Joshua Vossler is passionate about citing sources, and his videos are very easy to follow. If you are still trying to wrap your head around citations, watch some of his videos. Scroll down to get the complete list.
Find answers to common citation questions or submit your own at:
An academic journal is a publication who's audience is other experts in the same field. Use this example anytime you are referencing an academic or scholarly article, usually found in a library database or open source journal.
A DOI, or Digital Object Identifier, is a string of numbers, letters and symbols used to uniquely identify an article or document, and to provide it with a permanent web address (URL). A DOI will help your reader easily locate a document from your citation. Not all articles will have a DOI.
Use the library A-Z list to find reliable academic journal articles.
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Material |
Format | Reference Example | In-text Example |
| Article from Database with DOI | Last Name, First Name. “Title of Article.” Title of Journal, vol. X, no. X, Year, page numbers. Name of Database, doi: xx. Xxxxxxxx. Accessed Day Month Year. | Langhamer, Claire. “Love and Courtship in Mid-Twentieth-Century England.” Historical Journal, vol. 50, no. 1, 2007, pp. 173-96. ProQuest, doi:10.1017/S0018246X06005966. Accessed 24 July 2023. |
(Last name page number) (Langhamer 177-180) |
| Article from Database No DOI | Last name, First name. “Article Title.” Journal Title, vol.X, no.X, Year, URL. Accessed Day Month Year. | Dolby, Nadine. “Research in Youth Culture and Policy: Current Conditions and Future Directions.” Social Work and Society: The International Online-Only Journal, vol. 6, no. 2, 2008, www.socwork.net/sws/article/view/60/362. Accessed 16 Jan. 2021. | (Dolby 140) |
Titles of books, plays, films, periodicals, databases, and websites are italicized. Place titles in quotation marks if the source is part of a larger work. Articles, essays, chapters, poems, webpages, songs, and speeches are placed in quotation marks.
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Material |
Format | Reference Example | In-text Example |
| Book with one author | Last name, First name. Title of Book. Publisher, Year. | Goodwin, Doris. Team of Rivals: The Political Genius of Abraham Lincoln. Simon & Schuster, 2012. |
(Last name page number) (Godwin 17) |
| Section of an edited book | Last name, First name. "Title of Entry." Title of Collection, edited by Editor's Name(s), Publisher, Year, pp. page range of entry. | Harris, Muriel. "Talk to Me" Engaging Reluctant Writers." A Tutor's Guide to Helping Writers One to One, edited by Ben Rafoth, 2000. pp.24-34. | (Harris 26-28) |
| Books with 3 or more authors | Last name, First name of first author, et al. Title of Book. Publisher, Year. | Wysocki, Anne Frances, et al. Writing New Media: Theory and Applications for Expanding the Teaching of Composition.Utah State UP, 2004. | (Wysocki, et al 98) |
| Electronic Book | Last name, First name. Title of e-book. Publisher, Year, Title of website of database, URL. Accessed Day Month Year. | Austen, Jane and Seth Grahame-Smith. Pride and Prejudice and Zombies. Quirk Books, 2015. GoogleBooks, books.google.com/books/about/Pride_and_Prejudice_and_Zombies.html?id=x5xPaPeZzmUC. Accessed 7 Nov. 2016. | (Austen and Grahame-Smith 99) |
If you use AI Tools, like ChatGPT, in your paper or presentation, describe how you used the tool. For example, which tool did you use, which version, what did you ask the tool to do. In your text, provide the prompt you gave the AI tool and and then the generated response.
