MLA Citation Guide
The following entries illustrate the citation style according to the Modern Language Association (MLA) Handbook,
7
th
edition for sources in the works cited (i.e., reference) list. In MLA style, an alphabetized, double-spaced list of
works used in your project–“Works Cited”–appears at the end of your paper that provides full publishing
information for each of the sources you have used. Proper citation acknowledges the creators of each source and
helps your readers find the original source if they would like more information.
A few general rules for MLA citations:
• Authors’ names are inverted (Last name, First name); for each additional author, use traditional name order.
• Every line after the first must be indented one inch (hit Tab key once).
• All entries must include the medium in which the source was produced, delivered, or published. Capitalize
the medium. Ex: Print; Web; PDF.
• About dates: in the United States, we generally write the date Month, Day, Year (June 23, 2012). However,
in citations, the day comes first: Day Month Year (23 June 2012).
• Always locate a date of publication or the date of the last update, but if there is not one, use n.d. which
means “no date.” If there is no publisher, use N.p. If there are not page numbers, use N. pag. Please note
that the “n” is capitalized in both cases.
• Titles of shorter works (e.g., articles, song, poems, short stories) are placed in quotation marks: “Title.”
Titles of longer works (e.g., books, journals, albums, movies) are italicized: Title.
There are many citation generators available on the Internet, and the University Libraries even has a premium
subscription to the bibliography service EasyBib. As useful as citation generators can be, they are not foolproof.
You should use citation generators with caution and always be sure that all of the pertinent information is included
in the final citation by checking against a style guide such as the print version of the MLA Handbook, 7th Edition
(available in the Grand Reading Room of Thompson Library); Bedford-St. Martin’s Research and Documentation
Online; or Purdue OWL.
ELECTRONIC & MULTIMEDIA SOURCES
In the 21
st
century, many reliable resources are available online as well as in print. Please note that the 7
th
edition of
the MLA Handbook says to leave out the URL unless the item cannot be found without it. Always ask your
instructor whether he or she would prefer for the URLs to be included. We’ve included the URL for some example
citations so that you can see what it looks like when it is included.
Special note about electronic sources: technology is continually changing, but citation style guides do not change as
quickly. This means it can be difficult to figure out what the approved standard is for citing new media sources. If
you ever have any questions, always ask your instructor, visit the CSTW Writing Center, ask a librarian, or visit the
University Libraries/CSTW Writing Center research and writing tutoring center in Thompson Library.
General website homepage
Use the format below for the homepage of a website.
“CNN Home Page.” CNN. Cable News Network, n.d. Web. 26 July 2012. <http://www.cnn.com/>.
"National Geographic Home Page." National Geographic. National Geographic Society, n.d.
Web. 25 July 2012. <http://www.nationalgeographic.com/>.
University Libraries (614) 292-OSUL (6785) http://library.osu.edu
The Ohio State University Libraries 2
Page within website
Use the format below for pages within a website. If you are using anything other than the homepage of a website,
you will use this format. Sometimes there will not be an author, and sometimes there will a staff or organizational
author.
No author
"Salem Witchcraft Trials: Who Was Put To Death – National Geographic.com" National
Geographic. National Geographic Society, n.d. Web. 25 July 2012.
<http://channel.nationalgeographic.com/channel/expedition-week/salem-witch-trials-victims/>.
Staff author
CNN Wire Staff. "Researchers List Top 10 Airports for Spreading Disease - CNN.com." CNN.
Cable News Network, 26 July 2012. Web. 26 July 2012.
Individual author
Curry, Andrew. "Mystery of Lost Roman City Solved: Ancients Greened the Desert?"
National Geographic. National Geographic Society, 18 July 2012. Web. 25 July 2012.
<http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2012/07/120717-palmyra-roman-city-syria-science-farming-
world-ancient/>.
Personal/Professional site (individual)
Use the format below for websites developed by and dedicated to individuals (both personal and professional). If
you are using a page within the website, be sure to use the appropriate page name.
