Skip to Main Content

Library & Information Services Sub Menu Dismiss

Citation Styles: MLA

MLA (Modern Language Association) style is most commonly used to write papers and cite sources within the liberal arts and humanities. 

End-of-Text References

Articles

Author Last Name, Author First Name. "Title of Article." Title of Journal, vol. Volume, no.Issue, Year of Publication,pp. Page Range. Database Name, URL or DOI.


Books

Author Last Name, Author First Name. Title of Book. Edition ed., City of Publication, Publisher Name, Year of Publication.


Newspaper Articles

Author Last Name, Author First Name.  "Title of Article." Title of Newspaper, Day Month Year, pages.


A Page on a Web Site

Author Last Name, Author First Name.  "Page Name." Website, Date of Publication or Update Date, http://Web address, Accessed Day Month Year.


Examples retrieved from Purdue OWL: MLA Formatting

Style influenced by Citation Styles, UWM Libraries

In-Text References

Direct Quotations and Paraphrasing

The author's last name and the page number(s) from which the quotation or paraphrase is taken must appear in the text, and a complete reference should appear on your Works Cited page. The author's name may appear either in the sentence itself or in parentheses following the quotation or paraphrase, but the page number(s) should always appear in the parentheses, not in the text of your sentence. For example:

Wordsworth stated that Romantic poetry was marked by a "spontaneous overflow of powerful feelings" (263). 


Romantic poetry is characterized by the "spontaneous overflow of powerful feelings" (Wordsworth 263).


Wordsworth extensively explored the role of emotion in the creative process (263).


Examples retrieved from Purdue OWL: MLA Formatting

Style influenced by Citation Styles, UWM Libraries

MLA Resources

For more information on the MLA Citation Style, check out these resources:

Purdue OWL MLA Style