Making Sense of
MLA Format Citation
Krista Hoeksema
Kalamazoo Valley Community College
Writing Center
MLA citation making you
weary?
Well, help is on the way!
There are two parts to MLA
citation…

Parenthetical or in-text citations
 Works Cited page
But first things first…
Why use MLA citation?
 To
give credit to your source
 To help locate the original
documents
 To give your writing credibility
 To avoid plagiarism
What is plagiarism?
Using any information that is not
common knowledge from any
source and not giving proper credit
through citation. You must cite
ideas or words that are not your
own or…
face failure of the assignment
or possibly expulsion
What needs to be cited in-text?
1.
2.
Direct quotations
Paraphrases
But quoting and
paraphrasing can be tricky…
Let’s play a game to see how
well you know how to quote
and paraphrase…
NOTE: The following examples on paraphrasing are
based on ideas from Doing Honest Work in College by
Charles Lipson.
Jane Doe spent most of her life as a
recluse in her home, but she occasionally
ventured out to parties where she let her
hair down and danced on tables.
(from a book by Lola Boltjes)

Jane Doe spent most
of her life as a recluse.
(no citation)
Is this the proper way
to cite?
No. Though the entire
line is not used, it is
the author’s idea and
an exact quote. It
needs to be enclosed
in quotation marks
and cited.
Jane Doe spent most of her life as a
recluse in her home, but she occasionally
ventured out to parties where she let her
hair down and danced on tables.
(from a book by Lola Boltjes)

Jane Doe spent most
of her life as a recluse
in her home, but she
occasionally ventured
out to parties where
she let her hair down
and danced on tables
(Boltjes 259).
No. This does cite the
source, but the exact
words are used, and
they are not enclosed
in quotation marks.
Jane Doe spent most of her life as a
recluse in her home, but she occasionally
ventured out to parties where she let her
hair down and danced on tables.
(from a book by Lola Boltjes)
No. While the
 Jane Doe passed
words are not
most of her life
exactly the authors,
away as a hermit,
they are very
but she sometimes
similar, and the
went out to parties
sentence format is
and boogied down
basically the same.
on tables (Boltjes
259).
Enough games…
Let’s get to the facts
about quotations and
paraphrases and how to
cite them.
1. Direct quotes
If more than 20 percent of your
paper is quotes, which is
someone’s exact words, then that’s
too much! You want your paper to
contain your writing. Too many
quotes in a paper take away from
the writer’s voice.
Proper citation for a direct quote in
your paper is as follows:
Example:
“Jane Doe spent most of her life as a
recluse in her home, but she occasionally
ventured out to parties where she let her
hair down and danced on tables” (Boltjes
259) .
Page number
Author’s Last Name
Another way to cite a direct quote is
to use a signal phrase to mention the
author in the paper
Signal phrase
Author
According to Boltjes, Doe “spent most of her
life as a recluse in her home, but she occasionally
ventured out to parties where she let her hair
down and danced on tables” (259). Page number
*NOTE: When the author is mentioned, you do not
need to include the last name within the parentheses at
the end of the quote. The page number is enough.
What do you do when you don’t
have a page number-such as with
an internet source-to cite in
parentheses?
You may then use either
the paragraph number (Lewis par. 5)
or section name (Brooks
“Introduction”) in place of page
numbers.
Okay, what if there isn’t an
author to cite?
You will then cite the title (shortened if
necessary) of the article, story, or book intext along with the page or section number.
Example: (“Traveling” par. 19)
*NOTE: You will also use the title, along
with the author’s name in-text if you are
citing more than one work by an author in
your essay.
Example: (Frye, Double Vision 85)
For direct quotes that are longer
than four lines, you will want to
set the quote off from the rest of
your paper with a block quote.
At the end of “The Tell-Tale Heart”, the narrator’s calm
facade steadily disintegrates:
The officers were satisfied. My MANNER had convinced
them. I was singularly at ease. They sat and while I
answered cheerily, they chatted of familiar things. But, ere
long, I felt myself getting pale and wished them gone. My
head ached, and I fancied a ringing in my ears; but still
they sat, and still chatted. The ringing became more
distinct: I talked more freely to get rid of the feeling: but
it continued and gained definitiveness -- until, at length, I
found that the noise was NOT within my ears. (Poe 247)
1” margin
punctuation
author Page number(s)
NOTE: Quotation marks are not used for block quotes.
But remember, use
quotes sparingly
Most of your paper will be
made up of paraphrases…
2. Paraphrases
Paraphrasing is another way of
handling quotations. When
paraphrasing, the writer relays the
meaning in her own words.
An example of paraphrasing
Original quote:
“Jane Doe spent most of her life as a recluse in
her home, but she occasionally ventured out to
parties where she let her hair down and danced
on tables” (Boltjes 259).
Paraphrase:
Although Jane Doe didn’t leave the house much,
she did like to party every once in awhile
(Boltjes 259).
Why is that a good
paraphrase?
While it conveys the meaning of the
quote, it is not too close to the
author’s original words, and it is
cited correctly.
When paraphrasing…
1)
2)
3)
4)
Read the passage and make sure you understand its
meaning
Think about how the passage relates to your paper
Turn the paper over and write the main idea in your
own words on a note card (for more information on
using note cards for you research paper, see the
Writing Center’s handout on note taking)
Reread the quote making sure that you have not kept
the same structure nor merely changed a few words
What is a Works Cited
page?
A list of all sources that are
referenced in your essay. It
contains all the information
that your reader needs to
locate the sources cited in
your essay.
Now what will your Works Cited
page look like?
Works Cited
Brindle, Reginald Smith. “The Search Outwards: The
Orient, Jazz, Archaisms.” The New Music: The AvantGarde since 1945. New York: Oxford UP, 1975. 13345.
Burnett, James. “Ellington’s Place as a Composer.”
Gammond 141-55.
Duke Ellington’s Washington. 2002. Estate of Mercer K.
Ellington. 3 June 2002
<http://www.dukeellington.com/>.
Things to remember when
making your Works Cited page




