In-Text Citations & Works Cited:  MLA 8^th Edition

 

*In-Text Citations

 

-In-text citations (also known as parenthetical citations) are included in the body of the paper to give credit to people’s thoughts that we use.    All in-text citations referenced in the body of the paper must be included in the works cited page.

 

-You need to give credit for:

·      Direct quotes

·      Paraphrasing

·      Summarizing

 

-General formatting guidelines:

·      The in-text citation goes in parentheses.

·      Place after the end quotation mark but before the end punctuation.

 

-Specific formatting guidelines:

·  Print sources

·      For full length texts (i.e. novel, textbook) include the author’s last name and the page number(s) where the information is located.   Do not include a        comma between the author’s last name and the page.   Do not write “page” or “p”, rather just write the number for the page.

·      For short texts (i.e. short story), include the author’s last name and the line numbers instead of page numbers.    Although you don’t write the word          “page” for full-length text, you will need to write “lines” for short texts.

·     If the author is unknown, use the title of the text instead.   If it’s a short text, use quotes around the title.   If it’s a full-length text, italicize the title.

·     If there are two authors, list both in the order in which they appear.

·     If there are three or more authors, list the first author’s name followed by “et al.”

·  Non-print sources or sources from the internet

·      Follow the guidelines for print sources with the following exceptions:

·   You do not need to include page numbers for electronic sources (i.e. web site).  

·   If neither the author’s name nor an article title is available, provide the short version of the URL.   This should be included in italics (i.e.                   CNN.com). 

·   For movies & podcasts, include the time range instead of page numbers.  

·  For more detailed guidelines and examples, click here.

 

*Works Cited Page

 

-A works cited page includes full reference details for sources cited in the body of your paper.   

 

-General formatting guidelines:

·   Put entries in alphabetical order.

·   Double-space all entries.

·   Only include entries actually cited in your paper.

·   If you’re missing part of the formatting guidelines (i.e. author’s name), simply skip that part.

·   Put the first line at the margin on the left.  If you need to go to a second line for an individual source, indent the second line.

 

-Specific formatting guidelines:

·   Use the following formatting order for works cited.   Pay attention to the punctuation that follows each component.   

·   Author.

·   Title of source.

·   Title of container,

·   Other contributors,

·   Version,

·   Number,

·   Publisher,

·   Publication date,

·   Location.

 

*   Details/explanation for each of the above components:

·   Author:   Last name followed by a comma and then the rest of the name.   End with a period.

·   Title of source:  

·   For full-length texts, the source will be simply the title of the book.   Put the title in italics.

·   For short texts, web sites articles, videos, etc., use the title.  It should be in quotes.  

    ·   Container:   The container simply tells the reader where the source is located.   For example, if your source was a short story from the anthology               used in class, the anthology itself would be the container.   If you watched a video on YouTube, YouTube would be the container.

    ·   Other contributors:  If other contributors are included (i.e. translator, editor), include them in the works cited.  If not, simply skip this section.

    ·   Version:   Some reference sources (i.e. encyclopedias) will have multiple editions.  If that’s the case, include it in the works cited page.

    ·   Number:   Some reference sources (i.e. journals) might have various volumes.   If that’s the case, include it in the works cited page.

    ·   Publisher:  You will need to include the publisher for many reference sources.     

·    Exceptions include (no need to include the publisher for the following):

·   Web site whose title is the same as its publisher

·   Web sites that make work available but don’t publish them (i.e. YouTube).

    ·   Publication date: When a source has multiple publication dates (i.e. shown on TV on one date, but on Netflix on another), simply use the date that’s         most relevant.  

    ·   Location: 

·   For short texts (print), include line numbers.

·   For full-length text (print), include page numbers.

·   For online sources, use the full URL.

For a sample works cited page, click here.