Guides: TGC: The Roadmap to Research: Citing Sources

MLA

The Modern Language Association (MLA) citation style is most commonly used in humanities disciplines such as English, foreign languages, literary criticism and comparative literature, and cultural studies.

Sample MLA Citations
	In-Text Citation for Direct Quotes	In-Text Citation for Information	Works Cited Page
Journal Article	(Yodovich 872)	(Yodovich)*	Yodovich, Neta. “Defining Conditional Belonging: The Case of Female Science Fiction Fans.” Sociology, vol. 55, no. 5, Oct. 2021, pp. 871–87. EBSCOhost, https://doi.org/10.1177/0038038520949848.
Journal Article with Multiple Authors	(Fulkerson et al. 532)	(Fulkerson et al.)*	Fulkerson, Jayne A., et al. “Adolescent and Parent Views of Family Meals.” Journal of the American Dietetic Association, vol. 106, no. 4, Apr. 2006, pp. 526–32. ScienceDirect, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jada.2006.01.006.
Book	(Golding 18)	(Golding)*	Golding, Dan. Star Wars after Lucas: A Critical Guide to the Future of the Galaxy. University of Minnesota Press, 2019.
AI	("In 200 words")	("In 200 words")	“In 200 words, describe the symbolism of the green light in The Great Gatsby” follow-up prompt to list sources. ChatGPT, 13 Feb. version, OpenAI, 9 Mar. 2023, chat.openai.com/chat.

*If you introduce the author(s) in the text, you don't need an in-text citation. For example, you could say, "Fulkerson et al. found that as a child ages, the frequency of family meals decreases."

Always check with your professor and syllabus for specific information on how you should use and cite AI-generated sources.

MLA does not consider Generative AI, like ChatGPT, as an author.

Citing AI in MLA
To learn more about citing AI in MLA, follow this link!

MLA Handbook by The Modern Language; The Modern Language Association of America
Call Number: Ref. LB 2369 .M52 2021

ISBN: 9781603293518

Publication Date: 2021-05-30

MLA Sample Paper
Look at this MLA sample paper from Purdue OWL to help format your paper.
MLA Style Center
Check out updates and FAQs directly from MLA (the Modern Languages Association)
MLA FAQs
Check out frequently asked questions about MLA from Purdue OWL.

How to Format a Hanging Indent

Several citation styles require you to format your citations with a hanging indent, where the first line is aligned with the margin of your page, and the following lines are indented. This makes it easy for readers to skim your references or works cited page!

Hanging Indents in Google Docs

Choose Format> Align & Indent> Indentation options from the top navigation bar.
Choose Hanging Indent and .5 inches. Click on Apply.

Hanging Indents in Word

Select the text where you want to add a hanging indent.
Go to Home > Paragraph Settings dialog launcher Button image > Indents and Spacing.
Under Special, select Hanging.
Adjust the depth of the indent using the By field to .5 inch or 1.27 cm.
Select OK.

Hanging Indents in Pages

Select the paragraphs to which the hanging indent will apply.
Go to the View menu and choose Show Rulers.
In the ruler look to the left end to find the two part icon combining a Left Margin stop (downward pointing triangle) and a First Line left margin stop (thin rectangle sitting on the triangle).
Click on the triangle part and drag right to where you want the main left margin of the text to be.
Click on the rectangle part and drag left to the document margin.