MLA Citation Guide

Guidelines for Inclusive Writing

References to identity. Only use terms that specify a subject's ethnicity, religion, gender, etc. (e.g., "Black Canadian MP," "nonbinary singer") when this identifying information is relevant to the discussion in your paper. If such information is not relevant, you can just say "MP" or "singer."

Gender-neutrality. When possible, use gender-neutral terms such as "humanity" or "humankind" instead of "mankind," as well as inclusive pronouns when speaking about people in general or people you don't know. Some ways to do this include:

• Making the subject of the sentence plural and using "they" (e.g., "all the students got their tests back").
• Rewriting the sentence so you don't need to use any pronouns (e.g., "each student received a graded exam paper").
• Including both feminine and masculine pronouns, or alternating between them (e.g., "every student got his or her test back").
• Using "they" in a singular, general sense (e.g., "every student got their test back").
  • You can also do this when speaking about an individual whose gender you do not know (e.g., "I heard someone in our class got their highest grade ever!")
• Using gender-neutral neopronouns like ze/zir (e.g., "every student got zir test back").

Use specific pronouns (he, she, they, etc.) when referring to individuals whose pronouns you know (e.g., "The author, Jane Austen, is well known for her social commentary.")

Use precise language when describing groups of people or beliefs. For example, instead of "Indigenous language," which is too general, use the name of the specific language or language group you are discussing (e.g, "Chinookan languages"). 

Avoid assuming that readers share your experiences and background; be careful when using the pronouns "we/our" and be sure to clarify terms that might have different meanings to different readers (e.g., "God").

Choose terms that respect your subjects. This might include people-first language (e.g., "a person with diabetes") or identity-first language (e.g., "an autistic person") depending on the preferences of the individuals or groups you are discussing/working with.

Always consult sources (trustworthy texts and/or people) if you are unsure about the best terms to use or the best ways to use them, including choosing capital or lowercase letters (e.g., whether to write "Deaf" or "deaf").

Check dictionaries if you think a certain term might be offensive. If it is, do not repeat it in your own words - find a more respectful replacement term. If offensive terms appear in direct quotations, consider including a note to inform the reader that the term is offensive, or putting a dash in place of the second letter of the term.

Block Quotations

Use a block quote in MLA when

• A quote from a work of prose (e.g. as short story, novel, or journal article) is more than four lines of your text
• A quote from a work of verse (e.g. poetry) is more than three lines  

To make a block quotation:

Create a freestanding block, separated from the paragraph with the quote starting on a new line, and indent all lines of the paragraph about .5 inches from the left margin. Do no use quotation marks, unless there is a quote within your quote. As a quote should not end a paragraph, continue the paragraph with no indentation on the following line.

Example

To illustrate his point, Orwell describes Winston’s experience:

Whatever was written on the paper, it must have some kind of political meaning. So far as he could see there were two possibilities. One, much the more likely, was that the girl was an agent of the Thought Police, just as he had feared. He did not know why the Thought Police should choose to deliver their message in such a fashion, but perhaps they had their reasons. (113)

Winston’s thoughts about the message from the girl and the Thought Police turned out to be unfounded once he read the girl’s message.

Cite the quotation the same way you would normally cite, and make sure the font, size and spacing are consistent with the rest of your paper. Note that in the case of block quotations, the period at the end of the quote comes before the citation in parentheses, not after, as it does with other quotations.

For more information on block quotations, see pages 254-256 of the MLA Handbook Ninth Edition

Citing Poetry In-Text

When citing poetry in text, line breaks are demonstrated by using a slash ( / ), and line numbers are used instead of page numbers.

The first time you cite a poem, include the word "lines" in your citation, then the line numbers - in subsequent citations, only the numbers are needed.

Example

Many mouth metaphors are found in the second stanza, including "The stub remains / An ill-pulled tooth with a ragged edge. / Some words live in my throat / breathing like adders" (Lorde, lines 14-17). Lorde also brings in the "tongue" and the "lips," using these images to ground her more abstract ideas about words and speaking (18-19).

Note: If you found the poem online and no line numbers are provided, just put the author's last name in your in-text citations. Don't count the lines yourself, unless your instructor has said to do so.

Long Quote

If you have a long quote of four lines or more, format the poetry as a block quotation (see previous tab on this page). If you need to omit some content from the middle of the block quotation, use a line of periods.

Example

The poem also depicts the elephant's capacity for nuance and depth of thought:

In the elephant's five-pound brain
.......................................................
His thoughts while resting in the shade
Are long and solemn as novels and he knows his companions
By names differing for each quality of morning. (Acorn, lines 35-39)

For more information on citing poetry in text, see pages 255-258 of the MLA Handbook Ninth Edition

One Author

MLA citations are in the style of Author-Page. In-text citations with one author will always include the author's last name and the page number or other locator (e.g. line number or time stamp). There is no punctuation within the citation, and no initials for the author's first or middle name are necessary.

