What is MLA? MLA is an abbreviation for Modern Language Association, which is an association that sets standards and guidelines for publishing and writing research papers to ensure uniformity and consistency throughout. The MLA format is used primarily in English and the humanities.
Basic elements of MLA are works cited and in-text citation:
Basic elements of MLA in-text citation
(author’s name and a page number)
Basic elements of MLA works cited
Author's name-Author could be an individual, group or even an organization
Title of source-Title of the resource using in the assignment
Container-This is the larger whole in which the source is found. A container could be a journal, website, database, newspaper, etc. (Pearson Education 7).
Works Cited
Pearson Education, Inc. The Pearson Guide to the 2021 MLA Handbook, 2021, pp 7,
https://www.pearson.com/content/dam/one-dot-com/one-dot-com/us/en/files/PearsonGuide-MLA-final.pdf
Reach out to the library or tutoring center to get help on citing and formatting.
Library: 937-778-7950
Tutoring Center: 937-778-7959
Purdue Online Writing Lab provides a variety of writing tips and citation help. To access the MLA style page click the link OWL MLA Help
Video tutorials are available on MLA style are available at MLA Video Tutorials.
Creating In-Text Citations:
In MLA style, a works-cited list and in-text citations work together to guide readers to your sources.
An in-text citation, usually the author’s name and a page number, is placed in parentheses in the body of your text, often next to the quoted words or ideas used from a source. The in-text citation points readers to the corresponding entry in your works-cited list where they can find complete information about the source.
The following example shows how the in-text citation and works-cited entry for the same source work together.
IN-TEXT CITATION There is growing evidence that the arts have healing powers, and that music, in particular, can help prevent and treat substance abuse and even manage chronic pain (National Endowment 7).
WORKS-CITED ENTRY National Endowment for the Arts. Arts Strategies for Addressing the Opioid Crisis: Examining the Evidence. Oct. 2020, pp. 1–98. NEA, https://www.arts.gov/sites/default/files/Arts-Strategies-Opioid- Crisis.pdf (Pearson Education 37).
Works Cited
Pearson Education, Inc. The Pearson Guide to the 2021 MLA Handbook, 2021, pp 37,
https://www.pearson.com/content/dam/one-dot-com/one-dot-com/us/en/files/PearsonGuide-MLA-final.pdf
Here is a basic template for any works-cited entry:
1. Author. Last name, first name, followed by a period.
2. Title of source. Title in italics or quotation marks, followed by a period.
3. Container. Information about where the source can be found, in print or online, and other details, usually italicized and followed by a period.
Creating In-Text Citations: In MLA style, a works-cited list and in-text citations work together to guide readers to your sources (Pearson Education 23)
Works Cited
Pearson Education, Inc. The Pearson Guide to the 2021 MLA Handbook, 2021, pp 23,
https://www.pearson.com/content/dam/one-dot-com/one-dot-com/us/en/files/PearsonGuide-MLA-final.pdf
Formatting In-Text Citations
An in-text citation, usually the author’s name and a page number, is placed in parentheses in the body of your text, often next to the quoted words or ideas used from a source. The in-text citation points readers to the corresponding entry in your works-cited list where they can find complete information about the source (Pearson Education 37).
Works Cited
Pearson Education, Inc. The Pearson Guide to the 2021 MLA Handbook, 2021, pp 37,
https://www.pearson.com/content/dam/one-dot-com/one-dot-com/us/en/files/PearsonGuide-MLA-final.pdf
Formatting Work Cited
You do not need to include information for all nine elements for every source. Most sources will include some but not all of the items under “container."
