MLA Documentation
In-text citations, citing sources appropriately,
corresponding to the Works Cited
When to Cite Sources in the Paper
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Whenever you quote from a source.
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When borrowing ideas from a source, even
when you use your own words by
paraphrasing or summarizing.
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When you borrow factual information from a
source that is not common knowledge.
The Common Knowledge Exception
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Facts that are widely known and about which
there is no controversy.
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IE: Major dates in history, famous people and
their accomplishments (Neil Armstrong/moon),
the Superbowl occurs toward the end of January.
When in doubt, cite the source.
The Basics of In-text Citations
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As close as possible to the borrowed material,
indicate in parentheses the original source and the
page number in the work that material came from.
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Period comes after the parenthesis.
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No comma between author and page.
Quotation marks (when directly quoting) are before
the parenthetical citation.
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Example

From the very beginning of Sesame
Street in 1969, kindergarten teachers
discovered that incoming students who
had watched the program already
knew their ABCs (Chira 13).
Example Explicated

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The parenthetical tells readers two things:
 The info about Sesame Street came from
somewhere other than the writer…in this case
Chira.
 The ideas came from page 13 in Chira’s work
The full bibliographic information appears on the
Works Cited page at the end of the essay
 Chira, Susan. “Sesame Street At 20: Taking
Stock.” New York Times 15 Nov. 1989: 13.
Example

“One thing is clear,” writes Thomas
Mallon, “plagiarism didn’t become a
truly sore point with writers until they
thought of writing as their trade […]
Suddenly his capital and identity were at
stake” (3-4).
Notices

Author’s last name omitted in parenthesis
because it appeared in the narrative.
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Ellipsis […] used when parts of the original
quotation are left out.
When there is No Author
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Some sources are anonymous
Cite the first word/words that appear on the
Works Cited…typically the article title
Truncate the title if it is long to the first few
key words
Include page number
Example of No Author

Example: Simply put, public relations is
“doing good and getting credit” for it
(“Getting Yours” 3).

The Works Cited entry is as follows:

“Getting Yours: A Publicity and Funding
Primer for Nonprofit Organizations.”
People 32.1 (2002): 3-12.
When there are multiple works by the
same author

Parenthetical citation that lists only author and
page number is not enough to distinguish.

Include author’s name, abbreviated title, and
page number.
Example of Multiple Works by Same
Author

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The thing that distinguishes the amateur from
the experienced writer is focus; one “rides off
in all directions at once,” and the other finds
one meaning around which everything
revolves (Murray, Write to Learn 92).
Notice: a comma between name and title, but
no comma between title and page
General Guidelines for Documenting
Sources

Lead-ins
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Multiple Authors
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No Page Numbers
Lead-ins (better known as author tags)

The first time a source is cited, use a narrative
lead-in
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Give the author’s full name and credentials
Current title/position, level of expertise,
background
Boosts ethos
Once established, the last name only is sufficient
Lead-in can come at the beginning, the
middle, or the end.
Multiple Authors
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If source has more than one author, list
them in the same order that appears on
Works Cited
Ex: Herman, Brown, and Martel predict
dramatic changes in the earth’s climate
in the next 200 years.
No Page Numbers
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Many internet cites don’t have page numbers;
DO NOT NUMBER PAGES YOURSELF.
PDF files often have them, but HTML files
don’t
Just list the author or title in the parenthetical.
Will need to take special care when framing
sources that don’t have page #s.
Example without Page Numbers

It is now theoretically possible to recreate an
identical creature from any animal or plant by
using the DNA contained in the nucleus of
any somatic cell (Thomas).