MLA Style Guide

In MLA style, there are two main places you will cite your sources: in the text of your paper, or "in-text citations," and in a works cited page.

There are two types of in-text citations in MLA style:

1. Parenthetical: Place the author surname(s) and page number(s) in parentheses at the end of a sentence.
2. Narrative: Write author name(s) in the body of the sentence and place the page number in parentheses at the end of the sentence.

Signal Phrases

When directly quoting from a source, introduce the quotation by using strong verbs as signal phrases to help introduce evidence into your paper.

Some examples include:

Examples:

Narrative:

• Wilson claimed to have found "absolutely no supporting evidence" (13).
• Diana Jones found that students often struggle with MLA style, especially wen using it for the first time (199).

Parenthetical: 

• In one such study, the results were inconclusive (Wilson 13).
• One researcher claimed to have found "absolutely no supporting evidence" (Wilson 13).
• Students often struggle with MLA style, especially when using it for the first time (Jones 199).

Two Authors

When referring to multiple authors, write out the word "and" between authors' last names.

Narrative example: Research by Naomi Smith and Brad Baron supports... (199).

Parenthetical example: (Smith and Baron, 199).

Three or More Authors

When citing a source with three or more authors, use the first author's last name, followed by the phrase "et al." to denote that there are additional names. In Latin, "et al" means "and others."

Narrative example: Research by Naomi Smith and colleagues supports...(199).

Parenthetical example: (Smith et al. 199).

Unknown Author

If you are citing a source with no known author, cite the source by its title or use the first important word or two in the parentheses.

• For shorter works, use quotation marks (e.g. articles or chapters)
• For longer works, use italics (e.g. books, plays, television shows, entire webpages, etc.)

Narrative example: According to "Rabies," this is one of history's most-feared diseases (680).

Parenthetical example: ("Rabies" 680).

Citing a Multi-Volume of Reference Book

If you are using one volume from a multi-volume set, the number of the volume will be indicated in your works cited list and you may cite the work as you would a single book.

If you are borrowing from more than one volume from the set, then the in-text citation must provide both the volume number and page number(s). In a narrative citation, spell out the word "volume;" in a parenthetical citation, you can use the abbreviation "vol."

Narrative example: In volume 5, Taruskin states this outright (337).

Parenthetical example: (Taruskin, vol.58, 337)

Websites (including HTML articles)

If the document does not have page or paragraph numbers, like from a website or website printout, do not include them in the parenthetical citation. 

Do not include URLs in text. Instead, just name the authors in your in-text citation.

When the author of the source is mentioned in the text:

Example: Rostrup reported that the climbers were overtaken by bad weather.

When the author of the source is not mentioned in the text:

Example: The climbers were overtaken by bad weather ("Everest").