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MLA FORMAT

Course Code

GENERAL LAYOUT

Choose classic,

readable fonts

Same font size

throughout

Double-Space

QUOTATIONS

BASIC QUOTE FORMAT

LONG QUOTE FORMAT Con't

EDITING A QUOTE

CLARIFYING

Does your evidence have any spots that are unclear? Confusing pronouns (1 and 2)? Vague words? A tense or verb use that bogs

down your point or the flow (3)? Capitalization tweaks needed (4)? Use BRACKETS. Just KEEP THE CONTEXT THE SAME.

EXAMPLES:

*NOTE: this is the MLA preferred method

1) "When Eddie and Tim went downstairs, he

tripped on the last step"

"When Eddie and Tim went downstairs, [Eddie]

tripped on the last step"

"When Eddie and Tim went downstairs, he [Eddie]

tripped on the last step" *

2) "Francine picked it up off the counter. Its

magnificence overwhelmed her"

"Francine picked [the freshly baked bread] off the

counter. Its magnificence overwhelmed her"

"Francine picked it [the freshly baked bread] off the

counter. Its magnificence overwhelmed her" *

3) "During the movie, Arthur laughed until he fell

out of his seat"

"During the movie, Arthur [laughs] until he [falls]

out of his seat"

4) Original text: People don't change the colour of their hair enough.

Use in an essay: In frustration, the narrator says that "[p]eople don't change the colour of their hair enough" (Nobody 238).

Quoting Only Dialogue

If you quote only the speech, use double quotation marks around it:

EXAMPLES:

Early in F. Scott Fitzgerald’s The Great Gatsby, Miss Baker tells Nick Carraway that he must be familiar

with someone she knows from West Egg: “You must know Gatsby” (11).

Miss Baker tells Nick Carraway, “You must know Gatsby” (Fitzgerald 11).

Using Block Quotes for Back-and-Forth Dialogue

When quoting dialogue from a novel, set the quotation off from your text as a block if each

character’s speech starts on a new line in the source. Indent the extract half an inch from the

left margin, as you would any block quotation. If a character’s speech runs onto a new line, as

it does below, indent each line of dialogue half an inch. Use double quotation marks around

the spoken words.

EXAMPLE:

Blah blah blah. Early in F. Scott Fitzgerald’s The Great Gatsby, Miss Baker tells the narrator,

Nick Carraway, that she knows someone from his town:

“You live in West Egg,” she remarked contemptuously. “I know somebody there.”

“I don’t know a single–”

“You must know Gatsby.”

“Gatsby?” demanded Daisy. “What Gatsby?” (11)

Quoting Dialogue with Narration in Between

If you are incorporating a quotation featuring both exposition/narration AND a character’s

speech into your text, use double quotation marks around the quotation and single quotation

marks around the character’s speech that is within the quotation:

EXAMPLE:

Early in F. Scott Fitzgerald’s The Great Gatsby, Miss Baker, upon meeting Nick Carraway, makes

the first reference in the novel to the title character: “‘You live in West Egg,’ she remarked

contemptuously. ‘I know somebody there’” (11).

Quoting Shakespeare (or any script/play)

EXAMPLE:

Blah, blah blah blah point. Blah blah blah, lead to quote:

MACBETH. You know Banquo was your enemy.

SECOND MURDERER. True, my Lord.

MACBETH. I talk a lot more after this, so I'm going to wrap it up here (3.4.59-67).

Blah blah blah analysis continues here blah blah.

For more on this, check D2L for a more specific document.

This is Act.Scene.Line

Most plays don't have line

markers.

IN-TEXT

CITATIONS

NOTE: All of these are WRONG!

(Frost, 242)

(Frost p. 242)

(Frost page 242)

(Frost pg. 242)

(Frost pp. 242)

(Frost, #242)

(Frost, pg. 242)

OR ANY COMBINATION OF THESE

IN-TEXT CITATIONS

When you use information from an outside source (quoting it OR paraphrasing it), you must use a parenthetical

citation to show relevant source information. MLA style uses author-page method which means that the author’s

last name and page number(s) must appear after the source, and a full reference will be provided on the Works

Cited page. If you use the name of the author within the text, you do not need to include it in the in-text citation,

but the page numbers must always be in parenthesis.

EXAMPLE (direct quote):

This relates to the idea that “poetry is what gets lost in translation” (Frost 242).

Robert Frost stated that “poetry is what gets lost in translation” (242).

EXAMPLE (paraphrasing):

Robert Frost once said poetry gets does not always translate well (242).

