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Professor Pachter and Professor Crane's SLS Leadership Class: Citing MLA Style

By Librarian, Alyse McKeal

Citation Examples

A. In-text citations...

  • Direct readers and listeners to the entries in the Works Cited page.
  • Establish a connection between authors and titles named or cited in the text with  their entry in the Works Cited Page.  They must match!
  • Are required when you use someone else's ideas or words.
  • Introduce authors or titles using signal phrases.  Signal phrases often begin with According to, or use action verbs, such as asserts, agrees, reports, suggests, delares, observes, emphasizes, confirms, believes,notes, implies, adds, etc..
    Examples:
    According to Smith, the problem is...
    Smith suggests the cause of the problem is...
  • Include page numbers, when available, in parentheses at the end of the sentence.
    Examples:
    With a signal phrase:  According to Smith, the problem is... (5).
    Without a signal phrase:  The problem is... (Smith 5).

B. Sample in-text citations:

No Author:
If not author information is provided, use the title in a signal phrase or within parentheses.  Titles of articles are in quotation marks, titles of books are in  italics.  
Examples: ..." ("Doing" 43).  or  ..." (Acceptable 86).

Two to Three Authors:
Write all last names separated by commas, connecting the lat one with and.
Examples:  According to Smith, Doe and Jones...; Smith and Jones assert...; At the end of sentence- (Smith, Doe and Jones 27)

Four or More Authors:
Write the first author's name followed by et al.
Examples: ..." (Smith et al. 27).  or  According to Smith et al.,

Corporate Authors:
Organizations, government agencies and corporations can also be authors.
Examples:  ...before deciding whether a particular use is fair (University of Texas 25).  or According to the University of Texas... (25).

C. Works Cited samples:

Print Book:
Grout, Donald, J. A History of Western Music. 6th ed. New York: Norton, 2001.Print.

Print Edited Collection- Opposing Viewpoints:
Weiss, Kenneth R. "Runoff Polution Threatens the World's Oceans." Endangered 
     Oceans. Ed. Louise I. Gerdes. Opposing Viewpoints Series. Detroit: 
     Greenhaven, 2009. 59-68. Rpt. of "A Primeval Tide of Toxins." Los Angeles 
     Times 30 July 2006: n. pag. Print. 

Book Reprinted from a Library Subscription Database Like Opposing Viewpoints Resource Center:
Rosellini, Lynn. "The Birth of Modern Professional Wrestling: An Overview." 
     At Issues Series. Ed. Louise I Gerdes. N.p.: Greenhaven, 2002. N. pag. 
     Rpt. of "Lords of the Ring." U.S. News & World Report 17 May 1999: n. pag. 
     Opposing Viewpoints Resource Center. Web. 22 Nov. 2009.

Article from a Library Subscription Database Like Academic Search Complete:
Woellert, Lorraine. "Business Wants Its Day in Court." Business Week 11 Nov. 
     2006: 9. Academic Search Complete. Web. 16 Nov. 2009. 

In-text Citation

Companies can monitor employees' every keystroke without legal penalty, but they may have to combat low morale as a result (Lane 129).

Works Cited

Lane, Frederick S.  The Naked Employee:  How Technology Is Compromising Workplace Privacy.  New York:  Amer. Management Assn., 2003.

Print. 

 

(Hacker and Sommers - 9th ed.).

Additional Examples of Works Cited and In-text Citations

Works Cited - Sample (Purdue OWL) | Sample (Bedford)

  • List of sources referenced within text of paper with paraphrased and quoted information
  • Last page of paper

In-text Citations - Samples (Purdue OWL) | Samples (Bedford)

  • Parenthetical; for example, [text]... (Lane 129).
  • Signal phrase; for example... According to Lane, [text]... (129).

More MLA Resources

MLA Websites and Help

I.) MLA Resource Center- Palm Beach State College

​II.) For additional examples, please go to the MLA Handbook for Writers of Research Papers, 7th ed., available at Palm Beach State College campus libraries

III.) You can also Look for Citation information for articles found on Databases, sometimes located under terms like "Citation Tools," "Cite This," "Cite Right," etc.
 Check the citations provided by databases against one of the MLA tools or resources recommended above to chekc for accuracy. Copy and paste them to  your "Works Cited" page if they are accurate.
Please make any necessary corrections before using them.