical order by the first item in the MLA format citation.

5. The entire page should be double spaced.

6. Any sources/references longer than one line should have a hanging indent for each line OVER the first one.

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QUOTATIONS...the basics

Quotes are added into assignments to help defend an argument, prove a point, add emphasis, or simply liven up a project. Quotes should not take up the majority of your paper or assignment. Quotes should be sprinkled sparingly throughout. Use direct quotes from outside sources to enhance and expand on your own writing and ideas. Words from quotes belong to the individual who spoke or wrote them, so it is essential to credit that individual’s work. Credit him or her by adding a citation into the body of the essay.

INCLUDING THE PERSON'S NAME IN THE SENTENCE

Dan Gutman shares a glimpse into the overall plot by stating, “I didn’t know it at the time, but a baseball card—for me—could function like a time machine” (5).

In the above example, Dan Gutman is the author of the book that this quote is pulled from.

NOT INCLUDING THE PERSON'S NAME IN THE SENTENCE

The main character’s confusing experience is realized and explained when he states “I didn’t know it at the time, but a baseball card—for me—could function like a time machine” (Gutman 5).

In the above example, Dan Gutman’s name isn’t included in the sentence. The information in the parentheses at the end of the sentence is a proper MLA style citation of this type of quote.

USING A BLOCK QUOTE

A block quote is used when a large quote, 4 lines or more of typed text, is added into an essay. Block quotes are formatted differently than shorter quotes in the body of a project. The unique formatting signals to the reader they’re about to read a lengthy quote. Block quotes are called block quotes because they form their own block of text. 

Begin the block quote on a new line. The body of the full essay should run along the one inch margin, but the block quote should be set in an inch and a half. The entire quote should be along the inch and a half margin. If there aren’t any quotation marks in the text itself, do not include any in the block quote. This is very different than standard reference rules. In most cases, quotation marks are added around quoted material. For block quotes, since the reader can see the quoted material sits in its own block, it is not necessary to place quotation marks around it.

Despite Bruchac’s consistent difficult situations at home, basketball kept his mind busy and focused:

        When I got off the late bus that afternoon, my grandparents weren’t home. The store was locked and there was a note from

        Grama on the house door. Doc Magovern had come to the house because Grampa was “having trouble with his blood.” Now they 

        were off to the hospital and I “wasn’t to worry.” This had happened before. Grampa had pernicious anemia and sometimes was 

        very sick. So, naturally, it worried the pants off me. I actually thought about taking my bike down the dreaded 9N the three miles 

        to the Saratoga Hospital. Instead, I did as I knew they wanted. I opened the store and waited for customers. None came, though, 

        and my eye was caught by the basketball stowed away as usual behind the door. I had to do something to take my mind off what 

        was happening to Grampa. I took out the ball and went around the side. (13)

Notice the use of the colon prior to the start of the block quote. Do not use a colon if the block quote is part of the sentence above it. Also, the period goes at the end of the sentence, NOT after the citation.

Here is an example of the same block quote, without the use of the colon:

Despite Bruchac’s consistent difficult situations at home, it was clear that basketball kept his mind busy and focused when he states

        When I got off the late bus that afternoon, my grandparents weren’t home. The store was locked and there was a note from 

        Grama on the house door. Doc Magovern had come to the house because Grampa was “having trouble with his blood.” Now they 

        were off to the hospital and I “wasn’t to worry.” This had happened before. Grampa had pernicious anemia and sometimes was 

        very sick. So, naturally, it worried the pants off me. I actually thought about taking my bike down the dreaded 9N the three miles 

        to the Saratoga Hospital. Instead, I did as I knew they wanted. I opened the store and waited for customers. None came, though, 

        and my eye was caught by the basketball stowed away as usual behind the door. I had to do something to take my mind off what 

        was happening to Grampa. I took out the ball and went around the side. (13)

If two or more paragraphs are included in your block quote, start each paragraph on a new line.

USING PARAPHRASE

Paraphrases are created when text or speech from another source are added into an essay, but the writer chooses to summarize them and weave in his or her own writing and writing style. Even though the writer modifies the information from another source, it is still necessary to credit the source.

