MLA is a reference and style guide that uses parenthetical references. It is most often used in language, literature, and communication disciplines for stylistic consistency and also to preserve the readability of the main text.
This guide explains how to cite common sources using MLA. For information on the citation format for sources not covered in this guide, refer to the MLA Handbook, 8th edition.
MLA style offers flexibility and credits the author with understanding the needs of the audience. Recognizing that writers encounter texts that don’t necessarily qualify as a specific genre, MLA allows you to use common sense to include the information you think is necessary.
The genre is based on these principles:
- Cite simple traits shared by most works (e.g., author, title, date)
- There can be more than one way to cite a source correctly
- Documenting sources should be useful for your readers
Documenting Sources
Sources must be documented in two places: in parenthetical in-text citations and in a works-cited list.
In-text Parenthetical Citations
In MLA format, in-text citations are required for paraphrased and directly-quoted material. The basic construction for citations is as follows:
(Last name Page).
e.g., (Duncan 75).
Think of your in-text citation as a signpost to your works-cited list. Whatever word goes in the parentheses or your signal phrase should be the first word for that entry in your works-cited list. For example, if a work has no author, the title will be the first thing in your reference list, and will appear in the next citation like so: e.g., There is overwhelming consensus that GMO foods are safe to eat (“Mandatory GMO labelling” 16).
Sample In-text Citations
Paraphrase
e.g., The government kept steering the conversation away from treaty rights and back to economic development (Duncan 43).
e.g., Palmater commented on this tactic, claiming that politicians often find a way to insert doubt (219).
In the above example, the author’s name is mentioned in the signal phrase, so the parenthetical citation at the end of the sentence only needs to include the page number.
Direct Quotation (Short)
e.g., Nicolia notes that research “so far has not detected any significant hazard directly connected with the use of GM crops” (8).
Direct Quotation (Long)
A long quotation is one that is more than four lines of text. It should be indented ½ inch from the left margin and be double spaced. There are no quotation marks around the block of text, and the parenthetical citation comes after the final period, as in the example that follows.
e.g., Activists who manufacture controversy often resort to the martyr tactic:
Whenever anti-GMO groups need a study to cite, they look to a 2012 paper by Gilles-Eric Seralini. He asserted that rats fed GMO corn, and the associated pesticide glyphosate, developed increased cancerous tumours. After a number of bizarre turns, the paper was retracted, with the journal editors indicating a number of scientific irregularities in design and evidence presentation. In spite of this incident being part of the standard peer review process for publishing, Suzuki rails against it as an example of a stifling of scientific debate. (Smith 13)
Works Cited
The works-cited list is an alphabetical list of all the works you referenced in your paper. In the most recent handbook, MLA has tried to rethink its former, more rigid, rules for citation, aiming instead to streamline the process for sources that reflects the modern mobility of texts.
Most works contain the following core elements. An entry will appear in this order, respecting the punctuation given:
[1] Author.
[2] Title of source.
[3] Title of container,
[4] Other contributors,
[5] Version,
[6] Number,
[7] Publisher,
[8] Publication date,
[9] Location.
Sample Works Cited
View a sample works cited page (PDF).