MLA Sample Citations

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Citation Primer
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Menu

• Citing Examples
• Cite organization as an author
• Author/ page
• Author/ no page
• More than one author
• Two works in same sentence
• Multiple works by same author
• Authors with Same Last Names
• Book with an editor as an author
• No author/ Web or Database Journal
• Long quotation
• Quote with words omitted
• Quote with word added
• Indirect Quote article that is quoting another
  author
• Citing Common Literature
• Citing the Bible
• Multi-Volume Work
• Tweet
• eReader (Kindle, Nook, etc.)

• Introduction
• When not to cite
• Direct quote reminder
• Paraphrasing explained
• Prefacing
• Basic parenthetical samples

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When a Citation Is Not Needed
Common sense and ethics should determine your
need for documenting sources. You do not need to
give sources for familiar proverbs, well-known
quotations or common knowledge. Remember, this is
a rhetorical choice, based on audience. If you're
writing for an expert audience of a scholarly
journal, for example, they'll have different
expectations of what constitutes common knowledge.
4
When Using a Direct Quotation

• You use the exact wording of the author from the
  source therefore, you MUST use quotation marks.
  Quotations can be short (4 lines or less) and
  long (more than 4 lines).

5
WhenParaphrasing

• You may put a statement into your own words, but
  you still need to the cite the author or work
  because this idea or fact has been borrowed.
• The authors name may appear either in the
  sentence itself OR in parenthesis following the
  quotation or paraphrase, but the page number (s)
  should always appear in parenthesis, not in the
  text of your sentence. When using facts that are
  word for word, be sure to preface the quoted
  fact.

6
Always Preface

• Introduce the quotation or paraphrase. A sentence
  should NEVER start with a quotation you must
  always write something first to make the quote
  flow with the rest of your text.

7
Some Basic Parenthetical Sample
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Work with Organization as an Author

• MLA format follows the author- page method of
  citation. The authors last name and the page
  number (s) from which the quotation or
  information is taken must appear in the text.
• A complete reference should appear in your Works
  Cited page.
• Special Note
• For an organization, the first mention must be
  the entire name followed by the parenthetical
  acronym if you wish to continue using just the
  acronym throughout the rest of the paper
• for example
• The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) issued a
  statement regarding
• the validity of supplements. The FDA also gave
  further evidence that

9
Sample Author The Associated PressPage
12Quote Students have refused to give up their
cell phones, saying the devices have become too
vital to their daily existence and to their
parents peace of mind.

• There are 3 different ways to accomplish citing
  this
• Internal citation of author and preface the
  quote, use part of the quote word for word.
  Include the page number in external parenthetical
  citation.
•  
• The Associated Press (AP) stated that there is
  reluctance by
• students to relinquish their cell phones because
  the devices
• have become too vital to their daily existence
  (12).
•  

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• OR
• Preface the quote, use part of the quote word for
  word, external parenthetical citation for author
  and page number.
• Students will not hand over cell phones because
  they are too vital to
• their daily existence (The Associated Press
  12).
•  
• OR
• Internal Citation of author, paraphrase of the
  entire quote, parenthetical citation for page
  number.
•  
• The Associated Press (AP) explains that because
  students believe their
• cell phones are crucial to their everyday
  activities, they have
• adamantly declined handing them over to school
  authorities (12).

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Author/ Page
Fig. 7. Parenthetical text citations.

• To indicate short quotations (4 or less typed
  lines) in your text, enclose the quotation within
  quotation marks and incorporate it into your text
  by prefacing or introducing the quote. Then,
  provide the author and specific page citation in
  the text.
• Punctuation marks such as periods, commas, and
  semicolons should appear AFTER the parenthetical
  citation. Question marks and Exclamation points
  should appear within the quotation marks if they
  are part of the quoted passage.

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SampleAuthor James SterlingPage 32Quote
Children are at much higher risk than adults of
experiencing health problems related to regular
exposure to radio frequency radiation thinner
and smaller skulls translate to greater
absorption of radio frequency.