Poetry does not always translate well (Frost 242).

NOTE: For more info on proper paraphrasing click HERE

LOOK!

It's just a last name

and a number.

THAT'S IT!

IN-TEXT CITATIONS CON'T

If you are only dealing with one text, citations get a little easier. You must only include the author's last name

in the first citation. Every other citation can just be the page number in parenthesis (Example 1).

If you are using multiple authors/texts, you must jump back and forth between last names (Example 2).

EXAMPLE 1:

The character is described multiple times

throughout Book X. Within minutes of meeting

Stanley, he calls her "sweet and flower-like"

(Milkie 2). Blah blah blah. However, after the date

is over, Stanley changes his opinion and calls her

"the human equivalent of wallpaper" (18). Blah

blah blah. When they finally break up, she once

again returns to her "rose petal personality" (48).

EXAMPLE 2:

Jimmy from Book A is depicted as relatively

inept. Within minutes of getting his job, he

"jammed the photocopier in a way that would

baffle anyone with eyes" (Schmoo 2). Blah blah

blah. Comparatively, Arthur from Book B is far

more responsible. Even Arthur's boss is "stunned

that a newcomer picked up these skills so quickly"

(Floogin 18). Blah blah blah. Both characters finish

their first day at work, but only Arthur is the

"golden goose of the office" (Schmoo 178).

IN TEXT-CITATIONS: NOVEL/SHORT STORY/ARTICLE

BASIC FORMAT:

(LastNameofAuthor #)

EXAMPLE:

(Schmoo 22)

UNCOMMON SITUATIONS:

MORE THAN ONE SOURCE (for all sources):

EXAMPLES:

(Smith 42; Bennett 71).

(It Takes Two; Brock 43).

Note: The sources within the in-text citation

do not need to be in alphabetical order for

MLA style.

IN-TEXT CITATIONS: PRESENTATION

IN-TEXT CITATIONS: PLAY

BASIC FORMAT (Non-Shakespeare):

(Author Page)

EXAMPLE:

(Williams 42)

BASIC FORMAT (Shakespeare):

(Act.Scene.Line)

EXAMPLE:

(4.2.36-47)

BASIC FORMAT:

(LastNameOfPresenter)

EXAMPLE:

Only one presenter named Hank Floogin: (Floogin)

3 or more presenters and Hank Floogin is alphabetically first on the list on the Works Cited: (Floogin et al.)

IN-TEXT CITATION: FILM

The in-text citation must always correspond with the first word of the Works Cited entry. For film citations, this is

usually the title in italics. If the title is longer than a few words, shorten it to the first word or phrase.

BASIC FORMAT: Title and (instead of a page number) add the time range of the part you are quoting or referring to.

EXAMPLE: (Moonlight 01:01:23–01:05:31)

ALREADY MENTIONED THE TITLE: citation only needs to include the time range.

EXAMPLE: The opening shot of Nosferatu introduces the town of Wisborg with a church in the foreground (2:18–2:25).

REFERRING TO THE FILM AS A WHOLE: mention only the title with no time range.

EXAMPLE: Johansson’s performance in Under the Skin creates an eerie sense of dislocation.

IN-TEXT CITATIONS: POEM

IF YOU HAVE LINE NUMBERS: Use the word “line” or “lines” in the first citation, but only numbers in subsequent

citations.

EXAMPLE: “What are the roots that clutch, what branches grow / Out of this stony rubbish?” (Eliot, lines 19–20).

NO LINE NUMBERS: Do NOT count them manually. If the poem is published over multiple pages, use the page

number instead.

EXAMPLE: “One day they hold you in the / Palms of their hands, gentle, as if you / Were the last raw egg in the

world” (Angelou 132).

NO PAGE NUMBERS (e.g. website): only need poet’s name.

EXAMPLE: “For a human animal to call for help / on another animal / is the most riven the most revolted cry

on earth” (Rich).

ALREADY MENTIONED THE NAME (and, if necessary, the title) when introducing the quotation, and there are

no line or page numbers, no parenthetical citation is needed.

More info needed ? Click HERE

WORKS CITED

PAGE

PLEASE NOTE: the green

boxes are the important

areas of focus. The actual

citations are in an

outdated format (MLA 7)

and should be ignored.

WORKS CITED (WC) LAYOUT

Centered,

capitals,

spelled exactly

like this

QUOTATION MARKS

-Short Stories, essays, chapter titles

-Articles you found in a newspaper, magazine, or journal

-individual webpage titles

-poems

-songs

-lectures

UNDERLINE

ALMOST NEVER... unless you wrote it out by hand in which

case see ITALICS above. We are assuming you cannot write

in italics freehand, so underlining in this instance is fine.

