ENGL 2599: The Literature of Black Childhood
MLA Style Manuals & Citation Help
MLA style is a popular citation style for English language and literature. Many library databases include a cite feature that will give you a basic MLA-style citation for an article or essay, but always check that it is formatted correctly (for example, make sure the title is not in all caps).
Below are resources that can help you when you're formatting your bibliography and papers. Some professors (or publishers, if you are writing an article to be published) may prefer a different style, such as Chicago style, so always check before you format and submit your work. Ask a librarian if you have questions about MLA or other citation styles.
- MLA Handbook Plus This link opens in a new window
The ninth edition builds on the MLA’s unique approach to documenting sources using a template of core elements that allows writers to cite any type of work, from books, e-books, and journal articles in databases to song lyrics, online images, YouTube videos, dissertations, and more.
- The MLA Style Center - Using MLA FormatThe official website on MLA style. This site will show you how to document sources, set up your paper, and improve your writing.
- Purdue OWL: MLA Formatting & Style GuideAn essential resource from Purdue University with examples and advice for creating in-text citations and bibliographies using MLA style.
MLA Handbook 9th edition by Call Number: Shannon Reference & Brown Library Reference LB2369 .M52 2021ISBN: 9781603293518Publication Date: 2021An all-in-one resource that makes MLA style easier to learn and use, the MLA Handbook includes: Expanded, in-depth guidance on creating works-cited-list entries using the MLA template of core elements that explains what each core element is, where to find it in various sources, and how to style it. A new, easy-to-follow explanation of in-text citations. A new chapter containing recommendations for using inclusive language. A new appendix with hundreds of sample works-cited-list entries by publication format, including books, databases, websites, YouTube videos, interviews, and more. Updated guidelines on avoiding plagiarism. Although there are numerous websites, apps, reference works, and cheat sheets that claim to help with MLA style, there's only one truly authoritative resource to help your students on their paths to becoming better writers. The ninth edition of the MLA Handbook is the most comprehensive guide the MLA has ever produced, with an all-inclusive approach to writing, research, documentation, and formatting.
Sample Citations in MLA Style
Scholarly Article Citation
General Format:
Author (last name, first name). "Title of Article." Journal Title, volume number (vol. #), issue number (no. #), year, pages (pp. #-#).
Example:
Metzger, Sean, and Kimberly Chantal Welch. "Prayin' for Queer Times: Choir Boy and Enactments of Transient
Performance." Cultural Dynamics, vol. 33, no. 1-2, 2021, pp. 3-14.
Essay in an Edited Book
General Format:
Essay Author (last name, first name). "Title of Essay." Title of Book Collection, edited by Name of Editor(s), Publisher, year, pages (pp. #-#).
Example:
Ziakzadeh, Cyrus Ernesto. "Alternative Readings of Bigger Thomas." The Politics of Richard Wright: Perspectives on
Resistance, edited by Jane Anne Gordon and Cyrus Ernesto Zirakzadeh. University Press of Kentucky, 2018, pp. 64-85.
Sample In-Text Citations MLA style
General in-text citation: (Author page number(s))
Example: (Metzger and Welch 11).
If I have more than one article by Metzger and Welch in my Works cited, I would add part of the title (to identify which work you are referring to):
Example: (Metzger and Welch, "Prayin' for Queer" 11).
When citing an essay from a book collection, use the essay author in the citation (not the editor(s) name(s)).
Citation after quotation: "Here is my quotation" (cite).
Example: According to Metzger and Welch, "Choir Boy particularly focuses on the uncertain boundaries of adolescence and the attendant marking of sexual desire" (9).
Or paraphrase of information (cite).
Example: The story of Pharus and the other Drew boys examines suffering, oppression, and a society that rejects difference" (Metzger and Welch 4).