MLA 9th Edition: Home

The purpose of using citations is to let the reader know where you obtained your information so sources can easily be located and consulted. Because knowledge is a cumulative process built on the research and writing of others, you MUST give credit when using other’s research and information. Furthermore, your instructor needs to see the quality of the sources you used and know how you developed your ideas. You must document your sources when you provide information that you ordinarily would not have known before conducting your research, and when you provide information that the reader cannot be assumed to know. You must cite when you:

• Provide a direct quotation

• Discuss or incorporate the ideas of another author

• Use statistical or other data

There are two questions to ask before you begin.

1. What type of source am I trying to cite?

• Journal article? Book? Webpage? etc.

2. Where did I retrieve that source?

• Online database? Website? Was it a print source? etc.

Once you've answered these questions, select the most appropriate option from the dropdown menu on the left to see examples.

In-text citations appear in the body of your paper. The format is the same regardless of the source type. In-text citations indicate to the reader what information is being cited in your paper. The in-text citations also refer the reader to the corresponding reference citations in the Works Cited list at the end of your paper. See the In-text Citations Guide for more information.

This is a sentence from my research paper, and I am paraphrasing information that I read somewhere else...(Author's Last Name Page Number).

Reference citations appear in the Works Cited at the end of your paper. This is a list of all sources that were consulted and referenced in your paper. Select your source type from the dropdown menu on the left for specific rules about citing that source type.

Author's last name, author's first name. Title of Source. Title of Container, Number, Publication date,

     Location. 

The OWL at Purdue provides resources that may use for writing projects & citation help.

• Sample Paper: MLA Format
• MLA Formatting & Style Guide

Formatting

• How do I format my Works Cited list?
• What should my first page look like?
• How do I format my paper according to MLA rules? (After clicking on this link click on the hyperlink called formatting a research paper located just above the paragraph of text)
• Where can I find a sample paper? (OWL at Purdue)

Citations 

• How do I cite a journal article from a research database?
• How many authors do I include in my in-text citations?

Where Can I Find a Worksheet With MLA Citation Information?

MLA Worksheet

MLA now provides preliminary official guidance for citing information produced by generative AI. According to MLA, writers should not credit the AI as an author. Additionally, the description of the content of the generated product should be treated as the title of the source, as if it were an article or chapter title. 

In-text example:

While the green light in The Great Gatsby might be said to chiefly symbolize four main things: optimism, the unattainability of the American dream, greed, and covetousness (“Describe the symbolism”), arguably the most important—the one that ties all four themes together—is greed.

Works Cited entry example:

“Describe the symbolism of the green light in the book The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald” prompt. ChatGPT, 13 Feb. version, OpenAI, 8 Mar. 2023, chat.openai.com/chat.