Vocat, Daryl. Daryl Vocat's Home Page. Daryl Vocat, 16 June 2012. Web. 26 July 2012.
<http://www.darylvocat.com/>.
Yergeau, Melanie. Melanie Yergeau Homepage. Melanie Yergeau, n.d. Web. 25 July 2012. <http://kuiama.net/>.
Journal articles accessed through a database
Most likely, you will access journal articles through large databases such as Academic Search Complete or the
MLA International Bibliography that index hundreds (even thousands!) of journals and other periodicals. You can
access databases for free from the University Libraries website. Be sure to include the database you used to locate
the article. Please note: when a journal article does not have page numbers, use N. pag.
PDFs of journal articles
PDFs are the preferred format for electronic copies of print articles because PDFs are exact replicas of the source
and include original formatting, such as page numbers and charts or other images.
Kajikawa, Loren. "D'Angelo's Voodoo Technology: African Cultural Memory and the Ritual
of Popular Music Consumption." Black Music Research Journal 32.1 (2012): 137-59. JSTOR. Web. 25 July
2012.
Stedman, Kyle D. "Remix Literacy and Fan Compositions." Computers and Composition 29.2
(2012): 107-23. Electronic Journal Center. Web. 26 July 2012.
HTML-versions of journal articles
HTML stands for HyperText Markup Language, and it is a reformatting of the original
article content. HTML-versions will not have page numbers or any images that are in the original
version. If you have the option, use the PDF rather than HTML version of sources.
Bowen, Lauren Marshall. "Resisting Age Bias in Digital Literacy Research." College
Composition and Communication 62.4 (2011): N. pag. Literature Online. Web. 25 July 2012.
Thibeault, Matthew D. "Hip-Hop, Digital Media, and the Changing Face of Music Education."
General Music Today 24.1 (2012): N. pag. Academic Search Complete. Web. 26 July 2012.
The Ohio State University Libraries 3
Electronic journal
Electronic journals are periodicals that are digitally produced, published, and maintained. Some journals publish
both a print and online version of issues; some have distinct online and print versions that feature different content;
and many electronic journals are only online. For online resources, you will not have page numbers because very
often the sources are websites, video projects, or other digital media projects that cannot be printed or paginated.
You often can access electronic journals through Google and other non-library search engines, but they are also
indexed by large databases like ATLA Religion Database and others.
Colby, Rebekah Schultz. "Gender and Games in a First-Year Writing Class." Computers and
Composition Online (Spring 2012): N. pag. Web. 26 July 2012.
Haley-Brown, Jennifer. "Risky Writing in Unsafe Spaces: Wikipedia as a FYC Venue." Kairos:
A Journal of Rhetoric, Composition, and Pedagogy 16.3 (2012): N. pag. Web. 25 July 2012.
Government publication
Nearly all government publications are available online as websites or as downloadable PDFs. If a government
publication is only available in hard copy, include all of the pertinent information included below, but instead of
PDF, you will use Print.
United States. U.S. Department of Education. National Center for Education Statistics. New
Americans in Postsecondary Education: A Profile of Immigrant and Second-Generation American
Undergraduates. By Sandra Staklis and Laura Horn. National Center for Education Statistics, 14 July 2012.
PDF. 25 July 2012
United States. Environmental Protection Agency. Water Resource Adaptation Program –
Addressing the Multi-front Challenge Through Holistic Adaptations. US EPA Science Brief, n.d. PDF. 26
July 2012.
Books accessed electronically
Many books are available online as ebooks (electronic books) through services such as GoogleBooks and through
the OSU library system. . If you read a book on a Kindle, Nook, other e-reader, or on a library or home computer,
then you are accessing the electronic version and should use the format below.
Bracher, Mark. Radical Pedagogy: Identity, Generativity, and Social Transformation.
Basingstoke: Palgrave Macmillan, 2009. EBook.
Davidson, Cathy N., and David Theo. Goldberg. The Future of Thinking: Learning Institutions
in a Digital Age. Cambridge, MA: MIT, 2010. GoogleBooks.
