MLA Citations

 MLA stands for Modern Language Association.  This organization provides a documentation system that is used widely by English and foreign languages.  It has just updated its code in order to respond to the newer sorts of sources that students are like to use as they write. If your instructor does not give you specific guidance on which form to use, MLA works well as your default system.  

Whichever system you are using, responsible source citation involves two steps:

1. citing material in your text that deserves credit

2. providing source information in a systematic and retrievable fashion.  

Citing Sources

Give credit to the original source when you borrow ideas or words. Not only is that fair, but reliable external information adds authority to your resources. Here are two ways to cite sources in your text: 

Use a tag line that gives the author and list the page reference (in this case a newspaper page reference, which combines the section and the page) at the end of the passage:

As Robin Fitz remarks in her Paola, Kansas newspaper column, "One of our first discoveries when my husband and I moved to town was how much the community values the park square" (A2).

List the author and the page reference at the end:

Park squares seemed to have a resurgence in the 1970s: "Protecting and upgrading the park square in Paola has been a community project that dates back to the Vietnam era" (Fitz A2).

Use lengthy quotations sparingly. If the quotation is more than four lines, block it off from the rest of your text, indenting it ten spaces (or one inch) from the left margin; do not enclose it in quotation marks and do put the identifying information outside (beyond) the final punctuation mark. Double-space the block as you have the rest of your manuscript.  For more information, refer to Incorporating References.

Creating Works Cited Entries

Find the correct templates to use to create your works cited entries can seem daunting.  A good way to begin is to work with the origin of the information:

The following is a list of Works Cited entries that conform to MLA guidelines (2009).

Sources Found in Print

Book with one author:

Teff, Maryrose.  Women in the Kitchen.  Boston:  Duck P, 1986. Print.

In-text parenthetical citation sample, assuming that the reference is to page 34:  (Teff 34).
If Teff is identified in the text: (34).

Book with two or three authors:

Field, Burke, and Robert Dash. The Rise of Wheat Bread. Bloomington: Indiana UP, 1996. Print.

In-text parenthetical citation sample, assuming that the reference is to page 34:  (Field and Dash 34).

Illustrated book or graphic narrative:

Field, Burke, Robert Dash, and Salty Pepper. The Vegetable Avenger:  Doom to Beets. Illus. Ima Artist. Bloomington: Indiana UP, 1996. Print.

In-text parenthetical citation sample, assuming that the reference is to page 34:  (Field, Dash, and Pepper 34).

If your discussion is mainly about the art work, your citation should follow this pattern:

Artist, Ima, illus. The Vegetable Avenger:  Doom to Beets. By Burke Field, Robert Dash, and Salty Pepper. Bloomington: Indiana UP, 1996. Print.

In-text parenthetical citation sample, assuming that the reference is to page 34:  (Field, Dash, and Pepper 34). 

Book with editors:

Edwards, Lyon, ed.  Approaches to Aspargus.  Baltimore: Doubleday, 1990. Print.

Article from a course rhetoric or reader:  

Change, Ira.  "The Presence of Radishes."  The St. Martin's Guide to Writing. Short 6th ed. Rise B. Axelrod and Charles R. Cooper. Boston: Bedford/St. Martin's P, 2001. 127-29. Print.

    This is merely an illustration.  The 127-29 at the end are the page numbers of the article. In-text parenthetical citation sample:  (Change 128).

Reference book article (from a specialized encyclopedia):

Onions, Red. "Cabbage." The Encyclopedia of Sustainable Gardening. Ed. Grant Getter. Seattle:  Nature's Seeds Press., 2008. Print.

Journal article with continuous pagination: 

Mash, Micah.  "Potatoes Are Us." Classical Vegetables  62.2 (2008): 337-39. Print.

62 is the volume. 2 is the issue within that volume

Journal article with independent pagination:

Cash, Cash.  "The Transcendence of Vidalia Onions."  Illinois Quarterly   37.1 (2009):  1-2. Print.

Magazine Article:

Radish, Ima.  "Food Is Us!" Time 23 Aug. 1999: 52-58. Print.

Newspaper Article:

Eatem, Celery.  "Vegetables Vegetate in Local Yard."  New York Truth 13 Oct. 2007, local ed.: C3. Print.

Local ed=edition of the paper.  Newspapers often have a variety of editions. That information is usually apparent on the masthead.

Brochure or pamphlet:

Vinegar Association of America.  Vinegar:  Not Just for Salads. Bedford, KS: VAA, n.d. Print.

n.d. signal that no date is available

Press release:

Vinegar Association of America.  Vinegar Association Promotes Green Uses of Its Product. Bedford, KS: VAA, 18 May 2009. Print.

Court Case:

McQueeney v. Fat Food, Inc. 123 USPQ 345. KS Supreme Ct. 2002. Print.

    1st plaintiff v. 1st defendant. volume name and page of law report cited. Court. Year. Medium (aka Print).  

Government Publication:

United States. Dept. of Health and Human Welfare.  Childhood Obesity: GPO, 2009. Print.

Non-Print Sources (but not electronic)

TV or Radio broadcast:

"It’s All About Radishes." Narr. Leslie Stahl. 60 Minutes. CBS. KCTV, Kansas City, 10 Dec. 2008. Television.

"Carrots, Actually." Narr. Terry Gross. Fresh Air. National Public Radio. KPR, Lawrence, KS, 10 Jan. 2009. Radio.

Sound Recording:

Guthrie, Woodie.  Children’s Veggie Stories. Vintage, 1940, LP.

Use the following terms for the types of sound recordings: