Citing Your Sources

Citing sources is a matter of logic and ethics. You can only support the logic and truth of your arguments if you provide evidence, and your argument can only be seen as ethical and therefore credible if you identify the source of that evidence. In the study of literature, we follow the rules and formats determined by the Modern Language Association (MLA). You may learn another set of rules and formats when you begin writing in your major discipline, but MLA formats are what you will use in this class.

There’s nothing mysterious about this format or this process. It’s simply a kind of code (and not a very complex one) to help the writer explain and the reader understand where the material can be found. What you’ll find in this document are instructions on how to use that code.

I know that many students use online citation creators rather than create their own Works Cited entries. I have no problem with that. However, keep in mind that you are the one who’s being graded on this work, so be sure that you use the correct format, no matter who creates it.

MLA Citation Formats

This chart shows how to identify and create the parts of an MLA citation.

* Indicates an element that is only included if applicable to the source. Books may or may not have an edition number or volume number. Most journal articles will have both volume and issue number, and a publisher is not necessary for journal articles. Online sources may or may not include editions, issue numbers, or publication dates.

Container #2: Elements 3-9 may repeat, e.g., if a journal or collection of short stories (Container #1) is found inside a database (Container #2):

Putting It All Together: Works Cited Entry EXAMPLES 

NOTICE the indentations. First line begins at the margin; second lines and any lines after it are indented as if for a paragraph.

In MS Word, you can make the program do these indentations for you. In the top menu bar, open the Format menu, then Paragraph. In the window that opens, look under Indentationà Special, and choose Hanging from the drop-down menu.

In Google Docs, open the Format menu and choose Align & Indent, scroll down to Indentation Options, and, under Special Indent, choose Hanging. Then type in 0.5, so you’ll get half-inch indentations.

Book

McGowan, Britt. Mediocre Book. Edited by Scott Satterwhite. UP of Florida, 2010.

Story, Poem, or Article

Movie

Notice that in this example, the director is included. If you were to write specifically about one of the actors or the cinematography or the score of the movie (its music, that is), then you must include the names of those contributors, after the director.

Examples for Commonly Cited Texts

General Format WITH SAMPLE WORKS CITED PAGE

Your Work(s) Cited page should follow this format, of course using the text(s) that you’re citing.

Work Cited (use this title if you’re only citing ONE text of any kind [story, poem, novel, play, movie].

Works Cited: Use this title if you are citing MORE than ONE source.

If you cite more than one source, arrange the sources alphabetically, based on the author’s last name. If you don’t know the author’s or storyteller’s or film director’s last name, use the first word of the text’s title instead of a last name.

Sample Works Cited Page

Notice that the entries are listed in alphabetic order. The first source is the  illustrated book we’ll be reading later in the semester. The second source is from our course e-book, and the third source is a movie. For CRPs, you’ll only have one source and the list will be titled Work Cited (singular), but for CREs, you may have more than one source, in which case the page is titled Works Cited (plural).