Citation Styles: MLA Articles

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Below are PDF versions of the citation handouts we keep at the Information Desk:

The following are different ways you can format your in-text citations:

Author’s name in text (page number):
According to Cuno, “for years, archaeologists have lobbied for national and international laws, treaties, and conventions to prohibit the international movement of antiquities” (1).

Author’s name in reference (page number):
The argument runs that, “the term 'Czechoslovak' had become a rich source of contention almost immediately after the state's formation” (Innes 16).

Two authors in reference:
A study conducted on a college campus concluded that therapy dogs help to reduce stress in students during final examinations (Smith and Jones 348).

Three or more authors in reference:
Dehydration resulting from caffeine can cause severe complications from the body (Adams et al. 67).

No known author:
A similar study was done of students learning to format a research paper ("MLA In-Text Citations").

Note: Use an abbreviated version of the title of the page in quotation marks to substitute for the name of the author

Citing authors with same last names, provide the first initial:

Although some medical ethicists claim that cloning will lead to designer children (R. Miller 12), others note that the advantages for medical research outweigh this consideration (A. Miller 46).

Author’s name in text (no page number):
Cassell and Jenkins compared reaction times. . . .

Author’s name in reference (no page number):
In a recent study of reaction times (Cassell & Jenkins). . .

Note: If the source does not have page numbers, but explicitly labels its paragraphs or sections, you can give that number instead with the appropriate abbreviation. For example, (Lee, par. 2). When a source has no page number or not other kind of numbering, do not give a page number in the parathesis. Do not count paragraphs if they are not numbered.

What is Considered to be a Long Quotation?

If the quotation you use in your paper is longer than 3 lines, then it is considered to be a long quotation (also known as a "block quote").

Rules for Long Quotations

There are 4 basic rules that apply to long quotations:

1. Place a colon at the end of the sentence that you write in order to introduce your long quotation.
2. Start the long quotation on a new line in your Word document. Indent the long quotation 0.5 inches from the rest of the text, so it looks like a block of text.
3. Do not put quotation marks (" ") around your long quotation.
4. Place the period at the end of the quotation before your in-text citation instead of after, like you would with regular quotations.

Example of a Long Quotation

In order for libraries to grow and adapt to new generations, it is vital to experiment with programming and services:

The idea of experimentation is to try something new. On occasion, ideas do not always work out the way we hope, and that's okay. Assessment helps determine if an experiment is worth supporting permanently. We consider that iPad experiment at the Art & Architecture Library a failure. The few students who tried the apps, like the app Procreate, but there was not enough evidence for us to continue offering it. Even though we call it a failure, it was not a waste of time. We learned that students are interested in digital art platforms but prefer to use apps on their personal devices. (Copper 77)