LibGuides: Modern Language Association (MLA) Guide: MLA Home

This guide will provide you with resources to better understand how sources are cited for an MLA paper.

Why do we cite sources?

Giving credit to the original author by citing sources is the only way to use other people's work without plagiarizing. But there are a number of other reasons to cite sources:

citations are extremely helpful to anyone who wants to find out more about your ideas and where they came from
not all sources are good or right -- your own ideas may often be more accurate or interesting than those of your sources. Proper citation will keep you from taking the rap for someone else's bad ideas
citing sources shows the amount of research you've done
citing sources strengthens your work by lending outside support to your ideas

Doesn't citing make my work seem less original?

Not at all. On the contrary, citing sources actually helps your reader distinguish your ideas from those of your sources. This will actually emphasize the originality of your own work.

When do I need to cite?

Whenever you borrow words or ideas, you need to acknowledge their source. The following situations almost always require citation:

whenever you use quotes
whenever you paraphrase
whenever you use an idea that someone else has already expressed
whenever you make specific reference to the work of another
whenever someone else's work has been critical in developing your own ideas.

Source: What Is Citation? (2017, May 17). Retrieved October 05, 2020, from https://www.plagiarism.org/article/what-is-citation.

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Preparing the List of Works Cited

Begin the list of works cited on a new page at the end of the paper. Center the title "Works Cited" about one inch from the top of the page. Double-space throughout.

Alphabetizing the List

Alphabetize the list by the last names of the authors (or editors); if a work has no author or editor. alphabetize by the first word of the title other than A, An, or The.

If your list includes two or more works by the same author, use the author's name for the first entry only. For the subsequent entries, use three hyphens (---) followed by a period. List the titles in alphabetical order.

Indenting

Do not indent the first line of each works cited entry, but indent any additional lines one-half inch. This technique highlights the names of the authors, making it east for readers to scan the alphabetized list.

URLs and DOIs

If a URL or a DOI in a works cited entry must be divided across lines,break it before a period or a hyphen. If you will post your project online or submit it electronically and you want your readers to click on your URLS, do not insert any line breaks.

Other Reference Books

MLA Handbook for Writers of Research Papers by Joseph Gibaldi; Phyllis Franklin (Foreword by)
Call Number: LB2369.G53 1999
ISBN: 0873529758
Publication Date: 1999-05-01
The Manual Millions of Writers Rely On Since the publication of the first edition in 1977, the MLA Handbook has sold over four million copies worldwide. The fifth edition is revamped for the Internet age. The Authoritative Guide to MLA Style The MLA Handbook is published by the Modern Language Association, the authority on MLA documentation style. Developed by teachers and scholars as a system for citing research sources, MLA style has been widely adopted in high schools, colleges, and publishing houses. What's New in This Edition A complete toolbox for online research, the fifth edition offers guidance in * finding research materials online * judging the quality of information on the Internet * using expanded and updated MLA formats to document a variety of online sources * preparing texts in electronic form Citation examples and lists of recommended resources have been updated throughout. Contents * Choosing a topic, using the library and the Internet, producing a working bibliography and an outline, writing drafts, and avoiding plagiarism * Spelling, punctuation, and the presentation of names, titles of works, and quotations * The physical format of the paper * Using MLA style to list sources at the end of the paper * Citing sources in the text of the paper * Suitable abbreviations * Suggestions on reference works in various subjects * Summary of other documentation styles * Sample pages from a research paper.
MLA Style Manual and Guide to Scholarly Publishing by Joseph Gibaldi; Herbert Lindenberger (Introduction by)
Call Number: PN147 .G444 1999
ISBN: 0873526996
Publication Date: 1998-01-01
Since its publication in 1985, the "MLA Style Manual" has been the standard guide for graduate students, teachers, and scholars in the humanities and for professional writers in many fields. Extensively reorganized and revised, the new edition contains several added sections and updated guidelines on citing electronic works--including materials found on the World Wide Web.
Pocket Style Manual by Diana T. Hacker
Call Number: PE1408 .H26 2000
ISBN: 0312204884
Publication Date: 2000-01-01
Adopted at more than 1300 schools across the country in more than 20 different academic departments, A Pocket Style Manual is a straight-forward, inexpensive quick reference to the essentials of research and writing in print and online--now revised and updated to be more useful for students in all disciplines.
A Writer's Reference by Diana Hacker; Nancy Sommers
Call Number: PE1408 .H2778 2011
ISBN: 9780312601430
Publication Date: 2010-10-25
A Writer's Reference, the most widely adopted handbook in the United States, continues to be groundbreaking in its simplicity, offering the right content in an accessible format. New coauthor Nancy Sommers's own research, campus travel, and classroom experience keep the handbook in tune with the needs of academic writers. In a trusted quick-reference format, the seventh edition delivers advice on all the right topics: working with sources, revising with comments, preparing a portfolio, and more. A Writer's Reference offers unprecedented flexibility with several versions to choose from — a handbook that's truly at your service. Read the preface.

Online Resources

LibGuides

Plagiarism
This guide is all about plagiarism: what it is and how to avoid it.

CVCC's MLA Guide

Purdue Online Writing Lab (OWL)

Troy University Writing Center

MLA Documentation Guide

Reference Books

MLA Handbook by The Modern Language Association of America
Call Number: REF LB2369 .G53 2016 COPY 2
ISBN: 9781603292627
Publication Date: 2016-04-01
The Modern Language Association, the authority on research and writing, takes a fresh look at documenting sources in the eighth edition of the MLA Handbook, the official guide to MLA format. Works are published today in a dizzying variety of ways: a novel, for example, may be read in print, online, or as an e-book--or perhaps listened to as an audiobook. Writers of research papers routinely need to know how to cite works on Web sites, videos on platforms like YouTube, interviews and other works created by multiple authors, journal articles contained in databases, online images, posts on social media sites, song lyrics, and more. Instead of providing separate instructions for each format, the MLA's unique, innovative approach recommends one set of guidelines that writers can apply to any type of source. This groundbreaking edition of the MLA's best-selling handbook is short and designed for easy use. It guides writers through the principles behind evaluating sources for their research and thus focuses on the key skills of information and digital literacy. It then shows writers how to cite sources in their writing, offering detailed guidance on in-text citations, quoting and paraphrasing, avoiding plagiarism, and more. Intended for students, teachers, librarians, and advanced scholars, the handbook is an indispensable resource in composition, communication, literature, language arts, film, media studies, digital humanities, and related fields.
A Writer's Reference with Exercises by Diana Hacker; Nancy Sommers
Call Number: REF PE1408 .H2779 2015
ISBN: 9781457686542
Publication Date: 2014-10-03
Our best-selling classic tabbed handbook is available in a version that conveniently includes nearly one hundred integrated exercise sets for plenty of practice with the grammar, style, punctuation, and mechanics topics offered in the handbook. The answers to some items appear in the back of the book.
Cite Right, Third Edition by Charles Lipson
Call Number: REF PN171.F56 L55 2018
ISBN: 9780226431109
Publication Date: 2018-11-20
Cite Right is the perfect guide for anyone who needs to learn a new citation style or who needs an easy reference to Chicago, MLA, APA, AMA, and other styles. Each chapter serves as a quick guide that introduces the basics of a style, explains who might use it, and then presents an abundance of examples. This edition includes updates reflecting the most recent editions of The Chicago Manual of Style and the MLA Handbook. With this book, students and researchers can move smoothly among styles with the confidence they are getting it right.