MLA REFERENCING (CITING) SOURCES

2016

WHAT IS MLA STYLE?

When you have a paper to write, you will often be asked for secondary sources that will help support
your points. MLA is a form of writing and citing sources in formal research reports, projects and
essays. It is a way to show what sources you have used. While there are many ways to cite sources,
MLA is the widely accepted version for English and Literature courses.
How to NOT plagiarize:
You must cite when using ANYTHING that is not YOUR idea (direct quotes as well as
paraphrased quotes) even if that means EVERY sentence (although, it is not recommended to
quote back to back because it can disturb writing style, flow and transition between ideas.)
You must include parenthetical referencing to inform your reader of the quotes origin as well as
to indicate a matching reference to your Works Cited page.
Book/Web citing format direct quote when there is an author and pages:
Direct quote (Last-name Page#).
The sky was red for 30 minutes (Collins 82).
Note: The period is on the outside of the closed bracket.
Web citing format paraphrased quote when there is no author and no pages:
Paraphrased quote (Title of Article).
For a half hour, there was a red wash sky (Mysteries of the World).
Note: If the title is distractingly too long, simply use the first 3-5 words.
Shakespeare citing format:
Quote (Last-name Act#.Scene#.Line#s).
To be or not to beBe all my sins remembered (Shakespeare 3.1.64-98).
Note: when using multiple works of the same author, you can use the title instead
of the last name.
Poetry citing format:
Quote (Last-name Line#s).
Make sure to use square [ ] brackets if you change any words from the direct quote.
to make sure your verb tense choice matches
to add a name instead of using a pronoun
for clarity, and/or
to add any other information that needs mentioning
Tip for literary essay writing: use proper quote transitions *see next page for examples
Tip for report writing: Give credit to the author or publishing website by including them right
within your sentence. *see next page for examples

MLA REFERENCING (CITING) SOURCES

2016

Examples of the various styles used to cite sources:

Essay / Novel / colon transition:

o Not only is the motif of broken dreams demonstrated in the protagonists characterization, but it is
also prevalent in the setting. The narrator describes a damaged dining room: There were shattered
flute glasses and broken plates on the Persian rug, as though they lie dead, defeated (Atwell 122).

Essay / Novel / comma transition:

o Despite the conflicts between the two families, there are also moments in which the Sampsons find
comfort working alongside the Donaldsons. Mother Sampson admits, No other family knows and
understands as much about our trials as the Donaldson family (Atwell 205).

Report / Article / integrated transition:

o Autism can be identified by medical practitioners. In his article Autism Today, Dr. John Smith
reveals that "most cases of autism can be detected by the age of 7" (3).
(3) is the page number from that book from which the quote was found. Normally it would be
(Smith 3) but I already included Smith in my sentencing.

Report / Website Essay / integrated transition:

o Professor J.P. Cookie said in his essay on animal abuse that "there are two kinds of animal abuse:
passive and active. Passive is when the person neglects the animal, and active is when they
physically hurt the animal."
There's no need for parenthetical reference at the end because you already cited the name of
author, and websites don't have pages. If you didn't put in the authors name, then you'd have to
add (Cookie) after the closed quotes.

PARAPHRASING: You still need to cite when paraphrasing narration or information that is not your own.
Literary Essay Example:
o The author further develops the theme of isolation as repressive in the setting by describing the
protagonists town as small, stifling and segregated, liking it to an asylum (Atwell 15).
Report Example:
o Autism can be identified by medical practitioners. Often, children can be diagnosed with autism as
young as 7 years of age (Smith 3).
Quotes LONGER than 4 lines:
Include a leading sentence with a colon to introduce your quote.
Indent on either side of the quote by 2 inches
No need for quotation marks
Single spaced
Example in bold below
Not only Jem but also Scout seems very nave at the beginning of the novel. When Walter Cunningham stays for
dinner, Scout innocently ridicules Walter because hed gone and drowned his dinner in syrup (62). Calpurnia
scolds her for being rude to a guest:
Hush your mouth! Dont matter who they are, anybody sets foot in this houses
yo compny, and dont you let me catch you remarkin on their ways like you
was so high and mighty! Yo folks might be bettern the Cunninghams but it
dont count for nothin the way youre disgracin em if you cant act fit to
eat at the table you can just set here and eat in the kitchen (63).
Calpurnia teaches Scout to understand that not everyone comes from the same upbringing. Scout learns that she

MLA REFERENCING (CITING) SOURCES

2016

shouldnt judge people just because they are not like her.

WHAT IS A WORKS CITED PAGE?

A Works Cited page lists only the resources that you used to write your paper. It is different than a Bibliography. A
Bibliography lists all the resources that you came across in your research, whether or not you used them for your paper.
Creating a Works Cited page:
On a separate paper at the end of your essay/report.
In alphabetical order; second line should be indented by inch.
Books:
Last Name, First Name. Title. City: Publishing Company, Year.
Websites:
Author. "Article Title." Title of Website. Publisher/Organization. Date of publication (or last updated). Web. Date you
accessed the site.
Magazine or Newspaper:
Last Name, First Name. "Article Title." Title of Magazine or Newspaper. Vol. # (if any). Date of publication: page(s). Print.
Images:
Image Creator Name. Title. Website Name or True Location of Image. Date published. Web. Date you accessed the site.
YouTube videos:
Title. YouTube, uploaded by Name of Channel. Date published. Web. Date accessed.
Tweets:
@name. the actual tweet, word for word. Twitter, date published and time stamp. link.

Example:
__________________________________________________________________________________
Works Cited
@tombrokaw. "SC demonstrated why all the debates are the engines of this campaign." Twitter, 22 Jan. 2012, 3:06 a.m.,
twitter.com/tombrokaw/status/160996868971704320.
3 Car Engines put to the Test. YouTube, uploaded by CTV News, 6 June 2016, www.youtube.com/watch?
v=WBlpjSEtELs.
Bell, Bob. "Article Title." National Geographic. Vol #245. January 4, 2000: 12-15. Print.
Cookie, J.P. Animal Hate. WWF. May 19, 2014. Web. Mar. 4, 2015.
Goya, Francisco. The Family of Charles IV. 1800. del Prado National Museum, Madrid. Web. Accessed 22 May 2016.
Johnson, John. Book of Awesomeness. Ottawa: Rogers Publishers, 2014.
Post-Secondary Graduates Demographics. Statistics Canada. Government of Canada. Oct. 26, 2009. Web. Mar. 4, 2015.
__________________________________________________________________________________

MLA REFERENCING (CITING) SOURCES

Check these links for more information or clarification:
http://www.studyguide.org/MLAdocumentation.htm
http://owl.english.purdue.edu/owl/resource/747/08/

2016