For more examples and explanaitions see the MLA Style Blog: https://style.mla.org/citing-generative-ai/
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Material |
Format | Works Cited List Example | In-Text Citation |
| Response from prompt | "Title of source" prompt. Title of Container. version, Publisher, Date of chat, URL. | “Describe the symbolism of the green light in the book The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald” prompt. ChatGPT, 13 Feb. version, OpenAI, 8 Mar. 2023, chat.openai.com/chat. |
("Shortened description of chat prompt") ("Symbolism of green light") |
| Material | Format | Reference Example | In-text Example |
| Government Report - Print | Country, Agency from largest to smallest. Title of Report. Publisher, Year. | United States, Government Accountability Office. Climate Change: EPA and DOE Should Do More to Encourage Progress Under Two Voluntary Programs. Government Printing Office, 2006. |
shortened title: ("Climate Change" 91) |
| Government Report - online | Country, Agency from largest to smallest. Title of Report. Year, URL. Accessed Day Month Year. | United States, Department of Health and Human Services, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. CDC's Climate and Health Program. 2022. www.cdc.gov/climateandhealth/default.htm. Accessed 14 July 2022. | ("CDC's Climate and Health Program") |
| Material | Format | Reference Example | In-text Example |
| Interview by email | Interviewee. "Subject Line of Email" Received by Name, Day Month Year of email. Email Interview. | Smith, Paula. "Re: Food and Family." Received by Joseph Tan, 20 May 2022. Email interview. | (Smith) |
| Interview in person | Interviewee. Type of interview. Day Month Year. | Janoff, Rob. Personal interview. 26 Aug. 2015. | In an interview with Rob Janoff in 2015... |
| Class lecture | Last name, First name. "Name of lecture." Class title Course code. Class lecture, Location, Day Month Year. | Corso, Lenny. "Reproductive System." Advanced Anatomy & Physiology APHY 201. Class lecture, Ivy Tech Community College, Valparaiso, Indiana. 24 July 2023. | In his lecture on the reproductive system, Mr. Corso stated... |
Use this reference example if your material is a handbook, dictionary, or other type of reference work, in print or electronic or from library databases.
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Material |
Format | Reference Example | In-text Example |
| Online Reference book with author | Last name, First name. "Title of Entry." Title of Reference Book, edited by First name Last name, Publisher, Year. Name of database or website, URL. Accessed Day Month Year. | Myers, Katherine Ann. “Juana Ines de la Cruz”. The Oxford Encyclopedia of Women in World History, edited by Bonnie G. Smith, Oxford UP, 2008. Oxford Reference, www.oxfordreference.com. Accessed 18 June 2021. | (Meyers) |
| Online Dictionary | "Title of Entry." Title of Dictionary, edited by First name Last name, Publisher, Year, URL. Accessed Day Month Year. | "Filibuster." Oxford English Dictionary, Oxford University Press, 2019, oed.com/view/Entry/70179?redirectedFrom=fillibuster#eid. Accessed 27 July 2019. |
shorted title of entry: ("Filibuster") |
| Wikipedia | "Title of Entry." Wikipedia: The Free Encyclopedia, Wikimedia Foundation, Day Month Year entry was last modified, Time entry was last modified, URL of entry. Accessed Day Month Year Wikipedia entry was last viewed. |
"Body Image." Wikipedia: The Free Encyclopedia, Wikimedia Foundation, 16 June 2016, 7:41 pm, en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Body_image. Accessed 28 June 2016.
Note: The date and time the article was last modified appears at the bottom of each Wikipedia article. Keep in mind that Wikipedia may not be considered an acceptable source for a college or university assignment. Be sure to evaluate the content carefully and check with your instructor if you can use it as a source in your assignment. |
Title of entry ("Body Image") |
| Material | Format | Reference Example | In-text Example |
| Blog Post | Author's Last Name, First Name or Username if real name not provided. "Title of Blog Post." Name of Blog, Blog Network/Publisher if given, Day Month Year of blog post, URL of blog post. Accessed Day Month Year. | Naish, Darren. "If Bigfoot Were Real." Tetrapod Zoology, Scientific American Blogs, 27 June 2016, blogs.scientificamerican.com/tetrapod-zoology/if-bigfoot-were-real/. Accessed 28 June 2016. | (Naish) |
