MLA Format Guidelines

Quotations

Include the source's author (last name only) and page number (if applicable) in parentheses either at the end of sentence before the sentence-ending punctuation or before a natural break in the sentence, such as a semicolon or comma.

  • Human beings have been described as "symbol-using animals" (Burke 3).

If the author's name is used in the sentence, include the page number in parentheses before a natural break or at the end of the sentence.

  • Wordsworth stated that Romantic poetry was marked by a "spontaneous overflow of powerful feelings" (263).

If a quotation is more than four lines long in your document, indent it 0.5 inches on a new line without quotation marks around it. Double space the quotation, and insert closing punctuation before the parenthetical citation at the end.

EXAMPLE:

At the end of Lord of the Flies the boys are struck with the realization of their behaviour:

The tears began to flow and sobs shook him. He gave himself up to them now for the first time on the island; great, shuddering spasms of grief that seemed to wrench his whole body. His voice rose under the black smoke before the burning wreckage of the island; and infected by that emotion, the other little boys began to shake and sob too. (Golding 186)

Rules

  1. The line before your long quotation, when you're introducing the quote, usually ends with a colon.
  2. The long quotation is indented half an inch from the rest of the text, so it looks like a block of text.
  3. There are no quotation marks around the quotation.
  4. The period at the end of the quotation comes before your in-text citation as opposed to after, as it does with regular quotations.

Paraphrase or summary

Unlike a direct quotation, a summary or paraphrase still relays ideas from a source but in your own words to make it fit better with your document. A paraphrase is a specific idea from a source that needs a citation with author and page number.

Paraphrasing from One Page

Include a full in-text citation with the author name and page number (if there is one). For example:

  • Mother-infant attachment became a leading topic of developmental research following the publication of John Bowlby's studies (Hunt 65).

Paraphrasing from Multiple Pages

If the paraphrased information/idea is from several pages, include them. 

  • Mother-infant attachment became a leading topic of developmental research following the publication of John Bowlby's studies (Hunt 50, 55, 65-71).

One or multiple authors

Citation rules vary based on how many authors a source. Consult the following table for how to handle these different situations.

Type of Citation In-Text Citation Parenthetical Format
1 Author According to Haller, music "has a positive effect on mental health" (25). Music has been reported to have "a positive effect on mental health" (Haller 25).
2 Authors According to Busker and Haller, music "has a positive effect on mental health" (25). Music has been reported to have "a positive effect on mental health" (Busker and Haller 25).
3+ Authors According to Busker et al., music "has a positive effect on mental health" (25). Music has been reported to have "a positive effect on mental health" (Busker et al. 25).
Corporate Authors According to the National Health Institute, "music can create new neural pathways that can benefit mental health" (26). Music can can create new neural pathways that can benefit mental health (National Health Institute 26)

Indirect (secondary) sources

When citing a quotation from a source, include the quotation's original author in text and insert a parenthetical citation that begins with the phrase "qtd. in" to indicate the source from which the quotation came.

  • According to Allegeria, biology "revolves around the idea that the cell is a fundamental unit of life" (qtd. in Smith 15).

Authors with the same surname

In addition to the author's name and the page number(s), include a shortened version of the title to distinguish which source is being referenced. 

  • Mattias Jakob Schleiden and Theodor Schwann, were scientists who formulated cell theory in 1838 (Smith, "Cell Theory" 20). 

Anonymous author

When a source's author is unknown, cite the first few words of the source's reference list entry, usually the title with appropriate formatting if an article (quotation marks) or book (italicized).

  • Cell biology is an area of science that focuses on the structure and function of cells (Cell Biology 15).