How to Use MLA Style Citations in your Text
MLA Quotations: Internal Quotes and Quote Blending
Listing the references in the bibliography is not sufficient documentation. You must indicate to your readers not only what works you drew from, but also exactly what you used from each source and exactly where in the work you found the material. Not doing so is plagiarism. For this class, and all English classes at BSU, we will be using MLA documentation style. According to the Modern Language Association, “MLA style features brief parenthetical citations in the text keyed to an alphabetical list of works cited that appears at the end of the work” (“What is MLA Style?”).
In the above quote, the information in the parenthesis indicates that the quotation was found in the source "What is MLA Style.'
In order to know what information goes in the parenthesis, you must first correctly create a Works Cited page. The information in the parenthesis is from the first part of the Works Cited entry. Please consult the Purdue OWL Formatting a Works Cited Page for more information. There are a list of links on the left-hand side bar that give you more information about specific types of sources.
Remember also that parenthetical citations do not include any information which you have included in the text itself:
- In a study examining seven years of call data from the NSW Poisons Information Center, researchers Gunja and Brown found that "Typically, recreational users were adolescents or young adults. Median age was 17 years" (47).
The page number from which you found the quoted material should immediately follow the final quotation mark
Remember, you must cite all information and ideas found in a source, not just quoted material:
- These are drinks that are being consumed increasingly more frequently by children, adolescents, and young adults (Seifert et al. 512).
For a source with more than three authors, provide the first author's last name followed by et al (Latin for 'and others').
Please see the Purdue OWL In-Text Citations for more information.
Block Quotes
In a traditional, typed paper, quotations more than four lines of prose or three lines of verse need to be formatted as a block quote. Start a new line, indent one inch from the left -hand margin and do not add quotation marks. For our purposes on this wiki, we will format these with a quote block.
- In a recent study by Gunja and Brown, they explained the current energy drink situation by stating:
The new millennium has ushered in a wave of synthetic, caffeinated high-energy drinks targeted at the youth market. Over the past 10 years, the consumption of caffeinated beverages intended to “energize” has increased significantly. Energy drinks were recently shown to comprise 20% of the total convenience store beverage market, with “Red Bull” and “V” accounting for over 97% of sales in this multimillion-dollar industry. Increasingly, toxicity from caffeine overdose is being reported to hospitals and poisons centers. (46)
A colon generally introduces a quotation displayed this way.
Also, in a block quote, the parenthetical information comes after the end punctuation.
Wiki Syntax for formatting:
> The new millennium has ushered in a wave of synthetic, caffeinated high-energy drinks targeted at the youth market...
Please see the Purdue OWL -- Formatting Quotations for more information
Omitting or Adding Words to a quotation
When omitting material in a direct quote from the original source, you must use ellipsis, to indicate that your quotation does not completely produce the original.
- According to the Purdue OWL, "The MLA Handbook is available in most writing centers and reference libraries … and at the MLA web site" (Russell, Brizee and Angeli).
- Really, the most important thing to understand is that the "MLA style specifies guidelines for formatting manuscripts…" (Russell, Brizee and Angeli).
When adding words to a quotation, put brackets around the words to indicate they are not part of the original.
- "His [Mike Monten's] family has been planting a few conifers each year" (Myers).
Please see the Purdue OWL -- Formatting Quotations for more information
Some Notes on Punctuation
The introduction or explanation of a direct quote is generally separated from the quoted material by a comma or a colon.
- Summed up by Mayo Clinic staff is the reason trans fats are still at large today: "Using trans fats in the manufacturing of foods helps foods stay fresh longer, have a longer shelf life and have a less greasy feel" ("Trans fat is Double Trouble").
- "What's particularly sickening is that trans fats," according to Alex Ranton, "are used not because they add any pleasure or nutritional benefit but because they are cheap and can make a 'fresh' product last many months on shop shelves."
- Alex Ranton states, "What's particularly sickening is that trans fats - oils treated with high temperature - are used not because they add any pleasure or nutritional benefit but because they are cheap and can make a 'fresh' product last many months on shop shelves."
If a quotation ends with a question mark or an exclamation point, however, the original punctuation is retained and no comma is required.
- "The ravine was deep, black and black, black!" writes Bradbury (242).
- "Remember that old ghost story you told each other when you were children?” thinks Lavinia as she crosses the ravine (242).
Note that when the word 'that' is used, the comma frequently becomes unnecessary. This is because the word 'that' integrates the quotation with the main clause of the sentence.
- Really, the most important thing to understand is that the "MLA style specifies guidelines for formatting manuscripts…" (Russell, Brizee and Angeli).
Please check out the Quoting Others resource for more information
Works Cited
- Bradbury, Ray. Dandelion Wine. New York: Bantam Books, 1975.
- Gunja, Naren and J.A. Brown. "Energy Drinks: Health Risks and Toxicity." The Medical Journal of Australia 196.1 (2012): 46-49. JSTOR. Web. 5 Feb. 2014.
- Myers, John. "New Vision for the North Shore." Minnesota Conservation Volunteer. Minnesota Department of Natural Resources, August 2014. Web. 17 March 2015.
- Ranton, Alex. "They were supposed to have been banished from the shelves, but lethal fats are STILL lurking in your weekly shopping". Daily Mail. July 2010. Web. 4 April 2014.
- Russell, Tony, Allen Brizee, and Elizabeth Angeli. "MLA Formatting and Style Guide." The Purdue OWL. Purdue U Writing Lab, 4 Apr. 2010. Web. 17 March 2015.
- Seifert, Sara M., J. L. Schaechter,E. R. Hershorin, and S. E. Lipshultz. "Health Effects of Energy Drinks on Children, Adolescents, and Young Adults." Pediatrics 127.3 (2011): 511-528. JSTOR. Web. 4 Feb. 2014.
- “Trans fat is Double Trouble for Heart Health”. Mayo Clinic. May 2011. Web. 8 March 2014.
- "What is MLA Style?" Modern Language Association. 2 March 2012. Web. 17 March 2015.