| Twitter (Tweet) | Screen Name [@handle]. "The entire tweet word-for-word." Twitter, Day Month Year of Tweet, Time of Tweet, URL. | Sohaib Athar [@ReallyVirtual]. "Helicopter hovering above Abbottad at 1AM is a rare event." Twitter, 4 Jan. 2013, 3:58 p.m., twitter.com/reallyvirtual/status/64780730286358528?lang=en. |
Screen name (Sohaib Athar) |
| Image on Instagram, Pinterest, etc. | Screen Name [@handle]. Description of image. Name of Social Media Site, Day Month Year of Tweet, Time of post, URL. | Kasper Nymann [@polarpx]. Photograph of Silkie chicken in grass. Twitter, 5 May 2020, 11:10 a.m., https://twitter.com/polarpx/status/1257734510730412034?s=21. | (Kasper Nymann) |
| Author Last Name, First Name or Account Name. Description of Post. Facebook, Day Month Year of Post, Time of Post, URL. Accessed Day Month Year. |
Rick Mercer Report. Spread the Net Challenge Winners 2016. Facebook, 23 Mar. 2016, 9:00 a.m., www.facebook.com/rickmercerreport. Accessed 26 June 2016. Note: As Facebook posts can be lengthy, describe the post instead of reposting its content. To find the time of a Facebook post, hover your mouse next to the date of the post over the clock icon. It may not be possible to link directly to the specific post itself. |
Authors last name or account name (Rick Mercer Report) |
| Material | Format | Reference Example | In-text Example |
| YouTube video | Last name, First name of account/creator. "Title of video." YouTube, uploaded by Screen name, Day Month Year, URL. Accessed Day Month Year. | McGonigal, Jane. “Gaming and Productivity.” YouTube, uploaded by Big Think, 3 July 2012, www.youtube.com/watch?v=mkdzy9bWW3E. Accessed 7 Apr. 2020. | (McGonigal) |
| YouTube video - no author | “Title of Video.” YouTube, uploaded by Screen Name, day Month Year, URL. Accessed Day Month Year. | “8 Hot Dog Gadgets put to the Test.” YouTube, uploaded by Crazy Russian Hacker, 6 June 2016, www.youtube.com/watch?v=WBlpjSEtELs. Accessed 19 Nov 2019. |
shortened title ("8 Hot Dog Gadgets") |
| Television episode | “Episode Name.” Series Name, written by First Name Last Name, directed by First Name Last Name, Distributor, Year. | "The One Where Chandler Can't Cry." Friends: The Complete Sixth Season, written by Andrew Reich and Ted Cohen, directed by Kevin Bright, Warner Brothers, 2004. | ("The One Where Chandler Can't Cry") |
| Movie | Title. Directed by First Name Last Name, performances by First Name Last Name (if relevant), Distributor, Year. | Speed Racer. Directed by Lana Wachowski and Lilly Wachowski, performances by Emile Hirsch, Nicholas Elia, Susan Sarandon, Ariel Winter, and John Goodman, Warner Brothers, 2008. | ("Speed Racer") |
| Podcast | “Title of Episode.” Title of Podcast from Name of Website, Day Month Year, URL. Accessed Day Month Year. | “Best of Not My Job Musicians.” Wait Wait…Don’t Tell Me! from NPR, 4 June 2016, www.npr.org/podcasts/344098539/wait-wait-don-t-tell-me. Accessed 8 Jun 2016. | (“Best of Not My Job Musicians”) |
| Online image with creator | Creator Last Name, First Name. “Title of Image.” Title of Website, Version (if available, Number (if available), Publisher, Publication Date, URL. Accessed Day Month Year. | Gilpin, Laura. “Terraced Houses, Acoma Pueblo, New Mexico.” Library of Congress, Reproduction no. LC-USZ62-102170, 1939, www.loc.gov/pictures/item/90716883/. Accessed 14 July 2022. | (Gilpin) |
| Online image no creator, no title, no date | Description of image. Title of website. Publisher, URL. Accessed Day Month Year. | Photograph of Coach K with Team USA. NBC Olympics, USA Today Sports, www.nbcolympics.com/news/rio-olympics-coach-ks-toughest-test-or-lasting-legacy. Accessed 25 June 2016. | ("Photograph of Coach K with Team USA") |
| Material | Format | Reference Example | In-text Example |
| Website article with author | Last Name, First. Title of Webpage. Website Publisher, Last date updated, URL. Accessed Day Month Year. | Felluga, Dino. Guide to Literary and Critical Theory. Purdue Global, 28 Nov. 2021, www.cla.purdue.edu/english/theory/. Accessed 26 May 2022. | (Felluga) |
| Website article/entry no author | Title of webpage. Title of Website, Last date updated, URL. Accessed Day Month Year. | The Purdue OWL Family of Sites. The Writing Lab and OWL at Purdue and Purdue University, 2008, owl.english.purdue.edu/owl. Accessed 17 Aug. 2017. | ("The Purdue OWL Family of Sites") |
| Wikipedia | "Title of Entry." Wikipedia: The Free Encyclopedia, Wikimedia Foundation, Day Month Year entry was last modified, Time entry was last modified, URL of entry. Accessed Day Month Year. |
"Body Image." Wikipedia: The Free Encyclopedia, Wikimedia Foundation, 16 June 2016, 7:41 pm, en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Body_image. Accessed 28 June 2016.
