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Frances Tran
Queens College, CUNY
English 162w: Lit. & Place
Sp. 2013 M/W 8:00-9:15am
MLA Citation
Quoting:
1. You should quote sparingly and only when you want to make a specific point about the
arguments and/or language in the original text.
- Quotes should always be placed in quotation marks and must be written exactly as
they appear in the original text.
- Avoid stringing quotations together in your paper. Remember that each quote should
be explicated and analyzed in detail. You need to illustrate why they are significant to
your overall argument or thesis.
- All quotes must be followed by a parenthetical citation, which usually includes the
author’s last name and page number. For example: (Wallach 447). If the source
material and author’s name is already clear from your sentence, you only need to
include a page number, i.e. (447).
- Quotes should be introduced so your reader is aware of the source material you are
using. For example: In “Building a Bridge of Words” Jennifer Wallach argues,
“QUOTE QUOTE QUOTE” (450).
- If you quote from two different pages you have two options: (1) cite the page
numbers directly after the quotation: “QUOTE QUOTE QUOTE” (10) TEXT TEXT
TEXT TEXT “QUOTE QUOTE QUOTE” (23); or, (2) cite the page numbers at the
end of your sentence, separating them with a comma “QUOTE QUOTE QUOTE”
TEXT TEXT TEXT TEXT “QUOTE QUOTE QUOTE” (10, 23).
2. Omitting/ Adding words to a quote:
- If you want to omit words in the middle of a quote, use ellipses (…). If you omit the
end of a quote, use ellipses at the end of the quotation. For example: “QUOTE
QUOTE QUOTE … QUOTE QUOTE QUOTE …” (Kingston 11).
- If you want to add or change words in a quote to make it fit the grammatical structure
of your sentence, use brackets […], but do not overly use this technique since it
requires altering the original text. For example: “QUOTE QUOTE QUOTE [TEXT]
QUOTE QUOTE QUOTE” (Cisneros 3).
3. You should use a block quote if it your quote exceeds four lines of typed prose. A block
quote is often introduced by a colon and must be double indented 1-inch (ten spaces)
from the margin. The passage should be double-spaced throughout with no quotation
marks and the punctuation should precede the parenthetical citation. For example:
QUOTE QUOTE QUOTE QUOTE QUOTE QUOTE QUOTE QUOTE
QUOTE QUOTE QUOTE QUOTE QUOTE QUOTE QUOTE QUOTE
QUOTE QUOTE QUOTE QUOTE QUOTE QUOTE QUOTE QUOTE
QUOTE QUOTE QUOTE QUOTE QUOTE QUOTE. (Zitkala-sa 190)
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Other Tips for Quoting:
1. Titles:
- When citing the title of texts in your papers remember that: (1) Longer works such as
books and movies should be italicized NOT underlined. For example: Sandra
Cisneros’s The House on Mango Street; (2) Shorter works such as critical articles,
book chapters, short stories, and poems should be in quotes. For example: Thomas
King’s “A Coyote Columbus Story” or the chapter “Born Bad” in The House on
Mango Street
- In your papers you should always try to include the full name of critical articles, but if
the titles are too long, quote at least the text before the colon. For example: Jennifer
Wallach’s “Building a Bridge of Words”
2. Names:
- You should always include the author’s full name when referencing a text for the first
time in your paper. After that, you can refer to the author by his or her last name.
- When referring to characters in works of fiction, you can use either their first or last
name as long as you remain consistent.
3. Important pages to consult in The Little DK Handbook:
- For tips on quoting see pgs. 102-103.
- A sample in-text citation is on pg. 126
Basic Rules for a Works Cited Page:
1. Begin your Works Cited on a separate page at the end of your research paper.
- After typing up your essay, go to Insert  Page Break
2. Label the page Works Cited and center it at the top of the page (do not italicize,
underline, bold the words or put them in quotes- the same goes for the title of your own
essay)
3. Entries in the Works Cited should be alphabetized according to the author’s last name.
4. Double space all citations, but do not skip spaces between entries.
5. Indent the second and subsequent lines of citations five spaces so that you create a
hanging indent.
- You can highlight all of your Works Cited entries and go to Format  Paragraph 
Special  Hanging (indent)
6. Things to keep in mind about citation:
- Use the most recent copyright date and list only the first city on the title page
- For university presses, use the abbreviation U and P with no periods
7. A sample Works Cited page appears in The Little DK Handbook on pgs. 124-125
Different Types of Sources
1. For help in citing MLA sources see pgs.114-115 in The Little DK Handbook. (These
pages offer a long list of the different types of sources you will cite in your paper).
2. The sources we have discussed in class so far include:
- Books: Sandra Cisneros’s The House on Mango Street (pgs. 138-139)
- Work in an Anthology/ Edited Collection: Sui Sin Far’s “In the Land of the Free,”
“Leaves from the Mental Portfolio of an Eruasian,” and “The Smuggling of Tie Co,”
as well as Thomas King’s “Joe the Painter and the Deer Island Massacre,” “A Coyote
Columbus Story,” and “Borders” (pg. 152)
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Article in a Magazine: Zitkala-sa’s “The School Days of an Indian Girl” (pg. 147)
Citation Information for MLA Citation Workshop:
Sui Sin Far’s “In the Land of the Free” (story from an edited collection)
Author: Sui Sin Far
Title of Story: “In the Land of the Free”
Title of Edited Collection: Mrs. Spring Fragrance and Other Writings
Editor(s): Amy Ling and Annette White-Parks
Place of Publication: Urbana
Publisher: University of Illinois Press
Year of Publication: 1995
Page numbers of story: 19-53
Medium: Print.
Thomas King’s “A Coyote Columbus Story.”
Author: Thomas King
Title of Story: “A Coyote Columbus Story.”
Title of Short Story Collection: One Good Story, That One
Place of Publication: Toronto
Publisher: HarperCollins
Year of Publication: 1993
Page numbers of story: 121-127
Medium: Print.
Zitkala-sa’s “The School Days of an Indian Girl” (magazine article)
Author: Zitkala-Sa
Article Title: “The School Days of an Indian Girl”
Publication: Atlantic Monthly
Year of Publication: February 1900
Page numbers: 185-194.
Medium: Print.