Publications accessed online (corporate or organizational author)
Please note that for any source with a corporate or organizational author, you will use the same format, with the
corporation or organization name taking the place of the author.
American Psychological Association. Resilience in a time of war: Homecoming. Washington,
DC: American Psychological Association, n.d. Web. 25 July 2012.
Lumina Foundation. "Missouri College Tightens the Corporate Connection." Lumina
Foundation: Focus. n.pag., Summer 2012. Web. 26 July 2012.
<http://focus.luminafoundation.org/summer2012/>.
Reviews
Reviews can focus on books, movies, music, software, and more. Many academic journals have a section dedicated
to reviews. Below is the format for a review found in an online journal.
Fredlund, Katherine. “A Review of VoiceThread: ‘A Collaborative Multimedia Slideshow.’”
The Ohio State University Libraries 4
Rev. of VoiceThread. Computers and Composition Online (Spring 2012): N. pag.
Published interviews
"James Cameron on Chinese Filmmakers, Censorship and Potential Co-Productions."
Interview by Edward Wong. The New York Times 5 May 2012, Media & Advertising sec. Nytimes.com.
Web. 26 July 2012.
Encyclopedia article (no author & author)
Encyclopedia articles often do not have specific authors listed, but many will have the primary authors listed at the
very beginning or end of the entry. Be aware that encyclopedias are for finding general information rather than
specialized details. Use the format below to cite any encyclopedia article and to cite something from Wikipedia–but
be aware that most instructors will not accept Wikipedia as a valid resource for academic research projects.
"Insomnia." MedlinePlus. U.S. National Library of Medicine, 16 Aug. 2011. Web. 25 July
2012.
Abrahams, Harold Maurice, and David C. Young. "Olympic Games." Encyclopedia Britannica
Online. Encyclopedia Britannica, n.d. Web. 26 July 2012.
<http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/428005/Olympic-Games>.
Dissertations and theses
Dissertations can be great research resources. Often, they are not published anywhere other than through
dissertation and theses databases.
Edwards, Buffy. Motivation and Middle School Readers: Graphic Novels, Comic Books, and
Free Voluntary Reading Time. Diss. The University of Oklahoma, 2008. ProQuest Dissertations and
Theses. Web. 26 July 2012.
Hughes, Melanie M. Politics at the Intersection: A Cross-national Analysis of Minority
Women's Legislative Representation. Diss. The Ohio State University, 2008. OhioLINK ETD Center. Web.
25 July 2012.
Blogs
Blogs are no longer just people’s personal diaries online: many blogs are considered to be authoritative and useful
resources. Below is how to cite blogs, or what MLA calls “Web log posts.”
Farivar, Cyrus. "Saving Throw: Securing Democracy with Stats, Spreadsheets, and 10-sided
Dice." Web log post. Ars Technica. Conde Nast, 24 July 2012. Web. 25 July 2012.
Watercutter, Angela. "BitTorrent Bundle Might Make Money for DJ Shadow." Web log post.
Wired.com–Underwire. Conde Nast, 24 July 2012. Web. 26 July 2012.
Tweets
Tweets–postings from Twitter–are cited in their entirety in the Works Cited. Use the author’s “real” name (if you
can locate it) and handle (username). Accounts that are managed by a group of people, such as those for
corporations or organizations, will not have a single author. Simply use the handle for the author name.
Athar, Sohaib (ReallyVirtual). "Helicopter hovering above Abbottabad at 1AM (is a rare event)."
1 May 2011, 3:58 p.m. Tweet.
TheEconomist. “Daily Chart: Big Mac index. A Big Mac now sells for $4.33 in America, $2.29
in Russia and $4.94 in Brazil http://econ.st/MIJ2CM #bigmacindex.” 26 July 2012, 2:43p.m.Tweet.
YouTube
A YouTube video is cited like a video blog post. A YouTube video citation requires the information you would
The Ohio State University Libraries 5
gather for a video or film citation (creator, director, performers, title, date created–even if the creator is
SuperCoolGuy32) as well as the information you would gather for a website and database (database/site name,
URL, date accessed).
