ccs ferguson library
mla citation guide
There are three situations when you need to cite your source:
• using a direct quotation (somebody else’s words and ideas)
• paraphrasing information from a source (your words, but expressing someone else’s ideas)
• giving information that is not common knowledge
There are two ways you need to cite the sources of ideas and information in your writing:
• Full citations for each source are listed in a bibliography or on a works cited page to give complete
publication information.
• Short parenthetical citations are included in the body of your paper to show each time you use a
particular source from the bibliography.
Since your bibliography or works cited page gives complete information about all your sources, your parenthetical
citation needs to include only enough info to identify the correct source. So, the format of your parenthetical
citation depends on what your text says. If you mention the author in the sentence, and that author only appears once
in your bibliography, you only need to put a page number. It’s that simple:
As Byers claims, “Great journeys begin at the river, often on a Friday” (8-9).
Also keep in mind that when the information you are citing appears before the end of the sentence, you should cite
the source at the end of the info before continuing with the normal sentence structure:
Keesee’s rubric (Technology 77) has also been an invaluable tool for assessment.
And finally, cite at the end of a block quotation (multiple-line, double-indented), outside the final punctuation.
If this is the last sentence in a longer block quotation, cite at the end after the period. (GJ 20-21)
Here are some examples of common citation types. The full citation is generated online by EasyBib and would go in
your bibliography. The corresponding parenthetical citation example shows how you would refer to that particular
source in the main text of your paper.
full citation
one author, one title
Keesee, Neal. Technology at Christchurch School. White Stone, VA: RR,
2010. Print.
up to three authors, one title
Keesee, Neal, Donny Pyles, and John E. Byers. Great Journeys Begin at
the River. Urbanna, VA: Connie, 2009. Print.
parenthetical example
include last name and pages
(Keesee 114)
include last names and pages
(Keesee, Pyles, and Byers 18-19)
one author of multiple sources
add abbreviated title
Wallin, Wanda. Math is Fun. White Stone, VA: RR, 2008. Print.
Wallin, Wanda. The World of Math. White Stone, VA: RR, 2006. Print.
(Wallin Math 89-90)
(Wallin World 12-14)
two authors with the same last name
add initial (or title, if same initial)
Byers, John E. Friday Duty. Christchurch, VA: Seahorse, 2008. Print.
Byers, Alexandra. Corgis in Needlepoint. New York: Harper, 2008. Print.
(J. Byers 41-42)
(L. Byers 128-142)
website (or other source) with no credited author
“Do Violent Video Games Contribute to Youth Violence?” Video Games
ProCon.org. Web. 12 Jan. 2011. <http://videogames.procon.org/>.
include title (and pages if available)
(“Do Violent”)
interview
include last name
Alter, John. Personal Interview. 1 January 2012.
(Alter)
document (or essay, article, etc) with an author in an edited anthology
Kennedy, John F. “Kennedy Reaffirms the Domino Theory, 1963.” Major
Problems in the History of the Vietnam War. Ed. Robert J. McMahon.
4th ed. Boston: Wadsworth Cengage Learning, 2008. 129-31. Print.
include article’s author (or title, if no
credited author) and pages
website (or other source) with no author or title
all info is in your sentence, so don’t
use a parenthetical citation at all
Include the URL (or other description) in the body of your text.
(Kennedy 129)
For more examples and explanations, visit www.easybib.com and check out the Citation Guide.