MLA Format

1. MLA Format Take Three: Internal (In-text) Citations

2. Citation Using a Signal Phrase You can often use the author or authors’ names in your sentence, in which case, you do not include them in your citation: In his discussion of Monty Python routines, Crystal notes that the group relished “breaking the normal rules” of language (107). Gortner, Hebrun, Lindsay, and Nicolson maintain that “opinion leaders” influence other people in an organization because they are respected, not because they hold high positions (175).

3. Author(s) Named in Parenthetical Citation When you do not include the author’s or authors’ names in a signal phrase, you must include it/them in the citation: A noted linguist explains that Monty Python humor often relied on “bizarre linguistic interactions” (Crystal 108). Social scientists suggest that “opinion leaders” influence other people in an organization because they are respected, not because they hold high positions (Gortner, et al 175).

4. Multiple Authors Use up to three authors’ last names in a signal phrase or in parentheses: Experts agree that milk is good for you (Smith and Wessen 108). According to recent research, elephants are large (Shelby, Merriman, and Hoyle 210). Joyce, Henner, and Philpot argue that exercise raises endorphin levels (23). You can either name everybody OR use the abbreviation “et al” (in the signal phrase or parentheses) when you have four or more authors: Setting goals seems to be an important trait of successful people (Linderman, et al 435). **Just be sure to follow the same form (naming or et al) in the corresponding works cited entry!!

5. Organization as Author Give the organization name or a shortened form of it in either a signal phrase or the parenthetical citation: Any study of social welfare involves a close analysis of the impacts, benefits, and costs of its policies (Social Research Corporation iii). The Social Research Corporation suggests that any study of social welfare involves a close analysis of the impacts, benefits, and costs of its policies (iii).

6. Unknown Author Use the full title of the work, or a shortened version of it, in a signal phrase or the parenthetical citation: “Hype,” by one analysis, is “an artificially engendered atmosphere of hysteria” (“Today’s Marketplace” 51). In the article “Today’s Marketplace,” the concept of “hype” is defined as “an artificially engendered atmosphere of hysteria” (51).

7. Electronic or Non-print Sources Many electronic and non-print sources do not include page numbers, but some do (articles from electronic databases, for example, often include page numbers). If you are citing an electronic source that includes page numbers, use them in your internal citation: According to Whitmarsh, the British military had experimented with balloons for observation as far back as 1879 (328). If the source contains numbered sections, paragraphs, or screens, provide those (with the appropriate abbreviation – sec., par., scr.): Sherman notes that the “immediate, interactive, and on-the-spot” nature of Internet information can make nondigital media seem outdated (sec. 32). If not, skip it: As a Slate editorial has noted, famous sports psychologists tend to receive lavish praise for successes, but no criticism for their shortcomings (Engber).

8. Author of Two or More Works Cited in Same Essay If your list of works cited has more than one work by the same author, give the title of the work you are citing—or a shortened form of it—in a signal phrase or in the parenthetical reference: Gardner shows readers their own silliness in his description of Grendel as a “pointless, ridiculous” monster (Grendel2). Readers see their own silliness in the description of Grendel as a “pointless, ridiculous” monster (Gardner, Grendel2).

9. Two or More Authors (Different People) With the Same Last Name Include the author’s first AND last names in a signal phrase, or the first initial and last name in the parenthetical citation: Children will learn to write if they are allowed to choose their own subjects, James Britton asserts (37-42). Experts suggest that children will learn to write if they are allowed to choose their own subjects (J. Britton 37-42).

10. Indirect Source (Author quoting someone else) Use the abbreviation ‘qtd.’ to indicate that you are quoting from someone else’s report of a conversation. The name in the parenthetical reference should match the names of the author or authors listed in the matching works cited entry: Arthur Miller says, “When somebody is destroyed, everybody finally contributes to it, but in Willy’s case, the end product would be virtually the same” (qtd. In Martin and Meyer 375).

11. Two or More Sources in One Parenthetical Reference Separate the information with semicolons: Some economists recommend that ‘employment’ be redefined to include unpaid domestic labor (Clark 148; Nevins 39).

12. Literary Works Literary works are often available in many different versions and editions, so give your reader both the specific information for the version you’re looking at, and the information they might need to find the passage you reference in ANY version or edition. Nick tells us that he “formed the habit of reserving judgments” at a very early age (Fitzgerald 2; ch. 1). For plays, indicate the page number, then the act, scene, and/or line numbers (as available). As Macbeth begins, the witches greet Banquo as “lesser than Macbeth and greater” (37; 1.3.65) For a poem, instead of page numbers, cite the part (if there is one) and lines, separated by a period. Whitman speculates, “All goes onward and outward, nothing collapses,/ And to die is different from what any one supposed, and luckier” (6.129-30).

13. Sacred Texts Give the title of the edition you used, followed by location information (book, chapter, verse) separated by a period. In your text, spell out the names of books. In parenthetical references, abbreviate books with names five or more letters long: He ignored the admonition, “Pride goes before destruction, and a haughty spirit before a fall” (New Oxford Annotated Bible, Prov. 16.18).

14. Visuals When you include an image in your text, number it and include a parenthetical reference in the text: Some find American Gothic to be humorous (see Fig. 2). Each visual appearing in the text should include a caption with the figure number and information that allows the reader to find the source on the works cited page. Fig. 2. Grant Wood’s American Gothic, 1930.

15. General Reminders • Use internal citation when you quote from a source, paraphrase from a source, or summarize from a source. • The identifying information provided in either your signal phrase or your parenthetical reference MUST match up with the first words of a corresponding works cited entry.