CleanAirCoolPlanet. “Meet the Technologists: Clean Energy Technologies as Solutions to
Climate Change.” YouTube. 13 Dec. 2011. Web. 25 July 2012.
<http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sQTmSivI1lo>
Stanfordbusiness. "Ed Catmull, Pixar: Keep Your Crises Small." YouTube. 28 July 2009. Web.
26 July 2012. <http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=k2h2lvhzMDc>.
Photographs and images
Although you may access a photo or image through Google Images, this is not where the photo is actually hosted.
You must visit the actual website where the photograph is hosted in order to properly cite it. Many times, there will
not be a title, date, or photographer, but try to gather as much information as possible. It is likely that any images or
photographs you cite will be digital images; that is, you will be accessing the images online rather than film hard
copies.
Information Literacy. 2007. Digital Image. Information Literacy Glog. Team Glogster.
NormalWest, 2011. Web. 26 July 2012. <http://normalwest.edu.glogster.com/information-literacy-glog/>.
Souza, Pete. Obama Family in the Oval Office. 2009. Photograph. White House, Washington
D.C. Wikipedia. Web. 26 July 2012. JPG.
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Obama_family_in_the_Oval_Office.jpg>.
tuxxme. Waiting for the mother ship. 2011. Photograph. Columbus, OH. Flickr. Web. 26 July 2012.
Film (in theater)
Kill the Irishman. Dir. Jonathan Hensleigh. Perf. Ray Stevenson, Christopher Walken, and
Vincent D'Onofrio. Anchor Bay Films, 2011. Film.
Titanic-3D. Dir. James Cameron and Jon Landau. Perf. Leonardo DiCaprio and Kate Winslet.
Paramount Pictures, 20th Century Fox and Lightstorm Entertainment, 2012. Film.
Film (DVD, Blu Ray)
The Internet Movie Database (IMDb) is a great resource for locating information about movies and even television
shows. Use the format below to cite movies that you view on DVD, videotape, Blu Ray, or streaming.
The Hunger Games. Dir. Gary Ross. Perf. Jennifer Lawrence, Liam Hemsworth, Josh
Hutcherson, Elizabeth Banks, and Stanley Tucci. Lionsgate Films, 2012. Blu Ray.
Imitation of Life. Dir. Douglas Sirk. Prod. Ross Hunter and Jean Louis. By Eleanore Griffin,
Allan Scott, and Mahalia Jackson. Perf. Lana Turner, John Gavin, Sandra Dee, Dan O'Herlihy, Susan
Kohnser, Robert Alda, Juanita Moore, Troy Donahue, Sandra Gould, and Jack Weston. Universal-
International, 1959. DVD.
Television Program (single episode)
Try to find out as much information as possible about the episode: who wrote, directed, and produced it? When and
where did you view it? Use this citation format when you are citing episodes watched during the original airing or
online. For television episodes viewed on DVDs, use the DVD format plus the title of the episode.
Broch, Lawerence, Christopher Ambrose, and David E. Kelley. "Search and Seize." Harry's
Law. Dir. Jonathan Pontell. NBC. NBC.com. 25 Mar. 2012. Web. 26 July 2012.
<http://www.nbc.com/harrys-law/episode-guide/season-2/400844/search-and-seize/episode-215/475046/>.
The Ohio State University Libraries 6
Joseph, Ben. "Beware My Cheating Bart." The Simpsons. Dir. Mark Kirkland. Fox. WTTE,
Columbus, OH, 15 Apr. 2012. Television.
Recording (whole album)
Adele. 21. Adele. XL Records, 2011. CD.
Minaj, Nicki. Pink Friday. Nicki Minaj. iTunes. Universal Motown, 2010. MP3.
Recording (single song)
Foo Fighters. "Rope." Wasting Light. Butch Vig, 2011. iTunes. 8 Apr. 2011. MP3. 25 July
2012.
