9th edition
University of Alberta Library and NorQuest College Library
Edmonton
MLA Style Citation Tutorial by University of Alberta Library and NorQuest College Library is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International License, except where otherwise noted.
MLA Style Citation Tutorial by University of Alberta Library and NorQuest College Library is an adaptation of APA Style Citation Tutorial by University of Alberta Library, which is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International License.
1
Welcome to the MLA Style Citation Tutorial, created by librarians at the University of Alberta and NorQuest College Libraries. In this tutorial, you will be introduced to MLA style citation based on the 9th edition guidelines. |
Learning Outcomes
After completing this tutorial, you will be able to:
Image from: MLA Style Center
I
Learning Outcome
After completing this chapter, you will be able to:
It’s important to understand why citations are a fundamental part of any research project. A citation is a reference to an information source that contains key publication details about that source in order to allow others to find it.
By reading, analyzing, and citing scholarly sources in your assignments, you are contributing to and participating in scholarly communication! You grow in your understanding of a field of study by learning from its subject experts.
Giving credit is key for showing professionalism and giving evidence in your paper. You will mainly use scholarly and professional sources to support your research and to give other researchers credit for their findings. Citations allow others (and you!) to find the sources used in your paper to learn more about them.
One or more interactive elements has been excluded from this version of the text. You can view them online here: https://openeducationalberta.ca/mla-tutorial/?p=26#video-26-1
Module 5.1 – Plagiarism Video Transcript
It might help to think: is this my own idea, or did I read or hear about it in one of my sources? If it came from somewhere else, cite it.
Summary
The main reasons why we cite are to:
“Open Book Library” by lil_foot_ is licensed under Pixabay License, no attribution required.
“Silhouette Head Bookshelf Knowledge” by Gerd Altmann is licensed under Pixabay License, no attribution required.
MLA style citation is a standardized set of guidelines used in the Arts and Humanities (for example, in English courses). It includes guidelines for formatting your paper, citing sources in the text of your paper, and citing sources at the end of your paper. The 9th edition of the MLA Handbook includes expanded instructions on using the core elements of citation as well as more writing recommendations than previous editions. |
Image from: MLA Style Center
II
Learning Outcome
After completing this chapter, you will be able to:
In MLA Style, there are two components to every citation:
The works cited list goes at the end of your paper. It contains longer citations that provide enough information to describe and find your source. For example, here is a citation for a book:
Dolmage, Jay Timothy. Academic Ableism: Disability and Higher Education. U of Michigan P, 2017. JSTOR, https://jstor.org/stable/j.ctvr33d50.
Whenever you use words or ideas from a source in your text, you need to add an in-text citation. It includes the author last name(s) and the page number (or other location) where the information can be found within the source. For example:
We will explore each of these citation components, first separately and then together. First, we will discuss the works cited list.
A works cited list is an alphabetized list, located on a separate page at the end of your paper, that lists all the citation details for the sources used in your paper.
MLA uses nine core elements for citing sources, but you usually do not need to use all of them for a single source. Click on each element below to learn more about it and how it is formatted.
An interactive H5P element has been excluded from this version of the text. You can view it online here:
https://openeducationalberta.ca/mla-tutorial/?p=48#h5p-1
You’re not expected to memorize MLA guidelines. Instead, use available resources (e.g., U of A MLA QuickGuide (PDF), NorQuest College MLA 9 Research Guide, and this tutorial) to help guide you. Over time, you will become more comfortable with creating citations.
Using MLA resources to help create a works cited list entry is like using a recipe. The ingredients are the key pieces of information about a source (core elements). If you’re missing an ingredient, leave it out or substitute it.
Next, we will use the 9 core elements of citation to explore how to cite different types of sources.
“Pancake recipe with ingredients Free Vector” by pikisuperstar is licensed under CC BY 4.0 International.
Books are a key type of information source when you’re doing scholarly research. Click through the slides below for information about each element of a book citation, along with images of where you can find each element within a source.
An interactive H5P element has been excluded from this version of the text. You can view it online here:
https://openeducationalberta.ca/mla-tutorial/?p=126#h5p-2
Next, let’s look at some examples of different types of book citations.
A print book is a physical copy of a book (as opposed to an ebook). To cite this type of source, you usually only need about four or five different elements.
Steussy, Joe, and Scott Lipscomb. Rock and Roll: Its History and Stylistic Development. 7th ed., Pearson, 2013.