Note: In the case where the first time that the author is cited the author's name is used in the sentence, the author's full name is used. All following entries use the author's last name.

Examples

When you mention the author in your sentence and use a direct quote:

Ovid describes Erysichthon's hunger as a "violent affliction [that] had wasted away the whole / of his substance and nothing was left to fuel his virulent malady" (336). 

When you do not mention the author in your sentence and use paraphrasing:

Erysichthon ignores the warning of the tree nymph that foretells her vengeance as he cuts down the ancient oak (Ovid 330-331).

When you have multiple sentences that are cited from the same one-author source:

Use linking phrases to make it clear that all the information you are using is from the same place. Different page or paragraph numbers can also be used to indicate where in the source the information came from, as shown below:

Multiple works by the same author:

If you use multiple works by the same author in your essay, include the title in your in-text citations. There are three ways you may do this:

1. Include the author's name in your prose, and the title and page or line number at the end in parentheses. For example:

Zwicky writes, "you must look, heart. You must look" ("Courage" line 10).

2. Include the author's name and title in your prose, and the page or line number at the end in parentheses. For example:

Zwicky emphasizes the need for a new perspective in "Crossing the Dezadeash" by allowing "slightly altered angle" to stand on its own line (5).

3. Include the author's name, title, and page or line number at the end of the sentence in parentheses. For example:

By describing the light as "cartwheeling" and eyes as "gasping" the speaker's joy and awe is revealed (Zwicky "To the Pass" 26-27).

For more information on citing sources with one author, see pages 230-232 of the MLA Handbook Ninth Edition (Section 6.4).

Two Authors

For in-text citations with two authors, include the last names of both authors in each in-text citation, separated with "and."

Examples

When the authors are mentioned in your sentence:

Others, like Jay Lemery and Paul Auerbach, note that doctors have not yet adequately explained the effects climate change will have on human health (4-5).

When the authors are not mentioned in your sentence:

Others note that doctors have not yet adequately explained the effects climate change will have on human health (Lemery and Auerbach 4-5).

For more information on citing sources with multiple authors, see pages 232-233 of the MLA Handbook Ninth Edition (Section 6.5).

(Examples from MLA Handbook Ninth Edition page 232)

Three or More Authors

For sources with three or more authors, include only the last name of the first listed author followed by "et al." (which means "and everyone else") for each in-text citation. If you use the authors' names within your sentence, you may use something like "and colleagues" or "and others" instead of "et al."

Examples

When the authors are mentioned in your sentence:

Raymond Nickerson and colleagues argue that the truth value of statements - their premises and conclusion - one factor that affects how people are persuaded by arguments (135).

When the authors are not mentioned in your sentence:

That authors argue that the truth value of statements - their premises and conclusion - one factor that affects how people are persuaded by arguments (Nickerson et al. 135).

For more information on citing sources with multiple authors, see page 232-322 of the MLA Handbook Ninth Edition (Section 6.5).

(Examples from MLA Handbook Ninth Edition page 233)

No Author

If a source does not have an author, the title is used in its place (or whatever comes first in the Works Cited list). If the title is long, it can be shortened. 

The titles of shorter, partial works (e.g. journal/newspaper articles, book chapters, website pages) are included in "quotation marks," whereas the titles of longer, complete works (e.g. full journals, full books, entire websites) are written in italics.

Examples of shortened titles

All 33 Chile Miners Freed in Flawless Rescue --> "All 33 Chile Miners Freed"

Hazards of Primary Care in Aging Populations --> Hazards of Primary Care

Examples of in-text citation

Including the title in your sentence:

Reading at Risk notes that despite an apparent decline in reading during the same period, "the number of people doing creative writing - of any genre, not exclusively literary works - increased substantially between 1982 and 2002" (3).

When you do not mention the title in the sentence:

Despite an apparent decline in reading during the same period, "the number of people doing creative writing - of any genre, not exclusively literary works - increased substantially between 1982 and 2002" (Reading 3).

Abbreviating a title

Note: you may use abbreviations for parenthetical citations (when the title is not used in the sentence). If you do, you must provide the abbreviation you will be using after the first time you use the full title. Reference to the title 

Example of abbreviated title

In Shakespeare's A Midsummer Night's Dream (MND) the couples' many troubles exemplify Lysander's remark that "[t]he course of true love never did run smooth" (MND 1.1.134).

For more information on citing works with no author, see pages 237-241 in the MLA Handbook Ninth Edition.

(Examples from MLA Handbook Ninth Edition page 237 & 240)

A Source Cited Within Another Source

When the source you are reading has cited its information from another source, you have two choices:

1. Whenever possible, locate the original source, read it, and cite it in your paper

2. If the original source is impossible to locate, include the information for the original author in your sentence, then cite the source you read along with the abbreviation "qtd." (meaning "quoted in").

