This guide provides you with examples of how to correctly cite references within the text of your assignments in the Modern Language Association (MLA) style.
There are a variety of different referencing styles used across the University (Harvard, Vancouver, MHRA), so you should always check with your supervisor that this method of citation is accepted within your School. It is also vital that you remain consistent with your referencing style throughout your document.
Citations you include in the main body of your writing provide brief details of the work you are referring to. In the MLA style, you place the relevant source information in brackets after a quote or a paraphrase. These short “parenthetical citations” then link to a fully detailed reference, which you should include in your works cited list. You should also check with the person assessing your work whether parenthetical citations need to be included in your final word count.
The format of the parenthetical citation will depend upon a number of factors. These include the nature of the source (print, DVD, web etc), and also on the format of the source’s entry on your works cited list. The signal word or phrase you provide to your readers in the text (which will usually be the author’s surname), must be the first thing that appears on the corresponding entry in the works cited list.
The MLA style allows you to phrase your text so that credit is given to the author’s view (direct citation) or you can cite the author and page number after the relevant section (indirect citation).
If the author’s name forms a natural part of your sentence, then you just need to note the relevant page number(s) (within parentheses) at the end of the sentence.
Boatright argues that there are six questions that need consideration, before making a decision on whether to blow the whistle in a case (43).
If you do not mention the author’s name within your text, then place both the name and page number in parentheses, at the end of the sentence, eg.
There are six distinctive conditions, which need to be satisfied, in order for a whistle-blowing case to be justified (Boatright 43).
All authors (and page numbers) should be noted within your text, eg.
Anderton and Thompson identified enormous variations between countries in terms of the importance of foreign holdings (167- 168).
Gobi’s investment revenues doubled in 2007 (Lerner, Hardymon and Leamon 14).
When there are more than three authors only provide the first author’s name, followed by the Latin term ‘et al.’ (and all), eg.
Kotler et al. argue that business markets are very similar to consumer markets (92-98).
There are a number of similarities between the business and consumer market sectors (Kotler et al. 92).
Cite both names and separate with a semi-colon, eg.
Hollensen and Palmer are in agreement about the importance of service led marketing (157; 362).
Service led marketing should form an important part of an organisation’s overall marketing strategy (Hollensen 157; Palmer 362).
If two or more authors have the same surname then you need to provide more information to identify the source from which a quotation is taken. You should provide both author’s first initials (or even the authors' full name if different authors share initials) in your citation, eg.
Although some researchers claim that consumption of carbonated beverages is a major factor in adolescent tooth decay (R. Jones 12), others note that there are a wide range of other lifestyle factors at work (A. Jones 46).
If you cite more than one work by an author, include a shortened title for the work from which you are quoting, to distinguish it from the others. You should put short titles of books in italics, and short titles of articles in quotation marks, eg.
Mintzberg (“New Look” 21) took a new approach to the concept of leadership, and then crystallised this further by defining eight principles which make up an effective leader (Nature of Managerial Work 35-48).
If the author’s work appears as a chapter within part of a larger work that is edited by somebody else (quite common with academic textbooks), use the author of the chapter for the citation within your text. You will however, need to provide the full bibliographic details in your works cited list (See section 3 for further details), eg.
Lane argues that there are distinctive national patterns in the organisation of firms and inter-firm relations (271-304).
If the work is by a recognised organisation, and has no personal author, then use the organisation’s name for the citation.
It has been suggested that the proposed grocery market reforms might have a detrimental effect on competition within the industry (British Retail Consortium 14).
N.B. The MLA style does not allow abbreviations for associations, companies or institutions. If the name is very long it may be better to include it as part of your sentence instead, eg.
In 1963 the United Nations Economic Commission for Africa predicted that Africa would evolve into an advanced industrial economy within fifty years (1-2, 4-6).
If you cannot identify the author of a document (quite common with online sources) use a shortened title of the work. Put this in quotations if it’s a short work, or italicize if it’s a longer work, eg.
The firm envisaged this leading to improved sales in 2013 (“Marketing strategy” 21-42).
We see so many global warming hotspots in North America likely because this region has "more readily accessible climatic data and more comprehensive programs to monitor and study environmental change." (Impact of Global Warming 6).
The phrase “no date” should be used if you cannot identify a date of publication.
Cosgrove (no date) states that total sales measures are often used to assess overall trends within the retail sector
Total sales measure is used to assess market level trends in retail sales (Cosgrove, no date.)
If you are quoting directly or using ideas from a specific page or pages of a work, you must also include the page number(s) within your citation. Insert the abbreviation p. or pp. (for multiple pages) before the page number(s), eg.
Chaffey (2011, p. 30) provides a useful definition of E-government…
There are four major causes of inequality within the globalized system (Scholte, 2005, pp. 316 – 344).
Any quotations used should be relevant to the argument you are making. Short quotations (4 or fewer lines of prose or 3 of verse) can be set in quotation marks and included within the body of the text. Enclose the quotation within double quotation marks, and then provide the author and specific page citation (in the case of verse, provide line numbers) in the text, and include a complete reference in the Works Cited list. Punctuation marks such as commas, and semi-colons should appear after the parenthetical citation. Question marks and exclamation should appear within the quotation marks if they are a part of the quoted passage, but after the parenthetical citation if they are a part of your text, eg.
The high burn-rate facing Boo.com was due to an “imbalance between promotion and site development costs and revenues” (Chaffey 79-80).
If you are citing verse then you should mark any line breaks with a forward slash - /
Donne concludes that the woman would lose no more honour than that already lost when she killed the flea “Just so much honour, when thou yield'st to me, / Will waste, as this flea's death took life from thee” (11).
Longer quotations need to be entered as a separate paragraph and indented from the main text. You do not need to use quotation marks, eg.
Chaffey describes how it can be difficult to assess the success of e-businesses:
Internet pureplay companies are often perceived as dynamic and successful owing to the rapid increase in visitors to sites, or sales, or due to initial valuations on stock markets. In reality, it is difficult to assess the success of these companies since despite positive indications in terms of sales or audience, the companies have often not been profitable. Consider the three major social networks: Bebo, Facebook or MySpace – none of these was profitable at the time of writing. (Chaffey 79-80).
To omit part of a quotation use an ellipsis, eg.
“Consider the three major social networks … none of these was profitable at the time of writing” (Chaffey 79).
You can insert your own words into the quotation by putting them in square brackets, eg.
Jones notes that “in these areas the larger [tobacco] companies often act the most irresponsibly” (16).
If the original quotation contains errors (e.g. a spelling mistake) do not correct it. Instead point out the errors by writing [sic], eg.
Williams (2008, p. 86) noted that ‘Johnson maid [sic] a mistake’.
When you have read about a particular author’s work, but have been unable to consult the actual work (the primary source) directly, then you need to acknowledge this. This is known as an indirect source. Use the phrase “qtd. in” to indicate this, eg.
It can be argued that the organizing abilities of the manufacturing concern in Japan, have succeeded in creating a hierarchy of careers among their subcontractors (Sabel qtd. in Kristensen 73).