MLA CITATION FORMAT
TIPS, TRICKS, AND WHAT YOU NEED TO
KNOW
EMBRACE IT, LOVE IT, LEARN IT…IT’S NOT
GOING AWAY.
MLA Format….umm yea what’s that again?
 M-Modern
 L-Language
 A-Association
 It is a documentation style that is widely used in
writing, language and literature.
 Believe it or not… it is generally simpler and more
concise than other styles.
KEY THINGS TO REMEMBER NO MATTER WHAT!
 ALWAYS ALWAYS ALWAYS ALWAYS IN
ALPHABETICAL ORDER!!!
 After the first line YOU MUST INDENT!
 Example (book with two editors)
Lockhard, David J. and Charles Heimler, eds. The
Oregon Trail. New York: Bonanza Books, 1992.
Also things to remember…
 Use italics for all titles of books, magazines, films, etc.
Example:
Gorman, Elizabeth. Prairie Women. New Haven: Yale
University Press, 1986.
Put quotation marks around the titles of poems, short
stories, and articles.
 Example:
 Schrock, Kathleen. "Digital Gadgets." Kathy Schrock's
Guide for Educators. 20 February 2002. Discovery
Channel. 11 March 2003.
<http://school.discovery.com/schrockguide/gadgets
.html>.
HOW TO CITE A WEBSITE
 Author's Last Name, First Name. "Title of
Page/Document". Title of the Web Site.
Sponsoring Organization, Publication/Updated
Date. Medium of Publication. Date of Access.
<URL>.
Pretty MLA Picture
But Ms. F, what if I can’t find the author?
 If you can not find the author skip it and move on to the
title of the article BUT REMEMBER IT STILL NEEDS
TO BE IN ALPHABETICAL ORDER!!
IF YOU ARE CITING FROM A WEBSITE WITHIN A
WEBSITE THIS IS WHAT IT SHOULD LOOK LIKE…
"Castles in Medieval Times." yourchildlearns.com. 2000.
Owl and Mouse Educational
Software.9March 2003.
<http://www.yourchildlearns.com/c
astle_history.htm>.
How to Cite a Book
Helpful websites to go to
 http://www.studyguide.org/MLAdocumentation.ht
m
 www.mla.org
 DO NOT GO TO EASY BIB.COM…IT WILL EASILY
GET YOU AN F on the citation.
 You can always ask Ms. Farrar if you are still having
trouble.