The example above includes these citation elements:
Citation Element | Example |
---|---|
Authors. | Steussy, Joe, and Scott Lipscomb. |
Title of Source. | Rock and Roll: Its History and Stylistic Development. |
Version, | 7th ed., |
Publisher, | Pearson, |
Publication Date. | 2013. |
An ebook might be located on a website or in a library database, or it might be a file that you download. This example is for an ebook in a library database.
Dolmage, Jay Timothy. Academic Ableism: Disability and Higher Education. U of Michigan P, 2017. JSTOR, https://jstor.org/stable/j.ctvr33d50.
The example above includes these citation elements:
Citation Element | Example |
---|---|
Author. | Dolmage, Jay Timothy. |
Title of Source. | Academic Ableism: Disability and Higher Education. |
Publisher, | U of Michigan P, |
Publication Date. | 2017. |
Container, | JSTOR, |
Location. | https://jstor.org/stable/j.ctvr33d50. |
In an edited book, each chapter is written by a different author, and one or more editors is responsible for the book as a whole. If you are citing an entire edited book, the citation should start with the editor name(s).
Froggatt, Katherine, et al., editors. Understanding Care Homes: A Research and Development Perspective. Kingsley, 2009.
The example above includes these citation elements:
Citation Element | Example |
---|---|
Authors. | Froggatt, Katherine, et al., editors. |
Title of Source. | Understanding Care Homes: A Research and Development Perspective. |
Publisher, | Kingsley, |
Publication Date. | 2009. |
Sometimes you might want to cite one chapter or section of a book. Click through the slides below to learn about each element of a book chapter citation.
An interactive H5P element has been excluded from this version of the text. You can view it online here:
https://openeducationalberta.ca/mla-tutorial/?p=126#h5p-3
The following example shows a print book chapter citation, followed by a list of its elements.
Charters, Ann. “Beat Poetry and the San Francisco Poetry Renaissance.” The Columbia History of American Poetry, edited by Jay Parini and Brett C. Millier, Columbia UP, 1993, pp. 581-604.
The example above includes these citation elements:
Citation Element | Example |
---|---|
Author. | Charters, Ann. |
Title of Source. | “Beat Poetry and the San Francisco Poetry Renaissance.” |
Container, | The Columbia History of American Poetry, |
Contributors, | edited by Jay Parini and Brett C. Millier, |
Publisher, | Columbia UP, |
Publication Date, | 1993, |
Location. | pp. 581-604. |
Presentation slides adapted from Library Research Skills for First Year Seminar Students by Augustana Campus Library, licensed under CC BY-NC-SA 4.0.
You might use multiple different types of articles in your research. Some of the most common types are journal articles, news articles, and magazine articles. For online works, especially journal articles, you may come across a digital object identifier (DOI), which is a unique series of numbers and letters assigned to the article by the publisher. DOIs are more stable than URLs, so if a work has one, you should use it instead of a URL in your works cited list entry.
Click through the slides below to learn about each element of an article citation.
An interactive H5P element has been excluded from this version of the text. You can view it online here:
https://openeducationalberta.ca/mla-tutorial/?p=128#h5p-5
Now we can look at examples of different types of article citations.
A journal article might be located in a library database or on a publisher’s website, or in some cases, in a print issue of the journal. The format will help determine which elements you should include in the citation. The following example is for an article in a library database that has a digital object identifier (DOI).
Antonie, Luiza, et al. “Full-Time and Part-Time Work and the Gender Wage Gap.” Atlantic Economic Journal, vol. 48, no. 3, 2020, pp. 313-326. EBSCOhost, https://doi.org/10.1007/s11293-020-09677-z.
The example above includes these citation elements:
Citation Element | Example |
---|---|
Authors. | Antonie, Luiza, et al. |
Title of Source. | “Full-Time and Part-Time Work and the Gender Wage Gap.” |
Container 1, | Atlantic Economic Journal, |
Number, | vol. 48, no. 3, |
Publication Date, | 2020, |
Location 1. | pp. 313-326. |
Container 2, | EBSCOhost, |
Location 2. | https://doi.org/10.1007/s11293-020-09677-z. |
Just like a journal article, a news article might be in a library database, on a publisher’s website, or in a print issue of the publication. The following example is for an article on a publisher’s website.