• 2 ways this can be done
•  
• Preface the quote, and use part of the statement
  as a quote, cite the author parenthetically.
•  
• According to some current health warnings,
  Children are at much higher risk than adults of
• experiencing health problems related to regular
  exposure to radio frequency radiation thinner
  and
• smaller skulls translate to greater absorption of
  radio frequency. (Sterling 32).
•  
• OR
•  
• Internally cite the author, preface the quote,
  and use part of the statement as a quote.
•  
• According to James Sterlings study, the dangers
  are not always equal as Children are at much
  higher
• risk than adults of experiencing health problems
  related to regular exposure to radio frequency
• radiation thinner and smaller skulls translate
  to greater absorption of radio frequency (32).
• Special note
• -The first time an authors name is used
  internally, use the whole name. For instance
  James Sterling believes
• -After that you may refer to the last name for
  further internal referencing. For instance,
  Sterling also promotes

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Work with Author but No Page

• To indicate short quotations (4 or less typed
  lines) in your text, enclose the quotation within
  quotation marks and incorporate it into your text
  by prefacing or introducing the quote. Then,
  provide the author and specific page citation in
  the text. When there is no page number, it is
  omitted.
• Punctuation marks such as periods, commas, and
  semicolons should appear AFTER the parenthetical
  citation. Question marks and Exclamation points
  should appear within the quotation marks if they
  are part of the quoted passage.

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SampleAuthor Adam FoulkesPage NoneQuote
The study of dreams has been widely used to prove
profound aspects of personality are evident in
seemingly unrelated events recounted in the
dreams.

• 2 ways this can be done
•  
• Preface the quote, and use part of the statement
  as a quote, cite the author parenthetically.
•  
• According to some, dreams express profound
  aspects of personality (Foulkes).
•  
• OR
•  
• Internally cite the author, preface the quote,
  and use part of the statement as a quote.
•  
• According to Adam Foulkes study, dreams may
  express profound aspects of personality...

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More than One Author

• 2 Authors
• (Bradley and Rogers 7)
• 3 Authors
• (Sumner, Reichl, and Waugh 23).
• 4 or More Authors
• Jones et al. counter Smith, Yang, and Moore's
  argument by noting that the current
• spike in gun violence in America compels law
  makers to adjust gun laws (4).
• or
• Legal experts counter Smith, Yang, and Moore's
  argument by noting that the current
• spike in gun violence in America compels law
  makers to adjust gun laws (Jones et al.
• 4).

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Two Works Cited in Same Sentence

• When paraphrasing and combining ideas from 2
  works they need to be separated parenthetically
  by a semicolon
• (Burns 54 Thomas 327)
• If the two ideas are kept separate in the writing
  for emphasis or contrast, cite parenthetically
  after each
• Yet what seems to be at the heart of peoples
  disaffection is the fact
• that repressive, often western-backed regimes
  led by strongmen or
• ruling cliques have maintained ossified systems
  in the Arab world for
• decades (Burns 54) and those heading the
  regimes and their cronies
• have led comfortable lives, while the vast
  majority of Arab citizens
• have been denied their political or economic
  rights (Thomas 327).

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Citing Multiple Works by the Same Author

• For a single citation in a sentence where the
  author is mentioned again in another article in a
  different part of the paper.
• Also, watch for the special note regarding how to
  include the same author for multiple works in
  your Works cited page!

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• Sample Articles
• Author James Stockwell
• Article 1 Title Towards Justice on the Road
• Page B1
• Quote The trial that ensued charged that Jason
  Jones was busy talking
• on a cell phone and charged him with two counts
  of vehicular
• manslaughter and did not pursue higher charges in
  the deaths of John and
• Carole Hall.
•  
• Author James Stockwell
• Article 2 Title Man and Negligence Should not
  be an Excuse
• Page B4
• Quote Jason Jones learned this lesson in law and
  was convicted of negligent driving and fined
  500, the maximum penalty allowed.

