LibGuides: English Literature Resources: MLA Citation

What Is Citation?

Citation involves properly crediting the authors of information sources used in a paper or presentation. Remember to cite not only text-based sources, but also images, video, and other media.

Different disciplines use certain citation styles. Literary scholars use MLA style citation. In March 2016 the MLA (Modern Language Citation) published the 8th edition of the MLA Handbook. This page includes a quick overview of MLA style, including major differences between the MLA style 8th and 7th editions.

For more detailed guidance see:

UWG Writing Center MLA style guides (7th + 8th editions) (quick and expanded guide + MLA citation tips)
Purdue OWL MLA style (8th edition)

In-Text vs. End Citations

Citations: Those are two main types of MLA citations.

In-text citations: appear in the text of a document; include author last name and page #.
Example: This is a sentence with a fact (Cook 1).
End citations: appear at the end of the document in a 'Works Cited' page. Examples are in the box below.

Core Citation Elements (MLA, 8th ed.)

MLA style 8th edition is more flexible than previous editions about how citations are formatted. The main rule is that a citation should include all of the core elements listed below that are releveant to the given source:

Author.
Title of source.
Title of container,
Other contributors,
Version,
Number,
Publisher,
Publication date,
Location.

MLA Citation Examples (8th Edition)

The MLA Works Cited page lists all sources used in a document. Different types of sources have different citation formats. Below are examples of common citation types.

Books

Author's last name, first name. Title. Publisher, Publication Year.

Carré, John le. The Tailor of Panama. Alfred A. Knopf, 1996. Print.

Austen, Jane. Pride and Prejudice. England: Galley Press, 1987.

Journal or Magazine Articles

Author's last name, first name. "Article Title." Journal Title, vol.#, issue# (if available), Year, Pages.

Aldrich, Frederick A. and Margueritte L. Marks. “Wyman Reed Green, American Biologist,” Bios, vol. 23, no. 1, 1952, pp. 26-35.

Liebenson, Bess. "Where Dinosaurs Have Always Reigned." New York Times, 1 Aug. 1993, CN17.

Websites

Author's last name, first name (if available). "Page Title." Website Title. Publisher, Publication Date. URL.

Cook, Jean. "MLA Citation Guide." Univ. of West Georgia Libraries. Univ. of West Georgia, 1 Jun. 2009, libguides.westga.edu/citation.

"Does the Camera Ever Lie?" Selected Civil War Photographs. Library of Congress, 27 May 1998. Web. 25 Sep. 2010. memory.loc.gov/ammem/cwphtml/cwpcam/cwcam1.html.

Note: When listing the URL you do not need to include "http://" or "https://."