Points to Remember About MLA Citation Format
Karin Durán, Ph.D.
MLA (Modern Language Association)
Authors in Works Cited or Bibliography
- Last name
and fully spelled out first name
- Maintain
order of names as found in the source being cited
- Give names
of up to 3 authors
Example:
Duran, Karin, Solis, Jacqueline, and Lampert, Lynn.
- If there
are more than 3 authors, use the first author and then [et al.] in place
of
the other authors.
Example: Duran,
Karin, [et al.].
Authors in an in-text (parenthetical) citation
- List the
last names of all authors, up to 3 for in-text reference
Example: (Duran,
Solis, and Lampert 24)
Titles
Books
- Use
uppercase for all the major words and proper nouns.
- Underline
the full title
Chapter
titles
- Use
uppercase for all the major words and proper nouns.
- Use
quotations marks around the chapter title
Internet
sites
- Use
uppercase for all the major words and proper nouns.
- Underline
web site title, use quotations marks for titles of
sites within sites (like chapter within a book)
Journal
titles
- Use
uppercase for all the major words and proper nouns.
- Underline
periodical titles
Article
titles
- Use
uppercase for all the major words and proper nouns.
- Use
quotation marks for article title
Date of publication
- Books
- Follows place of publication and publisher’s name and is followed
by a period
- Journals
- Follows volume and issue number or periodical title if volume and
issue number are not given or known
- Internet sites
-
- Publication dates are often not available or may be labeled:
Last modified on
Updated on
- Date of access/retrieval is always required and follows other publication
information and precedes web address
for “surface web” sites
Indenting and Spacing
- Indent 5
spaces for all the lines after the first line in each citation.
- Double space
between and within each reference
- When
the quotation you take from a source is more than 4 lines long,
create a
long/block quote by indenting 10 spaces from the left margin
and continue to double-space within the quote.
