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MLA Citation Quick Guide

This document provides a quick guide to citing sources according to the 9th edition of the MLA Handbook. It discusses the two components of an MLA citation: 1) in-text citations that provide the author's name and page number in parentheses, and 2) the Works Cited list that provides full references for every source cited, alphabetized by author's last name. The guide also provides examples of MLA citations for different source types, such as how to modify citations when author, title, or date information is missing from the source.

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Redemptah Mutheu Mutua
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221 views4 pages

MLA Citation Quick Guide

This document provides a quick guide to citing sources according to the 9th edition of the MLA Handbook. It discusses the two components of an MLA citation: 1) in-text citations that provide the author's name and page number in parentheses, and 2) the Works Cited list that provides full references for every source cited, alphabetized by author's last name. The guide also provides examples of MLA citations for different source types, such as how to modify citations when author, title, or date information is missing from the source.

Uploaded by

Redemptah Mutheu Mutua
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
Available Formats
Download as DOCX, PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
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MLA citation quick guide

MLA is one of the most common citation styles used by students and academics. This
quick guide explains how to cite sources according to the 9th edition (the most recent)
of the MLA Handbook.

An MLA citation has two components:

1. In-text citation: Every time you quote or paraphrase a source, you cite the


author and the page number in parentheses.
2. Works Cited: At the end of your paper, you give a full reference for every source
you cited, alphabetized by the author’s last name.
 

MLA Works Cited list


The list of Works Cited (also known as the bibliography or reference page) gives full
details of every source you cited in your text. Each entry is built from nine core
elements:

Author. “Title of the Source.” Title of the Container, Other


contributors, Version, Number, Publisher, Publication date, Location.
Following this format, you can create a citation for any type of source—for example,
a book, journal article, website, or movie. You only include information that’s relevant to
the type of source you’re citing.

MLA citation examples


Using the interactive tool, you can see what an MLA citation looks like for different
source types.

Missing information in MLA citations


Regardless of the source type, the most important elements of any MLA citation are
the author, the source title, and the publication date. If any of these are missing from the
source, the Works Cited entry will look slightly different.

What’s missing? What to do Works Cited example

No author Start with the source title instead. “Australia fires: ‘Catastrophic’ alerts in South
Alphabetize by the first word Australia and Victoria.” BBC News, 20 Nov. 2019,
(ignoring articles). www.bbc.com/news/world-australia-50483410.

No title Give a brief description of the source. Mackintosh, Charles Rennie. Chair of stained
Use sentence case and no italics or oak. 1897–1900, Victoria and Albert Museum,
quotation marks. London.

No date Leave out the publication date. Add “Who are Scribbr Editors?” Scribbr,
the date you accessed the source at www.scribbr.com/about-us/editors/. Accessed 10
the end of the citation. June 2019.

Learn more about MLA Works Cited

MLA in-text citations


MLA in-text citations are brief references that direct your reader to the full source entry.
You include them every time you quote, block quote, paraphrase or summarize a
source.

The in-text citation must match the first word of the Works Cited entry—usually
the author’s last name. It also includes a page number or range to help the reader
locate the relevant passage.

Author What to do Citation example

1 author Give the author’s last name. (Wallace 11–12)


Author What to do Citation example

2 authors Give both author’s last names. (Wallace and Armstrong 11–12)

3+ authors Name the first author followed by “et al.” (Wallace et al. 11–12)

Corporate author If a source was created by an organization other (U.S. Global Change Research
than the publisher, use the organization name as Program 22)
author.

No author If the author is the same as the publisher, or if no (“Australia Fires”)


author is credited, use the source title instead.
Format the title the same as in the full Works
Cited reference, and shorten if it is more than four
words.

Multiple sources by the Include the title (or a shortened version) after the (Morrison, Beloved, 73)
same author author’s name in each source citation. (Morrison, Sula, 45)

If you already named the author in your sentence, include only the page number in
parentheses:

 Smith and Morrison claim that “MLA is the second most popular citation
style” (17) in the humanities.
 According to Reynolds, social and demographic circumstances still have a
major effect on job prospects (17–19).

Sources with no page numbers


If the source has no page numbers, you either use an alternative locator, or leave the
page number out of the citation:

Source type What to do Citation example

Audiovisual source (e.g. Give the time range of the relevant (Arnold 03:15–03:21).
a movie or YouTube video) section.
Source type What to do Citation example

Source with numbered sections (e.g. Give a paragraph, section, or chapter (Smith, par. 38)
an online book) number. (Rowling, ch. 6)

Source with no numbered sections (e.g. Leave out the page number. (Barker)
a web page)

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