Save Your Brain:
a Guide to
Understanding
MLA Citations
English 101 - Barrett
Why does it exist?
• “MLA style for documentation is widely used
in the humanities, especially in writing on
language and literature. Generally simpler
and more concise than other styles, MLA
style features brief parenthetical citations in
the text keyed to an alphabetical list of
works cited that appears at the end of the
work.”
~mla.org
Part I: Bibliography and
Work(s) Cited Entries
Part I of II
See the Pattern
Who?
•Author
What?
•Title
Where?
•Where did it come from? (Specific)
•Were did you find it? (General)
When?
•Date accessed
Example
Who?
Periods demarcate
units of information
• McConnell, D.
Frank.
What?
Specific > General
• “H.B. Wells:
Utopia and
Doomsday.”
Where?
• The Wilson Quarterly 4.3
(1980): 176-186.
• JSTOR.
• Web.
When?
• 2 November
2013.
Example cont.
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
McConnell, D. Frank.
“H.B. Wells: Utopia and Doomsday.”
The Wilson Quarterly 4.3 (1980): 176-186.
JSTOR. Web.
2 November 2013.
McConnell, D. Frank. “H.B. Wells: Utopia and
Doomsday.” The Wilson Quarterly 4.3 (1980):
176-186. JSTOR. Web. 2 November 2013.
Identifying “Where”
Got a journal? Realize you’re identifying the
specific location in the journal
Journal Name
Edition + Year
Page Numbers
The Wilson Quarterly 4.3 (1980): 176-186.
Electronic Sources
(Online Journal Articles, Web Pages, YouTube, etc)
• Author
o Editor
• Article title in quotation marks
• Title of the Website, project, or book in italics.
• Version number, including revisions, posting dates, volumes, or
issue numbers.
• Publisher information
o publisher name
o publishing date
•
•
•
•
Take note of any page numbers (if available).
Medium of publication.
Date you accessed the material
NO URLs
Citing a Web Site
https://owl.english.purdue.edu/owl/resource/747/08/
Citing a Book
https://owl.english.purdue.edu/owl/resource/747/06/
Part II: In-Text Citations
Part II of II
Cite a Quotation
1. Copy the necessary bibliographical
information
o author, title, publisher, city, & date
2. Place quotation marks around the
information (quote)
3. Insert the quote in your text and use
parentheses to share the author & pg. #
Cite a Quotation
• Is this citation correct?
Some believe that Hamlet is the most
important character in Western Literature:
“The phenomenon of Hamlet is unsurpassed in
the West’s imaginative literature” (Bloom 384).
Cite Paraphrases
• Is this citation correct?
Some argue that Shakespeare’s Hamlet is
meant to be an almost biblical character. He
is charismatic, not unlike King David from the
Bible (Bloom 384).
What to Cite
• No, just specific, not readily accessible
information…
• You need not cite:
o Familiar proverbs
o Well-known quotations
o Common knowledge
Common Knowledge
NO CITATION:
• Abraham Lincoln was the 16th president
• Hawaii was the 50th state
• Golden Retrievers are popular pets
• Mel Gibson played William Wallace
Uncommon Knowledge
INCLUDE CITATION:
• Abraham Lincoln regretted appointing
George McClellan
• Alaska was going to originally be
incorporated as two separate states
• Golden Retrievers bite more humans per
year than any other dog breed
• Mel Gibson fabricated many of the details
of William Wallace’s life
Plagiarism or Not?
Ernest Hemmingway was a notable author but he
was also probably clinically depressed. He suffered
from well documented bouts of depression and
eventually committed suicide in 1961. Workers at
his Cuba hacienda often praised his gentle nature,
but they also speak of long periods where
Hemmingway would sit alone refusing any visitors.
(Thomas, 43)
Nope 
• Though nothing is directly quoted, there is some
uncommon knowledge. Citation is given in a
place that does not disrupt the flow of information.
Plagiarism or Not?
The difference between Orwellian satire and
Swiftonian satire is usually the level of hyperbole
created in the setting. Orwell’s satire, while certainly
filled with hyperbole, maintains a believability
according to critics, while Swift’s satire is never meant
to be believed.
YES!
• No direct citation here
• True, this could be the author’s own assertion, but
in this case it’s not.
• It should’ve been cited. They merely mention
“critics”.
Plagiarism or Not?
Though there is little character development in A
Midsummer Night’s Dream and no true protagonist,
critics generally point to Puck as the most important
character in the play. The mischievous, quick-witted
sprite sets many of the play’s events in motion with his
magic, by means of both deliberate pranks on the
human characters (transforming Bottom’s head into
that of an ass) and unfortunate mistakes (smearing
the love potion on Lysander’s eyelids instead of
Demetrius’s).
YES!
• These lines are lifted directly from Sparknotes.com!
• Here’s how the lines could’ve been cited
correctly…
See how easy this is!
“Though there is little character development
in A Midsummer Night’s Dream and no true
protagonist, critics generally point to Puck as
the most important character in the play. The
mischievous, quick-witted sprite sets many of
the play’s events in motion with his magic, by
means of both deliberate pranks on the
human characters (transforming Bottom’s
head into that of an ass) and unfortunate
mistakes (smearing the love potion on
Lysander’s eyelids instead of Demetrius’s)”
(Sparknotes).
Consequences of
Plagiarism
•
•
•
•
•
•
College notification
Zero on assignment
Failing grade in the class
Detention
Call home
More…