Mohave Community College Libraries

In-Text Citations: Basics

• In-text citations are brief, unobtrusive references that direct readers to the works-cited-list entries for the sources you consulted and, where relevant, to the location in the source being cited.
• An In-text citation begins with whatever comes first in the entry: the author's name or the title (or description) of the work. 
• The citation can appear in your prose or in parentheses.

For more guidelines and examples, check out the MLA Style Center In-Text Citations Overview.

(Last Name Page #)

Or, introduce direct quotes with the author and title within the sentence or paragraph, then include the page number(s) at the end of the quote in parentheses -

Gass and Varonis found that “the listener’s familiarity with the topic of discourse greatly facilitates the interpretation of the entire message” (85).

I'm citing...

You only need the author's last name and the page number.

(Burke 3)

 If there is no author...        

Use a shortened title of the work

("Impact of Global Warming")

Connect both authors' last names with and, and include the page number.

(Best and Marcus 9)

Use the first author's last name and et al., and include the page number.

(Franck et al. 327)

Works Cited 

Basic Format:
Author Last Name, First Name Middle Name or Initial. Title of Longer Work or "Title of Shorter Work." Publisher, Year. URL or DOI.

I'm citing a...

Journal Article 

1. Author(s). Note: Use the format Last Name, First Name Middle Name or Initial. If there are multiple authors, use and before the last author's name.
2. "Title of the Article." Note: Include the title of a shorter work like an article in a journal in quotation marks and use headline-style capitalization.
3. Title of the Journal, Note: Use italics for the title of a longer work like a journal and use headline-style capitalization.
4. vol. #,
5. no. #, Note: If there is no additional number after the volume, only include the volume number.
6. Publication date,
7. pp. xxx-xxx.

If accessed online or in a library database...

• Database, Note: Use italics for names of databases.
• URL or permalink.

Gosine, Kevin, and Emmanuel Tabi. "Disrupting Neoliberalism and Bridging the Multiple Worlds of 

     Marginalized Youth via Hip-Hop Pedagogy: Contemplating Possibilities." Review of Education, Pedagogy,

     and  Cultural Studies, vol. 38, no. 5, 2016, pp. 445-467. Research Gate, doi: 

     10.1080/10714413.2016.1221712.

News/Magazine Article

1. Author(s). Note: Use the format Last Name, First Name Middle Name or Initial. If there are multiple authors, use and before the last author's name.
2. "Title of the Article." Note: Include the title of a shorter work in quotation marks and use headline-style capitalization.
3. Title of the Newspaper or Publisher, Note: Use italics for the title of a longer work like a newspaper or online publication and use headline-style capitalization.
4. Publication date, Note: Use the format Date Abbreviated Month Year.
5. URL.

Cochrane, Emily, and Noah Weiland. "Hillary Clinton, the N.F.L., Roy Moore and Other Asides from 

      the President." The New York Times, 16 Nov. 2018, https://nyti.ms/2zf1TPB.

Print or eBook

Print Book

1. Author(s). Note: Use the format Last Name, First Name Middle Name or Initial. If there are multiple authors, use and before the last author's name.
2. Title of the Book. Note: Use italics for the title of a longer work like a book and use headline-style capitalization.
3. Edition Note: If there are multiple editions, use the format 1st/2nd/3rd ed.,
4. Publisher,
5. Publication date. 

Lee, Harper. To Kill a Mockingbird. 1st ed., J. B. Lippincott & Co., 1960.

eBook

1. Author(s). Note: Use the format Last Name, First Name Middle Name or Initial. If there are multiple authors, use and before the last author's name.
2. Title of the Book, Note: Use italics for the title of a longer work like a book and use headline-style capitalization.
3. Editors Note: If there is one editor, use the format edited by Last Name, First Name. If there are multiple editors, use and before the last author's name.
4. Publisher,
5. Publication date.
6. Database, Note: Use italics for names of databases.
7. URL or permalink.

