Citation Guide

To create an in-text citation in MLA Format, you need two things

1. Author(s) last name
2. Page number

Examples of in-text citations

One author

( Smith 22)

Two authors

(Johnson and Cole 89)

Three or more authors

(Fleetwood et al. 35)

Definitions:

et al. = "and others"

The author of a work is not always obvious, but that does not mean the author does not exist.

Pseudonyms

A pseudonym is someone's fake name that they publish under. An online username is a good example of a pseudonym. The MLA style allows you to use pseudonyms for author names.

Corporate Authors

If a person is not listed as an author, companies, non-profit organizations, government agencies, and other institutions who sponsored the writing of the document are considered to be the corporate author. MLA's rule about corporate author states that you use the corporate author if the corporate author is different from the publisher.

Examples of corporate authors

#1 This website has a corporate author that is the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. Since the Bureau of Labor Statistics is both the author and the publisher then you would cite it like this:

In-text citation:

(Occupational)

Works Cited page:

Occupational Outlook Handbook. U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, 13 April 2018, www.bls.gov/ooh/.

#2 This book has a corporate author Since the corporate author did not publish the book you would cite it like this:

In-text citation:

(National Research Council, 50)

Works Cited page:

National Research Council (U.S.). Pathways to Exploration: Rationales and Approaches for a U.s. Program of Human Space Exploration. National Academies Press, 2014. ProQuest Ebook Central, https://ebookcentral.proquest.com/lib/chowan-ebooks/detail.action?docID=3379376.

If you can still not find an author after checking for both pseudonyms and corporate authors, then

In-text citation: Use the first word of the title.

Works Cited page: Skip the author and start with the title.

The Works Cited page is a list of all your sources that appears at the end of your paper.

To create a Works Cited page you should...

1. Start your Works Cited section on a new page at the end of your paper.
2. Create a header with your last name and page number on the right side of the page.
3. Center the title "Works Cited" at the top of your page.
4. Alphabetize your sources by the first word that appears in the citation. Helpful Hint: In MS Word you can quickly put your sources in ABC order by going to home-paragraph-sort.
5. Make your citations doubled space with a hanging indent. Helpful Hint: In MS Word you can quickly create hanging indents by highlighting the citation and change paragraph indentation to special- hanging.

You need the following information to create a citation for a peer-reviewed article.

1. Author(s)
2. Article title
3. Journal title
4. Volume & issue number
5. Date published
6. Pages
7. Name of the database
8. Doi or URL without https:// (If you have both a doi and a URL, then use the doi.)

Examples:

One author

Druckman James N. “The Power of Television Images: The First Kennedy-Nixon Debate Revisited.” The Journal of Politics, vol. 62, no. 2, 2003, p. 559-571. EBSCOhost, doi:10.1111/1468-2508.t01-1-00015.

Two authors

Kirkpatrick, Ellen, and Suzanne Scott. “Representation and Diversity in Comics Studies.” Cinema Journal, vol. 55, no. 1, 2015, pp. 120–124. JSTOR, www.jstor.org/stable/43653488.

Three or more authors

Virtanen, Henrik, et al. "Follow for Follow: Marketing of a Start-Up Company on Instagram." Journal of Small Business and Enterprise Development, vol. 24, no. 3, 2017, pp. 468-484. ProQuest, doi:10.1108/jsbed-12-2016-0202

Definitions:

et al. = "and others"

doi= digital object identifier

It is a unique number assigned to peer-reviewed articles when they are published.

You need the following information to create a citation for a website.

1. Author(s)
2. Web page or article title
3. Web site's title
4. Date information was created or last updated
5. Web site's URL without https://
6. Date you accessed it

Examples:

A page on a website with one author

Roosevelt, Franklin D. “Fireside Chat.” The American Presidency Project, 22 Oct. 1933, www.presidency.ucsb.edu/documents/fireside-chat-22. Accessed 07 January 2019.

A page on a website with a corporate author

“1903-The First Flight.” National Park Services, 14 Apr. 2015, www.nps.gov/wrbr/learn/historyculture/thefirstflight.htm. Accessed 04 Jan. 2019.

You need the following information to create a citation for a YouTube video

1. Author(s)
2. Name of video
3. YouTube
4. The screen name of the person who uploaded the video
5. Date the video was uploaded
6. URL without https://

Examples:

YouTube video with one author

King, Martin Luther Jr. “Martin Luther King's Last Speech: ‘I've Been To The Mountaintop.’” YouTube uploaded by NewsPoliticsInfo, 4 Apr. 2010, www.youtube.com/watch?v=Oehry1JC9Rk.

YouTube video with no author

“Chocolate Pen Candy Craft Skyrocket Toys - Draw With Chocolate Candy!” YouTube uploaded by Toy Reviews For You, 5 Aug 2015, www.youtube.com/watch?v=Oh_0FpYLPic.

You need the following information to create a citation for a book

1. Author(s), Editor(s) & Translator(s) (If the book has them).
2. Title
3. Edition or volume number (if the book has one)
4. Publisher
5. Date published
6. Name of the database and URL without https:// (If you a citing an ebook)

Examples:

Example of book with one author

Thomas, Angie. The Hate U Give. Balzer Bray, 2017.

Example of book with one editor

Schauer, Pete, editor. Politicians on Social Media. First ed., Greenhaven Publishing, 2019.

Examples of ebook with three or more authors

Cary, Bob, et al. Born to Pull: The Glory of Sled Dogs, U of Minnesota P, 2009. ProQuest Ebook Central, ebookcentral.proquest.com/lib/chowan-ebooks/detail.action?docID=557526.

Definitions:

et al. = "and others"