Original text:

 “Stay hungry. Stay foolish.” Steve Jobs

Paraphrase:

Steve Jobs encouraged students at Stanford to continue with their determination, drive, and ambitious behavior. They should never be simply satisfied with the status quo. They should continue to push themselves despite possible obstacles and failures.

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CITING A NOVEL

Last name, First name. Title of Book. City of Publication*, Publisher, Year Published.  

*The City of Publication should only be used if the source was published before 1900, if the publisher has offices in more than one country, or if the publisher is unknown in North America.

NOVEL WITH ONE AUTHOR

Dickens, Charles. Great Expectations. Dodd, 1942.   

NOVEL WITH TWO AUTHORS

When a book has two authors, order the authors in the same way they are presented in the book. The first given name appears in last name, first name format; subsequent author names appear in normal order (first name last name format).

Gillespie, Paula, and Neal Lerner. The Allyn and Bacon Guide to Peer Tutoring. Allyn and Bacon, 2000.

NOVEL WITH THREE (or more) AUTHORS

If there are three or more authors, list only the first author followed by the phrase et al. (Latin for "and others") in place of the subsequent authors' names. (Note that there is a period after “al” in “et al.” Also note that there is never a period after the “et” in “et al.”).

Wysocki, Anne Frances, et al. Writing New Media: Theory and Applications for Expanding the Teaching of Composition. Utah State UP, 2004.

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CITING AN AUDIO RECORDING

The format for citing a song depends on the medium in which you listened to it. To cite an audio recording of a song, identify as many of the following pieces of information:

1. Singer's name

2. Songwriter's name

3. Title of the song (and subtitle, if there is one)

4. Title of the album (and subtitle, if there is one)

5. Album's Edition (if there is one)

6. Track number

7. Publisher

8. Year of Publication 

9. Website or database where the song was found

10. URL

11. Date the song was accessed online

12. The names of any other contributors

QUOTING LYRICS

Quote lyrics from a song in a similar format to poetry: separate lines with a slash symbol, and format four or more lines quoted at once as a block quote.

Quoting lyrics in the text. In the chorus, Bush sings “if I only could / I’d make a deal with God / And I’d get him to swap our places” (0:51–59).

If you’re quoting these lyrics from a transcript included alongside the song (e.g. in the description on YouTube, in the accompanying booklet to a CD), then you should clarify this at the end of the Works Cited entry.

Quoting lyrics from a transcript Bush, Kate. “Running Up That Hill (A Deal with God).” Hounds of Love. EMI, 1985. Transcript of lyrics.

AUDIO RECORDING FROM PHYSICAL MEDIA

To cite a song accessed through an online streaming service, list the performer (or group) as author, the song title in quotation marks, the name of the site in italics, and the URL where the song can be found. Omit “the” from a band name, e.g. “Beatles,” not “the Beatles.” 

*If relevant, use a timestamp to indicate a specific part of the song in the in-text citation.

Singer’s Last Name, Singer’s First Name. “Title of the Song.” Title of the Album, album’s ed., Publisher, Year of publication. Format. 

Rhett, Thomas. “It Goes Like This.” It Goes Like This, Valory Music Group, Jay Joyce, Michael Knox, and Luke Laird, 2013. CD.

Dylan, Bob. “Blowin’ in the Wind.” Spotify. https://open.spotify.com/track/18GiV1BaXzPVYpp9rmOg0E

MLA in-text citation  (Dylan 1:14)  

AUDIO RECORDING FOUND ONLINE

Singer’s Last Name, Singer’s First Name. “Title of the Song.” Title of the Album, album’s ed., Publisher, Year of publication, track number. Website or Database Name, URL.

Sheeran, Ed. “Don’t.” X, deluxe ed., Asylum Records, 2014, track 4. Spotify, https://open.spotify.com/track/34gCuhDGsG4bRPIf9bb02f? play=true&utm_source=open.spotify.com&utm_medium=open.

LYRICS FOUND ONLINE

Singer’s Last Name, Singer’s First Name. “Title of the Song.” Title of the Album, Names of any other contributors, Album’s Publisher, Year of publication, track Number. Name of Website, URL.

Lennon, John. “Imagine.” Imagine, Ascot Sound Studios, 1971, track 1. Genius, https://genius.com/John-lennon-imagine-lyrics.

