Mrs. Dyke/Mr. Healy
Team V-___
Name _______________________
Date ________________________
MLA Style Documentation
Documenting your sources involves two components – in-text citations and a works cited page. A good
research project should combine your words with the research and Specific Statistical Information that
you borrowed from researchers. It’s not simply re-stating their words. You should either paraphrase
the original author’s words, or copy them directly and show that it is a direct quote by putting quotation
marks around it.
 If you copy directly (word for word right from the source) your direct quote must have
quotation marks around it and it cannot exceed ten words!
 If you copy indirectly (you take someone else’s information, but re-state it in your own words)
you must still parenthetically cite it and give credit to the original author!
A few basic rules and reminders:
*What appears in the in-text citation is what begins your works cited entry.
* Every in-text citation should include both an author (or title, if there is no author) and a
page/paragraph number.
* In-text citations should always have either a page number or paragraph number (par.) Be sure to
record all page/paragraph numbers when doing your research and note-taking.
* For sources with no authors, you begin the works cited entry with the title.
[NOTE: You may abbreviate long titles in in-text citations by using an ellipse (…). For example, if the
title of your source is “How to Make Lots and Lots of Easy Money on Your College Campus,” you can
abbreviate the title in your in-text citation to something like, “How to Make…” However, you must
provide the full title on your works cited page.
* For websites, it is important to record titles of the website and titles of the article/page you are
viewing and using as a source: “The Flying Car is Here!” (Comcast). You also need to know who
publishes or sponsors the website.
* Online source citations must always include two dates: the date the information was published or last
updated and the date that you accessed (viewed) it.
* The format for dates is always the same: day/month/ year -- such as 14 January 2008, 25 July 1999, 2
October 1971, etc.
* For books and articles in online publications, you generally follow the rules for periodicals (journals &
magazines) and books, but also add the URL and an access date.
* URLs (web addresses) are always enclosed in triangular brackets, like this: < >. The period goes
outside the closing bracket. Also, remember to take off the hyperlink formatting (underlining and blue
print).
* If the author’s name is used in the text - no need to repeat it in the parentheses
MLA PRACTICE WORKSHEET
Use your handout on “Quoting and In-Text Citation Using MLA Guidelines” and your
handbook to complete the following by:
1) filling in the in-text citation in the sentence
2) identifying the type of quote used in the sentence
3) writing out the complete works cited entry
Book with One Author
According to Eric Schlosser, “fast food chains are now gaining access to the last advertising-free
outposts of American life”: public schools (
).
Taken from: Fast Food Nation by Eric Schlosser, page 51, published in New York by Perennial in 2002.
Works Cited Entry:
______________________________________________________________________
Notice that
the 2nd line is
indented!
____________________________________________________________
A Chapter from a Book with Two or More Authors
The authors state, “Evidence used to support ideas in an academic essay is usually paraphrased”
(
).
Taken from Sourcework by Nancy E. Dollahite and Julie Haun, which was published in 2006 in Boston
by Thomson
Heinle. The quote is taken from page 77, in chapter 4 titled “Building a Paper,” which spans pages 72-97.
Works Cited Entry:
______________________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________
Book with Four Authors
The authors assert that “Most multicultural readers approach diversity in one of two ways” (
).
Taken from Rereading Culture by Gary Columbo, Robert Cullen, Linda Laslow, and Bonnie Lisle, page
5. The book was published in 2007 by Bedford/St. Martins in Boston.
Works Cited Entry:
______________________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________
Article in a Scholarly Journal (paginated by issue)
The author states that suicide is a theme in Toni Morrison’s novels (
).
This idea was taken from the article “Revolutionary Suicide in Toni Morrison’s Fiction,”
which was published in the African American Review in 2000 in volume 29, issue 34. The
article was on pages 389-412. This idea was found on page 401. The author of the article is
Nancy Snyder.
Works Cited Entry:
______________________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________
Article from a Popular Magazine
According to the researchers, hippos like to stay in the water as much as possible on hot
days (
).
This fact was taken from National Geographic. The article was titled “Land of the Surfing
Hippos.” It was published in August 2004 on page 100. The author is Bill Pomo. National
Geographic is a monthly magazine paginated by issue.
Works Cited Entry:
______________________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________
Personal Interview
The doctor told me that cancer of the pancreas is one of the most deadly types of the
disease (
).
This information came from a personal interview with Dr. Trisha Hay, with was
conducted on October 14, 2007.
Works Cited Entry:
______________________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________
Email Communication
Mr. Smith says, “The only reason for bungee jumping accidents is
carelessness” (
).
Bob Smith wrote this to me (the author) in an email on February 28th, 2007. The subject of
the email was “re: safe jumping.”
Works Cited Entry:
______________________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________________
Article from a Website
Flintoff writes, “The religious board that supervises elections has disqualified thousands
of independent and reform candidates” (
).
