Documentation
in MLA Format
Why Document Sources
in MLA Format?

To give credit where credit is
due: avoid plagiarism
◦ Plagiarism is using someone’s words or ideas
without giving the source proper credit.

To establish your credibility as a
careful scholar within the field
How Documentation Works

In-text citations refer to a Works
Cited page

Works Cited page gives readers
bibliographic information to
locate sources themselves
Works Cited Page
Quick Tip: All sources cited in the
paper must be listed on the Works
Cited page. All sources listed on the
Works Cited page must have been
cited in the paper itself.
A Sample Works Cited Page
Works Cited
Davis, Barbara, Michael Scriven, and Susan Thomas. The Evaluation of Composition
Instruction. New York: Teachers College, 1987. Print.
Hanson, F. Allan. Testing Testing: Social Consequences of the Examined Life.
Berkeley: U of California, 1993. Print.
Huot, Brian A. “The Literature of Direct Writing Assessment: Major Concerns and
Prevailing Trends.” Review of Educational Research 60 (1990): 237-63. Print.
Yancey, Kathleen. “Looking Back as We Look Forward: Historicizing Writing
Assessment.” College Composition and Communication 50.3 (1999): 483-503.
Print.
A Sample Works Cited Page
Works Cited
Davis, Barbara, Michael Scriven, and Susan
Thomas. The Evaluation of Composition
Instruction. New York: Teachers College,
1987. Print.
Basic Style for Citations of
Electronic Sources (Including
Online Databases)

Author and/or editor names (if available)

Article name in quotation marks (if applicable)

Title of the Website, project, or book in italics. (Remember that some Print
publications have Web publications with slightly different names. They may,
for example, include the additional information or otherwise modified
information, like domain names [e.g. .com or .net].)

Any version numbers available, including revisions, posting dates, volumes,
or issue numbers.

Publisher information, including the publisher name and publishing date.

Take note of any page numbers (if available).

Medium of publication.

Date you accessed the material.

URL (if required, or for your own personal reference; MLA does not
require a URL).
Electronic Sources
Editor, author, or compiler name (if
available). Name of Site.Version number.
Name of institution/organization affiliated
with the site (sponsor or publisher), date
of resource creation (if available). Medium
of publication. Date of access. <URL>.
The Purdue OWL Family of Sites. The Writing
Lab and OWL at Purdue and Purdue
U, 2008. Web. 23 Apr. 2008.
<https://owl.english.purdue.edu/owl>

In-Text, Parenthetical Citations
Use them to:
Quote directly
 Summarize material
 Paraphrase material

TRY AN IN-TEXT CITATION:

“By using my advanced knowledge and
expertise in the field of educational
theory, I have decided all of my students
are the best students ever,” Ms. Morita
stated.
Examples
Then she said, “all of her students are the
best ever” (Morita 13).
 Ms. Morita believes that “all of her
students are the best ever” (13).
 Ms. Morita spoke highly of all of her
students during her interview (13).

Formatting An In-Text,
Parenthetical Citation

There are two common ways of
writing an in-text citation:
1. Integrate the author’s name into the
sentence itself, OR
2. Include the author’s name in a
parenthetical citation at the end of the
passage in which you quote, summarize,
or paraphrase the work.
*The page number of the information is
always included in the parenthetical
citation.
In-Text, Parenthetical Citations

Are brief

Refer readers to the Works Cited
page

Avoid repetition
Questions?
WRITE THIS DOWN:
owl.english.purdue.edu/owl/