MLA (Modern Language Association) format follows the author-page method of in-text citation.
The MLA manual states that you should include the author's last name and the page number(s) from which the quotation or paraphrase is taken. This information must appear in the text, and a complete reference should appear on your Works Cited page. The author's name may appear either in the sentence itself or in parentheses following the quotation or paraphrase, but the page number(s) should always appear in the parentheses, not in the text of your sentence.
Below are examples of in-text citations.
Author's Name in Text
Wordsworth extensively explored the role of emotion in the creative process (263).
Wordsworth stated that Romantic poetry was marked by a "spontaneous overflow of powerful feelings" (263).
Author's Name in Reference
Romantic poetry is characterized by the "spontaneous overflow of powerful feelings" (Wordsworth 263).
By Title - No Known Author
We see so many global warming hotspots in North America likely because this region has "more readily accessible climatic data and more comprehensive programs to monitor and study environmental change . . ." ("Impact of Global Warming" 6).
Citing Authors with the Same Last Names
Although some medical atheists claim that cloning will lead to designer children (R. Miller 12), others note that the advantages for medical research outweigh this consideration (A. Miller 46).
Citing a Work by Two Authors
Others note that doctors have not yet adequately explained the effects that climate change will have on human health (Lemery and Auerbach 4-5).
Citing a Work by Three or More Authors
Smith et al. argue that tougher gun control is not needed in the United States (76).
The authors state "Tighter gun control in the United States erodes Second Amendment rights" (Smith et al. 76).
Citing a Corporate Author
Use the name of the corporate author followed by the page number. (Modern Language Association 77).
In some instances it may be better to include a long name in the text, allowing a better flow for the reader. The Modern Language Association stated that it was no longer necessary to include a URL (79).
Commonly used abbreviations can be used in place of the complete name. While creating this guide I discovered that the MLA no longer required the documentation of URLs (79).
Citing an Indirect Source (Source Found in a Resource)
Whenever possible you should take material from the original source, not the secondary source. When this is not possible use the following format. Remember to consult with a reference librarian to see if the original source can be located.
If what you quote or paraphrase is a quotation, use the abbreviation qtd. in before the indirect source you cite in the parenthetical reference.
Samuel Johnson admitted that Edmund Burke was an "extraordinary man" (qtd. in Bowsell 2:450).
You would list the secondary source in your Works Cited list. In the above example Bowswell is the secondary source, the "2" is the volume number.
Citing the Bible
The first time you cite include the version/edition consulted.
Ezekiel saw "what seemed to be four living creatures," each with faces of a man, a lion, an ox, and an eagle (New Jerusalem Bible, Ezek. 1.5-10).
In subsequent citations of the same version/edition you only need to provide the book, chapter and verse.
Ezekiel saw "what seemed to be four living creatures," each with faces of a man, a lion, an ox, and an eagle (Ezek. 1.5-10).
Interviews
One World War II veteran who entered Nagasaki after the atomic bombing noted that the city “had a stark look, a gray cast over everything” (Schade interview).
She confirmed that she will not participate in the teachers' strike (Thompson).
Works with numbered paragraphs, sections, or lines
If your source uses explicit paragraph numbers rather than page numbers, give the relevant number(s) preceded by the label par. or pars. Do not, however, apply numbers not indicated by your source. Change the label to reflect the appropriate numbered part of your source, such as sections (sec., secs.), chapters (ch., chs.) or lines (line, lines).
In sonnet 73, Shakespeare compares the branches of trees in late autumn to "[b]are ruined choirs, where late the sweet birds sang" (line 4).
"What is it about human beings that we can't let go of lost things?" asks the author (Silko, ch. 2).
Some of the above examples were taken from the OWL Purdue Online Writing Lab and MLA Handbook, 9th edition.
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