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ENGL 3523 Advanced Composition

Advanced composition for writers, especially prospective English teachers.

Cite It

Citing Your Sources

It’s essential to credit the sources you use in your research, and that’s why there are standardized style guides for in-text citations and lists of references. In this class, you will format your papers and cite your sources in the style of the Modern Language Association (MLA).

See these resources to learn how to use this style.

MLA Style

The MLA Style, created by the Modern Language Association, is common in English and the humanities.

Find the handbook at the library or explore the linked websites to learn how to use this style.

Style Guide

Example MLA Citations

A sample in-text and bibliographic citation of a journal article are presented here.

See the style guide for more complete and specific rules. You may also notice that all citations in this research guide are in MLA style.

In-Text Citation

Narrative Citation

According to Pamboukian, Kipling’s short stories and novels exhibit a paradoxical mixture of magic and reality, which may be due, in part, to Kipling’s own ambivalence about the supernatural and enthusiasm for new gadgetry (429).

Parenthetical Citation

Kipling’s short stories and novels exhibit a paradoxical mixture of magic and reality, which may be due, in part, to Kipling’s own ambivalence about the supernatural and enthusiasm for new gadgetry (Pamboukian 429).

Note the following:

  • Place all quoted text is in quotation marks.

  • Place the page number of the citation in parentheses after the closing quotation mark.

  • If you don’t name the author in the text, place the name in parentheses next to the page number.

  • Place the closing punctuation mark after the citation.

Bibliographic Entry

Pamboukian, Sylvia. “Science, Magic and Fraud in the Short Stories of Rudyard Kipling.” English Literature in Transition, –, vol. 47, no. 4, , pp. 429–445. EBSCOhost, https://doi.org/10.2487/72G3-5668-57JT-82GG.

Note the following:

  • Place the author’s name first, followed by the article title in quotation marks.

  • Italicize the journal title.

  • For journal articles, include volume, issue, date, and page numbers.

  • Following the journal information, include any other container, i.e., where the article is stored—in this case an EBSCOhost database.

  • Italicize container names.

  • Finally, include the location where the article can be found.

  • Use a “stable” or “permanent” web address as the location unless a DOI is available.

  • Always include a DOI if possible.

Citation Websites

Quick Links

Find Numbers and Identifiers

Legal and Government Publications

Infographic explaining that all information from another source must be cited.

Fig. 1. Michele Kirschenbaum. “Am I Plagiarizing?: An Advanced Infographic.” EasyBib Blog, , www.easybib.com/guides/am-i-plagiarizing-advanced-infographic. Accessed .

Research Librarian