MLA Citation Style
In-Text Citations
Known Author
General Format: (author’s last name page number)
Examples:
“Quote” (Janechek 45).
According to Janechek, “Quote” (45).
Note: The end-of-sentence
punctuation goes OUTSIDE of
the parentheses, unless you
have a block quote.
No Known Author
General Format: (“Title” or Title page number)
Examples:
“Quote” (“Article Title” 45).
“Quote” (Pamphlet Title 20).
Electronic Source (no page numbers)
General Format: (author’s last name [or title if no known author]).
Examples:
Note: If you mention the title of the electronic source in
“Quote” (Website Name).
the same sentence, you won’t have any in-text citation.
“Quote” (“Webpage Name”).
This is the same for films and other sources that lack page
According to BBC.com, “Quote.”
numbers. You do NOT use N.PAG. or variations of it in
MLA style, nor do you use paragraph numbers or the page
numbers from a print out.
Note that the first bit of your in-text citation should point the reader to the first bit of the
corresponding works cited entry. So, if you cite a source by the author’s last name, the reader
should be able to look for that author’s last name in your works cited page and find the full
information on that source.
Bibliographic (Full) Citations
Book with One Author
General Format:
Last Name, First Name. Title of Book. Publisher, Year of Publication.
Example:
Morrison, Toni. Knopf, 2012.
Note: In MLA style, you
abbreviate university “U”
and press “P” in the
publisher info.
Book with Two Authors
General Format:
Last Name, First Name, and First Name Last Name. Title of Book. Publisher, Year of
Publication.
Example:
Janechek, Jennifer, and Joe Moxley. College Writing in the Digital Age. U of South Florida P,
2011.
Chapter in an Edited Collection
General Format:
Last Name, First Name. “Title of Chapter.” Title of Collection, edited by Editor’s Name(s),
Publisher, Year of Publication, Page Range of Entry.
Example:
Kleege, Georgina. “Disabled Studies Come Out: Questions without Answers.” Disability
Studies: Enabling the Humanities, edited by Sharon L. Synder et al., The Modern
Language Association of America, 2002, pp. 308–16.
Journal Article from a Library Database
General Format:
Last Name, First Name. “Title of Article.” Journal Name, vol. X, no. X, Date of Publication,
Page Range. Title of Database, doi number.
Example:
Allan, Julie. “The Inclusive Teacher Educator: Spaces for Civic Engagement.” Discourse:
Studies in the Cultural Politics of Education, vol. 31, no. 4, October 2010, pp. 411–22.
Academic Search Elite, doi: 10.1080/01596306.2010.504359.
Webpage
General Format:
“Webpage Title.” Website Title, site sponsor/creator (if available), date of creation (if available),
URL. Accessed Date.
Example:
“MLA Works Cited: Electronic Sources.” Purdue OWL,
https://owl.purdue.edu/owl/research_and_citation/mla_style/mla_formatting_and_style_g
uide/mla_works_cited_electronic_sources.html. Accessed 26 March 2019.
Entire Website
General Format:
Website Title, site sponsor/creator (if available), date of creation (if available), URL. Accessed
Date.
Example:
Guide to Literary and Critical Theory. Purdue U, 28 Nov. 2003,
www.cla.purdue.edu/english/theory/. Accessed 10 May 2006.