1. Author. Last name, first name, followed by a period.
2. Title of source. Title in italics or quotation marks, followed by a period.
CONTAINER
3. Title of container, The title of the book, journal, website, or other larger work within which the source can be found, usually italicized and followed by a comma,
4. Contributor, The name of the translator, editor, or other person who worked with the author to create the source, followed by a comma,
5. Version, Edition number; updated, revised, adapted, or other information about a specific version; followed by a comma,
6. Number, Volume and issue numbers for journals, or similar information for multivolume books, followed by a comma,
7. Publisher, The name of the publisher or sponsoring organization, followed by a comma,
8. Publication date, The date of publication or most recent update, followed by a comma,
9. Location. A page number, DOI, URL, or other locator, followed by a period (Pearson Education 20)
Works Cited
Pearson Education, Inc. The Pearson Guide to the 2021 MLA Handbook, 2021, pp 20,
https://www.pearson.com/content/dam/one-dot-com/one-dot-com/us/en/files/PearsonGuide-MLA-final.pdf
A Three-Step Process for Documenting Sources
This three-step process follows the model outlined by the MLA in the ninth edition of its handbook. Notice that, in this model, documenting sources is not something to be done at the end of the process, when formatting a final list of works cited; it is something to be kept in mind from the very beginning of any research process.
1. THINK: EVALUATING YOUR SOURCES Using search engines and databases, you can find many sources quickly on just about any topic imaginable. But how do you know if those sources are trustworthy? How can you assess their value as sources for an academic project?
Two criteria to apply when evaluating sources are relevance and credibility.
A source is relevant if it is closely related to your topic, fits your approach, and helps to support your purpose. A source is credible if it meets standards of trustworthiness and reliability in the academic community.
Relevance. To evaluate a source for relevance, you sometimes need to read at least a portion of the source first. The title and other information about the source will give you some indication and will help you eliminate sources that don’t fit your aims. Scholarly journal articles often include abstracts, and those can help you assess relevance.
Credibility. To evaluate a source for credibility, you need to learn as much about the source as you can. • Who is the author? Can you identify an author? What do you know about the author? What are the author’s credentials or qualifications to speak on the topic? What is the author’s perspective? How prominent is the author’s voice in the conversation about your topic? To what extent has the author been excluded because of race, class, gender, sexual orientation, or ability? Where is the source published? Is the publication sponsored by a commercial entity? Is the source advocating a particular viewpoint? Selling a product? Library databases, scholarly journals, published books, and documents published by government agencies are usually the most preferable types of sources in terms of credibility. A peer-reviewed article found by searching a database in your college library is almost always going to be more credible than a source you find through a quick Google search.
2. SELECT: GATHERING INFORMATION ABOUT YOUR SOURCES Once you have evaluated a source and determined that it is relevant and credible for your purposes, the next step is to collect information you can use to create a citation.
MLA specifies a template of nine core elements that can be used to create a citation for any type of source:
3. ORGANIZE: CREATING YOUR DOCUMENTATION The purpose of citations is to credit other authors whenever you borrow their words or ideas, and to guide readers to the sources you have used in your project. Your citations should include enough information so that readers can quickly understand the nature of the sources you are using, and can find them for themselves if they wish.
A citation in MLA style has two components. The first is an entry in a list of works cited that appears at the end of your paper or project, as in this example: National Endowment for the Arts. Arts Strategies for Addressing the Opioid Crisis: Examining the Evidence. Oct. 2020, pp. 1–98. NEA, https://www.arts.gov/sites/default/files/Arts-Strategies-Opioid- Crisis.pdf.
The second component is an in-text reference. Any quotation, paraphrase, or summary of words or ideas from a source needs to be noted in the body of your paper, as in this example: There is growing evidence that the arts have healing powers, and that music, in particular, can help prevent and treat substance abuse and even manage chronic pain (National Endowment 7). The in-text reference in parentheses tells readers that the quoted words come from page 7 in the NEA source.
The works-cited entry provides complete information about the source, so readers can find it themselves (Pearson Education 17)
Works Cited
Pearson Education, Inc. The Pearson Guide to the 2021 MLA Handbook, 2021, pp 17,
https://www.pearson.com/content/dam/one-dot-com/one-dot-com/us/en/files/PearsonGuide-MLA-final.pdf