Chaya, Lynn. “Keanu Reeves Reminisces About Growing Up in Toronto After Induction Into Canada’s Walk of Fame.” Edmonton Journal, 20 Dec. 2021, https://edmontonjournal.com/news/keanu-reeves-reminisces-about-growing-up-in-toronto-after-induction-into-canadas-walk-of-fame.
The example above includes these citation elements:
Citation Element | Example |
---|---|
Author. | Chaya, Lynn. |
Title of Source. | “Keanu Reeves Reminisces About Growing Up in Toronto After Induction Into Canada’s Walk of Fame.” |
Container, | Edmonton Journal, |
Publication Date, | 20 Dec. 2021, |
Location. | https://edmontonjournal.com/news/keanu-reeves-reminisces-about-growing-up-in-toronto-after-induction-into-canadas-walk-of-fame. |
Some magazines have volume or issue numbers, like journals, while others might just give a month or season of publication. In your citation, you should include whichever elements are available for the article. The example below is for a print issue of a journal that gives the months and year of publication rather than an issue number.
Estroff Marano, Hara. “An Element of Protection: Magnesium is a Mineral Essential to Mental Health.” Psychology Today, May-Jun. 2016, pp. 29-30.
The example above includes these citation elements:
Citation Element | Example |
---|---|
Author. | Estroff Marano, Hara. |
Title of Source. | “An Element of Protection: Magnesium is a Mineral Essential to Mental Health.” |
Container, | Psychology Today, |
Publication Date, | May-Jun. 2016, |
Location. | pp. 29-30. |
Presentation slides adapted from Library Research Skills for First Year Seminar Students by Augustana Campus Library, licensed under CC BY-NC-SA 4.0.
Audiovisual works can include a wide variety of sources such as films, TV episodes, online videos, music recordings, performances, and more. The citation elements vary depending on the source.
The slides below will guide you through the elements you might need for citations of audiovisual works.
An interactive H5P element has been excluded from this version of the text. You can view it online here:
https://openeducationalberta.ca/mla-tutorial/?p=130#h5p-7
The next examples show citations of some common types of audiovisual sources.
The following example is for a YouTube video. If there is not a clear named author, skip the author element and start with the title, like in this example. The individual who uploaded the video is included under the Contributor element.
“Literary Devices in Pop Culture.” YouTube, uploaded by bcwalden43, 11 Jul. 2012, https://youtu.be/U_pxfifB6Co.
The example above includes these citation elements:
Citation Element | Example |
---|---|
Title of Source. | “Literary Devices in Pop Culture.” |
Container, | YouTube, |
Contributor, | uploaded by bcwalden43, |
Publication Date, | 11 Jul. 2012, |
Location. | https://youtu.be/U_pxfifB6Co. |
The following example is for a film watched on the Netflix app.
Room. Performance by Brie Larson, Element Pictures, 2015. Netflix app.
The example above includes these citation elements:
Citation Element | Example |
---|---|
Title of Source. | Room. |
Contributor, | Performance by Brie Larson, |
Publisher, | Element Pictures, |
Publication Date. | 2015. |
Supplemental element (platform). | Netflix app. |
This example is for a podcast episode, streamed from the host’s website. The publisher name is excluded because it is the same as the container.
McMahon, Ryan. “A Letter to the Puzzle People.” The Red Man Laughing Podcast, season 8, 14 Apr. 2020, https://redmanlaughing.squarespace.com/listen/2020/4/red-man-laughing-a-letter-to-the-puzzle-people.
The example above includes these citation elements:
Citation Element | Example |
---|---|
Authors. | McMahon, Ryan. |
Title of Source. | “A Letter to the Puzzle People.” |
Container, | The Red Man Laughing Podcast, |
Number, | season 8, |
Publication Date, | 14 Apr. 2020, |
Location. | https://redmanlaughing.squarespace.com/listen/2020 /4/red-man-laughing-a-letter-to-the-puzzle-people. |
The next example is for an episode of a TV series, watched on a streaming website.
“It’s Comedy or Cabbage.” The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel, season 3, episode 5, Amazon, 2019. Amazon Prime, www.primevideo.com.
The example above includes these citation elements:
Citation Element | Example |
---|---|
Title of Source. | “It’s Comedy or Cabbage.” |
Container, | The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel, |
Number, | season 3, episode 5, |
Publisher, | Amazon, |
Publication Date. | 2019. |
Second Container, | Amazon Prime, |
Location. | www.primevideo.com. |
For some images you may be able to find full citation details, and for others it might be harder. The next example is for an untitled image within a magazine article, where a description is given in place of a title.
