Why Do I Have to Cite My Sources?:
MLA Formatting & Parenthetical Citing in a Nutshell
What does MLA mean?
It is an acronym for the Modern Language Association.
Why do I have to cite my sources?
Because if you don’t it can be considered stealing. Someone else has
written and researched the information you are using for your own purposes,
therefore not giving them credit for their work would be wrong and
illegal.
How should my Reference page look?
• You can title your reference page as “References,” “Bibliography”
or “Works Cited.”
• Your sources should be in alphabetical order according to author’s
last name, or if there isn’t an author, by the book’s title or article title
as seen in an encyclopedia.
• If one of your citations should go past the first line, you must
indent the second line and the lines that follow for that one citation.
• Leave two spaces between each citation.
How to cite a book:
Example~
Dixon, Jane. Fish with Wings. Ringwood: Penguin Books, 1996.
Notice the format and the punctuation from the example above:
1. Author’s last name COMMA first name PERIOD
2. Title of book PERIOD
3. Place of publication COLON
4. Publisher COMMA
5. Year of publication PERIOD
How to cite an encyclopedia:
Example:
Stanley, Roger. “Book of Fish.” Encyclopedia of Art. ed. Jane Turner.
Vol. 17. New York: Grove,1996. 8-89.
Notice the format and the punctuation from the example above:
1. Author’s Last name COMMA First name PERIOD (you may find the name at
the end of the article in the encyclopedia, but if there isn’t one, just
begin with the title of the article)
2. “Title of the Article PERIOD”
3. Encyclopedia Title PERIOD
4. ed PERIOD (this means editor of the encyclopedia)
5. Volume number PERIOD
6. Place of publication COLON
7. Publisher COMMA
8. Year of publication PERIOD
9. Page numbers article was located PERIOD
How to cite from the Internet:
Example with author:
Landsburg, Steven. “Barbados Flying Fish.” Slate. 2 May 1999. EPA.
6 June 2001 < http://www.slate.com >.
Example without an author:
“Fish are Everywhere.” Britannica Online. 15 Nov. 2000.
Encyclopedia Britannica. 29 Mar. 2001 < http://www.eb.com >.
Notice the format and the punctuation from the example above:
1. Author’s Last name COMMA First name PERIOD
2. “Title of Article PERIOD”
3. Title of book or journal or encyclopedia (if it is named)
4. Date of electronic publication or latest update PERIOD
5. Name of sponsoring organization PERIOD (if it is named)
6. Date when you got this information from the internet
7. url < IN ANGLE BRACKETS > PERIOD
Remember~
• You can title your reference page as “References,” “Bibliography”
or “Works Cited.”
• Your sources should be in alphabetical order according to author’s last
name, or if there isn’t an author, by the book’s title or article title as
seen in an encyclopedia.
• If one of your citations should go past the first line, you must indent
the second line and the lines that follow for that one citation.
• Leave two spaces between each citation.
Sample Works Cited Page:
Works Cited
Dixon, Jane. Fish with Wings. Ringwood: Penguin Books, 1996.
“Fish are Everywhere.” Britannica Online. 15 Nov. 2000.
Encyclopedia Britannica. 29 Mar. 2001 < http://www.eb.com >.
Landsburg, Steven. “Barbados Flying Fish.” Slate. 2 May 1999. EPA.
6 June 2001 < http://www.slate.com >.
Stanley, Roger. “Book of Fish.” Encyclopedia of Art. ed.
Jane Turner. Vol. 17. New York: Grove, 1996. 8-89.
Parenthetical Citations/Citing in the Text
Citing in the text without a direct quote
• When you use information from a resource, you will need to insert the
author’s last name and the page number of the text where you got your
information.
• If the author’s last name appears in the sentence with your information
then only the page number needs to be included.
• Notice that the punctuation appears after the parenthetical citing.
Examples of parenthetically citing in the text without a direct quote:
- This point has already been argued (Tannen 178-185).
- Tannen has argues this point (178-185).
Citing direct quotations
- Tannen explained that “Pasteur sprang from humble roots” (22).
