Academic Writing: Mla Citation Style

MLA citation style uses a simple two-part parenthetical documentation system for citing sources: citations in the text of a paper are used to point to an alphabetical Works Cited list that appears at the end of the paper. Together these references identify and credit the sources used in the paper and allow others to access and retrieve this material. The Modern Language Association (MLA) Style is used for identifying research sources. In MLA style you briefly credit sources with parenthetical citations in the text of the paper, give the complete description of each source in your Works Cited list. The Works Cited list, or Bibliography, is a list of all the sources used in your paper, arranged alphabetically by author’s last name, or when there is no author, by the first word of the title (except A, An or The). In MLA style, references to sources are placed in the text of the paper in order to briefly identify sources for readers and enable them to locate the source of the cited information in the Works Cited list. These parenthetical references should be kept as brief and as clear as possible. Give only the information needed to identify a source. Usually the author’s last name and a page reference are all that is needed. Place the parenthetical reference as near as possible to the material being documented, and where a pause would naturally occur, preferably at the end of a sentence. Parenthetical material should complement not repeat, information that is given in your text. If you include an author’s name in a sentence, you do not need to repeat it in your parenthetical statement. The parenthetical reference should precede the punctuation mark that concludes the sentence, clause, or phrase that contains the cited material. Electronic and online sources are cited just like print resources in references cited in the text. If an online source lacks numbering, omit numbers from the parenthetical references. If a source includes fixed page numbers or section numbering, such as numbering of paragraphs (pars.), cite the relevant numbers. The following examples are based on the MLA Handbook for Writers of Research Papers, 6th ed., by Joseph Gibaldi. This is the basic format for a Works Cited entry. Take the title from the title page, not the cover. The author’s name should be written Last Name, First Name:

One Author

Berks, Andrew. The Victory. New York: Kraft, 1993.

Editor or Compiler

If the person named on the title page is the editor or compiler, rather than the author, add a comma then the abbreviation “ed.” or “comp.”

Cerry, John, comp. Facts About Wars. New York: Winston, 1992.

If you have

Two or More Authors, then list the names in the order they appear on the title page. Only the first author’s name should be reversed: Last Name, First Name. Use a comma between the authors’ names. Place a period after the last author’s name.

Example: Ryan, Richard, and Larry Jennings. The Essential Power: Heat of the Earth.

Aldery: Delran, 2000.

In general MLA Citation Style is one of main styles that are used in literature, Internet and it’s considered to be the most practical one.

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APA: The Easy Way! (Paperback)

This handbook is a quick and simplified guide to the APA writing style. It was developed as a condensed version of the official APA Publication Manual and designed to be utilized as a supplement to the actual guide.

The handbook is divided into three parts. Part one focuses on the mechanics of APA format as well as internal text citations; part two emphasizes the actual reference page entries; and part three provides a sample paper.

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