Savage, Jim. Margaret Atwood at 14 on a dock. Flare, 15 Sep. 2013, https://www.flare.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/09/Attwood-5.jpg.
The example above includes these citation elements:
Citation Element | Example |
---|---|
Author. | Savage, Jim. |
Title of Source. | Margaret Atwood at 14 on a dock. |
Container, | Flare, |
Publication date, | 15 Sep. 2013, |
Location. | https://www.flare.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/09/Attwood-5.jpg. |
Webpages and social media posts can take many different forms. Some have authors and publication dates, while others are anonymous and undated. For online materials whenever possible try to use stable/permanent/persistent links instead of the URL that appears in your browser (unless it’s a stable link) for your works-cited-list entries.
The slides below show elements you might need to include when citing online works.
An interactive H5P element has been excluded from this version of the text. You can view it online here:
https://openeducationalberta.ca/mla-tutorial/?p=133#h5p-8
Now that we’ve shown you the elements of webpage and social media citations, review the examples below to learn more about citing different types of online sources.
Webpages sometimes include full citation details, but sometimes information like the author or the publication date are not available. If this is the case, skip to the next element. Including the date you accessed the page, as in the following example, can be helpful in case the information changes in the future.
“Shakespeare Lives in Science; Poisons, Potions and Drugs.” Shakespeare Lives, British Council. Accessed 14 Jan. 2022.
The example above includes these citation elements:
Citation Element | Example |
---|---|
Title of Source. | “Shakespeare Lives in Science; Poisons, Potions and Drugs.” |
Container, | Shakespeare Lives, |
Publisher, | British Council. |
Supplemental Element (access date). |
Accessed 14 Jan. 2022. |
A blog post will almost always include the date of publication. If the title of the website and the publisher name are the same, you can omit the publisher, like in this example.
Brantz, Loryn. “11 Charts to Make You Feel Better About Not Feeling Better.” BuzzFeed, 23 Nov. 2021, https://www.buzzfeed.com/lorynbrantz/anyone-with-an-invisible-illness-will-feel-seen-by-these.
The example above includes these citation elements:
Citation Element | Example |
---|---|
Author. | Brantz, Loryn. |
Title of Source. | “11 Charts to Make You Feel Better About Not Feeling Better.” |
Container, | BuzzFeed, |
Publication Date, | 23 Nov. 2021, |
Location. | https://www.buzzfeed.com/lorynbrantz/anyone-with-an-invisible-illness-will-feel-seen-by-these. |
For a social media post like a tweet, if the author’s name (e.g., Jemma) is different from their handle (e.g., @jlm_86), you should include both in your citation. Because social media posts generally do not include titles, you can use the content of the post in place of the title. If it is long, you may shorten it using ellipses. For example:
Jemma [@jlm_86]. “Pillar post coverings in Plymouth, Devon!! Just in time for Remembrance Day . . .” Twitter, 2 Nov. 2021, twitter.com/jlm_86/status/1455484129978560513.
The example above includes these citation elements:
Citation Element | Example |
---|---|
Author. | Jemma [@jlm_86]. |
Title of Source. | “Pillar post coverings in Plymouth, Devon!! Just in time for Remembrance Day…” |
Container, | Twitter, |
Publication Date, | 2 Nov. 2021, |
Location. | twitter.com/jlm_86/status/1455484129978560513. |
Sometimes research involves contact with individuals or organizations, such as through interviews or emails. These types of information are generally not formally published, so they’re treated a bit differently from other sources. Click through the slides below to learn more.
An interactive H5P element has been excluded from this version of the text. You can view it online here:
https://openeducationalberta.ca/mla-tutorial/?p=135#h5p-9
Below are two examples of personal communications.
This example is for an interview that you conducted. If someone else performed the interview, add their name under the Contributor element (see the slides above for an example).
Morrison, Toni. Interview with the author. 5 Jan. 2019.
The example above includes these citation elements:
Citation Element | Example |
---|---|
Author. | Morrison, Toni. |
Title of Source. | Interview with the author. |
Publication Date. | 5 Jan. 2019. |
Emails or text messages usually only include three elements: the person who sent the message, a description of the communication, and the date of the communication. For example:
Robinson, Eden. E-mail to the author. 8 May 2015.
