MLA Citation User Guide
WHY CITE?
1.
Academic honesty — give credit where credit is
due.
2.
Accuracy ---- making sure information is credible
and accurate
3.
Requirements ---- It is standard practice for not
only scholars and academic institutions but the
music and business industry.
WHAT IS A CITATION?
The citation summarizes bibliographic data to
provide the reader information to locate the book,
website, or magazine that you used:
 Author (if given)
 Title of article, webpage, or entry
 Publication information (publisher, website, magazine title,
date, location)
 Medium (Print, Web, etc.)
 Date of access
HOW IS A CITATION FORMATTED?
Each citation or entry follows a specific format.
Punctuation used in the citation defines different
types of information in the entry. Formatting is very
important.
The parts of the citation follow a specific order and have
their own function.
HOW TO CITE A WEBSITE SOURCE
Title of Webpage
Title of Website
“Global Warming: the Greenhouse Effect.” World Conservation
Feb. 2006.
Date of Publication
Web. 28 June 2006.
Medium
Date of Retrieval
PUNCTUATION
Titles of articles, webpages, or
entries in a reference work are
usually noted by quotation marks.
Titles of books, websites, or reference
sources are usually noted with italics.
This is a change from MLA 6th ed.
“Global Warming: the Greenhouse Effect.” World Conservation
Feb. 2006. Web. 28 June 2006.
You need to define what medium you
accessed the material.
Each part of the citation is completed
with a period.
Dates in MLA citations follow a specific format.
The web address or URL is no longer required in
the citation, unless specified by the instructor.
QUOTE OR ITALICIZE?
Quote
Article titles from magazines, newspapers,
journals - "Censorship is Harmful to Society"
Essays - "Feminism in British Literature"
Short Stories - "Gramma" (short story by Stephen
King)
Poems - "The Tyger" (poem by William Blake)
Book Chapters - "The American Economy Before the
Civil War"
Specific pages within a website - "Crohn's Disease"
(page found within the CDC's website)
Specific episodes of TV shows - "The Trouble with
Tribbles" (an episode of Star Trek)
Specific episodes of radio programs - "A
Conversation with Margaret Atwood" (a specific
epside of the radio named All Things
Considered)
Songs - "Thriller" (song by Michael Jackson)
Italicize
Books - Twilight by Stephanie Meyer
Newspapers - USA Today
Magazines - Sports Illustrated
Journals - Journal of Fiction Studies
Websites - CNN.com
Online databases - Opposing Viewpoints Resource Center
Plays - Romeo and Juliet by Williams Shakespeare
Pamphlets - What You Should Know About the H1N1
Virus (pamphlet from the Center for Disease Control)
Films/movie titles - The Breakfast Club
Television shows - Glee
Radio programs/broadcasts - All Things Considered
Album titles - No Line on the Horizon (album by U2)
Operas - La boheme (opera by Giacomo Puccini)
Dance Performances - The Nutcracker
Long Musical Compositions- Symphonie
Fantastique (composition by Berlioz)
Paintings - I and My Village (painting by Marc Chagall)
Sculptures - The Minute Man (sculpture by Daniel Chester
French)
Ships - USS Arizona
Aircraft - Airforce One
Spacecraft - Challenger
MEDIUMS
Print . Used for almost anything printed on paper: books, reference magazines,
pamphlets,etc.
Web.
Used for any web-based content.
Other medium examples include:
CD
Film
Radio
Television
Audiocassette
Audiotape – reel to reel
LP
Film
DVD
Videocassette
Laser disc
Photograph
Graphite on paper
Bronze
Oil on canvas
Personal interview
Telephone interview
Email
Tweet
Sound filmstrip
Slide program
CITATION HELPERS
With so many different mediums and sources it is
impossible to recreate each one without help.
There are manuals and online citation helper sites to
use as resources:
WHAT’S A WORKS CITED PAGE?
The works cited page is an alphabetical listing of all cited sources for
your research. This list could include books, websites, databases,
interviews, and any other source of information used.
Remember that if you use someone else’s ideas, words, quotes,
data, or other information, you must cite your source.
WHAT IS A BIBLIOGRAPHY?
There may be situations where you read or consult other sources but
do not use them directly in your paper. In this case, you can
include them in a bibliography.
A bibliography will contain all sources in your works cited list plus
any additional sources used.
HOW DO I FORMAT A WORKS CITED PAGE?
 The entire page is double spaced
 Title “Works Cited” 1 inch from the top, centered.
 Use a hanging indents (1/2”) for multiple line entries.
 Size 12 font, Times New Roman throughout the
document.
FORMATTING HANGING INDENTS
Select “Hanging” in the “Special”
section of the “Indentation”
area
WHAT SHOULD IT LOOK LIKE?
 “Works Cited’ centered at top of page
 Entries alphabetized
 Page has hanging indents
What’s wrong with this page?
 ‘cited’ should be capitalized!
WHAT IS IN A PARENTHETICAL
REFERENCE?
Because the parenthetical reference is a pointer to an entry in your works
cited list, you put the last name of the author or the first word of the title
of the source if no author is given.
If you are using information from a book, magazine, or print source, include
the page number where the information was found.
WHAT’S THE CONNECTION?
The parenthetical reference should match
the first word of the entry in your works
cited page.
PARENTHETICAL CITATIONS
Include a parenthetical reference at the end of the
sentence, paragraph, or section that uses
information from that source.
Place the reference before the period if at the end of a
sentence.
Author and page number.
WHERE CAN I GO FOR MORE HELP?
Links to various citation help sites are available on
Mrs. McCauley’s Blackboard under:
Citation Helpers
CREDITS