Green, Cee-lo, Bruno Mars, and Phil Lawrence. "Forget You." The Lady Killer. Warner Music,
2010. MP3.
Live Performance
Use the format below to cite a live performance such as a play, musical event, dance recital, etc.
Dance Uptown: DIRT. The Ohio State University, Plumb Hall Agricultural Arena, Columbus. 26 May 2012.
Performance.
Robin Hood. By Phillip J. Hickman. Dir. John S. Kuhn. Schiller Park, Columbus, OH. 23 June
2012. Performance.
Personal interview and personal communications
Jones, Ginger. Personal interview. 11 June 2011.
Selfe, Cynthia. Personal communication. 12 July 2012
BOOKS & PERIODICALS IN PRINT
Although you are likely to access many of your resources online, not all valid and useful resources are available
online. Books are often the easiest citations to complete because the format has not changed much over the years.
Below are a variety of book and periodical types that you may have to cite.
Books
Single author
Doueihi, Milad. Digital Cultures. Cambridge, MA: Harvard UP, 2011. Print.
Two or three authors
Baehr, Craig M., and Bob Schaller. Writing for the Internet: A Guide to Real Communication in
Virtual Space. Santa Barbara, CA: Greenwood, 2010. Print.
Four or more authors
Faigley, Lester, et al. Picturing Texts. New York: W.W. Norton, 2004. Print.
Unknown author
The Times Atlas of the World. 13
th
ed. New York: New York Times, 2011. Print.
Book: Edited collection
Bishop, Wendy, and James Strickland, eds. The Subject Is Writing. 4th ed. Portsmouth, NH:
Boynton/Cook, 2005. Print.
Thomas, Michael, ed. Deconstructing Digital Natives: Young People, Technology, and the
New Literacies. New York: Routledge, 2011. Print.
The Ohio State University Libraries 7
Book: Author with an editor (edited book)
Sometimes, books will have both an author and an editor. Use the format below for an edited book by a single
author. Use the same format for translated books, but replace “Ed. First LastName” with “Trans. First LastName.”
Franklin, Benjamin. The Autobiography. Ed. Kenneth Silverman. New York: Penguin, 1986.
Book: Author with an editor (chapter in anthology or collection)
Cobb, Shelley. "More Than Baby Mamas: Black Mothers and Hip-Hop Feminism." Gender,
Race, and Class in Media : A Critical Reader. Ed. Gail Dines and Jean M. Humez. 3rd ed. Thousand Oaks,
CA: SAGE Publications, 2011. 137-45. Print.
Masciotra, David. “Friday Night Lights: Rural Mojo on TV.” American Mashup: A popular
culture reader. Ed. Aaron Michael Morales. Boston: Pearson, 2012. 78-81. Print.
Book: Two or more works by the same author
DeLillo, Don. Falling Man: A Novel. New York: Scribner, 2007. Print.
–––. The Angel Esmeralda: Nine Stories. New York: Scribner, 2011. Print.
Book: Introduction, Forward, or Preface
Hoffman, James. Introduction. Last Operas and Plays. By Gertrude Stein. Ed. Hoffman. New
York: Vintage-Random: 1978. vii-xix.
Strickland, James. Preface to the Fourth Edition. The Subject is Writing. Ed. Wendy Bishop and
James Strickland. Portsmouth, NH: Boynton/Cook: 2005. x-xi.
Periodical: Article in a journal (volume.issue)
If no issue number is available, only include volume. Volume and issue information can usually be found in a few
different places: at the top or bottom of the first page of an article; on one of the first pages of the journal issue; on
the spine of the journal. Volume and issue are important for locating journals, especially for journals that have been
in publication for many years and for journals that publish more than one issue per year.
Downs, Douglas, and Elizabeth Wardle. "Teaching about Writing, Righting Misconceptions:
(Re)envisioning ‘First-Year Composition’ as ‘Introduction to Writing Studies.’" College Composition and
Communication 58.4 (2007): 552-84. Print.
Holliday, Wesley H. “Freedom and the Fixity of the Past.” Philosophical Review 121.2 (2012):
179-207. Print.
