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Chapter 7 MLA Format

What is a citation?

You may think of referencing as something specific only to academic discourse, but we actually use references informally in our daily lives all the time. You are doing this to let the other person know from where you got this information.

One person says "I just read that Levi was the top goalie in the World Juniors. Awesome, eh?" Another person says "Ravi said there is a new Ranveer Singh movie. Want to watch it?
Figure 7.1 Everyday referencing examples

In academic discourse, we are doing a similar type of referencing, but it happens in a more formal and prescribed way through a process called citation. In a citation, you will give very specific key information.

Figure 7.2 Academic referencing examples

These are in-text references where only very brief information is given, usually the author and the page number (if available). Each in-text reference must also have an entry in the works cited list at the end of your writeup with more information, so the reader can find the source.

Figure 7.3 Academic referencing using in-text citations and works cited entries

Why is Citing Important?

1. For Scholarly Communication

Academics engage in conversations to advance their knowledge and understanding of a subject. This happens mostly in written form through the publication of scholarly materials. In these academic conversations, it is necessary and expected that all prior thought is acknowledged and that all contributors to the conversation are credited. This is mostly done through citations. 

Citing sources will situate a work in the current literature and will allow the reader to distinguish prior contributions from new original thought. Readers will be able to locate and read the cited sources to learn more about them, and they can check that thoughts and ideas are being passed on accurately. 

By reading, analyzing, and including scholarly sources in your assignments, you are contributing to and participating in this scholarly communication. You are therefore expected to acknowledge all the sources from which you drew information. 

2. To Give Credit and Show Professionalism

In academic writing, it is considered ethically wrong to take credit for someone else’s intellectual output. Citing your sources is a means of giving credit to the other person’s efforts and to their findings. It shows respect for the intellectual output of others and demonstrates professionalism in your writing. To support your research and to add credibility to your arguments, you will mainly use scholarly and professional sources as evidence.

3. Avoiding Plagiarism

To avoid plagiarism, you always need to give credit to the person whose work or idea you are using, whether you quote, paraphrase, summarize, or otherwise use the ideas of others. Written and spoken words, music and videos, movies, performances, artwork, photographs, graphs, tables, figures, diagrams, data, computer code, and any other intellectual or creative product must be cited. This applies even if the original author agrees that you can use their intellectual output or if you paid to use it.

The academic counterpart of the bank embezzler and of the manufacturer who mislabels his products is the plagiarist: the student or scholar who leads his reader to believe that what he is reading is the original work of the writer when it is not.  – Harold C. Martin

 

What Is MLA Style?

Different academic subjects follow different rules for citing sources and formatting essays. MLA and APA are two of the most prominently used styles. In this textbook, we will cover MLA, which stands for Modern Language Association. This is a professional organization for scholars of the humanities, including the studies of language, literature, writing, and so forth. MLA Style is a set of guidelines covering many different aspects of scholarly writing, including: 

  • formatting (page setup, margins, line spacing, font, headings, etc.)
  • mechanics of prose (spelling, punctuation, capitalization, italics, etc.)
  • use of inclusive language
  • citations

Check out the MLA Style Center website for more info!

Two types of Citation

There are two components to citing a source: a works cited entry and an in-text citation.

Figure 7.4 Two Types of Citations

“Works Cited” is the title of the last page in your paper. It is a list of the sources you referenced in your paper. Each source is called an “entry” on the works cited page. Each works cited entry is formatted according to MLA guidelines discussed below.

Figure 7.5 Works Cited Example
Figure 7.6 In-Text Citations Example

Within the text, you will include references to the works cited page. Anytime you quote, paraphrase, or summarize from a source, you will include a citation at the end of the sentence. This is called an “in-text citation.”Below, we will explore how to create works cited entries and in-text citations. It’s not intuitive, so don’t feel discouraged if all the rules are hard to digest. The purpose of this guide is to give you a reference to help you follow those rules.

What is a Works Cited List?

A Works Cited list is an alphabetized list located on a separate page at the end of your paper that lists all the citations for the sources used in your paper to support your research. 
Each citation is based on core elements specific to the source you are using. There are up to nine core elements, and they are arranged in a certain order and with the punctuation as shown below. Note that you will not need all elements for most of your citations. 

