Seneca Libraries MLA Style Guide

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MLA Handbook book cover MLA Handbook for Writers of Research Papers, 7th ed.
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In-Text Citation (Parenthetical Citation)

Quick Rules for Works Cited

Sample Works Cited Page

JOURNALS
MAGAZINES
NEWSPAPERS
BOOKS
OTHER SOURCES

You must "cite" sources that you have paraphrased, quoted or otherwise used to write your research paper. Cite every source you use in two places:

(1) in the body of your paper where you add a brief in-text citation; and

(2) on the Works Cited page at the end of your paper where you include a full citation for the source.

At the end of my paper, how do I cite:

IN-TEXT CITATIONS

In-text citations are inserted in the body of your research paper to briefly document the source of your information. Brief in-text citations help the reader locate more complete information in the "Works Cited" list at the end of the paper.

When you know the author, give the author's last name and the page number where the information was found: (Smith 36).

Within the body of a research paper, the in-text citations would look like this:

Quoting directly (taking words directly from a source)

Margaret Atwood considered Life Before Man her "most domestic novel" (Sullivan 324).
or
Sullivan states that Margaret Atwood considered Life Before Man her "most domestic novel" (324).

When the author's name is used in the sentence, include only the page number within the parentheses.

Paraphrasing (using your own words)
In the early seventies, age discrimination was apparent in the recruiting practices of the Canadian forces (Lakey B2).

MLA Unknown Author List Example

When you don't know the author, include the first word(s) of the title: (Legacy 84).

Within the body of a research paper, the in-text citations (above), would look like this:

An Article
The city of Vancouver is encouraging the use of native plants in local gardens ("City").

A Book
The ancient Egyptians "set out an orderly story of creation" (Legacy 84).

An Internet Source
Impaired driving is the leading criminal cause of death in Canada (Ontario).

The fear of annexation by the United States was one factor in the move toward confederation ("Path").

QUICK RULES FOR WORKS CITED

Your research paper ends with a list of all the sources that you have cited in the text of the paper. The list is called your "Works Cited" list. To view a sample in PDF, click here. Here are eight quick rules for your Works Cited page:

  1. Start a new page for your "Works Cited" list. Centre the title, Works Cited, at the top of the page.
  2. Double-space the entire list both between and within entries.
  3. Start the first line of each citation at the left margin. Indent each subsequent line five spaces.
  4. Put your list in alphabetical order. Alphabetize the list by the first word in the citation. In most cases, the first word will be the author's last name. When the author is unknown, alphabetize by the first word in the title, ignoring the words a, an, the.
  5. Capitalize the first, last and all main words in a title or subtitle. Unless they are the first or last words in a title or subtitle, do not capitalize (a, an, the), (and, or, but, for, nor, yet, so), (in, from, to, with), and the word "to" used in an infinitive. Example: "A Good Man Is Hard to Find."
  6. Italicize the titles of complete works: books, magazines, newspapers, plays, works of art, computer software, Web sites and databases.
  7. Place quotation marks around the titles of parts of works: articles (from newspapers, magazines, journals), essays, poems, short stories, chapter titles (from books), TV or radio episodes, songs, speeches and articles or documents from websites.
  8. Provide the format of the source (Print, Web, DVD, CD, PDF file, etc.) for all citations.

MLA Works Cited example

JOURNALS AND MAGAZINES: In Print
Type of Document Works Cited Entry In-Text Citation

Article in a Journal

Paginated by Issue or Volume

MLA Example

MLA Example Note

(Horner 19)

Magazine Article

One Author

MLA Example

(Sheppard 40)

Magazine Article

Unknown Author

MLA Example

("Consumer" 4)

Advertisement

MLA Example

(Calvin Klein 42)

NEWSPAPERS: In print

Type of Document Works Cited Entry In-Text Citation

Article in a Newspaper

One Author

MLA Example

(Adams)

Article in a Newspaper

Unknown Author

MLA Example

("Night")

JOURNAL, MAGAZINE AND NEWSPAPER ARTICLES: From a Library Database

Library databases offer electronic versions of articles originally published in print magazines, journals, and newspapers.

  • Begin citing a database article exactly like you would cite the print version and then add the electronic publication information (see examples below).

 

Type of Document Works Cited Entry In-Text Citation

Article in a Journal

One Author

MLA Example

MLA Example Note

For more information click here.

(Falvey 33)

Article in a Magazine

One Author

MLA Example

(Cuvelier 24)

Article in a Newspaper

One Author

MLA Example

(Chase)

Article in a Magazine

Unknown Author

MLA Example

("Europeans" 27)

Article in a Newspaper

Unknown Author

MLA Example

("Green")

Datamonitor Report

 MLA Example

("Bombardier Inc." 8)

JOURNAL, MAGAZINE AND NEWSPAPER ARTICLES: From the Internet

  • If you cannot find all of the publication information, cite what is available (MLA 5.6.2).
  • Do not include URLs (Website addresses) unless requested by your professor or when the source cannot be easily located without it. When a URL is required, provide it at the end of the citation within angel brackets followed by a period - that is, <http://...>.

