Writers, including students, must reference sources that are paraphrased, quoted or otherwise used in research papers and other assignments. MLA style is a set of guidelines for documenting sources which is an important and required part of the research and writing process. There are two key things to know:
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The MLA Handbook ninth edition was published in April 2021. The main differences between the eighth and ninth editions include:
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Below are a handful of the most common citations. You will see the source type (for example, article, book, website) followed by the formatting guideline and examples for both the full citation for the works-cited list and the short in-text citation that appears in the body of the paper.
Works Cited List: Author Last Name, First Name. Title. Publisher, Year.
In-text: (Author Last Name Page Number)
Works Cited List: Olsen, Dale A. Music of El Dorado: the Ethnomusicology of Ancient South American Cultures. UP of Florida, 2002.
In-text:(Olsen 25)
Author's Last Name, First Name. Title. Edition if given and is not first edition, Publisher Name often shortened, Year of publication. Name of Library Database, Permalink URL.
McClean, Shilo T. Digital Storytelling: The Narrative Power of Visual Effects in Film. MIT Press, 2007. eBook Comprehensive Academic Collection (EBSCOhost), search.ebscohost.com.
Works Cited List: Author Last Name, First Name. "Title." Journal/Magazine/Newspaper Title, Publication Information [volume, issue/number, year, pages]. Name of Database, DOI, Permalink or shortened URL for article in the database.
In-text: (Author Last Name Page Number)
Works Cited List: Latartara, John. "The Timbre of Thai Classical Singing." Asian Music, vol. 43, no. 2, 2012, pp. 88-114. Project MUSE, https://doi.org/10.1353/amu.2012.0013
In-text: (Latartara 97-8)
Works Cited List: Author Last Name, First Name. "Title of Page or Article." Title of Site, Sponsor or Publisher [include only if different from website title or author], Date of Publication or Update Date, URL. Accessed Date [optional; include date you accessed source if it is likely to help readers].
In-text: (Author Last Name or page title)
Works Cited List: Andaya, Barbara. "Introduction to Southeast Asia." Center for Global Education, Asia Society, 2017, asiasociety.org/education/introduction-southeast-asia. Accessed 17 Dec. 2021.
In-text citation: (Andaya)
Note: If an author is not listed, begin the citation with the title of the page. For example if the author was not evident on the citation above, the works cited entry would be:
"Vietnam: a Historical Introduction." Center for Global Education, Asia Society, 2017, asiasociety.org/education/vietnam. Accessed 17 Dec. 2021.
Sometimes an author will mention work by another author by using a quotation or paraphrased idea. For example, the Kirkey article you are reading includes a quotation by Smith. The basic rule is that in both the works-cited list and in-text citation, cite Kirkey. Use the words “qtd. in” for the in-text citation.
Works Cited List: Kirkey, Susan. "Euthanasia." The Montreal Gazette, 9 Feb. 2013, p. A.10. Canadian Newsstand Major Dailies.
In-text citation: According to a study by Smith (qtd. in Kirkey), 42% of doctors would refuse to perform legal euthanasia.
Smith (qtd. in Kirkey) states that “even if euthanasia was legal, 42% of doctors would be against this method of assisted dying” (A.10).
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