Example

If you want to cite this section from page 61 of an article written by Kevin Brown in 2017: 

In an interview with The Paris Review, in talking about about Ghostwritten, Mitchell says, 'In the first [chapter], set in Okinawa, the main events happen because of the abdication of one's own will' (Mitchell, 'Interview').

You can mention Mitchell in your sentence, but cite Brown, as shown below:

Mitchell states that the initial incident in Ghostwritten occurs "because of the abdication of one's own will" (qtd. in Brown 61).

Note: your works cited list will only include an entry for Brown (i.e. the source that you had access to). 

For more information on citing secondary sources, see page 284 of the MPA Handbook Ninth Edition.

Two or More Sources in the Same Sentence

If the same information is expressed in multiple sources, you can cite those sources within the same set of brackets. Separate each source with a semicolon (;). The order of the sources is up to you. 

Note: Do not rearrange the order of the authors within one source - they chose which order to put themselves in!

Example

Although there was no evidence in either of these studies of the placebo effect when using a different method of assessment, the authors failed to clarify which behaviours were studied (Reed & Barrett, 2014; Smith, 1994).

For more information on citing multiple sources within the same parentheses, see page 262 of the MLA Handbook Ninth Edition.

Citing Indigenous Elders and Knowledge Keepers

MLA style does not have a formal format to acknowledge Indigenous Elders and Knowledge Keepers in-text. In-text citations, therefore, should follow the same guidelines as a paraphrase or direct quote. When citing Indigenous Elders and Knowledge Keepers, consider identifying their nation or community in your prose as traditional knowledge can vary greatly among different Indigenous communities. 

Examples

When you use the name of the Elder/Knowledge Keeper in your sentence:

Delores Cardinal, from Goodfish Lake Cree Nation, described the nature of the ... 

When you do not use the name of the Elder/Knowledge Keeper in your sentence:

The nature of the place was... (Cardinal).

or

The Indigenous peoples of Goodfish Lake Cree Nation hold that...(Cardinal).

If you would like to approach an Elder or Knowledge Keeper for teachings, remember to follow protocol or if you are unsure what their protocol is, please ask them ahead of time.

If you are an Indigenous person and plan to include your own experiences or Traditional Knowledge in an essay, describe yourself using similar relevant details. However, there is no need to cite yourself in the reference list or in a in-text citation like the one above.

Other Tips

• When reading published works about Indigenous Peoples, be sure to critically consider whether the information is accurate and appropriate, especially if the works are older, as these may contain biases or inaccurate/misleading information.
• Capitalize words for specific groups (e.g., Cree, Ojibwe) and culture-related words (e.g., the Creator, Creation, Elder, Traditional Knowledge, Oral Tradition, Vision Quest).
• When including information about Indigenous Peoples or traditions in your paper, work closely with Indigenous individuals to ensure that the information is shared appropriately, accurately, and in a way that preserves the integrity of Indigenous perspectives, including in matters of copyright and authorship.

Personal Communications

Personal communications, such as e-mail correspondence or interviews, are cited in-text the same way as any other source in MLA, with the name of the e-mail writer or the interviewee in the "author" space. 

Examples

For an e-mail or interview: 

Fournier claimed that Cloud Atlas "is the best novel ever written." 

or

One reader raved about the novel Cloud Atlas, claiming that it is "the best novel ever written" (Fournier).

Note: Unlike APA, personal communications will appear in the MLA Works Cited list. See "Personal Communications" on our MLA Works Cited page for more information.

For more information on citing personal communications, see page 124 of the MLA Handbook Ninth Edition (in Section 5.23 "Title of Source: What It Is").

Religious and Classical Works

When citing religious and classical works, such as plays, the best practice is to refer to the sections that are common across editions rather than page numbers (e.g. chapters, lines, acts)

Examples

(King James Bible, Gen. 1.2)

• This citation tells the reader that the quote or paraphrase is from Genesis, chapter 1, verse 2 of the King James Bible.

(Shakespeare, 1.3.34-35)

• This citation tells the reader the quote or paraphrase is from act 1, scene 3, lines 34-35 in a text by Shakespeare. Just like with poetry, when you cite more than one line of verse, the lines are separated with a slash ( / ).

When you mention the author in your sentence and use a direct quote:

The King James Bible describes the Earth as being originally "without form, and void; and darkness was upon the face of the deep. And the Spirit of God moved upon the face of the waters" (Gen. 1.2)

Shakespeare comments on authenticity in Much Ado About Nothing with the line, "let me be that I am, and / seek not to alter me" (1.3.34-35).

When you do not mention the author in your sentence and use paraphrasing:

The book of Genesis claims that "the earth was without form, and void; and darkness was upon the face of the deep. And the Spirit of God moved upon the face of the waters" (King James Bible, Gen. 1.2).

In Much Ado About Nothing, Don John says, " In the meantime, let me be that I am, and / seek not to alter me" (Shakespeare, 1.3.34-35).

For more information, see pages 245 & 247 of the MLA Handbook Ninth Edition.