How to Cite Sources Properly in M
How to Cite Sources Properly in M.L.A. Format
The information for this handout was taken from The Owl At Purdue website. If you need additional information (ex: you need to cite a source that is not outlined on this handout), please visit:
OVERVIEW:
As you know, when you use the work of others in your writing, you need to give that person credit for their work by CITING the source.
WHEN SHOULD I CITE A SOURCE?
There are three main cases in which students will find themselves needing to CITE a source:
1. When you use a verbatim quotation (word for word) of two or more consecutive words.
2. When you paraphrase or summarize facts or ideas. THIS MEANS THAT EVEN IF YOU DO NOT USE THE INFORMATION WORD FOR WORD, YOU NEED TO CITE THE SOURCE.
3. When you use an image that was not created/taken by you.
***NOTE: When you paraphrase a source in your work, be sure to organize this summary or paraphrase in YOUR OWN DISTINCTIVE MANNER; mold it into the flow of your argument and use your own words and sentences. If you do make use of even part of a sentence, be sure to use quotation marks. Seeming to paraphrase when you are in fact quoting is considered plagiarism
HOW DO I INCORPORATE A DIRECT QUOTE INTO MY WRITING?
Short Quotations
To indicate short quotations (fewer than four typed lines of prose or three lines of verse) in your text:
• enclose the quotation within double quotation marks. Provide the author and specific page citation (in the case of verse, provide line numbers) in the text, and include a complete reference on the Works Cited page.
• Punctuation marks such as periods, commas, and semicolons should appear after the parenthetical citation. Question marks and exclamation points should appear within the quotation marks if they are a part of the quoted passage but after the parenthetical citation if they are a part of your text.
Example:
According to some, dreams express "profound aspects of personality" (Foulkes 184), though others disagree.
Mark breaks in short quotations of verse with a slash, /, at the end of each line of verse:
Example:
Cullen concludes, "Of all the things that happened there/ That's all I remember" (11-12).
***CONTINUED ON REVERSE***
Long Quotations
• Place quotations longer than four typed lines in a free-standing block of text, and omit quotation marks.
• Start the quotation on a new line, with the entire quote indented one inch from the left margin; maintain double-spacing. Your parenthetical citation should come after the closing punctuation mark.
• When quoting verse, maintain original line breaks. (You should maintain double-spacing throughout your essay.)
Example:
Nelly Dean treats Heathcliff poorly and dehumanizes him throughout her narration:
They entirely refused to have it in bed with them, or even in their room, and I had no more sense, so, I put it on the landing of the stairs, hoping it would be gone on the morrow. By chance, or else attracted by hearing his voice, it crept to Mr. Earnshaw's door, and there he found it on quitting his chamber. Inquiries were made as to how it got there; I was obliged to confess, and in recompense for my cowardice and inhumanity was sent out of the house. (Bronte 78)
HOW DO I CREATE PARENTHETICAL CITATION?:
In MLA style, referring to the works of others in your text is done by using what's known as parenthetical citation.
Immediately following a quotation from a source or a paraphrase of a source's ideas, you place the author's name followed by a space and the relevant page number(s).
Example: Human beings have been described as "symbol-using animals" (Burke 3).
***NOTE: Online sources can be tricky, as some have page numbers and some do not. IF YOU ARE SURE THERE ARE NO PAGE NUMBERS, then you wouldn’t include a page number
***NOTE: When a source has no known author, use a shortened title of the work instead of an author name. Place the title in quotation marks if it's a short work, or italicize or underline it if it's a longer work.
***NOTE: Your in-text citation must ALWAYS correspond with an entry in your Works Cited page
HOW DO I MAKE A WORKS CITED LIST?
According to MLA style, you must have a Works Cited page at the end of your research paper. All entries in the Works Cited page must correspond to the works cited in your main text.