The example above includes these citation elements:
Citation Element | Example |
---|---|
Author. | Rihanna. |
Title of Source. | E-mail to the author. |
Publication Date. | 8 May 2015. |
MLA does not have a specific format for citing Indigenous Elders and Knowledge Keepers.
In the spirit of wahkôhtowin and reconciliation, NorQuest College Library continues to follow templates created by Lorisia MacLeod and NorQuest College Indigenous Student Centre staff that meet this need.
For example:
Cardinal, Delores., Goodfish Lake Cree Nation. Treaty 6. Lives in Edmonton. Oral teaching. 4 April 2004.
Note: If you would like to approach an Elder or Knowledge Keeper for teachings, remember to follow protocol or if you are unsure what their protocol is, please ask them ahead of time.
Citation Element | Example |
---|---|
Last Name, First Name., Nation/Community. | Cardinal, Delores., Goodfish Lake Cree Nation. |
Treaty Territory. (if applicable) | Treaty 6. |
City/Community where they live. (if applicable) | Lives in Edmonton. |
Topic/subject of communication. (if applicable) | Oral teaching. |
Date. | 4 April 2004. |
Indigenous Elders and Knowledge Keepers adapted from Indigenous Elders and Knowledge Keepers by NorQuest College Library, licensed under CC BY-NC-SA 4.0.
Once you have created all of your works cited list entries, you will need to organize them alphabetically in a list at the end of your paper. Below is an example with citations used in this tutorial.
Antonie, Luiza, et al. “Full-Time and Part-Time Work and the Gender Wage Gap.” Atlantic Economic Journal, vol. 48, no. 3, 2020, pp. 313-326. EBSCOhost, https://doi.org/10.1007/s11293-020-09677-z.
Brantz, Loryn. “11 Charts to Make You Feel Better About Not Feeling Better.” BuzzFeed, 23 Nov. 2021, https://www.buzzfeed.com/lorynbrantz/anyone-with-an-invisible-illness-will-feel-seen-by-these.
Charters, Ann. “Beat Poetry and the San Francisco Poetry Renaissance.” The Columbia History of American Poetry, edited by Jay Parini and Brett C. Millier, Columbia UP, 1993, pp. 581-604.
Chaya, Lynn. “Keanu Reeves Reminisces About Growing Up in Toronto After Induction Into Canada’s Walk of Fame.” Edmonton Journal, 20 Dec. 2021, https://edmontonjournal.com/news/keanu-reeves-reminisces-about-growing-up-in-toronto-after-induction-into-canadas-walk-of-fame.
Dolmage, Jay Timothy. Academic Ableism: Disability and Higher Education. U of Michigan P, 2017. JSTOR, https://jstor.org/stable/j.ctvr33d50.
Estroff Marano, Hara. “An Element of Protection: Magnesium is a Mineral Essential to Mental Health.” Psychology Today, May-Jun. 2016, pp. 29-30.
Froggatt, Katherine, et al., editors. Understanding Care Homes: A Research and Development Perspective. Kingsley, 2009.
“It’s Comedy or Cabbage.” The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel, season 3, episode 5, Amazon, 2019. Amazon Prime, www.primevideo.com.
Jemma [@jlm_86]. “Pillar post coverings in Plymouth, Devon!! Just in time for Remembrance Day . . .” Twitter, 2 Nov. 2021, twitter.com/jlm_86/status/1455484129978560513.
“Literary Devices in Pop Culture.” YouTube, uploaded by bcwalden43, 11 Jul. 2012, https://youtu.be/U_pxfifB6Co.
McMahon, Ryan. “A Letter to the Puzzle People.” The Red Man Laughing Podcast, season 8, 14 Apr. 2020, https://redmanlaughing.squarespace.com/listen/2020/4/red-man-laughing-a-letter-to-the-puzzle-people.
Morrison, Toni. Interview with the author. 5 Jan. 2019.
Robinson, Eden. E-mail to the author. 8 May 2015.
Room. Performance by Brie Larson, Element Pictures, 2015. Netflix app.
Savage, Jim. Margaret Atwood at 14 on a dock. Flare, 15 Sep. 2013, https://www.flare.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/09/Attwood-5.jpg.
“Shakespeare Lives in Science; Poisons, Potions and Drugs.” Shakespeare Lives, British Council. Accessed 14 Jan. 2022.
