MLA Citing Guidelines

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By Kaz Silvestri
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MLA Citing Guidelines

Modern Language Association (MLA) citing is a form of documentation used in the Liberal Arts and Humanities areas. It involves creating a parenthetical note within a scholarly paper and creating a Works Cited page. A parenthetical notation is added directly in the document after you cite a source. The Works Cited page includes a list of all sources cited in the paper. Below are some of the most often used citations; consult an MLA guide for more specific citing guidelines.

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Parenthetical Notation

A parenthetical notation in MLA format is created by placing the author's last name and the page number of the source in parentheses directly after you quote the source. It looks like this: (Shakespeare 15).

Quoting One Author

To cite a source with only one author place the author's last name and page number within parentheses.

Quoting a Group of Authors

Place the last name of all authors in the same order as they are listed in the Works Cited page. If there are more than four authors you can use the phrase 'et al' after the name of the first author. (Jones, et al 67).

Quoting a Group or Corporation

You can use abbreviations to cite a group or a corporation in parenthetical notation. (NASA)

Quoting When There Is No Author

If no author is listed, place the title in quotation marks and shorten the title as much as possible. Always use the first word of the title in the citation.

Works Cited Page

An essay using MLA format should include a Works Cited page. The Works Cited page includes a list of all sources cited within the essay, and includes: Author's name, title of the work, location of publisher, name of publisher, and year of publication. The entry looks like this: Hamilton, Karen. Guide to MLA Documentation. New York: Hamilton Publications, 2009. (The title should be underlined.)