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• When using more than one work by the same author
  in your paper, the author's name must be followed
  by a comma, accompanied by a word from the title
  of the source you are referring to in quotes, and
  the page number (if provided).
•  
• On December 6, 2000, it was reported that
  distracted
• driver Jason Jones had been charged with "two
  counts of
• vehicular manslaughter . . . in the deaths of
  John and
• Carole Hall" (Stockwell, "Towards" B1). 

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• When using both articles in the same sentence,
  follow this example
• On December 6, 2000, it was reported that
• distracted driver Jason Jones had been charged
• with "two counts of vehicular manslaughter . . .
  In
• the deaths of John and Carole Hall" (Stockwell,
  "Towards
• B1) and the next day reported the judge's ruling
  Jones
• "was convicted of negligent driving and fined
  500, the
• maximum penalty allowed" (Stockwell, "Man" B4).

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• Special Note
• On the Works Cited page the first Alphabetical
  article appears as a full entry and the Authors
  name is replaced by 3 hyphens for the second
  entry as in the following example
•  
• Stockwell, James. " Man and Negligence Should not
  be an Excuse." When Morality Meets Legality. Ed.
  Mike Rose. New York Guilford, 1986. B4.
• ---. "Towards Justice on the Road." Legal Justice
  46.1 (1995) B1.

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Authors with Same Last Names

• Sometimes more information is necessary to
  identify the source from which a quotation is
  taken. For instance, if two or more authors have
  the same last name, provide both authors' first
  initials (or even the authors' full name if
  different authors share initials) in your
  citation. For example
• Some medical ethicists claim that cloning will
  lead to
• designer children (R. Miller 12). Other experts
  note that
• the advantages for medical research outweigh this
• consideration (A. Miller 46).

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Book with an Editor as an Author

• Works Cited Entry
• Galley, Krista E. M., ed. Global Climate Change
  and Wildlife in North America. Bethesda Wildlife
  Society, 2004. Print.
• In-text citation
• (Galley 125)

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Web or Database Journal With No Author

• If the work you are citing has no author, use the
  editor(s). If neither are listed use the works
  title (or web page title) in quotation marks if
  it is an article title or italicized if a book
  title. If the title is long, an abbreviated
  version of the title (first 1-2 words of the
  title) may be used.

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Sample (if there is an editor)Article Title
Wordsworth in ReviewPage 98Editors Steven
Miller and Sara Cuyer Quote Wordsworths
stubbornness resides as much with readers who
dont want to change their minds as with the poet
who so successfully hid his early development
from posterity.

• Some believe Wordsworth remains stubbornly
  hidden, but others
• disagree, ruefully recognizing that Wordsworths
  stubbornness
• resides as much with readers who dont want to
  change their minds as with
• the poet who so successfully hid his early
  development from posterity
• (Miller and Cuyer 98).
• Note In the works cited page the entry for the
  editor instead of the author must denote their
  title, followed by the article title etc.---
• Miller, Steven, and Sara Cuyer, eds. Wordsworth
  in Review

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Sample (if there is no editor)Article Title
Wordsworth is a Loser Based on Current
StandardsPage 100Quote Wordsworth does not
compare well to the pragmatism of the modern
world as his poems are too emotional.

• An anonymous Wordsworth critic once argued that
  his poems are too
• emotional (Wordsworth is a Loser 100).
•  
• Note
• Internal citation can also be used when there is
  no author or page .
• This would be an example of internal citation
  when there is no page
•  
• In an article titled Wordsworth is a Loser, an
  anonymous critic argued
• that his poems are too emotional (100).

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Long Quotations

• After developing your own preface, place
  quotations longer than 4 typed lines in a
  free-standing block and omit quotation marks.
  Start the quotation on a new line, indented one
  inch from the left margin, and maintain double
  spacing. The right margin remains the same as the
  normal paper. Your parenthetical citation should
  come AFTER the closing punctuation mark. The
  Author, or article title if no author is given,
  can be cited internally in the preface or
  parenthetically at the end of the quote.

