MLA Citation Mini Guide
Library.nwacc.edu/mla
In-text citations are parenthetical references used to document sources of information in academic and scholarly
writing. Include an in-text citation wherever directly quoting an author; paraphrasing, or putting another author’s ideas
into your own words; or including dates, statistics, or other information found in a source. Include page numbers when
the source has them. If there is no author, use the title or short title as it appears in the Works Cited list.
Source has:
Page numbers
No page numbers
No author, no page #
Format
(Author Last Name page #)
(Author Last Name)
(Title or shortened title)
Sample
(Lakshmana 329).
(Dobbs).
(“Shakespeare’s Life”).
A Works Cited list includes the full publication information for the sources referenced in your in-text citation, for
instance, the author, title, publisher, publication date, and so on. When an element is missing, such as author, skip it.
Use alphabetical order, double-spacing, and hanging indentation. Include the full URL for web sources without the
http(s). Dates are in Day Month Year order, and except for May, June, and July, abbreviate months to 3 letters.
Source Type
Journal Article from a
Library Database
Format
Last Name, First Name. “Article Title.”
Journal Title, vol. #, no. #, Publication
Year, pp. Page Number-Page Number.
Database Name, Permalink URL.
ONLINE Entry in an
Encyclopedia or
Other Reference
Work
Last Name, First Name. “Article Title.”
Encyclopedia Title, Editor, Publisher,
edition #, year. Database Name, URL.
Accessed date (optional).
Web Article (not the
entire website)
Last Name, First Name. “Article Title.”
Website Title, Publication Date, URL.
Accessed date (optional).
Organization. “Article Title.” Website
Title, Publication Date, URL. Accessed
date (optional).
Web Article written
by an organization or
institution
Online Video (Use
Last Name, First Name. “Video Title.”
Username if no real
Web Page Name, Publisher (if
name is given)
different from website), Date, URL.
Interview you conduct Last Name, First Name of interviewee.
Personal interview. Date interviewed.
Book
Last Name, First Name. Title. Publisher,
Publication Year.
Work in an Anthology Last Name, First Name. “Work Title.” Title
(Essay, Short Story,
of Source, edited by First Name Last
etc.)
Name, Publisher, Publication Year, pp.
Page Number range.
Sample
Milkie, Melissa A., et al. “Does the Amount of
Time Mothers Spend with Children or
Adolescents Matter?” Journal of Marriage &
Family, vol. 77, no. 2, Apr. 2015, pp. 355-372.
EBSCOhost, doi:10.1111/jomf.12170.
“Taosim.” Dictionary of World Philosophy, edited
by A. Pablo Iannone, Routledge, 2001. Credo
Reference, proxy01.nwacc.edu/login?url=
https://search.credoreference.com/content/
entry/routwp/taoism/0?institutionId=5073.
“Herstory.” Black Lives Matter,
blacklivesmatter.com/about/herstory.
Accessed 15 Feb. 2018.
National Center for Immunization and
Respiratory Diseases, Division of Viral
Diseases. “Coronavirus Disease 2019.” Centers
for Disease Control and Prevention, 20 Feb.
2020, www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/
index.html. Accessed 21 Feb. 2020.
Pubstarr. “History Short: The Romantic Era (Art
and Literature).” YouTube, 9 Feb. 2014,
youtu.be/k9Ebl_MxbYw.
Rodgers, Brittany. Personal interview. 20
February 2020.
Angelou, Maya. I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings.
Ballantine Books, 2009.
Skelton, John. “Magnyfycence.” Medieval Drama:
An Anthology, edited by Greg Walker,
Blackwell Publishers, 2000, pp. 349-407.
02/20 ST