Citing Sources - MLA 9th Edition

MLA stands for Modern Language Association. The MLA citation style is most commonly used for citing sources in the humanities, language arts, and cultural studies disciplines. Before diving into this topic, take another look at your assignment to verify MLA is the citation style your instructor has asked you to use, and not APA or Chicago.

What does "citing sources" mean?

Citing sources is the practice of giving credit to the creators of:

• Direct quotes
• Paraphrases
• Ideas
• Facts that are not common knowledge
• Images, video, or audio

that you have used in your own work.

Why do I need to cite sources?

• To avoid plagiarism
• Because it is ethical
• To demonstrate the credibility of your work
• So readers of your work can find and read more about the ideas, facts, and research you have referenced

Where in my paper do I cite sources?

The two parts of your citation will appear:

• Within the text of your paper, wherever you have referenced work from someone else ("in-text citations")
• As a list at the end of your paper ("Works Cited" page)

The three main ways to format in-text citations

1. Paraphrase with author's name at the beginning of the sentence, and the page number at the end.
   • Pessoa explored the ways people are false to themselves and others (240). 
2. Direct quote with author's name at the beginning of the sentence, and the page number at the end.
   • Pessoa stated that most men live a "fictitious and alien life" (240).
3. Direct quote with author's name and page number at the end of the sentence.
   • "Most men live a fictitious and alien life" (Pessoa 240). 

Pessoa, Fernando. The Book of Disquiet. Edited and translated by Richard Zenith, Penguin Books, 2003.

Quoting

• Use quotation marks when you are repeating something from a source exactly, word for word.
  • Do this even if you are only taking a few words from a sentence.
• Quotes can and should be used when the original author’s wording is striking, unusual, or unique.

Paraphrasing

• Paraphrasing is taking the idea of a sentence or passage and putting it into your own words.
• Paraphrasing is NOT copying the sentence and replacing or changing a few words to be different from the original. 
• You should paraphrase when the idea or point is more important than the actual words used.

Summarizing

• Summarizing is condensing an entire book or article to its main point.
• As with paraphrasing, summarize when the idea or point is more important than the actual words used.

Paraphrasing or summarizing ensures that the ideas or facts you are referencing are woven into your own writing, and more easily allow you to demonstrate the significance of the source to the argument or analysis you are making. 

• Author or Editor or Compiler: List by last name, followed by first and middle names
  • Two authors authors/editors/compilers: List first author by last name, first name; second author in normal form, i.e., first name, last name. Include the word “and” before the second author’s name.
  • Three authors/editors/compilers or more: List the first author followed by "et al." [Example: Papworth, Andrew, et al.]
• Title of the work: Capitalize all the main words.
  • Article title: Put the article title (e.g., an article from a periodical, chapter title of a book, an essay or other selection from an anthology, collection, or reference work) in “quotation marks.”
  • Publication title: Put publication title in italics (i.e., title of a book, magazine, journal, or video, etc.).
• Publication information: List publisher name; keep publishing information minimal. Examples: omit Inc., Books, etc.; replace the words University Press with UP, e.g., Stanford UP; if the University Press is separated by other words, e.g., University of Chicago Press, replace them with U and P, e.g., U of Chicago P.
• Publication date & time: Format dates as: Day Month Year. The month should be abbreviated to three letters except for June and July. For sources with a specific time given, format as hour/minutes/seconds, HH:MM:SS (e.g., 09:45:21)
• Page numbers: List the page or range for multiple pages. [e.g., p. A1, pp. 132-51]
• Online resources: MLA requires that a location for an online source be provided; include one of the following items:
  • DOI (Digital Object Identifier): DOI is a unique string of numbers and letters assigned to a journal article to make them easier to locate; it is the preferable location. If your article has a DOI, include it in your citation; e.g., doi: 10.230d7/775628. If there is no DOI, include the permalink URL.
  • URL: Include the permalink (generally applies to sources in online databases) or the Web address if there is no permalink URL; do not include the “http://” or “https://”. 
    • Important: If you have found an article in an online database, do not copy and paste the link from the address bar. Instead, find a "permalink" icon, which generally looks like a chain, and copy that.
• Date accessed: Include the date of access for the online resource.

We also have a guide to library research - check it out!