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• Sample
• because feminism is structured around
  emphasizing the differences
• between men and women, this school of feminist
  theory
• has not been able to account for differences
  among women. In her article
• entitled Feminism and Subordination, Nancy
  Fraser is clear on this point
• In repressing the differences among
  women, the mainstream
• movement had also repressed axes of
  subordination other than
• gender. It therefore repressed what
  Deborah King has called
• multiple jeopardy, the multiple forms
  of subordination faced by
• lesbians, women of color, and/or poor
  and working class women.
• Consequently, the mainstream movement
  failed to grasp the multiple
• affiliations of such women, their
  loyalty to more than one social
• movement. (179)

Note the block indent return to your normal
paragraph after the quote with the standard 1
margin
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Omitting Words in a Quotation

Ellipsis punctuation marks that indicate a
segment of a quote has been omitted. Should only
be done if the segment used still makes sense
based on the context within which it is being
used. The word processing rule is to put a space
before and after the ellipsis. Do not put spaces
between them as the software is already set to
recognize the spacing.
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• Example of omitting beginning segment
• You do not have to use the ellipses when you omit
  information at the BEGINNING of
• the quotation. In this case, the first letter of
  where you pick up the quotation must be
• lower case.
• Regardless of whether talking about
  professional, college, or even high school today,
  sports have lost credibility as a result of the
  league officials negligence to enforce
  standards.
• Those in favor of drug testing professional
  athletes argue that sports have lost credibility
  as a result of the league officials negligence
  to enforce standards.
• (Here, the s is lowercase because the original
  quoted sentence did not begin at sports.)

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• Example of omitting middle segment
• They prepare students for the real world since
  the a significant percentage of corporate attire
  is readily visible in mainstream America even
  McDonalds has employees wear uniforms.
• They prepare students for the real world ...
  even McDonalds has employees wear uniforms.
• Example of omitting end segment
• Before making the uniform decision, he suggests
  that schools carefully consider their unique
  populations what kind of message they want to
  send and whether or not they think their kids
  will go for it.
• Before making the uniform decision, he suggests
  that schools carefully consider their unique
  populations

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Adding Words in Quotations

• Sample
•  Author Jan Harold Brunvard
• Page 78
• Quote It is valuable for our understanding when
  some individuals make a point of learning every
  recent rumor or tale because missing links and
  information gaps become quite evident. The
  transference of information is expedited in this
  way and in a short time a lively exchange of
  details occurs.
• If you add a word or words in a quotation, you
  should put brackets around the words to indicate
  that they are not part of the original text.
•  
• A wide understanding of geographic culture is
  valuable as Jan Harold Brunvard, in an essay on
  urban
• legends, states that some individuals who
  retell urban legends make a point of learning
  every rumor
• or tale (78).
•  

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Cite a Quote Within a Quote-Also Known as
Indirect Quote

• Sometimes you will want to use a direct quote
  from a writer who is actually using someone
  else's direct quote.
• For example if you are reading by book by William
  Brey and he refers to a sample done by Larry
  Jones that revealed "ten percent of the air we
  breathe is polluted," you would cite each author
  in your paper and use a single parenthesis mark
  to note what is quoted within the quote.

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SampleAuthor William BreyPage 55Quote As a
result of the harmful gases emitted in the
environment, Larry Jones confirmed that, Ten
percent of the air we breathe is polluted.

• William Brey confirms that As a result of the
• harmful gases emitted in the environment, Larry
• Jones found, Ten percent of the air we breathe
• is polluted (55).
• Denying that man has emitted toxic compunds to
• the environment would be folly as Larry Jones
• found, Ten percent of the air we breathe is
  polluted
• (qtd. in Brey 55).

or
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Citing Common Literature

• Page numbers are always required, but additional
  citation information can help literary scholars,
  who may have a different edition of a classic
  work like Marx and Engels's The Communist
  Manifesto. In such cases, give the page number of
  your edition (making sure the edition is listed
  in your Works Cited page, of course) followed by
  a semicolon, and then the appropriate
  abbreviations for volume (vol.), book (bk.), part
  (pt.), chapter (ch.), section (sec.), or
  paragraph (par.). For example
• Sample 1
• Marx and Engels described human history as marked
  by class
• struggles (79 ch. 1).
• Sample 2
• One of the most memorable scenes in Don Quixote
  is when the man of
• la Mancha charges and tilts at the windmills
  (Cervantes 4 bk. 5, ch.
• 16).

