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English 271: Critical Writing in the Field of English Literature: Citing

MLA Style

Whether you choose to quote, summarize, or paraphrase sources you use in your research paper, you must cite each one. For guidelines and examples, look here:

If you use online citation formatters provided free on the internet or within a library database. Remember that computer generated citations are not foolproof. Be sure to review them for accuracy.

This video has good tips for Using a Citation from a Citation Generator.

If you are writing a long paper or thesis and want help organizing your sources and citations, try Zotero or EndNote, both of which the library supports.

MLA Citation Outlines (9th ed.)

MLA Citation Examples (9th ed.)

Each entry should include the following core elements, when known, which should be taken from the source's title page or the first page of a periodical article or webpage:

  • author name(s).
  • title of source.
  • title of container,
  • other contributors,
  • version,
  • number,
  • publisher,
  • publication date,
  • location.

You need to combine elements from several examples to fit what you are citing.

Book, Two Authors, Print [5.7]

List the authors in the order they appear on the title page.

For e-books, include the database name in italics, a comma, the year of publication, and then the permanent link to the book.

General Format: First author's last name comma first name and middle initial period comma second author's first name and middle name last name period book title in italics period publisher comma publishing date year period.Description of Citation:Meyer comma Karl E period comma and Shareen Blair Brysac period Tournament of Shadows in italics colon The Great Game and the Race for Empire in Central Asia in italics period Counterpoint comma 1999 period

In-text Citation

Author Name(s) in Parenthetical Citation:

"Wisconsin has over 600 varieties of cheese" (Meyer and Brysac 99).

Author Name(s) in Your Text

According to Meyer and Brysac, "Wisconsin has over 600 varieties of cheese" (99).

Journal Article, One Author, Online Database, with DOI

General format: Author last name comma first name period. open quote title in sentence case period close quote. journal title in italics and title case comma. lower case v o l period (which stands for volume). Volume number. n o period (which stands for issue number). Issue number comma. publication year comma space lowercase p p period space then the page range period. database title in italics and title case comma digital object identifier period. Description of citation: Ebelebe comma Ugo Ben period. open quotation marks Reinventing Nollywood colon the impact of online funding and distribution on Nigerian Cinema period close quotation marks. Convergence in title case and italics comma v o l period space 25 n o period space three comma 2019 comma p p period 466 dash 478 period. Sage journals in title case and italics comma h t t p s colon forward slash forward slash d o i period o r g forward slash 10 period 1177 forward slash 1354856517735792 period.

In-text Citation

Author Name(s) in Parenthetical Citation:

"Wisconsin has over 600 varieties of cheese" (Ebelebe 470).

Author Name(s) in Your Text

According to Ebelebe, "Wisconsin has over 600 varieties of cheese" (470).

Journal Article, Two Authors, Website, No DOI, No Stable Link, with URL

In this example, the article was not paginated. If there had been page numbers they would have been included in the citation.

General format: Author last name comma first name initial of middle name period comma and first name middle initial last name period space open quotation marks title in title case colon subtitle in title case period close quotation marks. title of the journal in title case and italics comma v o l period space comma volume number comma n o period space issue number comma publication date comma URL beginning with w w w (not http or https) period. Description of citation: MacArthur comma Marit J period comma and Lee M period Miller period. open quotation marks Slow Listening semicolon Digital Tools for Voice Studies period close quotation marks. Digital Humanities Quarterly in title case and italics comma v o l period space 17 comma, n o period space 2 comma 2023 comma w w w period digital humanities period org forward slash d h q forward slash space v o l forward slash 17 forward slash 2 forward slash 000688 forward slash 000688 period h t m l period.

In-text Citation

Author Name(s) in Parenthetical Citation:

"Wisconsin has over 600 varieties of cheese" (MacArthur and Miller).

Author Name(s) in Your Text

According to MacArthur and Miller, "Wisconsin has over 600 varieties of cheese."

Classroom Materials, in Canvas

  1. Title of Classroom Material
  2. Course Title
  3. Instructor
  4. Canvas (Learning Management System)
  5. Educational Institution
  6. Date
  7. URL

General Format: Open quotation marks Title of classroom material in title case period close quotation marks. Course title in title case comma taught by instructor first name instructor last name period. Name of learning management system in title case and italics comma name of university with the letter U substituted for the word university, publication day abbreviated month period space year comma U R L period. Description of Citation: Open quotation marks Week One in title case period close quotation marks. Introduction to College Writing, Reading, and Research in title case comma taught by Juanita Perez period. Canvas in title case and italics comma, U of Wisconsin dash Whitewater, 3 Sept period 2024 comma uwwtw period instructure period com forward slash courses forward slash 32763 forward slash files forward slash 78615818 question mark module underscore item underscore id equal sign 23822334 period.

Citing Literary Criticism from Gale Literature in MLA Style

Journal Article Republished in a Book, in a Database

For an article republished in a book that is available in a database--such as those from Gale Literature--you will be using three containers. They are a periodical (journal in this example), a book, and a database. The example follows the standard steps.

General Format: Author last name comma first name period. Open quotation marks Title including title within title contained in single quotation marks semicolon subtitle period close quotation marks. Series title, edited by editor first name middle initial and last name comma volume number comma publisher comma publication year period. Originally published in journal title in italics comma volume number comma issue number, publication season and year comma page range period. Database comma, stable U R L period. Description of Citation: Harris comma Trudier period. Open quotation marks Alice Walker apostrophe s open single quotation marks Roselily close single quotation marks colon Meditations on Culture comma Politics comma and Chains period close quotation marks. Short Story Criticism in italics, comma edited by Catherine C period DiMercurio comma v o l period space 272 comma Gale comma 2019 period. Originally published in The Southern Quarterly in italics comma v o l period space 54 comma n o period 2 comma Winter 2017 comma p p period 28 dash 48 period. Gale Literature comma link period gale period com forward slash apps forward slash doc forward slash H1420126823 forward slash GLS question mark u equal sign h2o ampersand sid equal sign bookmark dash GLS ampersand xid equal sign f25cfdd9 period.

In-text Citation

Author Name(s) in Parenthetical Citation:

"Wisconsin has over 600 varieties of cheese" (Trudier).

Author Name(s) in Your Text

According to Trudier, "Wisconsin has over 600 varieties of cheese."

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