Core Elements

With the 2016 update (8th edition), MLA changed and simplified the way your Works Cited entries should be formatted. Instead of offering a specific way to format each and every source, MLA offers a streamlined approach using something called “containers.” The 9th edition continues to use this system. 
Figure 7.7 MLA Core Elements

These containers, pictured in Figure 7.7, provide you with the required elements, order, and punctuation for each of your Works Cited entries.

As you work to format your Works Cited entries, you will notice that some sources require only one container, depicted above (Figure 7.7). These are sources that you access directly from their original publication, such as books, an online magazine article, and general websites. You should follow the order of items listed in the container, following the simplified punctuation rules you see in the container as well. Not all elements will apply to every citation. Use only the elements that apply. You will place a period after the author and the title of the source. Then, you should place commas after each item until the last item used in the container.

The MLA Style Center provides additional explanations about the core elements as well as an interactive template, which you can use to build your works cited entries.

See this video for more help:

Guide to Core Elements

This guide will give an overview of how and when to list each of the elements seen in Figure 7.6. Not all elements will apply to every citation. Use only the elements and containers that apply to your source. Follow the punctuation given with the exception that the last item used in a container ends with a period. For example, if the location is not needed, end the entry with the publication date and a period. 

Sometimes a second container is needed. For example, an episode contained within a series which was viewed on a streaming platform, or an article contained within a journal which is contained within a database would be supplemental elements.

Below is an explanation of how to style each element. 

  1. Author

If there is no person (or people) listed as the author, do not use this element. Otherwise, format the author according to these guidelines.

  • A single author should be written: Last name, First name Middle name
  • For two authors, only invert the first author’s name. List the names in the order in which they appear on the source.
  • For three or more authors, use et al. (which means, ‘and others’).
  • When citing an edited book, add a descriptive label (“editor”) after the name.

Examples of each format

 

One author: Last name, First name. Smith, John.

Two authors: Last name, First name, and First name Last name. Smith, John and Jane Doe.

Three or more authors: Last name, First name, et al. Smith, John, et al.

 

 

Example Works Cited Entry

Robinson, Angela. “History Shows Why It’s Time for a Black Woman to Sit on the Supreme Court .” The Washington Post, 1 Feb. 2022, https://www.washingtonpost.com/outlook/2022/02/01/history-shows-why-its-time-black-woman-sit-supreme-court/.

Angela Robinson is the author, so her last name is listed first followed by a comma and her first name and ending with a period.

2. Title of Source 

This is the title of an article or chapter or a description if there is no title.

  • Include both the title and subtitle separated by a colon [:].
  • Capitalize the first word of the title and subtitle, plus all other important words.
  • Enclose in “quotation marks” if the title is part of a larger work, such as a story in an anthology, an article in a journal, or a Web page from a Web site

In Figure 7.8, the title of source is the title of the article, such as “Jameela Jamil Opened Up About Her Unapologetic Food Choices on Vacation: ‘Eat the Food You Crave.’” This is the title of the article that is contained within the Eating Well website.

 

Screenshot of Eating Well Website
Figure 7.8 Eating Well Website

Example Works Cited Entry

DeAngelis, Danielle. “Jameela Jamil Opened Up About Her Unapologetic Food Choices on Vacation: ‘Eat the Food You Crave.’ Eating Well, reviewed by Emily Lachtrupp, M.S., RD, Dotdash Meredith Publishing, 19 July 2024, https://www.eatingwell.com/jameela-jamil-eating-what-she-wants-on-vacation-8677496.

In this example, the author is listed first. Then, the title of the article is listed in quotation marks.

Example Works Cited Entry

“Parasites: Trichinellosis (also known as Trichinosis).” Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 29 Sept. 2020, www.cdc.gov/parasites/trichinellosis/disease.

In this example, there is no author, so this element is excluded. Instead, the citation begins with the title of the article in quotation marks.

3. Title of Container

The image depicts three boxes.One box is a website containing articles; one box is a book containing chapters; one box is a journal or magazine containing articles.
Figure 7.9 Illustration of Containers
When a source is part of a larger work, the larger work is called the “container.” 
  • The container is italicized and followed by a comma.
  • Containers can be:
    • Periodicals (magazines, journals, newspapers)
    • Anthologies (books which contain short stories, essays, poetry, etc.)
    • Entire Web sites (which contain individual web pages)
    • Library or other online databases (which contain articles, books, etc.)