Center the words Works Cited-do not underline
them-on a new page of your paper
Double space
Alphabetize all of your citations, even if your
listing starts with a title
Start each new citation at the left margin; indent
5 spaces or a half inch for each subsequent line
of an entry
One more thing to remember…
Many students get frustrated when
doing a Works Cited page if they can’t
find a piece of information such as the
author or other publication
information (particularly with internet
sources).
In that case…
Simply skip it and go on to the next
piece of information.
The following slides will show
examples of Works Cited entries
based on the MLA Handbook for
Writers of Research Papers.
Inside the brackets are the
chapters for that listing.
Basic Book Entry Format:
Author’s Last Name, First Name. Title
of Book. City of Publication:
Publisher, Year.
MLA Chapter for listing
Book with one author: [5.6.1]
Example:
Faulkner, William. As I Lay Dying. New
York: Random, 1964.
Book with Two or more Authors:
[5.6.4]
Example:
Anderson, Jack, and Bill Pronzine. The
Cambodia File. New York: Doubleday,
1981.
Two or More works by the Same Author:
[5.6.3]
*NOTE:
The name of the author will only
appear in the first entry. In the rest of the entries
by that author, three hyphens will replace the
author’s name.
Example:
King, Stephen. Dolores Claiborne. New
York: Viking, 1993.
---. The Shining. New York: Doubleday,
1977.
A work in an anthology: [5.6.7]
Author of Story. "Title of Story." Title of
Book. Name of Editor. Edition (if given).
City of Publication: Publisher, Year. Page
numbers.
Example:
Poe, Edgar Allen. “The Black Cat.”
Literature: Approaches to Fiction, Poetry,
and Drama. Ed. Robert DiYanni. New
York: McGraw, 2004. 130-135.
Encyclopedia and Reference Book: [5.6.8]
Author of Article (if given). "Article Title." Title of
Book. City of Publication: Publisher, Year.
Example:
Springer, Marlene. “Edith Newbold Jones
Wharton.” American Women Writers From
Colonial Times to the Present. Ed. Lina
Mainiero. 5 vols. New York: Frederick Ungar,
1982.
•
•
•
Give full publication information for less familiar reference
books
List only the edition and year of publication for familiar
reference books
Add abbreviation Def. for definitions
Government Publication: [5.6.21] (If author is
not known)
Name of Government. Name of Agency. Title of
Publication. City of Publication: Publisher, Year.
Example:
Michigan State. Department of Consumer &
Industry. Unemployment Agency 1999 Annual
Report. Lansing: State of Michigan, 2000.
*NOTE: Consult the MLA Handbook for format on
citing Congressional Record and other congressional
documents.
Magazine Articles: [5.7.6]
Author. "Title of Article." Title of Magazine
Day Month Year: Page(s).
Example:
Saporito, Bill. “The e-Health Revolution.”
Time 27 June 2005: 55-57.
*NOTE: Do not give volume and issue
numbers for magazines.
Newspaper Articles: [5.7.5]
Author. "Title of Article." Name of Newspaper
[City] Day Month Year, edition: Page(s).
Example:
Royse, David. “Dennis a Menace but not an Ivan.”
Kalamazoo Gazette 11 July 2005: A3.


