Ninth Edition, Spring 2021
Commonly referred to as MLA, this style of documentation employs parenthetical in-text citations which correspond to a works cited page at the end of the document. This guide will teach you how to create works cited page entries and their parenthetical counterparts.
Any sources you quote, summarize, paraphrase, or consult will be included in your works cited page. Sources are listed alphabetically by the authors’ surnames. For each entry, every line after the first line is indented. This is called “hanging indentation.”
For your in-text citations, parentheses containing the information should appear at the end of the sentence, before the period and after quotation marks (if there are any), like so (Lastname 12). The “12” here refers to the page number of the source.
If you are drawing from the same source for most of a paragraph, simply cite the source at the end of the last sentence. This is the general format for a book by a single author:
Lastname, Firstname. Title of Book. Publisher, Year of Publication.
Egan, Sophie. How to Be a Conscious Eater: Making Food Choices That Are Good for You, Others, and the Planet. Workman Publishing Co, Inc., 2020.
Parenthetical: (Egan 51).
Note: if you are citing content from a digital or e-book, indicate it as such:
Silva, Paul J. How to Write a Lot: A Practical Guide to Productive Academic Writing. E-book, American Psychological Association, 2007.
Parenthetical: (Silva 24).
Ward, Geoffrey C. and Ken Burns. The War: An Intimate History, 1941-1945. Alfred A. Knopf, 2007.
Parenthetical: (Ward and Burns 72).
Note: if there are three authors or more, only list the first author’s name followed by et al.—an abbreviation of a Latin phrase meaning “and others.”
Parenthetical: (Ward et al. 72).
García Márquez, Gabriel. Love in the Time of Cholera. Translated by Edith Grossman, New York: Alfred A. Knopf, 1988.
Parenthetical: (García Márquez 18).
Note: if the edition is anything other than the first edition (revised edition, third edition, etc.), its original publication year is noted after the title:
García Márquez, Gabriel. Love in the Time of Cholera. 2nd ed., translated by Edith Grossman, New York: Alfred A. Knopf, 1988.
Young, Glenn, editor. The Best American Short Plays, 2002-2003. New York: Applause, 2007.
Parenthetical: (Young 93).
Note: use this method when referring to material that the named editor/translator wrote, such as a “Translator’s Note.”
Harris, Muriel. “Talk to Me: Engaging Reluctant Writers.” A Tutor’s Guide: Helping Writers One to One, edited by Ben Rafoth, Heinemann, 2000, pp. 24-34.
Parenthetical: (Harris 27).
Note: in the example above, the chapter or essay title appears in quotation marks after the author’s name. The title of the collection in which it appears is in italics. The editor(s) of the collected work should also be noted. The numbers listed after the year are the page range of the whole chapter.
Duncan, Hugh Dalziel. Introduction. Permanence and Change: An Anatomy of Purpose, by Kenneth Burke, 1935, 3rd ed., University of California Press, 1984, pp. xiii-xliv.
Parenthetical: (Ducan xiv).
Bagchi, Alaknada. “Conflicting Nationalisms: The Voice of the Subaltern in Mahasweta Devi’s Bashai Tudu.” Tulsa Studies in Women’s Literature, vol. 15, no. 1, 1996, pp. 41-50.
Parenthetical: (Bagchi 45).
Note: in the example above, “15” is the volume number and “1” is the issue number. The numbers after the publication year (41-50) are the page range of the entire article.
Note: when citing a scholarly article that you accessed online, include the URL and when you accessed it after the print edition information:
Wheelis, Mark. “Investigating Disease Outbreaks Under a Protocol to the Biological and Toxin Weapons Convention.” Emerging Infectious Diseases, vol. 6, no. 6, 2000, pp. 595-600, wwwnc.cdc.gov/eid/article/6/6/00-0607_article. Accessed 8 Feb. 2009.
Parenthetical: (Wheelis).
Brubaker, Bill. “New Health Center Targets County’s Uninsured Patients.” Washington Post, 24 May 2007, p. LZ01.
Parenthetical: (Brubaker LZ01).
Note: in the example above, “LZ01” is the page on which the article appears. Because the entire article is contained in a single page, use “p” rather than “pp.”
Note: when citing newspapers, the definite article in the paper’s title (as in The New York Times) would be omitted.
Note: for online articles, be sure to include the URL and access date:
Bernstein, Mark. “10 Tips on Writing the Living Web.” A List Apart: For People Who Make Websites, 16 Aug. 2002, alistapart.com/article/writeliving. Accessed 4 May 2009.
Parenthetical: (Bernstein)
Seitz, Matt Zoller. “Life in the Sprawling Suburbs, If You Can Really Call It Living.” Review of Radiant City, directed by Gary Burns and Jim Brown. New York Times, 30 May 2007, p. E1.
Parenthetical: (Seitz E1).
Note: when the author of this type of piece is unknown, begin your entry with the article title:
“Of Mines and Men.” Editorial. Wall Street Journal, eastern ed., 24 Oct. 2003, p. A14.
Parenthetical: (“Of Mines and Men” A14).
Rembrandt. The Night Watch. 1642, Rijksmuseum, Amsterdam.
Parenthetical: (Rembrandt).
Note: this type of citation can be used to cite photographs, paintings, sculptures, and other physical media
Note: for works accessed online, add the URL to the end of the entry:
Goya, Francisco. Saturn Devouring His Son. 1820–23. Museo del Prado, www.museodelprado.es/en/the-collection/art-work/saturn/18110a75-b0e7-430c-bc73-2a4d55893bd6.
Parenthetical: (Goya).
Under the Skin. Directed by Jonathan Glazer, performance by Scarlett Johansson, music by Mica Levi, BFI / Film4, 2013.
Parenthetical: (Under the Skin 01:02:34-08:15).
Note: the numbers following the title for the in-text citation refer to the time range you are referencing.
Note: if you accessed the source online or through a digital subscription service, add the access information to the end of the citation:
McGonigal, Jane. “Gaming and Productivity.” YouTube, uploaded by Big Think, 3 July 2012, www.youtube.com/watch?v=mkdzy9bWW3E.
Note: remember to keep titles of shorter works, as above, in quotation marks rather than italicized.
Lundman, Susan. “How to Make Vegetarian Chili.” eHow, www.ehow.com/how_10727_make-vegetarian-chili.html. Accessed 6 July 2015.
Parenthetical: (Lundman).
Note: if the author of the webpage is unknown, begin your entry with the article title:
“Citing Your Sources.” Midlands Technical College Library, 2021, https://libguides.midlandstech.edu/citingsources. Accessed 9 September 2021.
Parenthetical: (“Citing Your Sources”).
Note: when citing an entire website, follow this format:
Felluga, Dino. Guide to Literary and Critical Theory, Purdue University, 28 Nov. 2003, www.cla.purdue.edu/english/theory/. Accessed 10 May 2006.
Parenthetical: (Felluga).
@PurdueWLab. “Spring break is around the corner, and all our locations will be open next week.” Twitter, 5 Mar. 2012, 12:58 p.m., twitter.com/PurdueWLab/status/176728308736737282.
Parenthetical: (@PurdueWLab).