Modern Language Association
UMKC Writing Studio 816-­‐235-­‐1146 [email protected] www.umkc.edu/writingstudio MLA Style (Eighth Edition) The following is a summary of MLA Style standards relevant to RooWriter submissions. For other projects,
please consult the MLA Style Manual and the Writing Studio’s website for more comprehensive guidelines.
Citing Sources
“To document” means to tell the reader the source of any material a writer uses in his or her essay. Material
needing documentation includes facts, statistical data, and ideas as well as the words used to express such
information. Writers need to document, or cite, sources whether or not they are using the exact words of the
original. If using any of the exact words (even just a phrase), writers need to put quotation marks around those
words in addition to citing the source. Failure to use quotation marks appropriately constitutes plagiarism. For
prose, writers need to find the author and page number of a work (Smith 76), but for poetry, writers need the
author and the line numbers (Poe 15-17). When working with dramas, writers need to introduce the author in
the text before a quotation and need to provide the play title and line numbers in the parenthetical citation
(Hamlet 15-17). MLA has special rules for short and long quotes.
Short Quotations (4 typed lines or less): Place the quote within the text of the paper. Introduce the quote with
a comma, and place the period after the parenthetical citation. Use quotation marks to show all borrowed
material. Include author and page number.
Block Quotations (More than 4 typed lines): Place the quote one inch from the left margin, and omit
quotation marks. Introduce the quote with a colon, and place the period before the parenthetical citation.
Same author of multiple works: When this occurs, group the works by the same author together, and
alphabetize by the first word of the title. At the beginning of the second and subsequent works, use three dashes
instead of writing the author’s name. Ex. - - -. In the paper, distinguish between the works by putting the first
few words of the title in the parenthetical citation before the page number.
No author: If no author is available, leave it out and alphabetize the works cited list by the first key word in the
title. (Key words do not include “A,” “An,” and “The.”) In the paper, use the first key word of the title when
citing. Ex. (Art 76).
Missing Information: If a piece of information for a works cited entry is not available, skip that piece and
move on to remaining information. Electronic sources often lack page numbers. If the electric source uses
paragraph numbers (par. or pars.) or screens numbers (screens), use this information in place of a page number.
For more information, consult the MLA Handbook.
Multiple authors: When citing multiple authors internally, use a semicolon between internal citations. Ex.
(Smith 45; Logan 22-23).
Documents on Websites or in Databases: MLA Style uses the concept of “containers” to discuss the holding
location of a source. A databases generally is considered a container, not a publisher; however, a website may
be considered primarily as a publisher depending on their role in the production of the source. For instance,
YouTube is typically considered to be a container for videos; however, NASA could be both a publisher and a
container for a video. View the MLA Center’s “Works Cited: A Quick Guide” at https://style.mla.org for
examples and more information about this an other aspects of citing electronic sources.
Constructing Works Cited Entries MLA’s 8th Edition uses the same citation style for all types of sources, universally. Much of this relies on the idea of “containers,” which might refer to a book, academic journal, collection, archive, database, CD, website, or any number of different types of sources. Because the template is meant to be used for all types of sources, use your discretion when determining what pieces of information to place emphasis on. For example, you might list the author of a film as the director if you mean to emphasize how the film was made, but you might list the author as the lead actor if you mean to emphasize a specific performance. For every external citation, only include the information that you have regarding the source. If there isn’t a secondary container (such as an archive, database, or collection where you found the source), then you wouldn’t include any information regarding Container 2. Works Cited Entry Template Only fill in the elements that are available. Last Name, First Name. “Title of Source.” Title
of Container 1, Other Contributors,
Version, Number, Publisher, Publication
date, Location. Title of Container 2,
Other Contributors for Container 2,
Version for Container 2, Number of
Container 2, Publisher for Container 2,
Publication date of Container 2, Location
of Container 2.
Example Lorensen, Jutta. “Between Image and Word, Color, and
Time: Jacob Lawrence’s The Migration Series.”
African American Review, vol. 40, no. 3, 2006, pp.
571-86. EBSCOHost,
search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=
true&db=f5h&AN=24093790&site=ehost-live.
Formatting and Organizing the Works Cited Alphabetize works cited lists and bibliographies by author’s last name and/or first key word of the title. Indent the second
and subsequent lines of entries half an inch from the left margin.
Additional MLA Resources
MLA Style Center: http://style.mla.org Purdue Owl-­‐ MLA: https://owl.english.purdue.edu/owl/resource/747/01/ Bedford St. Martin’s-­‐MLA: http://bcs.bedfordstmartins.com/resdoc5e/RES5e_ch08_o.html