How to Document Sources Using Traditional and MLA Methods

There's more than one way to cite sources. Find out whether your instructor wants footnotes (citations at the bottom of the page a reference is made on) or endnotes (citations in a list at the end of the paper), traditional format or MLA.

Difficulty:

Moderately Easy

Instructions

Things You'll Need

• Printers
• Typewriters
• Notebook Papers
• Computers
• Word Processors

MLA (Modern Language Association) or Parenthetical Citation Method

1. When you make a reference to a research source, write the name of the author and the page number the reference is taken from in parentheses, making a "parenthetical citation."

2. Include the citation at the end of the sentence before the period, if the reference occurs within a sentence.

3. Place the citation at the end of the quoted text after the last period, if you wish to cite more than four lines of text.

4. Write only the relevant page number in the parentheses, if the name of the author of the source you're citing appears in the text.

5. Write full citations for your sources on a separate page at the end of your paper. This page should be titled "Works Cited" or "Reference List." A full citation should include the author's name, the date of publication, the title of the work, the place of publication and the name of the publisher.

Traditional Methods: Footnotes and Endnotes

1. When you make a reference to a research source in your text, place a superscript numeral (a number placed a bit above the line you're typing on) at the end of the sentence the reference is made in.

2. Write a corresponding footnote or endnote with the same number for each superscript numeral that you make.

3. Place footnotes at the bottom of the page the reference is made on. Single-space the lines of the footnote. Double-space between footnotes if more than one occurs on a page.

4. Place endnotes on a separate page at the end of your paper. Double-space between endnotes.

5. Write a full citation the first time you refer to a source, listing all its bibliographic information in your footnote/endnote: author, title, publisher, place of publication, date of publication and the page numbers cited.

6. Abbreviate the footnote/endnote for subsequent references by writing only the author's name and citing the page number.

Tips & Warnings

• To save space on each page, put footnotes in a smaller font than the primary text.

• Make sure the numbers you enter in the superscript are in numeric order.

• Periodicals and books have different types of bibliographical information.