Examples

DeAngelis, Danielle. “Jameela Jamil Opened Up About Her Unapologetic Food Choices on Vacation: ‘Eat the Food You Crave.’ Eating Well,reviewed by Emily Lachtrupp, M.S., RD, Dotdash Meredith Publishing, 19 July 2024, https://www.eatingwell.com/jameela-jamil-eating-what-she-wants-on-vacation-8677496.

In the example above, the website Eating Well is a container and the articles within them are the sources. 

 

4. Other Contributors 

Contributors other than the author are named in the entry if they are important to your research or the identification of the source (i.e. editors and translators). Contributors might include:

  • Editors
  • Translators
  • Producers
  • Directors

When citing a source with both an author and editor, list the author first and the editor after the title of the source.

Example Works Cited Entry

DeAngelis, Danielle. “Jameela Jamil Opened Up About Her Unapologetic Food Choices on Vacation: ‘Eat the Food You Crave.’ Eating Well, reviewed by Emily Lachtrupp, M.S., RD, Dotdash Meredith Publishing, 19 July 2024, https://www.eatingwell.com/jameela-jamil-eating-what-she-wants-on-vacation-8677496.

In the example above, the other contributor is a dietician, Emily Lachtrupp, who reviewed the article for accuracy.

5. Version 

If a source carries a notation that it is a work in more than one form (i.e. book edition), identify the version.

  • Abbreviate edition (ed.) and revised (rev.).
  • Use sentence capitalization. This means if the previous element ended in a comma, the first word isn’t capitalized. See example.
    • Updated ed.,
    • 5th ed.,
    • unabridged version,
    • 7th ed.,
    • Expanded ed.,

Example Works Cited Entry

Lee, Harper. To Kill a Mockingbird. 1st ed., J. B. Lippincott & Co., 1960.

In this example, this is the 1st edition of the textbook.

6. Number

  • Journals are typically numbered with volume (vol.) and issue numbers (no.).
  • If you are using a multi-volume set, include the volume (vol.) number.

Example Works Cited Entry

Gosine, Kevin, and Emmanuel Tabi. “Disrupting Neoliberalism and Bridging the Multiple Worlds of Marginalized Youth via Hip-Hop Pedagogy: Contemplating Possibilities.” Review of Education, Pedagogy, and Cultural Studies, vol. 38, no. 5, 2016, pp. 445-467. Research Gate, doi: 10.1080/10714413.2016.1221712.

This article is published in the 5th issue of the 38th volume of the journal Review of Education, Pedagogy, and Cultural Studies. 

 

7. Publisher

  • Only include the first publisher listed, unless the source was published by multiple independent organizations. Separate independent publishers with a forward slash [/].
  • Abbreviate publisher names in the following cases:
    • Omit business words like Company, Corporation, Incorporated, and Limited
    • Replace University Press with UP (i.e. Oxford UP, U of California P, MIT P).
  • A publisher’s name may be completely omitted for the following types of sources:
    • Web page whose publisher is the same as the name of the overall website
    • Periodical (journal, magazine, newspaper)
    • Work published by the author

Example Works Cited Entry

DeAngelis, Danielle. “Jameela Jamil Opened Up About Her Unapologetic Food Choices on Vacation: ‘Eat the Food You Crave.’ Eating Well, reviewed by Emily Lachtrupp, M.S., RD, Dotdash Meredith Publishing, 19 July 2024, https://www.eatingwell.com/jameela-jamil-eating-what-she-wants-on-vacation-8677496.

In this example, the publisher is different than the website; the publisher is Dotdash Meredith Publishing.

Example Works Cited Entry

Robinson, Angela. “History Shows Why It’s Time for a Black Woman to Sit on the Supreme Court .” The Washington Post, 1 Feb. 2022, https://www.washingtonpost.com/outlook/2022/02/01/history-shows-why-its-time-black-woman-sit-supreme-court/.

In this example, the publisher and website are both The Washington Post, so you don’t have to list the publisher since you would be listing the same name twice.

8. Publication Date

  • Dates should be given as fully as they appear in your sources.
  • If multiple dates are listed, cite the date most meaningful to your use of the source.
  • Format as: Day Month Year. Abbreviate the names of months longer than 4 letters

9. Location

  • In print sources, a page number (preceded by p.) or a range of page numbers (preceded by pp.) specifies the location.
  • In online sources, location is indicated by the URL, DOI, or Permalink.
  • URL: Copy in full from your Web browser, but omit http:// or https://
  • DOI: Journal articles are often assigned “Digital Object Identifiers”. When possible, cite a DOI (preceded by doi:) instead of the URL.
  • Permalink: Web sources (especially Library databases) often provide stable URLs, called “permalinks”. When possible, use these instead of the URL.

