MLA 2009 In-Text Citations



MLA 2009 In-Text Citations

1. Generally, a parenthetical citation should come at the end of the sentence which contains the quoted material (direct or indirect), or at the end of the paragraph if the entire paragraph is derived from the same source.

2. If you use quotations of more than 4 lines, set off the entire quote in “block format” indenting 10 spaces with quotation marks omitted (see pages 43 and 61 in Research Writing Simplified). In that case, the ending punctuation comes before the parenthetical citation (not after the parenthetical citation, which is normal). Also, you should use a full sentence lead-in with a colon before going into the “block format” quote. Do not over-use “block format” quotes! They should be less than 10% of the words in the paper! Summarize instead!

3. Normally, a citation should contain the author’s last name and the source’s page number: (Smith 123).

4. Use page numbers from within PDF files; for most webpages, omit page numbers if unknown and use paragraph numbers instead: (“Article Name” pars. 4-5).

5. For multiple authors, list their last names: (Alias, Smith, and Jones 123).

6. For more than 3 authors, use the first author’s last name plus “et al.”: (Smith et al. 234).

7. Note that the author may be an organization rather than a person: (IRS 123).

8. For 2 works from the same author, use the articles’ names following the quoted material, rather than the author’s last name (see next example).

9. If the author is unknown, the citation may contain the complete title (article or book) and page number: (“Article Name” 4) or (Book Name 123).

10. For 2 articles from the same author with different article names (to prevent confusion), use author, article names, and page numbers: (Smith, “William Shakespeare” 4) and (Smith, “Christopher Marlowe” 5).

11. For 2 articles from 2 different authors with same last names use first initials: (A. Smith 4) and (B. Smith 5).

11. For indirect sources (one source quoted in another source) use “qtd. in”: (qtd. in Smith 6).

12. For a dictionary or encyclopedia (unless an author is listed) just list the word or entry (“Ninus”).

13. When citing more than one volume of a multi-volume work, list the volume, followed colon and page number: (Jones: 2:345).

14. For an anthology, list the last name of the author of the work (not the editor): (Ericsson 120).

15. For literary works and sacred texts (since they are usually available in more than one version), make sure you give enough information (version, book section, play division, and/or line numbers) to locate the quoted material: (No Fear Shakespeare: A Midsummer Night’s Dream, 5.1.403-418) or (Oxford Annotated Bible, John 3:16).

(Adapted from and Research Writing Simplified.)

MLA 2009 Works Cited (see pages 51-57 in Research Writing Simplified)

Akerman, Gregory. “Stephanie Ericsson, ‘The Ways We Lie’.” 4 Dec. 2006. . 5 Apr. 2010.

. Web.

Ericsson, Stephanie. “The Ways We Lie.” 50 Essays. Ed. Samuel Cohen. New York: Bedford St. Martin’s, 2004.

120-129. Print.

Paisley, Brad. “Alcohol.” Time Well Wasted. BMG Music, 2005. CD.

The Beatles. “Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds.” Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band. Apple Records, 1967. Vinyl.

The Oxford Annotated Bible, Ed. Herbert G. May and Bruce M. Metzger. New York: Oxford UP, 1965. Print.

(Works Cited are put in alphabetical order according to the first word on the left.)

1. Author’s name first (last name first). For 1-3 authors, list as order appears on book cover, “et al.” if more.

2. Name of article, story, poem, or song, in quote marks.

3. Publication name (book, on-line encyclopedia, etc.) is italicized.

4. For anthologies, etc., list editor’s name or translator’s name.

5. Publisher (List city of publication, colon, and publisher for books).

6. Copyright date of publication, otherwise put “n.d.” for “no date.”

7. Page numbers (if accurate) or paragraph numbers should be used for most webpages.

8. For Internet articles, list the date you accessed or downloaded the webpage.

9. For webpages, list exact Internet location, surrounded with angle brackets.

10. Type of media (Print, Web, Film, CD, CD-ROM, etc.).

Note that a Works Cited reference for films, DVDs, and some media may be somewhat different:

Armageddon. Dir. Michael Ray. Perf. Bruce Willis, Billy Bob Thornton, and Liv Tyler. Touchstone, 1996. Film.

Wiesel, Elie. Interview by Oprah Winfrey. The Oprah Winfrey Show. Harpo, Inc., 2006. DVD.

Adapted from and Research Writing Simplified.

Revised 7 April 2010

This page is located at as MS-Word “.doc” file.

................
................

In order to avoid copyright disputes, this page is only a partial summary.

Google Online Preview   Download