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Citations and Style Guides

Information on plagiarism and citations, including APA and MLA.

An Introduction to MLA Style, 8th ed.

Courtesy of Raynor Memorial Libraries at Marquette University. 

Formatting MLA Style

Courtesy of Jason Morgon on YouTube.

In-Text Citations

Parenthetical citations typically go at the end of a sentence that quote, paraphrases, or refers to a source. Closing punctuation for that sentence goes after the citation.

Each item cited in your text should have a corresponding item in your bibliography.

Standard citation
List the author's last name followed by a page number: (Barron 194).

Author has more than one work in your bibliography?
Add a short title to your citation: (Barron, "Redefining" 194).

Source has no author?
Use a short form of the title: (Reading at Risk 3)

Source has no page numbers?
Exclude page numbers or use a marker that is prominent in the text (like paragraph numbers, section numbers, time stamps, chapter numbers, line numbers, etc): (Chan, par. 41), (sec. 3), "Hush" 00:03:16-17), (ch. 17), ("Ode" 1-3), etc.

Citing more than one source in a single sentence?
Separate the citations with a semicolon: (Baron 194; Jacobs 55).

Already mentioned the author's name in the sentence?
Omit the author's name from the citation: (194).

Citing the Bible?
Use the title, followed by abbreviated book name, followed by chapter and verse separated by a period: (Bible, Ezek. 1.5-10).

Citing Shakespeare?
Use the play's abbreviated title followed by act, scene, and line numbers separated by periods: (Mac. 1.5.17).

Sample Citation

Works Cited

Austen, Jane. Pride and Prejudice. New York: Bantam, 2003. 

Parenthetical Citation
(includes last name and page number)

(Austen 12)