Example Works Cited Entry

Gosine, Kevin, and Emmanuel Tabi. “Disrupting Neoliberalism and Bridging the Multiple Worlds of Marginalized Youth via Hip-Hop Pedagogy: Contemplating Possibilities.” Review of Education, Pedagogy, and Cultural Studies, vol. 38, no. 5, 2016, pp. 445-467. Research Gate, doi: 10.1080/10714413.2016.1221712.
This article begins on page 445 and ends on page 467 within the journal.

Examples

Robinson, Angela. “History Shows Why It’s Time for a Black Woman to Sit on the Supreme Court .” The Washington Post, 1 Feb. 2022, https://www.washingtonpost.com/outlook/2022/02/01/history-shows-why-its-time-black-woman-sit-supreme-court/. 

This article can be located at this URL.

General order of content in an MLA-formatted Works Cited Entry

Online Article

  1. Author(s).  Use the format Last Name, First Name Middle Name or Initial. If there are multiple authors, use and before the last author’s name.
  2. “Title of the Article.”  Include the title of a shorter work in quotation marks and use headline-style capitalization.
  3. Title of the Newspaper or Publisher, Use italics for the title of a longer work like a newspaper or online publication and use headline-style capitalization
  4. Publication date, Use the format: Date Abbreviated Month Year.
  5. URL.

Examples

 Kato, Brooke. “Eating this one fruit every day leads to better sleep, heart health: new research.” New York Post, NYP Holdings, Inc., 20 July 2024, https://nypost.com/2024/07/20/lifestyle/eating-this-one-fruit-every-day-leads-to-better-sleep-heart-health-new-research/.

Oram, Adam and Aashna Gheewalla. “The OG Apple Watch Ultra Is Well Under $500 at Woot for Prime Day.” CNET, Red Ventures, 19 July 2024, https://www.cnet.com/deals/the-apple-watch-series-9-is-still-available-with-ongoing-prime-sales-at-just-280/

Print Book

  1. Author(s).  Use the format Last Name, First Name Middle Name or Initial. If there are multiple authors, use and before the last author’s name.
  2. Title of the Book. Use italics for the title of a longer work like a book and use headline-style capitalization.
  3. Edition. If there are multiple editions, use the format 1st/2nd/3rd ed.,
  4. Publisher,
  5. Publication date.

Examples

Minot, Stephen. Three Genres. Pearson, 2003.

Sennett, Richard, and Jonathan Cobb. The Hidden Injuries of Class. Vintage Books, 1973.

Smith, John, et al. Writing and Erasing: New Theories for Pencils. Utah State UP, 2001.

eBook

  1. Author(s). Use the format Last Name, First Name Middle Name or Initial. If there are multiple authors, use and before the last author’s name.
  2. Title of the Book,  Use italics for the title of a longer work like a book and use headline-style capitalization.
  3. Editors  If there is one editor, use the format edited by Last Name, First Name. If there are multiple editors, use and before the last author’s name.
  4. Publisher,
  5. Publication date.
  6. Database, Note: Use italics for names of databases.
  7. URL or permalink.

Examples

Nixon, Robin. Learning PHP, MySQL and JavaScript. 4th ed., e-book ed., O’Reilly Media, 2014. EPUB.

Wright, Jonathan V., and Lane Lenard. Why Stomach Acid Is Good for You: Natural Relief from Heartburn, Indigestion, Reflux, and GERD. E-book ed., M. Evans and Company, 2012.

Compiling & Formatting

Once you have constructed your citations according to MLA rules, there are a few more steps to complete the Works Cited list.

  • Center the words “Works Cited” at the top of the page.
  • Alphabetize the citations by author’s last name, or by the first main word of the title if there is no author. (When alphabetizing, ignore A, An, and The at the beginning of citations.)
  • Make sure all lines are double-spaced.
  • Apply “hanging” indents to all citations: The first line of the citation is not indented. All subsequent lines are indented 0.5 inch.

What is an In-Text Citation?

You find a great idea in a source, and you want to use it to support your argument. To do this, you need to create an in-text citation and add it to your paper where you have used information from that source, either as a direct quotation or a paraphrased idea. In-text citations tell your reader which ideas belong to you and which ideas belong to someone else.

