MLA citations

These citations appear in parentheses and usually consist of the author(s)’ last name(s), and the page number(s) of the source.

• Do not put a comma between the name and the page number.
• The sentence punctuation appears outside the parentheses.

Example - one author:

Romantic poetry is characterized by the "spontaneous overflow of powerful feelings" (Wordsworth 263).

Example - two authors:

"Accessibility is of fundamental importance in all classrooms, including the library classroom" (Pionke and Rutledge 161).

Example - more than two authors:

By seeking out ways to improve their instruction, they realized they were undergoing the same process they asked of their students (Douglas et al. 411).

When you refer to the author name and page number in parentheses at the end of the sentence. These are often used after a direct quote.

Example:

"Information creation and consumption will always be a significant part of our lives and our society, influencing how we understand and interact with the world" (Cooke 3).

When you refer to some or all of the work in your own writing. These are often used when paraphrasing or summarizing.

In this example, we refer to the author in our narrative and the page number appears in parentheses at the end.

Cooke described acquiring information literacy skills as a lifelong process (2).