SI: Citations & Plagiarism -- MLA

Welcome to the mini tutorial on MLA Citation Style!

This guide will give you an overview of MLA citation style and will help you learn to use this format to avoid unintentional plagiarism.

The page to the right of this guide is the library's citation guide. This is where we will find information and resources on how to cite in MLA format.

To find this citation guide after you finish this tutorial in the future, you would:

• First, navigate to the library's website

• Second, click Research Guides within the "Search Library Resources" box on the homepage.

• Then, click on "How to Cite Your Sources" 

 If the citation guide does not appear to the right of the screen in this tutorial, please click this link.

What is MLA Style?

MLA (Modern Language Association) developed this style for citing sources within scholarly writing. The MLA is a national professional organization for those who study language and literature. MLA style is typically used in research papers within the Humanities.

The authoritative resource for MLA style is the MLA Handbook (8th edition). You can access this book in the reference section on the first floor of the CSI library. You can also consult the library's Citing Sources guide (the webpage you are currently on).

• You will likely have professors who require any assignments that you submit to be in proper MLA format.

Let's take a look at why format matters.

Why do Citations Matter?

Citing is an important part of the research process because:

• It allows others to identify and locate the materials used in your work. Many readers rely on citations and footnotes to identify other relevant literature on a topic.

• It shows that you have read the relevant literature on your topic. This indicates that you have an informed understanding of your subject and enhances the credibility of your findings.

• It allows you to give proper credit for the ideas of others and to avoid plagiarism. 

• Plagiarism refers to the act of copying another's work or using another's ideas and submitting it as one's own. Plagiarism is a violation of the CUNY's Academic Integrity policy. To learn more about what constitutes plagiarism and tips on how to avoid it, check out the Library's Plagiarism webpage.

MLA Style: General Format Overview

MLA style includes standards for the format of citations, the overall formatting of research papers, and stylistic conventions (abbreviations, quotations, etc).

Here are some general guidelines for MLA papers:

• They should be typed, double spaced, in a size 12-pt standard font

• Have 1-inch margins all around

• Have a right-aligned header, .5 inches from the top of the page, with the author's last name and page number

• Have a heading on the first page, aligned-right, with a separate line for the author's name, followed by the instructor's name, class number, and due date of the paper

• Have the title on the next line, centered, not underlined, in quotes, or italicized

• Have the first sentence of each paragraph indented by .5 inches

Paper Example

Here is an example of the opening of a paper in MLA style (click the image to enlarge):

"Sample Papers in MLA Style." The MLA Style Center, 14 Aug. 2018, https://style.mla.org/sample-papers/.

In-Text Citations:

Now let's take a look at citations that are within the text.

What Needs to be Cited?

Whenever you quote, paraphrase, summarize, or otherwise refer to the work of another, you must cite the source using either a parenthetical citation, footnote, or endnote.

This includes:

• Direct quotes
• Paraphrasing significant ideas
• Images, graphs, illustrations that are not your own

This is commonly done with a parenthetical citation at the end of a sentence with the author's name and the associated page number(s).

Let's look at a few examples of this:

• This point has already been argued (Tannen 18-24).
• Tannen has argued this point (18-24).
• Robertson maintained that “in the appreciation of medieval art the attitude of the observer is of primary importance . . .” (136).
• Others hold the opposite point of view (Jacobson and Waugh 8-12).

Let's learn a bit more about the components of a citation. 

One of the most common resources that you will likely cite is a scholarly journal article. Here is the basic format of a scholarly article, according to MLA format:

Author(s). "Title of Article." Title of Journal, Volume, Issue, Year, pages.

Notice that the citation has the article title in quotations and the journal title in italics. This helps the reader to identify the source clearly.

_________________________________

Now let's look at another common resource: Books:

Last Name, First Name. Title of Book. City of Publication, Publisher, Publication Date.

 (*The city of publication is not always required)

We have gone through the basics of MLA format. You are almost done with this mini-tutorial and should now have a basic understanding of MLA format and avoiding plagiarism. For more comprehensive information, please continue to explore to the library's Citing Sources webpage (the page you navigated to for this tutorial).

If you have any questions, please feel free to contact a librarian.

Now let's test your knowledge to see what you've learned from this tutorial with a short quiz:

Certificate

Please enter your name and email address to retrieve a copy of your completed quiz.

You can enter multiple email addresses separated by commas. If you are doing this for a class, you may need to enter your instructor's email address also.