Periodical: Article in magazine
Monthly magazine
Schiller, Lawrence. “A Splash of Marilyn.” Vanity Fair June 2012: 102+. Print.
Weekly magazine
Walt, Vivienne. “Take the Money and Run.” Time 30 July 2012: 32. Print.
No author
“A Future Without Oil.” U. S. News and World Report 25 June 2006: 17-18. Print.
Periodical: Article in a newspaper
Smith, Robert L. “City Club speaker argues shale gas being overhyped.” The Cleveland Plain
Dealer 12 July 2012: C1. Print.
Periodical: Review
Mann, William. “Science and Spirituality: Making Room for Faith in the Age of Science.” Rev.
The Ohio State University Libraries 8
of Science and Spirituality: Making Room for Faith in the Age of Science, by Michael Ruse. Philosophical
Review 121.2 (2012): 302-304.
Periodical: Editorial from newspaper
“A Good Deal.” Editorial. The Columbus Dispatch. 23 July 2012: 10A. Print.
“About Balanced Views.” Editorial. Dayton Daily News. 25 July 2012: A7. Print.
Periodical: Letter To The Editor
Hamler-Fugitt, Lisa. "Fix, Don't Clean out Food-stamp Program." Letter to Editor. 25 July
2012. The Columbus Dispatch. 12A. Print.
Periodical: Published interview
"Mona Simpson on Life in 'the Circus'." Interview by Kelly Rosenfeld. Writer Aug. 2012: 20-23. Print.
IN-TEXT CITATIONS
There are two main aspects to citations: the Works Cited or list of references, and the in-text citations. In-text
citations are exactly what they sound like: citations of information that are provided in the body of the paper or
project. In-text citations are also called parenthetical citations because the information is placed in parenthesis.
The information included in in-text citations depends upon the source medium (e.g., Print, DVD, Web) and the
source’s entry in the Work Cited. Whatever signal words you use to identify the source in the body of the project
must be the first thing that appears on the left side of the Work Cited page. Typically, MLA citations include the
author’s last name and the page number where the cited information can be found.
In-text citations are used any time you directly quote from a source as well as when you paraphrase from a source.
Below are the basic formats for in-text citations. Please note: there is no punctuation or abbreviations for page
numbers in MLA style citations; periods are placed after the parentheses.
A Note About Print versus Online:
Unless it is a PDF, online sources generally do not have page numbers, so they cannot be included in in-text
citations. Do not provide the page numbers or paragraph numbers that result when you print a source.
Instead, use the author’s last name, if available, or if there is no author, use a shortened version of the
source title.
Single author (print)
For a single author, simply use the author’s last name and the page number where the cited information can be
found. If the author’s name is mentioned in the body of the paragraph, you may include only the page number in the
parentheses.
Example
In the citations below, (12) and (Williams 12) tell the audience that the information included in that particular
sentence can be found on page 12 of text by Williams listed in the Works Cited.
Williams emphasizes the importance of naming when she says, “once you can name something, you’re conscious of
it. You have power over it” (12).
Naming is important because “once you can name something, you’re conscious of it. You have power over it”
(Williams 12).
Williams argues that when we name something, we can take control over it (12).
Works Cited entry
The Ohio State University Libraries 9
Williams, Robin. The Non-designer's Design Book: Design and Typographic Principles for the Visual
Novice. Berkeley, CA: Peachpit, 2008. Print.
Unknown author (print and online)
Sometimes, valid sources will not have any author listed. In this case, use a shortened title of the source instead of
the author’s last name.
Examples
Insomnia can be a frustrating and although many people assume that insomnia stems from current behaviors and
contexts, “sleep habits we learn as children may affect our sleep behavior as adults” (“Insomnia”).
Insomnia can be frustrating, and surprisingly, it can have roots in the sleep habits we developed as children
(“Insomnia”).
If the above examples were from a printed source with page numbers, you would include the page number as well:
(“Insomnia” 32).
