Online guides are helpful, but remember to always follow your instructor's directions when formatting your paper and creating citations.
Basic Format for in text citations
(Author's last name page#).
(Miller 241).
(Miller and Roe 35-38).
(Merrion et al. 85). Use et al. for more than 2 authors
If you cite the author’s name in your paper, cite only page numbers in
parentheses:
Miller has compared these authors (203-05).
No Author
Use the complete title in a single phrase or use a short form
of the title in parentheses.
-Titles of books and films are italicized
-Titles of articles are put in quotation marks.
Heart disease is the leading cause of
death for both men and women ("Heart Disease").
Citing Different Pages from the Same Source:
If you write a sentence that quotes from several places in the same source and you wish to cite them in a single parenthesis, list the appropriate page numbers in the order they are quoted, separated by commas.
For example:
Getting a tattoo may be an act of “identity formation,” but as such it can be interpreted as a symptom of “profound self-doubt” (Friedman 27, 33). example from: Ithacalibrary.com
Citing Different sources from the Same Author:
King, Stephen. Carrie. Doubleday, 1974.
---. The Green Mile. Viking Press, 1996.
Examples in text:
(King, Carrie 135).
(King, The Green Mile 23).
Multiple unsigned articles with the same title but from different sources
("Article title," Abbreviated title of source in italics).
Examples:
("Alternative Energy," Discover 164).
("Alternative Energy," Wind).
Multiple Sources
To cite multiple sources in the same parenthetical reference, separate the citations by a semi-colon (Miller 26; Rogers 456).
Web Sources (no page#)
When you quote or paraphrase a specific passage in an online source
with or without page numbers, no page numbers are needed:
According to Miller, drug use is a serious problem.
Indirect Sources (your source quotes another source) MLA Handbook, sec. 3.4
Example:
Roth states that "no police department should tolerate excessive use of force" (qtd. in Miller 358).
General formatting Rules for MLA 8th edition
MLA 8th edition uses Core Elements to cite all types of sources.
Image source, MLA.org
Authors/Contributors
Date of Access
Location
Publishers/Sponsors
Recordings
Material Type | In Text Citation | Works Cited |
Book |
(Ogbar 65)
(Tallett and Trim 112) |
Ogbar, Jeffrey O. G. Hip-Hop Revolution: the Culture and Politics of Rap. University Press of Kansas, 2007. Tallett, Frank, and David Trim, editors. European Warfare, 1350-1750. Cambridge UP, 2010. |
eBook (from a library database) |
(Rabaka 83) |
​Rabaka, Reiland. Hip Hop’s Inheritance : From the Harlem Renaissance to the Hip Hop Feminist Movement. Lexington Books, 2011. EBSCOhost, search.ebscohost.com. *[In this example, EBSCOhost is the database and second container so it is italicized.] |
Chapter/essay from a book
Chapter/essay from an eBook |
(Judd 56)
(Williams 28)
(McElroy 25-36) |
Judd, Sandra. "Heart Attack." Cardiovascular Disorders Sourcebook, Omigraphics, 2016, pp. 56-59. Williams, Bill. "History of Tamales." Encyclopedia of Food, edited by Sherry Miller, Random House Press, 2014, pp. 24-38.
McElroy, Mary. "Health Care Systems in the United States." The 1950s in America, edited by John C. Super, Salem, 2005. Salem Online, online.salempress.com. |
Page on a Website |
(“[R]evolution of Hip Hop”)
(Flanagan) |
Page with no author and no publication date. “[R]evolution of Hip Hop.” Universal Hip Hop Museum, www.uhhm.org/ revolution-of-hip-hop/. Accessed 19 Jan. 2021. Page with author and date Flanagan, Andrew. “Kendrick Lamar's 'DAMN.' Wins Historic Pulitzer Prize In Music” NPR. 16 Apr. 2018, www.npr.org/sections/therecord /2018/04/16/602948758/kendrick. [The MLA handbook recommends adding the URL for websites, however you should omit http:// or https:// from the URL] [you can omit the name of the publisher when the title of the website is the same or similar to the name of its publisher (MLA p. 42)] |
Periodicals (magazines, newspapers, and journals) |
(Kane et al.)
(Breznican 21-22) |
Kane, Kevin, et al. "Beyond Fragmentation at the Fringe: An Analysis of Urban Land Cover in Phoenix." Applied Geography, vol. 52, no. 2, Aug. 2014, pp. 123-134.
Entertainment Weekly, 12 Dec. 2015, pp. 20-23. |
Film or Documentary (timestamp) | (Lucas 33:20-34:11) |
Lucas, George, director. Star Wars Episode IV: A New Hope. Twentieth Century Fox, 1977. |
Song (artist and timestamp) |
(Eric B and Rakim 3:32-3:55)
(Queen Latifah :25-:52)
(Beyonce’ 2:43-3:00) |
Spotify Eric B. and Rakim. “My Melody.” Paid in Full, 1987. Spotify, open.spotify.com/track/7FWaqDbIq3OGZsC 04CfuV9? si=DCC- Nlu3T5KmYiyf71GFow.
YouTube Queen Latifah. “Queen Latifah - Ladies First (feat. Monie Love) [Music Video].” YouTube, uploaded by Tommy Boy, 19 Jan. 2018, youtu.be/8Qimg_q7LbQ.
Physical Source (CD, tape, record, etc.) Beyoncé. “Pray You Catch Me.” Lemonade, Parkwood Entertainment, 2016.
|
Interview |
(“Rakim Breaks Down” 4:50-5:23)
(“Rakim Reflects” 21:50-22:18)
(Hunter)
(McDonnell and Miller 122) |
Interview on YouTube “Rakim Breaks Down Hip-Hop History, Talks Dr. Dre Sessions, Eric B, His Book + More.” YouTube, uploaded by Breakfast Club Power 105.1 FM, 26 Sep. 2019, youtu.be/dMFPbiDAPsA.
Podcast “Rakim Reflects On His Life In Hip-Hop And What Happened With Eric B.” What’s Good with Stretch & Bobbito from NPR, 27 Aug. 2018, www.npr.org/2018/08/27/642400564/rakim-reflects-on-his -life-in-hip-hop-and-what-happened-with- eric-b.
Interview on a Website (text only) Hunter, Smantha. "MC Lyte Speaks on the Legacy of Her Iconic Debut ‘Lyte as a Rock’ [INTERVIEW]." OkayPlayer, 2020, www.okayplayer.com/music/mc-lyte-lyte-as-a-rock-interview.html.
Interview from a magazine McDonnell, Evelyn, and Randee Miller. “Queen Latifah.” Rolling Stone, no. 773, Nov. 1997, p. 122. EBSCOhost, search.ebscohost.com.
|
TV Show Episode (timestamp) | (Where This Is Ruin” 6:12-6:52) |
“Where There Is Ruin, There Is Hope for a Treasure.” The Get Down, season 1, episode 1, 2017. Netflix, www.netflix.com/watch/80025601. |
YouTube Video | ("Real History") |
"Real History Behind Game of Thrones." YouTube, uploaded by Alp, 14 July 2016, youtu.be/Odw3Nxdqq4o. |
Image, online | (Souza) | Souza, Pete. President Barack Obama Views the Hoover Dam. 2 Oct. 2012, photograph. Obama White House Archives, 7 July 2015, obamawhitehouse.archives.gov/blog/2015/07/07/day- history-construction-began-hoover-dam. |
When in doubt, check with your instructor with specific questions about formatting your paper and creating citations.