Steussy, Joe, and Scott Lipscomb. Rock and Roll: Its History and Stylistic Development. 7th ed., Pearson, 2013.
Using the document linked below, fill in the missing words to complete the following works cited list entry for a chapter in an edited book with a DOI. The selected book chapter is highlighted on the Contents page.
An interactive H5P element has been excluded from this version of the text. You can view it online here:
https://openeducationalberta.ca/mla-tutorial/?p=64#h5p-17
Use the following example of a journal article in a library database to answer the question below.
Author. |
Amanda Bailey | |
Title of source. |
Necessary Narration in Their Eyes Were Watching God | |
Container #1 | Container #2 | |
Title of container, |
The Comparatist | Gale Literature Resource Center |
Contributor, |
||
Version, |
||
Number, |
vol. 40 | |
Publisher, |
||
Publication date, |
Oct. 2016 | |
Location. |
pp. 319-338 | search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=edsglr&AN=edsglr.A470463656&site=eds-live&scope=site |
An interactive H5P element has been excluded from this version of the text. You can view it online here:
https://openeducationalberta.ca/mla-tutorial/?p=64#h5p-11
Use the following example of a YouTube video to answer the question below.
Author. |
Nick Keomahavong |
Title of source. |
5 Things to Make Your Mornings Better: A Monk’s Perspective |
Container #1 | |
Title of container, |
YouTube |
Contributor, |
|
Version, |
|
Number, |
|
Publisher, |
|
Publication date, |
29 Jun. 2021 |
Location. |
youtu.be/3PyhXlHDkNI |
An interactive H5P element has been excluded from this version of the text. You can view it online here:
https://openeducationalberta.ca/mla-tutorial/?p=64#h5p-12
Use the following example of a webpage by an organization to answer the question below.
Author. |
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention |
Title of source. |
Lead Poisoning Prevention |
Container #1 | |
Title of container, |
CDC |
Contributor, |
|
Version, |
|
Number, |
|
Publisher, |
|
Publication date, |
12 Jul. 2021 |
Location. |
www.cdc.gov/nceh/lead/prevention/default.htm |
An interactive H5P element has been excluded from this version of the text. You can view it online here:
https://openeducationalberta.ca/mla-tutorial/?p=64#h5p-13
III
Learning Outcome
After completing this chapter, you will be able to:
The information for an in-text citation is pulled directly from its matching works cited list entry. It is usually easiest to create the works cited entry first and use it to create an in-text citation. The example below shows a works cited list entry.
Dolmage, Jay Timothy. Academic Ableism: Disability and Higher Education. U of Michigan P, 2017. JSTOR, https://jstor.org/stable/j.ctvr33d50.
There are two different ways you can add an in-text citation to your writing: as a narrative citation, in which the author’s name is part of your sentence, or as a parenthetical citation, in which the citation details are given in parentheses at the end of a phrase or sentence.
Here is a sentence with a narrative citation that matches the works cited list entry above:
Here is the same sentence, but with a parenthetical citation:
As the above examples show, an in-text citation includes two key pieces of information:
The following table shows examples of how to format the author element for in-text citations.
Author Type | Formatting | Example |
---|---|---|
1 author or editor | Last Name | Dolmage |
2 authors or editors | Last Name and Last Name | Stuessy and Lipscomb |
3+ authors or editors | Last Name et al. | Kameron et al. |
Organization or group | Organization Name | United Nations Human Settlements Programme |
No author | Title of Work | Room |
The next table shows how to format page numbers and other divisions of works in your in-text citation. For most works, you should use a page number. For poetry or drama, you should usually use line numbers. For works with no page numbers, you might use a chapter, scene, or other division provided in the work. This information should go in parentheses at the end of the words or ideas you are citing. For works without any page numbers or any other division, do not include a number in the parenthetical citation; just follow the guidelines for Formatting Author Names.
Type of Division | Example |
---|---|
Single page | 117 |
Page range | 12-13 |
Line number | line 72* |
Chapter | ch. 3 |
Scene | sc. 5 |
*Include the word “line” only the first time you cite the work.
So far we have focused on paraphrasing examples. Next we will explore how to cite quotations.
For a quotation that “runs no more than four lines in your paper” (MLA Handbook, sec. 6.34), incorporate it into your paragraph with quotation marks around it. The following examples are for prose. If you are quoting more than one line of poetry, add a forward slash ( / ) between the lines.
