CITING USING THE
MLA Style
Prepared from the 6th edition of
MLA Handbook for Writers of Research Papers
WHAT WILL THIS
TUTORIAL COVER?
At the end of this tutorial you will:• Be aware of the importance of
citing the sources you have used
• Learn to cite according to the MLA
style
• Learn how to cite a variety of sources
• Learn how to use the MLA manual
WHAT IS CITING ?
Citing is giving credit to, or
acknowledging all
sources of information or ideas used in
your
A QUOTE
papers.
Citing sources should:• Point to the source from which you
got the information in your essay.
• Direct your reader to the full
documentation in the list of Works
Cited.
AN
IDEA
FACTS
WHY CITE ?
Citing or documenting information is
responsible and ethical behaviour.
Citing shows respect for other
people’s ideas. If you don’t cite you
are guilty of plagiarism.
Plagiarism is the unacknowledged use
of another person’s intellectual
efforts. It is a form of cheating.
The word “plagiarism” comes
from the Greek root for
“kidnap”.
WHY CITE?
(cont’d)
• Citing is a service to those reading your
paper, since it accurately points them
to the exact location of the
information you have used for your
paper.
• Citing also meets the requirements of
your Faculty and the University.
HOW TO CITE?
To cite, you must choose an acceptable citation
style. There are many authorized styles e.g.
APA, Chicago, ACS.
Use the one required by your Lecturer or your
Faculty.
MLA* is one of the most widely used styles.
It is based on the MLA Handbook for Writers
of Research Papers.
Check the Library’s OPAC to find the Handbook
*Modern Language Association
CITING USING MLA
There are 2 aspects to citing with MLA:-
(i) In text citing (citing within the text or body
of your essay or paper)
(ii) List of Works Cited (at the end of your
paper)
AGREEMENT OF
IN TEXT CITATIONS WITH
LIST OF WORKS CITED
References cited in the text must appear in
the Works Cited.
Conversely each entry in the Works Cited
must be cited in the text.
CITING SOURCES IN THE TEXT
Basic information to be included:• Author’s surname and page
e.g. (Tannen 178)
OR
• Title of work (if no author is named) and page
e.g. (Love and War 21)
*NB Do not include ‘p’ or ‘pp’ before page numbers.
–
NOTE WELL
CITING SOURCES IN THE TEXT (cont’d)
There is a direct relationship
between what you put in the
text and what you put in
parentheses.
CITING SOURCES IN THE TEXT (cont’d)
If you put the author’s name in the
text, do not repeat it in
parentheses. For example…
It may be true, as Robertson maintains, that “in the
appreciation of medieval art the attitude of the
observer is of primary importance…”(136).
If you do not put the author’s name in
the text, you must include it with the
page number in parentheses. For
example…
CITING SOURCES IN THE TEXT (cont’d)
It may be true that “in the appreciation of medieval art
the attitude of the observer is of primary
importance….” (Robertson 136).
CITING SOURCES IN THE TEXT (cont’d)
Citing works listed by title only…
International espionage was as prevalent as
ever as in the 1990s (“Decade”).
* NB
“Decade” is the shortened title for “The Decade of the Spy”.
Put full details in list of Works Cited.
In text citations must direct the reader to the full
CITING SOURCES IN THE TEXT (cont’d
documentation in the list of Works Cited.
In the text of your paper
Despite American birth, Powell was raised in
Jamaican extended family of real and fictive relatives
(Roth 33).
Works Cited
Roth, David. Sacred Honor: A Biography of Colin
Powell. Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan, 1993.
THE LIST OF
Works Cited
• Contains all the sources that you cited in your paper.
• Comes at the end of your paper.
• Lists all sources cited in one alphabetical sequence.
• Includes information from the source itself (e.g. the
title page of a book) not from a catalogue.
WORKS CITED
A BOOK BY A SINGLE AUTHOR
Author’s name. Title of the book . Publication information.
Example:
Smith, M.G. Pluralism, Politics and Ideology in the
Creole Caribbean. New York: Research Institute
for the Study of Man, 1991.
N.B. Capitalize the first letter of the first word in the title and
subtitle, and the first letter of every word in the title except for a,
an, the, and, to, … (see MLA page 103 for full list)
WORKS CITED
A BOOK BY A SINGLE AUTHOR
Author’s name. Title of the book . Publication information.
Example:
Smith, M.G. Pluralism, Politics and Ideology in the
Creole Caribbean. New York: Research Institute
for the Study of Man, 1991.
N.B. Capitalize the first letter of the first word in the title and
subtitle, and the first letter of every word in the title except for a,
an, the, and, to, … (see MLA page 103 for full list)
WORKS CITED
A WORK IN AN ANTHOLOGY
An anthology is a collection of works (e.g. chapters,
essays, poems, stories) by various authors, in a
single volume.
Author’s name (surname first). “Title of chapter/essay,
etc.” Title of the book Editor (surname last).
Publication information. Pages of chapter/essay,
etc.
Example:
More, Hannah. “The Black Slave Trade: A Poem.”
British Women Poets of the Romantic Era.
Ed. Paula R. Feldman. Baltimore: Johns
Hopkins UP, 1997. 472-82.
PAGE NUMBERS
NB. MLA requires that you paginate as
efficiently as possible. Therefore, if you are
referring to an item that runs from pages
472-482, use 472-82.
