Welcome to the new MLA 8!
The basics remain the same—cite where the information came from inside some parenthesis and then include the full bibliographic citation on your Works Cited Page.
So what is different? Mostly the Works Cited Page.
The publication format no longer matters! You won’t have to hunt for the formatting guidelines by searching “How do I cite an article I found in an online newspaper?” or “How do I cite this song I just listened to on Pandora?” or worry about the difference between a magazine, newspaper, and journal article. Instead, you will simply have to include the core information in a specific order.
What does this order look like?
Author. Title of source. Title of container, other contributors, version, number, publisher, publication date, location.
(from The Writing Commons)
PRINT BOOK EXAMPLE
ARTICLE FROM A DATABASE EXAMPLE
WEBSITE EXAMPLE
In-text citations have always been a challenging aspect of documentation for many students, but they have become more complex in recent years due to the increase in electronic source materials. The easiest way to approach in-text citations is to consider their purpose. The Works Cited list entries provide detailed publication information on sources, but only in-text citations can let a reader know which facts were taken from each source.
Two basic options for MLA in-text (aka parenthetical) citations:
1. Author(s) and Location
"The eighth-century English historian, Bed tells of how, in AD 449, Hengist and Horsa were invited by the Celtic king Vortigern to help him against his enemies..." (Hogg 1).
2. Location only*
In his article, "The Distant Shore," Anderson states, "Only about a hundred groups of isolated indigenous people are believed to still exist, with more than half of them living in the wilderness that straddles Peru’s border with Brazil" (42).
*The author is not added to the in-text citation because he is already mentioned by name in the sentence. When such information is given, it is permissible to not repeat it inside the ( ).
A Variety of Locations:
Page numbers are the most common location used in a parenthetical citation; however, there are many others including:
No Author? No Problem:
Not Just for Quotations:
Electronic Text Tips: