For example, if you are quoting from page 28 of John Francis’ book Planetwalker, you would reference this as (Francis 28). If the work has multiple authors, list them. For example: (Ohlin and Upson 127) If the source has more than three authors, just use the first one and the abbreviation “et al. ”: (Ohlin et al. 127)

If you are citing an article by Frank Miller from CNN. com called “Midnight in Gotham City” that does not have page numbers, your parenthetical citation can be simply (Miller). Since page numbers for ebooks will vary from device to device, include the chapter number or other section heading instead, if possible: (Miller ch. 2).

If you are including a long, indented block quote, however, place the parenthetical citation after the final period.

(“Report on International Banking Regulations”), for a website with this title but no listed author or page numbers. (Franken “Wake Up!” 99) and (Franken “Dawn in America” 87), if you are citing two works by Franken.

For instance, you may have a sentence that looks something like: “Jasmine Whitaker discusses the concept of ‘hyperspeed reading’ in her second book, Read ‘til You Drop (45). ”

”The concept of ‘hyperspeed reading’ describes a method for reading far more quickly than normal (Whitaker 45). It asks that readers ‘guess what a text will say before they actually read each line’ (47). Other scholars doubt that readers can make substantial use of this technique, citing concerns like ‘the lack of attention given to things one hasn’t seen yet’ (Jackson 128). ”

The MLA Handbook contains official guidelines on more specialized citation needs. If you are a student, check with your teacher about what kind of citation requirements you may need to follow.

Author(s) Title Version Number Publisher Publication date Location (where you found the source)

Generally, the titles of things like songs, poems, and articles are given in quotation marks. Books, films, television series and other large works are italicized. If a work has multiple authors, list them in the same order they are given in the source. Put only the first author in last name, first name order.

An article in a journal title (follow the article title in quotation marks with the journal title in italics: Jacobus, Francis. “Early American Pottery Designs. " American Historical Review. ) A website hosting an article (follow the article title in quotation marks with the brief web address in italics: Miller, Frank. “Gotham City at Night. " CNN. com. ) A poem in a poetry collection (list the title of the collection in italics after the title of the poem in quotation marks: Yeats, William Butler. “Sailing to Byzantium. " Twentieth Century Poetry. ) A television series (list the television series in italics after the episode title in quotation marks: “Hush. " Buffy the Vampire Slayer. )

For example: Dostoevsky, Fyodor. Crime and Punishment. Translated by Constance Garnett.

For example: Jacobus, Francis. “Early American Pottery Designs. " American Historical Review. Vol. 6, no. 2.

For some media, like books or journal articles, the publication date may be given as a year. For example: Francis, John. Planetwalker. National Geographic Society, 2005. For others, like newspaper articles, the full date is provided in date/month/year format. For example: Frankl, Jo. “Killer Bees are on the Rise. ” Dallas Times. 14 June 2017.

The MLA now recommends including URLs for internet sources. If you are a student, your teacher may or may not ask for these. You can include a Digital Object Identifier (DOI) instead of a URL, if one is provided. For example: Jacobus, Francis. “Early American Pottery Designs. " American Historical Review. Vol. 6, no. 2, 2016. DOI: 10. 1326/history. 1064107

For example: Jacobus, Francis. “Early American Pottery Designs. " American Historical Review. Vol. 6, no. 2, 2016. JSTOR. DOI: 10. 1326/history. 1064107