MLA 9 Citations

The MLA style guide is a citation system created by the Modern Language Association and used primarily in the humanities, and specifically in fields that study language and literature. The style guide provides standards for writers to document and cite sources while conducting research in these fields.

A Complete MLA Citation Entry

Every complete MLA entry consists of two parts:

• In-text citation: a parenthetical citation integrated into the sentence or paragraph when quoting, summarizing, and paraphrasing. Whether you are quoting, summarizing, or paraphrasing, a page number (when available) is required.
• A works cited entry: a complete bibliographic citation listed alphabetically at the end of the paper in the works cited list. Note: the works cited list should include only those sources you cite in your text.

In-Text Citations

Basic Parenthetical Citation

“Any poet who wished to engage with Britain’s political situation in the first two decades of the nineteenth century inevitably needed to engage with the subject of the Napoleonic Wars, within which Britain was embroiled for much of the period” (Knowles 307).

or

As Knowles underscores, “Any poet who wished to engage . . .” (207).

With no page numbers

“Any poet who wished to engage with Britain’s political situation in the first two decades of the nineteenth century inevitably needed to engage with the subject of the Napoleonic Wars, within which Britain was embroiled for much of the period” (Knowles).

With two authors

“It is not surprising, then, that institutional documents, such as certificates of insanity, admission records, and case histories often tell a different story than the one proffered by patients who were seeking justice, redemption, and/or catharsis” (Hanganu-Bresch and Berkenkotter 13).

With three or more authors

Include only the first author’s name followed by “et al.”

“Documents filtered through the criminal justice system and the press also pose challenges in analysing Black women’s experiences and stories” (Ware et al. 638).

With no named author (use the work’s title or description)

“Any poet who wished to engage with Britain’s political situation . . . inevitably needed to engage with the subject of the Napoleonic Wars” ("Female Romantic Poetry”).

Block Quotes

Quotations that run for more than four lines still include author name and page but are formatted in a block quote. A block quote:

• Has no quotation marks around it.
• Is typically introduced by a colon.
• Includes concluding punctuation before the parenthetical citation.
• Is indented ½ inch from the left margin.

As Knowles describes Felicia Hemans’ marriage:

in 1812, the young poet Felicia Dorothea Browne fell in love with and married a Captain Hemans who had returned to England in 1811, ‘weakened and scarred from war.’ The marriage was effectively over by 1818, when Captain Hemans left his growing family to return to Italy, never to return: although we can never know for sure, it is quite possible that his experiences in the war, and their ongoing impact on his health, played a role in this decision. (307)

Reference List

For more information, you can consult the Online Writing Lab at Purdue and the MLA website. 

Writing Services, Wilfrid Laurier University, CC By-NC 2023