Note: The date and time the article was last modified appears at the bottom of each Wikipedia article. Keep in mind that Wikipedia may not be considered an acceptable source for a college assignment. Be sure to evaluate the content carefully and check with your instructor if you can use it as a source in your assignment. |
Title of Entry ("Body Image") |
In MLA, in-text citations are inserted in the text or body of your document to briefly cite the source of your information. Brief in-text citations point the reader to the full information in the Works Cited list at the end of your document.
When using MLA format, follow the author - page number method of in-text citation. For this method include the author and page number within the body of your document and include a corresponding reference in the list at the end of the document. This method allows the reader to identify sources used in your document, then easily locate them in the alphabetical Works Cited list.
Create an in-text citation whenever you quote another work or paraphrase another work in your own words.
See the MLA Style Blog for an In-Text Citations Overview
In-Text Citations Have Two Formats
There are two ways to integrate sources into your assignment:
Readers should be able to move from your own words to the words of your references without feeling an abrupt shift. Signal phrases provide clear indicators to prepare the reader for the quotation/paraphrase. In MLA verbs are used in the present tense when introducing a quote or paraphrased section. Choose verbs that reflect the author's intent. Some common signal phrases are:
Author Type
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Parenthetical Citation
|
Narrative Citation or "Citation in Prose"
|
|---|---|---|
| One Author | (Corso 358) |
First mention: Mr. Lenny Corso (358) Subsequent mentions: Corso (426) |
| Two Authors | (Aros and Nooraldeen 128) |
First mention: Dr. Jon Aros and Dr. Ahmad Nooraldeen (128) Subsequent mentions: Aros and Nooraldeen (135) |
| Three or More Authors | (Basham et al 117-121) | Anna Basham et al (117-121) |
|
Group or Organization as Author |
(Ivy Tech Community College 80)
|
Ivy Tech Community College (80) |
|
More than One Source list citations as alphabetically and separate them with a semi-colon |
(Oman 18; Polomchak 22; Zhang 7) |
Recent research by Paul Oman (18), Jason Polomchak (22) and Zheng Zhang (7) highlights ... |
|
No Author Listed Capitalize each word of the title within the in-text citation. Use the title of the work in place of the author's name. Use Double Quotation marks around the title. ("headline - style") |
("Nursing Students Celebrate Wins" 20) |
"Nursing Students Celebrate Wins" (20) argues that...
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MLA defines a short quotation as four typed lines or fewer or prose of three lines of verse in your text.
Note: If page numbers are not available (e.g., webpages, some e-books, etc), you do not include it in the in-text citation.
If a quotation is longer than four typed lines, treat it as a long or block quotation:
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Researchers study how stress affects nursing students: Nursing students often face significant stress due to the demanding nature of their coursework, clinical rotations, and high-stakes examinations, which can lead to feelings of burnout and decreased academic performance if not properly managed. To manage stress during nursing school prioritize self care with meditation, yoga or breathing exercises, practice effective time management strategies by creating to-do lists, build a support network of peers and mentors, and don't be afraid to ask questions during class and at clinical rotations. (Reddington 9) |
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Grace Reddington describes how stress affects nursing students: Nursing students often face significant stress due to the demanding nature of their coursework, clinical rotations, and high-stakes examinations, which can lead to feelings of burnout and decreased academic performance if not properly managed. To manage stress during nursing school prioritize self care with meditation, yoga or breathing exercises, practice effective time management strategies by creating to-do lists, build a support network of peers and mentors, and don't be afraid to ask questions during class and at clinical rotations. (9) |