LYRICS FROM AN APP

The publication details displayed will depend on the software and may be incomplete (e.g., the mobile app for iTunes may display different information than the desktop app), and you may need to consult other reliable sources (e.g., the iTunes Store site) to supply as much of the missing information as you can. The fact that you download a song from a particular Web site to listen to on a personal device does not need to be accounted for in your citation. The software application that you use to listen to the song is also generally not necessary to specify in your entry, but you can electively include it in the “Version” slot:

U2. “You’re the Best Thing about Me.” iTunes app, Island Records, 2017.

OPTIONAL DETAILS...

MLA’s citation style is flexible; some details are not mandatory in a song citation but can be included when relevant. If your discussion focuses on the work of a particular musician, you can list them in the author position instead of the main artist, along with a description of their role. The main artist should still be listed later in the contributor slot.

Musician last name, First name, role. “Song Title.” Album Name, by main artist first name Last name. Distributor, Year. Format.

Fripp, Robert, guitarist. “St. Elmo’s Fire.” Another Green World, by Brian Eno. Island Records, 1975.

MLA in-text citation (Fripp 1:21-45)

Especially with classical music, it may be more relevant to cite the composer rather than the performer in the author position. You can then list the particular performer(s) and/or conductor after the title. If the particular performance is irrelevant, you might omit this information entirely.

Composer last name, First name. Piece/Collection Title. Performance by Performer(s), conducted by Conductor, Distributor, Year.

Beethoven, Ludwig van. Symphony No. 9 in D Minor “Choral.” Performance by the Cleveland Orchestra and Chorus, conducted by Christoph von Dohnányi, Telarc, 1985.

MLA in-text citation (Beethoven)

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CITING A MUSICAL

To cite a play or musical, identify as many of the following pieces of information:

1. Playwright

2. Name(s) of the main performer (s)

3. Play Title (in quotes)

4. Publication Title (italicized)

5. Editor

6. Publisher

7. Record Label/Studio

8. Publication Year

9. Publication City

10. Page Number (p.) or Page Numbers (pp.)

MUSICAL AS A PUBLICATION

Playwright last name, First name. “Play Title.” Publication Title, edited by Editor First and Last name, Publication Year, Page numbers.

Miranda, Lin-Manuel. “Hamilton: An American Musical.” Hamilton: The Revolution, edited by Jeremy McCarter, Grand Central  

      Publishing, 2016, pp. 23-26.

MUSICAL AS A LIVE PERFORMANCE

Performance Title. By Playwright First Name Last Name, directed by Director First Name Last Name, Date Seen, Theatre, City, State. Performance.

Hamilton: An American Musical. By Lin-Manuel Miranda, directed by Thomas Kail, 21 Apr. 2016, Richard Rodgers Theatre, New York, NY.

MUSICAL AS A SOUNDTRACK

Soundtrack Title. Performers’ Names. Record Label/Studio, Year Released.

Hamilton: An America Musical. Performances by Lin-Manuel Miranda, Leslie Odom Jr., Phillipa Soo, and Jonathan Groff. Atlantic 

      Records, 2015.

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CITING A GRAPHIC NOVEL/COMIC BOOK

AUTHOR AS ARTIST/ILLUSTRATOR

In a graphic novel, text and illustrations are intermingled. The entry in the works cited list for a graphic novel entirely created by one person follows the same format as any other non-periodical print publication

Barry, Lynda. What It Is. Drawn & Quarterly, 2008. 

COLLABORATIVE WORK (DIFFERENT AUTHOR, ARTIST/ILLUSTRATOR)

When you write about a collaborative work without focusing on one person’s role, begin your works cited list with the title. Then provide the names of the creators in the "other contributors" slot preceded by a description of the role they played.

March. By John Lewis and Andrew Aydin, illustrated by Nate Powell, book 1, Top Shelf Productions, 2013.

The Quitter. Written by Harvey Pekar. Art by Dean Haspiel. Gray tones by Lee Loughridge. Vertigo-DC Comics, 2005. 

When the role cannot be described using a phrase like “illustrated by,” use a noun followed by a comma.

Superman: Birthright. By Mark Waid, illustrated by Leinil Francis Yu, inker, Gerry Alanguilan, color artist, Dave McCaig, DC Comics, 2005. 

Use et al. if more than two people made the same contribution (for example, if a work has three color artists), give the first name listed in the source followed by et al.

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