 

Type of Document Works Cited Entry In-Text Citation

Journal, Magazine, and Newspaper Articles Online

MLA Example

(Stewart)
Statistics Canada Publication Article Online

MLA Example

(Li 1)

BOOKS: In Print
Type of Document Works Cited Entry In-text Citation
One Author

MLA Example

(King 32)
Two Authors MLA Example

(Martin and Hiebert 8)

Three Authors

MLA Example

(Cuth, Hall, and King 3)

More than Three Authors MLA Example

(Blum et al. 3)

Unknown Author MLA Example

(Resumes 25)
Corporate Author MLA Example

(Calgary Educ. Partnership Foundation 13)

Book

Published in a Second or Subsequent Edition

 MLA Example

(MLA 58)

Multi-Volume Work

 

MLA Example

(Brown and Smith 8)

Essay or Chapter

from an Edited Multi-Volume Work

 MLA Example

(Johnson 90)

Work in an Anthology

(Essay, chapter, short story, poem)

MLA Example

(Stewart 118)

Graphic Novel

 MLA Example

(Clowes 25)

Graphic Novel

Collaboration

 MLA Example

(Benoit 52)

Work of Art or Photograph

Reproduced in a Book

MLA Example

(Adams 42)

Encyclopedia or Dictionary Entry

Two Authors

 MLA Example

(Boylan and Wester 88)

Encyclopedia or Dictionary Entry

Unknown Author

MLA Example

("Croatia")

Government Document MLA Example

(Canadian Judicial Council 15)

BOOKS: From a Library Database - eBooks and Reference Information
Type of Document Works Cited Entry In-text Citation
eBook MLA Example

(Allen)

Article/Chapter

from an

Online Book (eBook)

MLA Example

 

 

(Gorski)

Article/Chapter

from an

Online Book (eBook)

MLA Example

 

 

(Canadian Inst. of Chartered Accountants)

Page/Article

from a Reference Database

MLA Example

This describes how to cite a page or article from a reference database. This article is from CultureGrams.

 

 

 

 

 

 

("Firefighter")

 

 

("Israel")

OTHER SOURCES: Material from Web sites
Type of Document Works Cited Entry In-text Citation

Entire Website

Professional, Business, or Scholarly

 MLA Example

(Walker)

Article or Document from a Website

Unknown Author

MLA Example

("Corporate E-Mail")

Article or Document from a Government Website

 MLA Example

(Competition Bureau Canada)

Image from a Website

MLA Example

(Pratt)

Online Video

MLA Example

("Balloon Bowl")

Audio Podcast

of a

Radio Broadcast

MLA Example

("The Outlander")

Job Ad from Workopolis

MLA Example

(Ontario Public Service)

Computer Program Downloaded

 MLA Example

(Cache View)

Instructor's Notes Available Online

MLA Example

(Paulson)

OTHER SOURCES: Videos, DVDs, Computer Games, Clip art, In Class Course Notes

Type of Document Works Cited Entry In-text Citation
DVD MLA Example

(Mandela)
Citing the Contribution of a Particular Individual

MLA Example

(Chaplin)
Computer Game

MLA Example

(Sims)

Clip art

MLA Example

(Cat)

OTHER SOURCES: Interviews, E-mails and Course Notes

  • To cite information that you have obtained through interviewing someone yourself, cite the interview as shown in the examples below.
Type of Document
Works Cited Entry In-text Citation
Interview Personal, Telephone, or E-mail

MLA Example

(Blair)

(Firth)

(Jones)
Instructor's Notes Provided in Class MLA Example

(Kurtis)
E-mail MLA Example

(Anderson)
The following MLA sources were used in compiling this guide:

 

MLA Example

Other MLA Resources

MLA In-Text Citation (from Diana Hacker's Pocket Style Manual)
How to create in-text citations for direct quotes and for ideas and information taken from the works of others.

Seneca Guide to Integrating Quotations & Paraphrasing Content (MLA Style) Canadian content
Provides instructions on how to create in-text citations in a research paper using the MLA style.

Seneca Libraries Academic Honesty Plagiarism TutorialCanadian content
Learn how to practice Academic Honesty at Seneca College with this short interactive tutorial.

Seneca Libraries' Citation Tutorial: MLA Citation Canadian content
Practice applying the rules of MLA citation to information sources in print and online using an interactive tutorial.

Seneca Libraries' Guide to Research and Citation: MLA Style Canadian content
Provides instruction on how to conduct research and cite in MLA style as well as tips on how to avoid plagiarism through proper use of direct quotes and paraphrasing. Available at Seneca College bookstores for a nominal fee.