LibGuides: English Composition / First Year Writing: MLA Citation

MLA Citation

MLA style is most often used in English Composition courses. Follow MLA style for creating Works Cited page citations, in-text citations, and other formatting. Remember, always double-check your assignment or with your Professor for any course-specific instructions. This page provides resources to help you use MLA correctly for in-text and works cited citations.

Works Cited / Citation Examples:

MLA Style Guide (8th ed.)
Printable handout from Cal State LA Library with examples by source type.

Purdue OWL: Works Cited
From the OWL at Purdue University
CSULB Works Cited Guide
Detailed, color-coded guidance on how to create citations for different source types.
Sample MLA Style Papers
Sample essays and works cited in MLA format provided by the MLA website.

In-Text MLA Citation

CSULB In-Text Guide
Detailed examples on how to directly quote, summarize / paraphrase, and cite sources in-text for your papers.

Interactive Templates to Help you Create Citations:

MLA Practice Template
A fillable form provided by the MLA to help you generate citations.

MLA Interactive Practice Template
A digital version of the template to help you create citations.

MLA Style Print Manual

MLA Handbook 8th Edition by The Modern Language Association of America
ISBN: 9781603292627
Publication Date: 2016-04-01
The Modern Language Association, the authority on research and writing, takes a fresh look at documenting sources in the eighth edition of the MLA Handbook, the official guide to MLA format.

Automatic Citation Generators

Nearly all databases include a "cite it" button that will generate a citation in the style you choose.

Citation generators are not 100% accurate. Always double-check your citations.

MLA Tutorial

MLA Style Tutorial
From the official MLA website

Help

Help Tab of this Guide