More, Hannah. “The Black Slave Trade: A
Poem.” British Women Poets of the Romantic
Era. Ed. Paula R. Feldman. Baltimore: Johns
Hopkins UP, 1997. 472-82.
WORKS CITED
ARTICLES IN PERIODICALS
Periodicals include journals, newspapers and magazines.
Author’s name. “Title of Article.” Source.
Source = Title of periodical, volume and issue numbers, pages of the
article.
If pages continue from one issue to the next, put the volume number
only.
Example:
Chan, Anita, and Robert J. S. Ross. “Racing to the Bottom:
International Trade Without a Social Cause.” Third World
Quarterly 24 (2003): 1011-28.
*NB. For works with more than one author, invert only the 1st author’s
name.
WORKS CITED
ARTICLES IN PERIODICALS
But, if a journal pages each issue separately, you must add
the issue number to identify the source.
Example:
Cooper, Carolyn. “Race and Cultural Politics of SelfRepresentation: A View from the University of the
West Indies.” Research in African Literatures
27.4 (1996): 97-105.
WORKS CITED
AN ARTICLE IN A NEWSPAPER
Give the name as it appears on the masthead but omit any
introductory article (i.e. Daily Express, not The Daily Express).
Next, give the complete date [day, month and year].
Abbreviate all months except May, June and July.
Include section letter (where relevant) and page numbers.
AN ARTICLE IN A NEWSPAPER (cont’d)
EXAMPLES
Singh, Rickey. “New row over Aristide.” Trinidad Express 17 June
2005: 12.
Newspaper editorial (no author given):
“US-Libya Conflict.” Editorial. Guardian 9 Jan. 1998: 8.
Article in a section of the newspaper (e.g. section A, page 3):
Bailey, Mary. “Teachers to Tackle Violence in Schools.” Sunday Express 1
Sept. 1996: A3.
Article not on consecutive pages
(e.g. starting on pg. G1 and continuing on pg. G3):
Harris, Nicole. “Airports in the Throes of Change.” Washington Post 21
Apr. 2002: G1+.
•
WORKS CITED
AN ARTICLE IN A REFERENCE BOOK
For a dictionary entry or an encyclopedia article do not cite the
editor of the reference work. If the author of the article is
given, put the name first; if it is not given, put the title in
quotation marks.
EXAMPLES:
“Piracy.” The New Encyclopaedia Britannica. 15th ed. 1998.
Borjas, G. J. “Migration, Economics of.” International
Encyclopedia of the Social & Behavioral Sciences.
1st ed. 2001.
“Creole.” The Concise Oxford Dictionary. 10th ed. 1999.
WORKS CITED
AN INTERVIEW
An interview may be published, recorded or broadcast.
Examples
Smith, John. Interview with Jane Clarke.
Breakfast Club. 109.1 FM. Port of Spain, Trinidad. 26 Mar.
2005.
Walcott, Derek. “Derek Walcott interviewed by Dirk Sinnewe.”
Journal of Commonwealth Literature 34. 2 (1999):1-8.
WORKS CITED
A PERSONAL INTERVIEW
To cite an interview you conducted:•
Give the name of the person interviewed
•
The type of interview
(e.g. Personal interview, Telephone interview)
•
The date
Examples:
Smith, John. Personal interview. 22 July 2005.
Jones, Alice. Telephone interview. 10 Oct. 2004.
WORKS CITED
ELECTRONIC PUBLICATIONS
Electronic publications are not as stable as their print
counterparts. Therefore, these citations should provide more
information than print citations.
Dates
A citation for an online should contain 2 dates
• the date it was published or last updated.
• the date on which you accessed the document.
Uniform Resource Locator (URL)
Web address or URL
<http://www.jamaicansforjustice.org/constitution_of_jamaica.htm>
ELECTRONIC PUBLICATIONS (cont’d)
An article from the Internet
Date
updated
Website
Date
accessed
Shah, Anup. “Sustainable Development” 21
April 2003 Global Issues 20 Feb. 2005
<http://www.globalissues.com/TradeRelated/
Development.asp>.
URL of Article
ELECTRONIC PUBLICATIONS (cont’d)
EXAMPLES
An article from a Library Subscription Database e.g. EbscoHost
“Cooling Trend in Antarctica.” Futurist May-June 2002:15. Academic Search
Premier. EBSCO. U of West Indies, Main Lib. 3 May 2005
<http://www.epnet.com>.
An article in a scholarly online journal
Denning, Peter J. “ Business Designs for the New University.” Educom
Review 31.6 (1996). 23 June 2004
<http://educom.edu/web/pubs/review/reviewArticles/31620.html>.
EXAMPLE OF WORKS CITED LIST
Notice that the list is in one alphabetical sequence…
Abersold
Clarke
“Cooling…”
REMEMBER…
o
o
You have just been introduced to sections of the MLA style.
For citing other types of resources and exceptions to the general rules
check the MLA Handbook, Brief Holt Handbook or Keys for Writers.
o
Visit MLA’s website for tips. Click on this link: http://www.mla.org/style_faq
o
There are other styles available e.g. Chicago, APA, ACS (Check your faculty
requirements)
o
Use the style requested by your tutors.
o
Be consistent.
o
You will not retain everything, so use the style Manual.
THE END
COMPILED BY
Sharida Hosein
Main Library
© December 2005