This article was taken from npr.org -- the website for National Public Radio. It is written
by Corey Flintoff and is titled “Iranian Elections Provide View into Power Dynamics” in
the World section of the website. This quote was taken from
paragraph 2 of 10 paragraphs total. The article was published on March 12, 2008. I
accessed it on March 13, 2008. It is a web source.
Works Cited Entry:
______________________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________
Article from a Newspaper
The author writes about one family that is trying to reduce its toxic footprint; in other
words, they are trying to live more “green.” “The Goode family has not purchased
deodorant for a year,” the writer says, “and they have not bought toothpaste or shampoo
either” (
).
This quote came from the Toronto Star. The reporter who wrote the story is Catherine
Porter. Her article was titled “How a Family Reduced Its Toxic Footprint.” The article
appeared on page E4 on March 16th in 2009.
Works Cited Entry:
______________________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________
In-Text and Works Cited Citation Using MLA Guidelines
Books:
In-text citation:
For single author – include the author’s last name and the page number(s) in the parentheses, no
If
If
If
punctuation between them.
Loneliness is inversely related to communication competence (Reinking 55).
the author’s name is used in the text - no need to repeat it in the parentheses
Author Brian Taves suggests some interesting conclusions regarding the philosophy and politics of the
adventure film (153-54, 171).
there are 2 or 3 authors – use “and” not “&”
(Gilbert and Gubar 14) or (Rabkin, Greenberg, and Olander 23) or (Smith and Jones, par. 36)
there are more than 3 authors - You may follow the method for 3 authors if you want to list them
all or you may use the first author and add et al. (No punctuation between author and et al.)
(Rabkin, Greenberg, Smith, Jones, and Olander 23) or (Rabkin et al. 23)
Works Cited List example:
Last name, First name. Title of Book. Place of Publication: Publisher, Year. Print.
Single author
Reinking, Brett. Boston, a Social History. New York: Hawthorn, 1976. Print.
Two or three authors
Gilbert, Sandra M. and Susan Gubar. The Madwoman in the Attic: the Woman Writer
and the Nineteenth-Century Literary Imagination. New Haven: Yale UP, 1979. Print.
An article in a scholarly journal:
In-text citation: (Pelter and McQuade 1811-1812).
Works Cited list example:
Pelter, Michael, and Jennifer McQuade. “Brewing Science in the Chemistry Laboratory: A ‘Mashing'
Investigation of Starch and Carbohydrates.” Journal of Chemical Education 82 (2005): 1811-1812. Print.
Article from a Popular Magazine:
In-text citation:
(Lerner 42-43).
Works Cited list example:
Lerner, Barbara. "America's Schools: Still Failing After All These Years." National Review 15 Sep. 1997: 42-43.
Print.
Personal interview:
In-text citation: (Marchese)
Works Cited list example:
Marchese, Joe. Professor of Business, Monroe Community College. Personal interview. 13 Jan. 2006.
An e-mail communication:
In-text citation:
(DiSano)
Works Cited list example:
DiSano, Mary. “Re. The New Guide to Writing Research Papers.” E-mail to Stasia Callan and Ann Penwarden.
Web. 1 Feb. 2006.
There is no
author, so the
title is used
here!
Web site
In-text citation: ("Early Childhood Educational Issues")
Works Cited list example:
“Early Childhood Educational Issues.” National Association for the Education of the Young Children. 22 May
2006. Web. 26 November 2012.
Article in a newspaper
In-text citation:
(Wielaard 11A)
Works Cited list example:
Wielaard, Robert. “Europe Warns Iran on Holocaust Denial.” Democrat and Chronicle 16 Dec. 2005: 11A. Print.
WORK CITED
“Modern Language Association (MLA) Style.” Monroe Community College. 19 April 2012.
Web.<http://www.monroecc.edu/depts/library/mla.htm#personal>
To quote a resource from an internet-based resource:
Example:
Last name, First name of author or editor. Title of Page. Title of overall site if distinct
from page title. Version or edition used. Publisher or sponsor. Date of publication.
Medium (web) Date of access.
Use, in this order, as many of these items as are relevant and useful for clearly
identifying the source document. The list is long not so that you will include all of it
in every reference, but because Web page content and format vary so widely.
1. Author or editor's last name, then first name.
2. Title of the article in quotation marks.
3. Web site name, italicized. (Underlining is no longer used.)
4. Edition or version number.
5. Web site owner or sponsor if available.
6. Date of publication (DD MM YYYY as in 15 June 2009). If a publication date is not
available, use n.d. for "no date."
7. The word Web and a period to indicate the publication medium.
8. The date you accessed the site and a period.
9. [If required by your instructor or if it's necessary to find the article, include the
URL (uniform resource locator--that is, Web address) of the document <in angle
brackets> followed by a period.]
(Your Team 5 and 6 science and English teachers will not be requiring a
URL address from you for this assignment!)