Works Cited entry
"Insomnia." MedlinePlus. U.S. National Library of Medicine, 16 Aug. 2011. Web. 25 July
2012.
Work by two or three authors
Include all of the authors’ names in the in-text citation.
Examples
Writing for the digital age means more than being able to write well: “One important skill of good internet writing
is the ability to deliver the similar or related content in a variety of different formats. For example, an online news
story might use text and graphic content, but also include links to related stories and resources, or even include
video or other active content” (Baeher and Schaller 11).
Baeher and Schaller argue that writing for the digital age means more than being able to write well: “One
important skill of good internet writing is the ability to deliver the similar or related content in a variety of different
formats. For example, an online news story might use text and graphic content, but also include links to related
stories and resources, or even include video or other active content” (11).
Works Cited entry
Baehr, Craig M., and Bob Schaller. Writing for the Internet: A Guide to Real Communication in
Virtual Space. Santa Barbara, CA: Greenwood, 2010. Print.
Work by more than three authors
In-text citations for sources with more than three authors use the abbreviation et al., which is Latin for “and others.”
This lets the audience know that there are several authors for the source. Please note, though, that using et al. is a
preference and not a requirement. You may list all the authors’ names as they appear on the title page of the source.
The example below uses et al.
Examples
In their history of the computer in the writing classroom, Hawisher et al. claim, “Multimedia computing has
emerged so rapidly, and is now so widespread, that it is easy to forget how recent a development it has been in
personal computing” (183).
The computer in the classroom is ubiquitous, but “Multimedia computing has emerged so rapidly, and is now so
widespread, that it is easy to forget how recent a development it has been in personal computing” (Hawisher, et al.
183).
The Ohio State University Libraries 10
Works Cited entry
Hawisher, Gail E., Paul LeBlanc, Cynthia Selfe, and Charles Moran. Computers and the Teaching of
Writing in American Higher Education, 1979-1994: A History. Norwood, NJ: Ablex Pub., 1996.
Print.
Online sources
For online sources without page numbers, you can eliminate the in-text citation as long as you follow the guidelines
below:
In the text, include the item that appears first in the Works Cited list (e.g, author name, article title, website
name, movie name).
Do not include URLs in the text of your project; only provide partial URLs when the site name includes a
domain name, such as OSU.edu or NationalGeographic.com. Do not write out http://www.osu.edu or
http://www.nationalgeographic.com.
Examples
On her webpage “Autistry,” Melanie Yergeau argues that “Neurodiversity is analogous to a social model of
disability, the idea that exclusionary social systems and structures are far more disabling than individual
impairments.”
Because the above example clearly states where the quotation appears originally and there are no page numbers for
webpages, there is no need for an in-text citation.
Works Cited entry
Yergeau, Melanie. “Autistry.” Melanie Yergeau n.d. Web. 25 July 2012. <http://kuiama.net/>.
Dealing with long quotations
Sometimes, you may want to quote a source at length. When quoting four or more lines of prose, you will create
something called a block quote. For block quotes, you indent the entire quotation on-inch from the left margin
(hitting Tab twice should do the trick). Please note that block quotes should maintain the double-spacing that is
required for the entire MLA research project. (The example below is not double-spaced in order to save space).
Please note that with block quotes, the punctuation is placed before the in-text citation.
Examples
Emotions are often positioned as negative; one never wants to be the “emotional” one because being
emotional is somehow an insult. However, John Dirkx argues that emotions are central to understanding who we
are and our place in the world. He says,
Emotions always refer to the self, providing us with a means for developing self-knowledge. They
are an integral part of how we interpret and make sense of the day-to-day events in our lives. As we
look at and come to understand our sense-making practices in daily life and the ways emotions
constitute that practice, we reveal ourselves more fully to ourselves and to others.(Dirkx 64-5)
Works Cited Entry
Dirkx, John. "The Power of Feelings: Emotion, Imagination, and the Construction of Meaning in Adult
Learning." New Directions for Adult and Continuing Education 89 (Spring 2001): 6