But nowhere else. Nowhere! ...stop reading.

ITALICS

-Novel, book, anthology, play

-Magazine (e.g. Time), newspaper (e.g.

Toronto Star), journal (e.g. Science)

-Film, TV show, Radio Show,

-Website

-Album

-Painting/Other Art

-Name of a specific ship, or aircraft

WC: MLA TITLES

Formatting for titles (in your work and Works Cited page) is as follows:

For more info on these headings click HERE

WC: ANATOMY OF A CITATION

Every citation on the Works Cited page will be broken down into the following 9 categories, in this exact

order, (including the punctuation) they have shown next to the item. If your source DOES NOT HAVE

one of these items (likely 3,4,5, and 6 if it's just a novel), then SKIP IT.

Last name first

For example, a short story may be contained in an

anthology (e.g. Sightlines 10, Echoes 11). The short story is

the source, and the anthology is the container.

Not usually a city name, but page numbers if taken from a

source "container"

WC: COMMON SOURCES TO CITE

1. Novel/Play

2. Short story in a textbook or magazine

3. Website

4. Classmate's Presentation

5. Online Video (e.g. Youtube)

6. Film/TV (e.g. DVD)

7. Image/Art

8. Poem

9. Song

NOTE: a lot of info for citations was taken from the Purdue Online Writing Lab (OWL). See click the link for more info.

owl.purdue.edu/owl/research_and_citation/mla_style/mla_formatting_and_style_guide/mla_formatting_and_style_guide.html

WC: CITING A NOVEL/PLAY

1) Author's Last Name, First Name.

2) Title of Book.

3) City of Publication,*

4) Publisher,

5) Publication Date.

*Note: the City of Publication should only be used if the book was published before 1900 (not of the original text

like Shakespeare), if the publisher has offices in more than one country, or if the publisher is unknown in North

America.

EXAMPLE:

Henley, Patricia. The Hummingbird House. MacMurray, 1999.

Remember the

hanging indent

WC: CITING A SHORT STORY

1) Author's Last Name, First Name.

2) "Short Story Title."

3) Title of Book/Magazine.

4) edited by Editor's Name(s), (if listed)

5) City of Publication,*

6) Publisher, (name of the company)

7) Publication Date. (of the anthology not the original story)

8) Page Range. (starts with pp.)

*Note: the City of Publication should only be used if the book was published before 1900 (not of the original text like

Shakespeare), if the publisher has offices in more than one country, or if the publisher is unknown in North America.

EXAMPLE:

Schmoo, Frank. "A Good Story." Big Book of Stories. Nelson, 2020. pp. 13-24.

Remember the

hanging indent

1) Author's Last Name, First Name.

2) "Title of the article or page"

3) Title of the website

4) Name of the publisher, (only include this if it differs from the name of the website)

5) Date the page or site was published,

6) The URL. (omit http:// and https://)

EXAMPLE:

White, Lori. “The Newest Fad in People Helping People: Little Free Pantries.” Upworthy, Cloud Tiger Media, 3

Aug. 2016, www.upworthy.com/the-newest-fad-in-people-helping-people-little-free-pantries?g=2&c=hpstream.

For more info click HERE

• No author? Start at #2

• No page title? Describe the page then continue from #3 (see example)

EXAMPLE:

General Information on the New York Mets. NYCData, The Weissman Center for International Business

Baruch College/CUNY, www.baruch.cuny.edu/nycdata/sports/nymets.htm.

WC: CITING A WEBSITE

Remember the

hanging indent

WC: CITING ORAL PRESENTATIONS

1) Last Name, First Name of speaker. First/Last after that. ("et al." if 3 or more presenters.)

2) "Title of the speech" (if any).

3) Title of the conference or meeting and then the name of the organization,

4) Date of presentation,

5) Name the venue and its city (if the name of the city is not listed in the venue’s name).

6) Use the descriptor that appropriately expresses the type of presentation (e.g. Address, Lecture, Reading, Keynote Speech, Guest

Lecture, Conference Presentation).

EXAMPLE:

If 1 Presenter:

Stein, Bob. “Reading and Writing in the Digital Era." Discovering Digital Dimensions, Computers and Writing Conference, 23 May 2003,

Union Club Hotel, West Lafayette, IN. Keynote Address.

