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Cite It Right!

Citation information to be used with the Cite It Right - Got Research? workshops

What is an MLA Citation?

MLA is a style guide for citations from the Modern Language Association (MLA). 

Citation style guides show you what information to include in each citation and how to organize your list of citations.

MLA citation style is primarily used for research papers in English classes although some instructors in other subject areas also use MLA.

MLA requires as much of the following information as possible:
      Author's name
      Title of the work
      Title of the website
      Name of the website sponsor
      Date published or the date of the most recent update  
      Date of access (or the date you looked at the website)

MLA Works Cited - Examples of Citations for Sources You Might Use

Journal Article

Ruckert, Arne; Chau Huynh and Ronald Labonté. “Reducing health inequities; Is universal basic income the way forward?” Journal of Public Health, March 2018, https://tinyurl.com/upy2fjz

Online Magazine Article

Hotz, Julia. “What happens when people win this basic income raffle? They have time to find meaning in their lives,” Fast Company, 2 Dec.  2019, https://tinyurl.com/yx2nplyd.

Article from an Online Article Database

Stockwell, Norman. "Setting People Up to Succeed: An interview with guaranteed basic income advocate Michael Tubbs." The Progressive, vol. 86, no. 1, Feb.-Mar. 2022, pp. 58+. Gale In Context: Opposing Viewpoints, link.gale.com/apps/doc/A695507529/OVIC?u=uiuc_oak&sid=bookmark-OVIC&xid=71335e78

Webpage

"What is a Basic Income Guarantee?" usbig.net, n.d., https://usbig.net/about-big/

YouTube Video

"Easy Vegetable Soup Recipe." YouTube, uploaded by Preppy Kitchen, 14 May 2022, https://youtu.be/SE-DptWxDKw

Report by a Group Author or Organization

Congressional Research Service.  "Universal Basic Income Proposals for the United States." U.S. Congress. 3 April 2018, https://crsreports.congress.gov/product/pdf/if/if10865/3

 

For more examples and to see proper formating, visit the Purdue OWL's MLA Formatting and Style Guide.
MLA Formatting and Style Guide

Sample Works Cited Pages

Quick Hints for a List of MLA Citations

  • List your citations on a new page at the end of your paper.
  • Works Cited - Use Works Cited as the title for your list of citations (not Citations, Bibliography, or References)
  • Citations are organized alphabetically by the last name of the author of your article, book or other source.
  • No Author?  Begin your citation with the Title of the article, webpage or post.
  • Citations are formatted with a hanging indent. 
  • Watch this video Formatting an MLA 8th Edition Works Cited Page for "how-to" instructions on setting up a Works Cited page list of citations in Word..

Use the links below to see examples of APA References pages.

How Do I use MLA In Text Citations in my paper?

There are two parts to an In-Text citation. 

  • the brief information in the text of the paper
  • the full citation on the Works Cited page

The brief citation information in your paper must lead your reader to the full citation on the Works Cited page.

For MLA In-Text citations, you need one or two pieces of information when your writing includes someone else’s words, ideas, or facts.

1. For online articles or media sources use

  • the first item that appears in the Works Cited list citation (author name, article name, website name, film name)

2. For print sources (books and articles) use

  •  the author's last name
  •  the page number (if available)

Examples:
Book (print):  Torvald betrays his mistrust of Nora when he asks if her “sweet tooth didn’t get the better” of
her while she was shopping earlier (Ibsen 151).

 

Find more examples of In Text citations using these links.

MLA In-Text Citations Help - The Basics   from Purdue's Online Writing Lab (OWL)

MLA Works Cited Citations Help - Online Books, Articles, & Media   from Purdue's Online Writing Lab (OWL)

In-Text Citations - MLA  from College of DuPage Library

 

Books about MLA Citations

MLA Style Center

Advice directly from MLA