KCSS MLA Style Guide

Formatting In-text Citations

When to use: Every time you use a piece of information or an image from a source, even when you put that information into your own words.

Where to place the in-text citation: At the end of the sentence where you stop taking information from a source or at the end of the paragraph if all the information in the paragraph came from the same source. For images, cite directly underneath the image.

How: Five easy steps:

1. Find the entry for the source on the Works Cited page.
2. Take the first information that the reader sees for that entry (usually the author’s last name or the "title of the article"). E.g. Dowling or E.g. "What You Need to Know About Rock Snot"
3. Add the page number if there is one. If not, leave it off. E.g. Dowling 35 or E.g. "What You Need to Know About Rock Snot"
4. Put the whole citation between round brackets. E.g. (Dowling 35)  or E.g. ("What You Need to Know")

Checklist for MLA Style

• There is a header on every page of your paper: top right corner - your last name + page number
• Use a new page for the works cited list
• The title Works Cited is the first line of this page and is centred.
• Arrange sources in alphabetical order by the surname of the first author or article title when there is no author.
• When using the title to alphabetize entries, ignore the words “A”, “An” or “The” if they are the first words in the title. Treat numbers like they were spelled out when trying to alphabetize them eg. 3 = three.
• Use hanging indentation: start the first line of each entry at the left margin. Indent by five spaces each subsequent line.
• Double-space the entire list (no extra space between entries).
• Use “quotation marks” for titles of articles.
• Include the URL for websites.
• Leave out http:// for web addresses.
• Include the date accessed for articles/information from websites.

MLA 9 Format for In-text Citations and List of References

Use the tabs below to find examples for the types of resource you need to cite