HINT: Using a site such as can make your life a lot easier when creating entries for your Works Cited list. Once you are done high school, depending on the requirements of your instructor, you may not be allowed to use this type of site.
Basic Rules
• Begin your Works Cited page on a separate page at the end of your research assignment
• Label the page Works Cited (do not underline the words Works Cited or put them in quotation marks) and center the words Works Cited at the top of the page
• How you format the citation for each source depends on the type of source. See below for a list of the most common source types. For any source types not on this list, look it up at:
• Read through the list of source type options carefully to make sure you’ve chosen the “best fit”
• If there is a required part of a citation that you cannot find after thoroughly looking, then skip that part of the citation.
• Arrange your sources alphabetically by the first letter of the first line of the citation (usually the author’s last name). If the citation begins with “a”, “an” or “the”, ignore these words when alphabetizing. If the citation begins with a number, it will go first on your Works Cited list
• Do not use bullets or numbers to format your citation
• Double space all citations. When the citation requires more than one line, the second (and any additional) lines are to be indented.
• Use italics or underlining for titles of larger works (books, magazines) and quotation marks for titles of shorter works (poems, articles)
Print Sources:
1. Books with One Author
Lastname, Firstname. Title of Book. Place of Publication: Publisher, Year of Publication.
2. Book with More Than One Author
First author name is written last name first; subsequent author names are written first name, last name. List them in the order in which their names appear on the title page.
Gillespie, Paula, and Neal Lerner. The Allyn and Bacon Guide to Peer Tutoring. Boston: Allyn, 2000.
3. Book by a Corporate Author
A corporate author may be a commission, a committee, or any group whose individual members are not identified on the title page:
American Allergy Association. Allergies in Children. New York: Random, 1998.
4. Book with No Author
List and alphabetize by the title of the book.
Encyclopedia of Indiana. New York: Somerset, 1993.
5. Print Magazine or Newspaper Article
Author. “Title of Article.” Title of Magazine/Newspaper. Date of Publication: Page Numbers.
Curry, Bill and Joe Friesen. “Commission to probe graves at school sites.” The Globe and Mail.
October 28, 2008. A1 and A9.7.
Electronic Sources:
6. An Entire Web Site (see next example to see if this is the one you really want).
Name of Site. Date of Posting/Revision. Name of institution/organization affiliated with the site (sometimes found in copyright statements). Date you accessed the site [electronic address].
The Purdue OWL Family of Sites. 26 Aug. 2005. The Writing Lab and OWL at Purdue and Purdue University. 23
April 2006 .
7. A Page on a Web Site
For an individual page on a Web site, list the author or alias if known, followed by the information covered above for entire Web sites. Make sure the URL points to the exact page you are referring to.
"Caret." Wikipedia: The Free Encyclopedia. 28 April 2006. 10 May 2006
.
8. An Article in an online Newspaper or Magazine
Author(s). "Title of Article." Title of Online Publication. Date of Publication. Date of Access .
Bernstein, Mark. "10 Tips on Writing The Living Web." A List Apart: For People Who Make Websites. No. 149 (16
Aug. 2002). 4 May 2006 .
9. Visual Recordings (Movies, Documentaries etc.)
Title. Name of Director, Dir. Recording Format. Film Studio or Distributor, Copyright Date.
Shakespeare in Love. John Madden, Dir. DVD. Alliance Atlantis. 1998.
10. An Image (Including a Painting, Sculpture, or Photograph)
Artist’s last name, first name. Title of work of art. The date of creation. The institution and city where the work is housed. Name of the website. Medium of publication. Date of access.
Klee, Paul. Twittering Machine. 1922. Museum of Modern Art, New York. The Artchive. Web. 22 May 2006.
***If an image is untitled, create a brief, descriptive title for it. Do not italicize this title or place it in quotes. Ex:
Muybridge, Eadweard. Photograph of a horse running. 1887. National Gallery, London. Grove Art Online. Web. 30 Oct. 2006.
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