The MLA Citation Style is often used for classes in the Humanities, such as English and History.

We keep a copy of the MLA Handbook at the Reference Desk.

Need a little extra help understanding citations? Try these interactive web tutorials:

Always check with your instructor on what format specifications to use for a particular class or assignment, especially when citing electronic resources including material found in library databases.

JSRCC Libraries have purchased the premium access to EasyBib, a web-based tool for building and managing citations in MLA, APA and Chicago Style.  

EasyBib premium access allows you to:

1. Create a bibliography quickly using the Autocite or Manual entry forms for over 50 source types.
2. Use features such as footnotes and parenthetical formatting, adding annotations, etc.
3. Export citations to MS Word or Google Docs. You can also copy & paste or email citations to yourself.
4. Import citations from popular third-party databases such as EBSCOhost or JSTOR.
5. Use your iPhone to scan and cite sources with the EasyBib iPhone app. You can then email or export the citations.
6. Use the Notebook feature to take notes and link notes to sources. Paraphrase, comment and organize your notes.
7. Register to create your own personal account so you can access saved citations/notes from anywhere.

**On-campus access: No login required

**Off-campus access: You will need to login with your MyJSRCC username and password.

If you need help on using EasyBib:

• Check out the EasyBib Help site.
• Or you can contact the JSRCC Library Reference Desk for additional information or assistance.

You can print these handouts for easy access, if you would like.

These are some great websites that show you how to cite different sources.

If you're not sure how to format your paper according to MLA guidelines, check out these sample papers for example:

Italics

• Italics is now used everywhere in place of underlining—for titles, for words, etc.

Medium of publication

• Every entry has a medium of publication designation, such as the following: Print, Web, Radio, Television, CD, Audiocassette, Film, Videocassette, DVD, Performance, Lecture, and PDF file.
  
  Example: Wood, James. How Fiction Works. New York: Farrar, 2008. Print.

Issue numbers for journals

• MLA no longer makes a distinction between journals paginated by volume and journals paginated by issue. All entries must have both volume and issue numbers for all journals.
  

  Example: Wood, Michael. “Broken Dates: Fiction and the Century.” Kenyon Review 22.3 (2000): 50-64. Print.

Online sources

• MLA guidelines assume that readers can track down most online sources by entering the author, title, or other identifying information in a search engine or a database. Consequently, MLA does not require a URL in citations for online sources.
  • NOTE: Your professor may require you to include the url. Be sure to ask what your professor prefers.


• MLA no longer requires the location of the database (the library name, for instance).


• MLA style requires a sponsor or publisher for most online sources. If a source has no sponsor or publisher, use the abbreviation “N.p.” (for “No publisher”) in the sponsor position.


• If there is no date of publication or update, use “n.d.” (for “no date”) after the sponsor.


• For an article in an online journal or an article from a database, give page numbers if they are available; if they are not, use the abbreviation “n. pag.”
  
  Examples:

Web site

Margaret Sanger Papers Project. History Dept., New York U, 18 Oct. 2000. Web. 9 Feb. 2009.

Article on a Web site (no date)

Shiva, Vandana. “Bioethics: A Third World Issue.” NativeWeb. NativeWeb, n.d. Web. 22 Feb. 2006.

Article from a database

Johnson, Kirk. “The Mountain Lions of Michigan.” Endangered Species Update. 19.2 (2002): 27-31. Expanded Academic Index. Web. 26 Feb. 2009.

In-text citations

• For unpaginated online sources (mostly Web sites), don't use a paragraph or section number (with “par.” or “sec.”) unless the source itself numbers its paragraphs or sections.

This guide is adapted with permission from the original by Montgomery College.