MLA8 Guide

Why do we use in text citations?

How is a Work Cited built?

We use in text citations to support our writing.

Facts that you are using in your assignments and projects, that are not considered common knowledge need to be cited. Give credit where credit is due. When you use someone else's word, and ideas, even if not word for word, you need to give them credit, and you do that by citing your sources.

If you forget to cite, or cite incorrectly, you may plagiarize by accident. Use the steps below to make sure your paper is properly cited!

6 Steps to using MLA8

Step 1.

Find your source

You can use:

Books
Digital Library
Websites
Videos
etc...

Step 2.

Read and Analyze your source

When you are looking for sources and reading your articles make a note of anything you find interesting. It may come in handy later when you are writing!

You can jot down your quotes, or you can annotate your articles and sources. (Highly recommended)

Step 3.

Quote. Summarize. Paraphrase.

There are three ways to use your sources in your paper. Each has its own set of rules!

1.) Direct Quote

Uses quotation marks
When you use the exact words taken from your source
Keep these quotes to a minimum

2.) Paraphrase

When you rephrase sentences or phrases from your source
Use the no more than 3 rule
If there are three words in a row that are the same as your source you aren't paraphrasing anymore.

3.) Summary

When you take the main points of an article or large chunk of text and summarize them into a shorter passage.

Step 4.

Write your bibliographic citation for your work cited.

Because your in-text citation needs to match your work cited citation, let's start there.

There are a lot of variations possible in a citation. But if you follow the following graphic to put together your source, you are one step ahead.

There are also Citation generators:

easybib
citation machine
The digital library

If you want help with complex rules, visit The Online Writing Lab from Purdue University.

The digital library also provides citations, but like with all generators be wary of small mistakes. Like names being in ALL CAPS. Or commas and periods being out of place. ALWAYS double check the citation.

Step 5.

Choose which kind of in-text citation is needed.

There are two types of parenthetical in text citations. Both depend on how you are writing your sentences.

If you credit the author or authors in the sentence you only put the page number at the end of the sentence.
If you do not blatantly credit the author in the sentence you use the author's last name and the page number of the source.
If there is no author you link your in text citation to the first part of the associated source

Now that you know which one to use, add it to the end of your sentence that is paraphrasing your sources! Or quoting, or summarizing. ;)

Step 6.

Format your paper.

When formatting there are lots of little rules you need to follow.

Here are the basics:

1 inch margins all around
12pt font Time New Roman
Double Spaced
Name in the top left corner in the following order
- Name
- Teacher
- Class
- Date (day, month, year)
Last name and page number in the header, top right corner
No bold or large print for headings.
No extra spaces between paragraphs.

These are only the basics. If you have a more complex question please refer back to the MLA Handbook.

The best sites for more help:

Owl Purdue

MLA Style

Let's practice building a citation.

Look at the example below then grab a book and make your own!

LETS PRACTICE THE THREE TYPES OF IN TEXT CITATIONS

Read the following short article. Then using this source, create an in-text citation using the three methods, direct quoting, paraphrasing, and summarizing, answering the following question/prompt.

How did F. Scott Fitzgerald's life and writing emulate the Jazz Era?

1.) Direct Qute