How to Cite Using MLA Formatting

The MLA, Modern Language Association, format is the most commonly used style guideline for writers in the liberal arts and humanities. When writing a paper, it is important to cite your sources correctly to both accurately acknowledge intellectual property and to avoid plagiarism. When using the MLA format, sources must be cited both within the actual text and listed on a "Works Cited" paper, included at the end of the document. Once you have the rules of citing sources using MLA formatting down, you will find that it is a straightforward style that is relatively user-friendly.

Instructions

  1. In Text Citations

    • 1

      Type the text that you are either quoting or paraphrasing in your essay.

    • 2

      Put the last name of the author and the page you are referencing in parenthesis at the end of the sentence you will be citing. The parenthesis should come before the period, i.e. (Smith 104). If using quotes, put the parenthesis after the quotation marks, but before the period.

    • 3

      Continue typing your essay as normal until you need to reference another source. Then follow directions 1 through 2.

    Works Cited

    • 4

      Write down a list of all the works that you referenced in your paper. You can begin by going through your paper and writing down all of the last names from your in-text citations or you can make a rough list from memory using names and titles.

    • 5

      Include the following information for each source: the authors' names, the title of the text, publisher, the year of publication, and pages. This varies slightly according to the type of the source. For example, for a book, the format is as follows:

      Author's name (inverted with the last name first, separated by a comma). Title. City of publication: Publisher's Name, Year of Publication.

      For a journal article:

      Author's name. "Title of Article." Title of Journal Volume Number (Year): Pages.

      For web-based sources:

      Title of Website. Editor. Date. Name of Sponsoring Institution. Date of Access.

    • 6

      Alphabetize your list of references once you have compiled all of the necessary information.

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