HOW TO MAKE PARENTHETICAL CITATIONS IN MLA FORMAT, 6th ed.

Every time students use a phrase, quotation, or idea from another source, they need to
document that source. Each type of artistic or scholarly work has a specific means of documentation. Even
interviews, songs, paintings, and cartoons must be documented if a student refers to an idea or phrase
that originates in them.

This sheet provides a partial demonstration of MLA guidelines for citation. A similar listing is found
in Writing at Carson-Newman College, third edition. For a complete discussion, refer to The MLA
Handbook for Writers of Research Papers, sixth edition, which is available at most libraries and at major
bookstores.

There are two parts to documentation. The first is a parenthetical note in the text of the paper, and
the second part is a Works Cited page at the end of the entire paper. Parenthetical documentation looks
like this example, which I have artificially placed in a different font to distinguish it from the surrounding
discussion and which will be double-spaced in your paper:

Many students consider lectures to be boring. One researcher has written, "Out of a class of
twenty-six students, eighteen students enter REM sleep before the lecture begins" (Smith 36).
This fact indicates more exciting approaches are necessary.

The student here quotes word for word what Dr. Smith has written in another text. Note that after the
quote ends, the student skips one space, then types a parenthesis, the author's last name, another
space, and finally the page number from which she found the quote. Finally, she types the closing
parenthesis and the punctuation mark for the entire sentence--in this case, a period. If the student
identifies Smith by name previously in the paragraph, or if it is otherwise clear where the source comes
from, only the page is necessary.

Dr. Clarissa Smith has written, "Out of a class of twenty-six students, eighteen students enter
REM sleep before the lecture begins" (36).

If the student did not use Dr. Smith's exact words, but still borrowed the fact or idea, the student
will not use quotation marks, but must still cite the source.

More exciting approaches are necessary for lectures. As many as eighteen out of twenty-six
students fall asleep in class (Smith 36). This dilemma demands a solution.

If the student is not directly quoting word for word what Dr. Smith said, but she is still borrowing Dr. Smith's
research, opinion, or conclusion, she must give Dr. Smith credit by including a parenthetical notation after
the sentence. Failing to include this citation is wicked plagiarism.

ADDING A WORKS CITED PAGE IN MLA FORMAT

When students finish the main text of their papers, they will need a Works Cited page that lists all of the
sources in alphabetical order by the author's last name. When citing books, use the following guideline,
and give the information in the following order, as listed in section 5.6.1 of the MLA Handbook:

1. Author's name, listed with the last name first and the first name last
2. Title of a part of the book (if using only chapter, essay, or section out of a larger source)
3. Title of the whole book
4. Name of the editor, translator, or compiler (if there is one)
5. Edition used (if the edition is listed)
6. Number(s) of the volume(s) referred to (if the source is a multi-volume work)
7. Name of the series (if the work is part of a series of books)
8. Place of publication, name of the publisher, and the date the source was published
9. Page numbers (if using only chapter, essay or section out of a larger source)
10. Supplementary bibliographic information and annotation.
Not all sources will include all of this information. There may not be an editor, a volume number, or a series,
etc. If this is the case, skip that number in the above list and move to the next. Refer to the MLA Handbook
in section 5.6 for more information. Below some sample citations appear for different types of media.
Normally, the entire listing is double-spaced between entries and between lines of single entries.

Books: see MLA section 5.6 onwards. Note the Kingsolver entry is for a short story in a longer
anthology.

Author's Name. "Title of a Short Story or Essay." Title of the Book That Includes the Shorter Work. Ed.
Editor's Name. Edition. Vol. number. Place of publication: Publishing Company, Date published.
Page numbers. Number of volumes in the complete set.
Kingsolver, Barbara. "Homeland." Being of These Hills. Ed. Ernest Lee. 3rd ed. Boston: Pearson Custom
Publishing, 2002. 126-39.
Diamond, Jared. Guns, Germs, and Steel: The Fates of Human Societies. New York: Norton, 1999.