If 2 Presenters :

Stein, Bob and Jeff Tootz. “Reading and Writing in the Digital Era." Discovering Digital Dimensions, Computers and Writing Conference,

23 May 2003, Union Club Hotel, West Lafayette, IN. Keynote Address.

If 3+ Presenters:

Stein, Bob, et al. “Reading and Writing in the Digital Era." Discovering Digital Dimensions, Computers and Writing Conference, 23 May

2003, Union Club Hotel, West Lafayette, IN. Keynote Address.

Remember the

hanging indent

WC: CITING ONLINE VIDEO (e.g. YouTube)

1) Author's Last Name, First Name.

2) "Title of video."

3) Title of the website,

4) Name of the uploader, (only include this if it differs from the author)

5) Date the video was published,

6) The URL. (omit http:// and https://).

EXAMPLE:

McGonigal, Jane. “Gaming and Productivity.” YouTube, uploaded by Big Think, 3 July 2012, www.youtube.com/watch?v=mk

dzy9bWW3E.

“8 Hot Dog Gadgets put to the Test.” YouTube, uploaded by Crazy Russian Hacker, 6 June 2016, www.youtube.com/watch?v

=WBlpjSEtELs.

Remember the

hanging indent

WC: CITING A FILM

1) Film title.

2) Name of the director, (If relevant, list performer names after the director's name)

3) Film studio or distributor,

4) Release year.

EXAMPLE:

Speed Racer. Directed by Lana Wachowski and Lilly Wachowski, performances by Emile Hirsch, Nicholas Elia, Susan

Sarandon, Ariel Winter, and John Goodman, Warner Brothers, 2008.

To emphasize specific performers or directors, begin the citation with the name of the desired performer or

director, followed by the appropriate title for that person.

EXAMPLE:

Lucas, George, director. Star Wars Episode IV: A New Hope. Twentieth Century Fox, 1977.

For more info (including citing TV) click HERE

Remember the

hanging indent

WC: CITING AN IMAGE/ART/SCULPTURE

1) Artist's Last Name, First Name.

2) Title of the artwork.

3) Date of composition,

4) Institution that houses the artwork,

5) Location of the institution. (only if the location is not listed in the name of the institution, e.g. The Art

Institute of Chicago).

EXAMPLE: Goya, Francisco. The Family of Charles IV. 1800, Museo del Prado, Madrid.

NOTE: If you found the image in a book or website treat the book or website as a "container"

BOOK EXAMPLE:

Goya, Francisco. The Family of Charles IV. 1800, Museo del Prado, Madrid. Gardener's Art Through the Ages, 10

ed., by

Richard G. Tansey and Fred S. Kleiner, Harcourt Brace, p. 939.

WEBSITE EXAMPLE:

Goya, Francisco. The Family of Charles IV. 1800. Museo del Prado, museodelprado.es/en/the-collection/art-work/the-family-of-

carlos-iv/f47898fc-aa1c-48f6-a779-71759e417e74.

Remember the

hanging indent

WC: CITING A POEM

IN A COLLECTION OF THE AUTHOR'S WORK

1) Author's Last Name, First Name.

2) "Title of Poem."

3) Name of the book,

4) Publisher,

5) Year published,

6) Page/page range on which poem appears.

EXAMPLE: Rich, Adrienne. “Fox.” Fox: Poems, W.W.

Norton & Company, 2001, p. 25.

IN AN ANTHOLOGY (Many Authors)

Follow the same format as above but add the

names of the book’s editors.

EXAMPLE: Heaney, Seamus. “Funeral Rites.” The

Penguin Book of Contemporary Irish Poetry, edited

by Peter Fallon and Derek Mahon, Penguin Books,

1990, pp. 149-151.

ON A WEBSITE

1) Author's Last Name, First Name.

2) "Title of Poem."

3) Original publication year (if relevant).

4) Name of Website,

5) URL.

6) Publication date, include this; if not, add the

date on which you accessed it (Accessed ___).

EXAMPLE: Rich, Adrienne. “Diving into the Wreck.”

1978. Poets, poets.org/poem/diving-wreck.

Accessed 27 July 2019.

Remember the

hanging indent

WC: CITING A SONG

1) Artist's Last Name, First Name.

2) "Title of Song."

3) Album title,

4) Record Label,

5) Publication date.

EXAMPLE:

Nirvana. "Smells Like Teen Spirit." Nevermind, Geffen, 1991.

If song is via Spotify etc.:

6) Music service title,

7) Access link.

EXAMPLE:

Rae Morris. “Skin.” Cold, Atlantic Records, 2014. Spotify, open.spotify.com/track/0OPES3Tw5r86O6fudK8gxi.

Remember the

hanging indent