MLA Citation Guide (MLA 9th Edition): Citation Basics

What are Citations?

Citations tell your reader about the sources you’ve used in your work

Why do we cite?

• Citations give credit and show respect to the original authors of your sources.
• Citations help avoid plagiarism by identifying parts that are not your own words or ideas.
• Citations show that you’ve researched your topic.
• Citations help your readers find the sources you’ve used in your work

How do we cite?

Citation rules vary depending on the citation style selected. At Seneca, the common citation styles are APA & MLA. Check with your instructor if you’re not sure what style is required for your assignment. 

There are two parts to citing:

• Reference (APA) or Works Cited List (MLA) is the detailed list of all the sources you have cited in your work. It provides full information on each source you’ve used
• In-text Citations are short citations that indicate you have used someone else's ideas, words, or research. They are surrounded in parentheses and follow a direct quote or paraphrase.

You need to include both Reference/Works Cited citations and in-text citations in your work. Both work together to properly give credit to the authors of your sources.

Check out the library’s citation guides for more information on creating in-text and Reference / Works Cited List citations.

What are in-text citations?

In-text citations are short references that show when you have used information or ideas from a source. They also guide readers to the matching citations in your Works Cited List.

When do you use in-text citations?

Quoting Directly

• When using the author’s exact words in your work. 
• The general format is: (Author’s Last Name Page Number)
• For example: “This is a quote” (Turner & Li 18).

Paraphrasing

• When using your words to describe or summarize information from the source.
• The general format is: (Author’s Last Name Page Number)
• For example: This is a paraphrase (Turner & Li 18).

Types of in-text citations

Parenthetical in-text citations

The authors are mentioned in the citation. For example: This is my sentence (Turner & Li 18).

Narrative in-text citations

The authors are mentioned in the sentence. For example: In their study, Turner and Li found... (18).

What if there's missing information?

No date? Look for the copyright date. If not available, omit the date from the citation.

No page numbers? Include another way to locate the information such as a chapter number. For example: (Martinez ch. 4).

For more examples, check out the library’s citation guides.