MLA FORMATING AND CITATIONS

Formatting Quotations
Short Quotations:
Wadsworth stated that Romantic poetry was marked by a
spontaneous overflow of powerful feelings (263).
Romantic poetry is characterized by the spontaneous overflow
of powerful feelings (Wordsworth 263).
Long Quotations:
For quotations that are more than four lines, drop down to the following line, indent
one inch from the left margin, and drop the quotation marks.
Adding or Omitting Words in Quotations:
Use brackets [ ] to add words and an ellipsis to omit words (...).
In-Text Citations
Print Sources With Known Author
Authors first and last name is used for the first time you are referencing their work in
your writing. Every time after, their first name is dropped. Authors last name and
page number of citation must appear in your writing (See examples under Short
Quotations).
Even if you are referencing an authors ideas and not a direct quote you still need an
in-text citation. Example:
o Wadsworth extensively explored the role of emotion in the
creative process (263).
Print Sources With No Known Author
If the author of a work is not known, simply replace the authors last name inside the
quotations with the name of the work.
(Authors Last Name Page Number) (Title Page Number)
Non-Print Electronic Sources
Include in the text the first item that appears in the Works Cited entry that
corresponds to the citation (e.g. author name, article name, website name). You do
not need paragraph or page numbers. Do not include URLs in-text. Example:
o (Authors Last Name, Title of Article) or (Authors Last
Name) if the title of the article appears in the sentence.
Works Cited Page
The Basics
Separate sheet of paper, Works Cited is to be centered, do not skip spaces
between entries, indent subsequent lines of each citation, entries are listed
alphabetically, and the medium for each citation is listed in the citation itself.
Basic Format for Print
Last name, First name. Title of Book. City of Publication:
Publisher, Year of Publication. Medium of Publication.
A Work in a Collection
Last name, First name. Title of Work. Title of Collection.
Ed. Editors Name(s). Edition Number. City of Publication:
Publisher, Year. Page range of entry. Medium of
publication.

Book by Two or More Authors

The first given name appears in last name, first name format; subsequent author
names appear in first name, last name format.
o Gillespie, Paula, and Neal Lerner. The Allyn and Bacon
Guide to Peer Tutoring. Boston: Allyn, 2000. Print.
If there are more than three authors you may choose to list only the first author
followed by the phrase et al.
Citing an Entire Web Site
Editor, author, or compiler name (if available). Name of Site.
Version number. Name of institution/organization
affiliated with the site (sponsor or publisher), date of
Resource creation (if available). Medium of publication.
Date of access.
Remember to put n.p. if no publisher name is available and n.d. if no publishing
date is available.
Medium of publication for online sources is Web.
Date of access is always written in Day, Month (abbreviated). Year format.
A Page on a Website
Author (if available). Title of Page. Name of Site. Name of
Publisher, date of creation. Medium of publication. Date
of access.
An Article in an Online Scholarly Journal
Author(s) name(s). Name of the Article. Title of
publication. Volume Number. Issue Number (Year of
Publication): Page numbers range. Medium. Date of access.
An Article from an Online Database
Author(s) name(s). Name of Article. Title of Journal.
Volume Number. Issue Number (Year of Publication):
Page number range. Name of database. Medium. Date of
access.