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Citing the Bible

• Parenthetical References
• In parenthetical references, the titles of the
  books of the Bible are often abbreviated.  Click
  here to see the list of common abbreviations for
  books of the Bible found in the MLA Handbook.
• Example  (2 Cor. 5.17)                       
• A period separates chapter and verse. 
• The first time you refer to a particular version
  of the Bible, include the name of the version,
  followed by a comma.  Example  (New
  International Version, Gen. 3.15) 
• You do not need to identify the version in
  subsequent references unless you switch to a
  different version.

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Online Source with Numbered Paragraphs

• Use the Authors name or article/ web page title,
  followed by a comma, the abbreviation for
  paragraphs and the number of the paragraphs
• (Fox, pars. 4-5)

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Multi-Volume Work

• References to volumes and pages
• (Wilson 2 1-18)
• References to an entire volume
• (Henderson, vol. 3)

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Tweet

• Begin the entry in the works-cited list with the
  authors real name and, in parentheses, user
  name, if both are known and they differ. If only
  the user name is known, give it alone.
• Next provide the entire text of the tweet in
  quotation marks, without changing the
  capitalization. Conclude the entry with the date
  and time of the message and the medium of
  publication (Tweet). For example
• Athar, Sohaib (ReallyVirtual). Helicopter
  hovering above
• Abbottabad at 1AM (is a rare event). 1 May
  2011, 358
• p.m. Tweet.

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eReader

• A book which has been downloaded to an e-reader
  could be cited as a digital file (PDFs, MP3s,
  JPEGs). For instance, a book on a Kindle can be
  identified as a "Kindle file".  If you are citing
  a direct quote and need a page number, try
  the  chapter and paragraph number where the
  quoted lines appear, to ensure that others can
  find it (location numbers within readers can
  vary, so are not always reliable).   
• Determine the type of work to cite (e.g.,
  article, image, sound recording) and cite
  appropriately. End the entry with the name of the
  digital format (e.g., PDF, JPEG file, Microsoft
  Word file, MP3). If the work does not follow
  traditional parameters for citation, give the
  authors name, the name of the work, the date of
  creation, and the medium of publication.
  Use Digital file when the medium cannot be
  determined. For Example
• Beethoven, Ludwig van. Moonlight Sonata.
  Crownstar, 2006. MP3.
• Smith, George. Pax Americana Strife in a Time
  of Peace. 2005.Microsoft Word file.
• Bentley, Phyllis. Yorkshire and the
  Novelist. The Kenyon Review 30.4 (1968)
• 509-22. JSTOR. PDF file.

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Blog

• Only provide the author if the creator of the
  blogs first and last name is available. Do not
  use the user name given. Otherwise, treat the
  citation as if there is not an author.
•  
• Author. Title of Blog Post. Title of Blog.
  Blog Site Name, Date blog was posted. Web. Date
  blog was accessed.
•  
• Supak, Sharon. Pesticides Linked to Frog
  Mutations.
• Organic Gardening News and Advice.
  Blogspot, 2
• March 2006. Web. 13 March 2008.

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YouTube or Other Video Clips

• Only provide the author if you are certain that
  the person created the video. Otherwise, treat
  the citation as if there if not an author.
• Author. Title of Video. Online posting.
  Title of Website, Date video was posted. Web.
  Date video accessed.
• Takayma-Ogawa, J. What is information
  literacy? Online
• posting. YouTube, 14 March 2007. Web. 30
  April 2010.
• Slingshot fun. Online posting. YouTube, 29
  January 2007.
• Web. 30 April 2010.