According to the MLA Handbook, “a quotation that runs more than four lines in your prose should be set off from the text as a block indented half an inch from the left margin” (sec. 6.35). The following examples are for a poem, but the rules are the same for prose.
In Rich’s poem, the narrator’s gender is fluid:
And I am here, the mermaid whose dark hair
streams black, the merman in his armored body.
We circle silently
about the wreck
we dive into the hold.
I am she: I am he (lines 72-77)
The narrator’s gender is fluid:
And I am here, the mermaid whose dark hair
streams black, the merman in his armored body.
We circle silently
about the wreck
we dive into the hold.
I am she: I am he (Rich lines 72-77)
Now that we’ve introduced in-text citations, go to the next section to complete a few in-text citation practice activities.
“Illuminated crumpled yellow paper light bulb idea on white background Free Photo” by Freepik is licensed under Freepik Licence, attribution required.
In this section, complete the following three activities to practice creating narrative and parenthetical in-text citations.
What core elements do you need for an in-text citation using this source? For example: Author, Title of source, or Location, etc…
An interactive H5P element has been excluded from this version of the text. You can view it online here:
https://openeducationalberta.ca/mla-tutorial/?p=71#h5p-16
For the next two questions, use the works cited entry to help you fill in in the missing elements of the in-text citation.
Walker, Margaret. “The Struggle Staggers Us.” Poetry Foundation, July 1938, www.poetryfoundation.org/poetrymagazine/browse?contentId=22079.
An interactive H5P element has been excluded from this version of the text. You can view it online here:
https://openeducationalberta.ca/mla-tutorial/?p=71#h5p-14
Ou, Li. Keats and Negative Capability. Continuum, 2009. EBSCOhost, search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=e000xna&AN=306656&site=ehost-live&scope=site.
An interactive H5P element has been excluded from this version of the text. You can view it online here:
https://openeducationalberta.ca/mla-tutorial/?p=71#h5p-15
IV
Learning Outcome
After completing this chapter, you will be able to:
As we have shown, works cited list entries and in-text citations should match each other. They work together to clearly indicate which sources provide support to your assignment.
You wouldn’t want to wear mismatched socks, just like you don’t want mismatched citations! | You want your in-text and reference list citations (and socks) to match each other! |
In the next activity, you will practice matching in-text citations with their works cited list entries.
“Mismatched Socks Solidarity Day” by Rik Panganiban is licensed under CC BY-NC-SA 4.0 International.
“X-ray socks” by unknown author is licensed under CC BY-NC-SA 4.0 International.
For the four multiple-choice questions in this activity, choose the correct in-text citation for the provided works cited list entry.
An interactive H5P element has been excluded from this version of the text. You can view it online here:
https://openeducationalberta.ca/mla-tutorial/?p=82#h5p-18
1
Learning Outcome
After completing this chapter, you will be able to:
The University of Alberta and NorQuest College have a number of resources you can use if you need help with MLA style citation, library services and resources, and writing.
2
This project is supported by the University of Alberta Library.
3
MLA Handbook. 9th ed., Modern Language Association of America, 2021.
“Date” by Setyo Ari Wibowo is licensed under the Noun Project, attribution required.
“Illuminated crumpled yellow paper light bulb idea on white background Free Photo” by Freepik is licensed under Freepik Licence, attribution required.
“Interview” by Adrien Coquet is licensed under the Noun Project, attribution required.
Library Research Skills for First Year Seminar Students by Augustana Campus Library is licensed under CC BY-NC-SA 4.0.
“Mismatched Socks Solidarity Day” by Rik Panganiban is licensed under CC BY-NC-SA 4.0 International.
“Music App” by Joel Wisneski is licensed under the Noun Project, attribution required.
“Open Book Library” by lil_foot_ is licensed under Pixabay License, no attribution required.
“Pancake recipe with ingredients Free Vector” by pikisuperstar is licensed under CC BY 4.0 International.
“Phone Messaging” by Jen Maestas is licensed under the Noun Project, attribution required.
“Rihanna” by Vlad Likh is licensed under the Noun Project, attribution required.
“Silhouette Head Bookshelf Knowledge” by Gerd Altmann is licensed under Pixabay License, no attribution required.
“X-ray socks” by unknown author is licensed under CC BY-NC-SA 4.0 International.