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Citation Guide

Get help on all citation formats!

Introduction to MLA Style

What is MLA Style?

MLA stands for Modern Language Association. MLA Style is an established style for formatting your paper and giving credit to your sources. 

This page provides resources for all the elements of a preparing a paper in MLA Style, including formatting, in-text citations, and the works cited list.

Disciplines at Caldwell that use MLA Style include English, history, theology, philosophy, and others.

MLA Quick Links

Creating MLA Citations: Examples

An Article from a Journal Found in a Library Database (a source in two containers)

from MLA Handbook chapter 5.100-103, The Three Most Common Types of Entries

A Chapter or Section of a Book Accessed through an Online Repository (a source with two containers)

from MLA Handbook chapter 5.100-103, The Three Most Common Types of Entries

An Episode of a TV Show Watched on an Online Platform (a source in two containers)

from MLA Handbook chapter 5.100-103, The Three Most Common Types of Entries

A Chapter or Section of a Print Book (a source in one container)

from MLA Handbook chapter 5.100-103, The Three Most Common Types of Entries

A Print Book (a source that is self-contained)

from MLA Handbook chapter 5.100-103, The Three Most Common Types of Entries

Paper Formatting Guidelines & Sample Papers

In-Text Citations & The List of Works Cited

In-Text Citations

Works Cited Page

Examples of Works Cited & In-Text Citations

Journal Article Found in a Library Database

Works Cited page entry

Lorensen, Jutta. “Between Image and Word, Color, and Time: Jacob Lawrence’s The Migration Series.” African American Review, vol. 40, no. 3, 2006, pp. 571-86. Academic Search Premier, each.ebscohost.com/login.aspx? Drect=true&db=f5h&AN=24093790&site=eho st-live.

In-text citation

(Lorensen 577)

 

Newspaper Article Found in a Library Database 

Works Cited page entry

Fessenden, Ford, et al. "The Battle for New York's Key Voting Blocs in the Primaries." New York Times, 19 Apr. 2016, p. A 14. ProQuest Central, ezproxy.caldwell.edu:2048/login?url=http:// search.proquest.com/ docview/1781721245?accountid=26523.

In-text citation

(Fessenden et al. A14)

 

Article from an Online News Source

Works Cited page entry

Chang, Kenneth. “NASA Will Send More Helicopters to Mars.” The New York Times, 27 July 2022, www.nytimes.com/2022/07/27/science/mars-sample-mission-nasa.html.

In-text citation

(Chang)

 

Book 

Works Cited page entry

Dorris, Michael, and Louise Erdrich. The Crown of Columbus. HarperCollins Publishers, 1999. 

In-text citation

(Dorris and Erdrich 110-12)

 

Article or Specific Chapter from a Book 

Works Cited page entry

Copeland, Edward. “Money.” The Cambridge Companion to Jane Austen, edited by Copeland and Juliet McMaster, Cambridge UP, 1997, pp. 131-48. 

In-text citation

(Copeland 135)

 

Webpage on a Website 

Works Cited page entry

“Infographic: Benefits of Language Learning.” Modern Language Association, 2022, www.mla.org/Resources/Advocacy/Infographics/Infographic-Benefits-of-Language-Learning.

In-text citation

("Inforgraphic: Benefits of Language Learning")

 

Film on an App 

Works Cited page entry

Mamma Mia. Directed by Phyllida Lloyd, Universal Pictures, 2008. Netflix app. 

In-text citation

(Mamma Mia) or (Mamma Mia 59:03-61:23) - cite a specific scene with timestamps in the page number spot

Software Tools for MLA Style

There are many tools that can help you create, manage, and organize your citations and your references page. Here are some that the library provides or recommends for students and faculty. 

Works Cited for this page

The information on this page comes from the MLA Handbook, 9th Edition. This book can be cited in MLA style like this:

MLA Handbook. 9th ed., Modern Language Association of America, 2021. 

The elements used here are: [2. Title of source] MLA Handbook. [5. Version] 9th ed., [7. Publisher] Modern Language Association of America, [8. Publication date] 2021. Because the publisher is an organization who is also the author, this organization - the Modern Language Association - is only listed once, as the publisher. 

An in-text citation for this handbook could be (MLA Handbook 45) to refer specifically to something on page 45.