If name of city is in the title of the paper or the
paper is nationally published (e.g. Wall Street
Journal), city name is not needed
Volume and issue numbers are not listed
Television or Radio Program: [5.8.1]***
“Title of Episode or Segment”. Title of Program.
Title of Series (if any). Name of Network. Call
letters, City of Local Station. Day Month Year of
Broadcast.
Example:
“Hurricane Katrina”. Dateline NBC. NBC.
WOOD, Grand Rapids. 31 Aug. 2005.
Film Recording: [5.8.3]
Title. Director. Distributor, Year of Release.
Example:
Chocolat. Dir. Lasse Hallstrom. Perf. Juliette
Binoche and Johnny Depp. Miramax, 2000.
*NOTE: names of the writer, performers,
and producers can also be included
between title and distributor.
Personal Interview: [5.8.7]
Name of person interviewed. Kind of interview.
Day(s) Month Year.
Example:
Lewis, Matt. Personal interview. 15 Mar. 2003.
Television Interview:
Example:
Shortt, John. Interview with Anderson Cooper. 60
Minutes. CBS. WWMT, Kalamazoo. 12 Jan.
2005.
Internet Sources







Order of Operations for Citing
Electronic Sources
Author’s name
“Title of Document”
Title of Site
Date of publication or last update
Sponsor of site (if not named as author)
Date source accessed
<URL>
Document from a Web Site: [5.9.1]
Author. "Title of Document." Title of Print
Publication Date: Page(s). Title of the Site.
Editor. Date and/or Version Number. Name of
Sponsoring Institution. Date of Access <URL>.
Example:
Alcott, Louisa May. “A Day.” Hospital Sketches
and Camp Fireside Stories 1885: 25-39.
Electronic Text Center. Ed. Judy Boss. 1999.
Alderman Lib., U of Virginia. 25 July 2005
<http://etext.lib.virginia.edu/toc/modeng/
public/AlcAday.html >.
Entire Internet Site-Scholarly Project or
Professional Site: [5.9.2]
Title of the Site. Editor. Date and/or
Version Number. Name of Sponsoring
Institution. Date of Access <URL>.
Example:
Women Romantic-Era Writers. Ed. Adriana
Craciun. 2004. School of English and
Humanities, Birkbeck, U of London. 25 July
2005 <http://www.bbk.ac.uk/english/ac/
wrew.htm>.
Online Newspaper or Magazine Article:
[5.9.4]
Author. “Title.” Magazine or Newspaper Day
Month Year. Date of Access <URL>.
Example:
Kennedy, David M. “Crossing the Moral
Threshold.” Time 1 Aug. 2005. 26 July 2005
<http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/
0,9171,1086166,00.html >.
Library Subscription Service (ProQuest, etc.):
[5.9.7]
Magazine or Newspaper:
Author. "Title of Article." Title of Magazine Day
Month Year: Page(s). Name of Database.
Database Publisher. Library Name, Name of
City and/or State. Date of Access <URL of
service’s home page>.
Example:
Wallis, Claudia. “Crisis? I’ll Take Mine to Go.”
Time 16 May 2005: 63. ProQuest. Kalamazoo
Valley Community College Library, MI. 18 May
2005 <http://proquest.umi.com/pqdweb>.
Library Subscription Service (ProQuest, etc.):
[5.9.7]
Journal:
Author. "Title of Article." Title of Journal Volume
number (Year): Page(s). Name of Database. Database
Publisher. Library Name, Name of City and/or State.
Date of Access <URL of service’s homepage>.
Example:
Youakim, Sami. “Work-related Asthma.” American
Family Physician 64 (2001) 1839-52. Health Reference
Center. InfoTrac. Kalamazoo Valley Community
College Library, MI. 15 May 2005
<http://www.galegroup.com/>.
Where can I go online for more help?
Purdue University Online Writing Lab Using
MLA Format:
http://owl.english.purdue.edu/handouts/research
/r_mla.html
Bedford/St. Martin’s Guide to Online Citation:
http://www.bedfordstmartins.com/online/citex.ht
ml
Works Cited
Gibaldi, Joseph. MLA Handbook for Writers of
Research Papers. 6th ed. New York: Modern
Language Association Of America, 2003.
Lipson, Charles. Doing Honest Work in College.
Chicago: U of Chicago P, 2004.
While MLA citation can be hard
work, hopefully it all makes more
sense now.