Hughes, Langston. Letters from Langston: From the Harlem Renaissance to the Red Scare and Beyond,

    edited by Evelyn Louise Crawford and Mary Louise Patterson. University of California Press,

    2016. EBSCOhost Academic eBook Collection, EBSCOhost, ezproxy.mohave.edu:2179/login.aspx?

    direct=true&db=e000xna&AN=1105577&site=ehost-live.

Book Chapter

1. Author(s) of the Chapter. Note: Use the format Last Name, First Name Middle Name or Initial. If there are multiple authors, use and before the last author's name.
2. "Title of the Chapter." Note: Include the title of a shorter work like a chapter in quotation marks and use headline-style capitalization.
3. Title of the Book, Note: Use italics for the title of a longer work like a book and use headline-style capitalization.
4. Editors Note: If there is one editor, use the format edited by Last Name, First Name. If there are multiple editors, use and before the last author's name.
5. Publisher,
6. Publication date,
7. pp. xxx-xxx.
8. Database, Note: Use italics for names of databases.
9. URL or permalink.

Green, David. "Supporting the Academic Success of Hispanic Students." College Libraries and Student

     Culture: What We Now Know, edited by Andrew D. Asher and Lynda M. Duke, ALA 

     Editions, 2011. EBSCOhost Academic eBook Collection, http://libproxy.csudh.edu/login?

     url=http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=nlebk&AN=390319. 

Web Page

Check out more examples of citing online sources from the MLA Style Center. 

Digital Media

• You must add the format of your media source like “MP3 format”, “Amazon Prime Videoapp”, or a TV channel like BBC or NBC, according to MLA 9th Handbook. 

Chaucer, Geoffrey. "The Former Age." Narrated by Susan Yager. Baragona's Literary Resources,

     alanbaragona.wordpress.com/the-criyng-and-the-soun/the-former-age/. Accessed 18 May, 2021, MP3

     format. 

Note: The format (MP3 format) is also added in MLA 9th edition to identify the type of your source and how exactly it has been played back or accessed.

Formatting Your MLA Paper

• Formatting Your Research Project

  Guidelines from the MLA Style Center on how to format your paper, including the title page, text formatting, tables and illustrations, and more.

• Sample MLA Papers

Sample essays that demonstrate MLA documentation style and paper formatting. They also provide models for organizing an argument and working with sources.

What does the general format of an MLA paper look like? 

Additional Resources

Still need help on MLA? Explore these additional resources.

Formatting Helps

How do I make a hanging indent in Word?

1. Highlight the citation with your cursor.

2. Right click. 

3. Select Paragraph.

4. Under Indentation, select Special and Hanging.

How can I save time formatting my paper? 

Microsoft Word and Google Docs have a Format Painter tool that will copy and apply basic formatting to any text! 

1. Highlight the formatting you want to apply. 

2. Select Format Painter. 

3. Highlight the text you want to change. 

Note: If using the Format Painter on the Reference List, you'll need to go back and add italics. 

Introduction to Citation Styles: MLA 9th Ed. by Tessa Withorn at CSUDH Library is licensed under CC BY-NC-SA 

Digital Object Identifier (DOI). What is it?

Digital Object Identifiers or DOIs, were created to provide electronic or digital materials a unique identifier. DOIs do not change over time, which guarantees findability of any digital material with an assigned DOI. The most common example of materials with an assigned DOI are electronic journal articles. Common citation styles (APA and MLA) require the DOI to be included in the reference page citation if one has been assigned. 

What do DOIs "Look Like"?

• All DOI's start with the number "10" followed by a period. Here is an example: 10.1038/nature12995

Things to Remember:

• If an article is digitized that does not mean it has been assigned DOI.
• Both peer reviewed and non-peer reviewed articles may have an assigned DOI.
• DOIs are clearly labeled "DOI."
• Refer to the appropriate citation guide on how to format the DOI in the reference list

Where do I find the DOI?

• If from an EBSCOhost database, the DOI will be in the electronic record.
• If from a Gale database, click on the article, the DOI will be listed below the title in the top right-hand portion of the page. 
• Additionally, most publishers place the DOI on the first page of an article in either the header or footer.
• If you cannot locate the DOI in any of these places, the article most likely was never assigned a DOI. But please feel free to contact a librarian for assistance.