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Learning Center Library Guide

What is an MLA Citation?

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 Style uses “core elements” that are listed in a specific order.

  1. Author.
  2. Title of source.
  3. Title of container,
  4. Contributor,
  5. Version,
  6. Number,
  7. Publisher,
  8. Publication date,
  9. Location.

An MLA citation requires as much of the information listed above as possible.
**Not all citations will have all nine elements. Only use the ones that apply to the source you cite.

MLA uses the concept of “containers” which are larger elements that contain a specific source. For example, a scholarly article is “contained” in a journal. Be sure each citation includes the container of your source which could be the name of a website, the name of a journal, or the title of a book.
    

What do MLA Citations Look Like?

Two essential ways to use citations in your paper are shown below.

Information from an article from the Opposing Viewpoints database on the topic of universal basic income needs to be cited

1) in the text

AND

2) on the Works Cited page.

An in-text citation in your paper with a quote or a paraphrase

"The Chicago City Council is poised to vote this week on what would be one of the nation's largest basic income programs, giving 5,000 low-income households $500 per month." (Guarino)

A complete citation for the same article will be included on the Works Cited page at the end of your paper.

Guarino, Mark. "Chicago poised to create one of the nation's largest 'guaranteed basic income' programs." Washingtonpost.com, 25 Oct. 2021, Gale In Context: Opposing Viewpoints, link.gale.com/apps/doc/A680194390/OVIC?u=uiuc_oak&sid=bookmark-OVIC&xid=0b1b47bb.

Here's a link to the article if you want to see more.

https://link.gale.com/apps/doc/A680194390/OVIC?u=uiuc_oak&sid=bookmark-OVIC&xid=0b1b47bb

Your List of Sources and Citations - the MLA Works Cited Page

When you are finishing your research paper, it's important to gather up all of your sources and make a list of complete citations for each source.

That list has a specific name in each citation style.

  • MLA - Works Cited

Citation lists use the following rules:

  • Start your list of citations on a new page
  • Center the title of your citation list
  • Arrange the citations in alphabetical order by the last name of the author
  •         or, if there is no author, by the first major word in the title.
  • Double space the information in the list
  • Use a hanging indent for each entry
  • Do not number items in the list of citations

Formatting Citations in Google Docs

"How to make a hanging Indent in Google Docs." YouTube, uploaded by Contra Costa College Library, 8 May 2024, https://youtu.be/arV36fv0wmk?si=0astxRGlAE3BgDXG

Formatting Citations in Word

"Hanging Indents (MLA Style)."  YouTube, uploaded by Santa Monica College Library, 21 May 2020, https://youtu.be/YPGiFak819Y?si=oQcyx-PuqrM-NB_4