Films: see MLA sections 5.8.3; 5.9.9c; B.1.7

Title of the Film. Dir. Director's Name. Perf. Actor's Name, Actor's Name, etc. Film Company, Original
release date. Medium. Distributor, Date for new medium like DVD or videotape.
It's A Wonderful Life. Dir. Frank Capra. Perf. James Stewart, Donna Reed, Lionel Barrymore, and Thomas
Mitchell. RKO, 1946. DVD. Republic, 2001.
Personal Interview: see MLA section 5.8.7, or 5.9.9e for online interviews

Name of the person interviewed, the kind of interview (Personal interview, Telephone interview, or E-mail
interview) and the date or dates the interview took place.
Rowling, J. K. E-mail interview. 8-12 May 2002.

Published Interview: see MLA 5.8.7 and 5.9.9e

Name of the person interviewed. "Title of Interview." (only if title is given; if not simply write "Interview" or
"Interview with Interviewer's name," if known, but leave out the quotation marks). Title of Book in
Which the Interview Is Found. Ed. (if any editor). Place of publication: Publishing Company, Date
published. Page numbers.
Manson, Charles. Interview with Ted Koppel. Conversations with Evil. Ed. Martin Briggs. Chicago: Thorn
Books, 1975. 14-23.

Magazine Articles and Articles in Periodicals: see MLA section 5.7.6 for
magazines; see 5.7 for periodicals.

Author's Name. "Title of the Article." Name of the Magazine or Periodical Series Number. Volume Number
(if any). (Date of publication): page numbers.
Rogers, Peter. "Water: Not as Cheap as You Think." Technology Review 25.4 (Dec. 1986): 30-78.
Newspapers: see MLA 5.7.5; note that you do not need to give the volume and issue number, even
if they are listed on the newspaper.

Author's Name. "Title of Article." Title of Newspaper [Add City of paper. Date of publication, early or late
ed. (if paper printed twice daily), section numbers or page numbers, using a plus sign to indicate
nonsequential pages following the first page.
Billings, Jerry. "Why Wait on Retirement?" Houston Star 13 May 2001, early ed.: 13.
Gordon, Maria. "Halloween Prank Backfires." The Bugle [Oklahoma City]. 22 Apr. 2003, B7+.

ELECTRONIC RESOURCES:
Electronic resources come in a bewildering variety of forms--CD-ROM encyclopedias, searchable DVD-
ROM electronic books, websites, and online databases, to name but a few. Below are the formats for
common types like e-mail messages, websites, and reference databases. To be certain of appropriate
documentation with other types of electronic resources, consult the MLA Handbook, 6th edition, section
5.9 onward, or consult Writing at Carson-Newman College, 3rd edition, pages 82-84.

E-MAIL MESSAGE: See MLA section 5.9.9j or page 84 of Writing at Carson-Newman College.

Author's Name. Title given in subject heading of message (if any). E-mail to [insert recipient's name or "the
author" if you received the e-mail directly]. Date sent.
Davidson, Janetta. "Thoughts on Coleridge." E-mail to Kyla Jacobson. 16 June 2003.

REFERENCE DATABASE: See MLA sections 5.9.5, 5.9.2, and 5.9.7, or see pages 82-84 of
Writing at Carson-Newman.

Author's name (if given; if not, insert editor or compiler's name, if given). "Title of entry." Title of Database.
Name of editor, compiler or translator (if relevant). Publication medium. Edition, release, or version
(if relevant). Publication Information, date.

Davers, D. Jeffrey. "Romanian Folklore." Nova Encarta. DVD-ROM. Technosoft, 2001.

Website: see MLA 5.9 onwards for online information, or pages 82-84 of Writing at Carson-Newman
College.

Creator's Name (if given). Title of subsection (if any). Title of Source. Name of Compiler or Translator. Title
of Website. Version number of source (if given). Date of electronic publication (latest update or
posting). Number of total pages, paragraphs, or sections (if available). Name of associated
institution or organization. Date of access. <Network address or URL>.
Dawe, James. Jane Austen Page. Updated 15 Sept. 1998. University of Alberta. October 11, 2002.
<http://nyquist.ee.ualberta.ca/~dawe/austen.html>.
Wheeler, Kip. "Anachronism." Literary Terms: A. 20 August 2003. Carson-Newman English Department.
19 Sept. 2003 <http://web.cn.edu/kwheeler/lit.terms_A.html>.

NB: Each bibliographic entry should conclude with a period. Note that there are different formulas for
citing scholarly journals, journals with continuing pagination, lyrics to songs, etc. See the MLA Handbook
or Writing at Carson-Newman College for more information.