Narrative and Parenthetical Citation

The information for an in-text citation is pulled directly from its matching works cited list entry. It is usually easiest to create the works cited entry first and use it to create an in-text citation.

The example below shows a works cited list entry.

Dolmage, Jay Timothy. Academic Ableism: Disability and Higher Education. U of Michigan P, 2017. JSTOR, https://jstor.org/stable/j.ctvr33d50. 

There are two different ways you can add an in-text citation to your writing: as a narrative citation, in which the author’s name is part of your sentence, or as a parenthetical citation, in which the citation details are given in parentheses at the end of a phrase or sentence.

Here is a sentence with a narrative citation that matches the works cited list entry above:

Dolmage describes universal design for learning as a way to increase accessibility for everyone (117).

Here is the same sentence, but with a parenthetical citation:

Universal design for learning is a way to increase accessibility for everyone (Dolmage 117).

As the above examples show, an in-text citation includes two key pieces of information:

  1. Author last name(s) (e.g., Dolmage)
  2. Page number, or other location of the cited information within a work (e.g., 117)

In some cases, the author or page number may not be known. In every instance, you will include the information that is available, using the works cited entry as a guide. Below is a table that identifies different scenarios and what the works cited entry would be in that scenario.

 

Type 

In-Text Citation 

Example 

Typical parenthetical in-text citation with 1 author and page number(s) 

Place the author’s last name and page number in parenthesis. Always place the period outside the parenthesis. Notice that you do not use the abbreviation “pp” or “p” for in-text citations.

(Hennessy 81).

or

(Hennessy 81-82).

No page numbers

If a source has no page numbers, omit the page number. Use the title or the author’s name to indicate your source.

(National Parks Service)

(Jones)

No author/ Anonymous author 

If the source has no author, your in-text citation will use the title of the source that starts your works cited entry.

(“Noon” 508)

2 authors 

If the entry on the Works Cited page begins with the names of two authors, include both last names in the in-text citation, connected by and.

(Dorris and Erdrich 23)

3 or more authors 

If the source has three or more authors, include the first author’s last name followed by et al.

(Burdick et al. 42)

Author mentioned in the sentence 

If author is mentioned in the sentence, include only the page number(s) in parenthesis. Do not repeat the author’s name.

Hennessy tells how Auden’s writing was popular with contemporary readers and critics (81).

Authors with the same last name 

If you use works by more than one author with the same last name, add the author’s first initial. If the first initial is shared too, include the authors’ full first name.

(N. Baron 194)

and

(Nan Baron 26)

Sources by same author 

If using two or more sources by the same author include a short, abbreviated form of the source’s title, separate by a comma.

(Baron, “Redefining” 4)

(Baron, “Information” 9)

Paragraph numbers

If your source uses paragraph, section or chapter numbers rather than page numbers — give the relevant number or numbers, preceded by the appropriate label (par., pars., sec., secs., ch., or chs). Place a comma after the author’s name.

(Jones, par. 6)

or

(Jones, pars. 6-10)

Scripture (Bible, Talmud, Koran, etc.) 

State the name of the element that begins your entry: title or author. Use an abbreviation of the book with chapter and verse numbers rather than pages.

(New Jerusalem Bible, 1 Chron. 21.8)

Indirect quotes 

You should take material from an original source whenever possible but if you quote an author’s quotation of a source you didn’t consult, put the abbreviation, qtd. In. If your prose makes it clear that this is a second-hand source, there’s no need to use the “qtd. in”

(qtd. in Boswell 450)

Media

For audio and video recordings, cite the relevant time or time span. Give the numbers indicating hours, minutes, and seconds separated by colons.

(“Buffy” 00:03:16-17)

Exercise 7.1

The sentences below use a source, but the in-text citation is missing. Use the information provided below each sentence to include an in-text citation.

  1. Book bans remove “alternative points of view,” which can “harm students’ opportunity to receive an education that exposes them to unfamiliar concepts, challenges what they know and believe, and improves their analytical thinking skills and compassion for others” (____________).

The quote comes from this article: 

“Book Bans.” Issues & Controversies, Infobase, 30 Nov. 2023, https://icof.infobase.com/articles/QXJ0aWNsZVRleHQ6NDk0NDcwMQ==?aid=18515.

2. Becoming a good writer is simple if you “do two things above all others: read a lot and write a lot” (_____________________________).

This quote came from page 12 of this book: 

King, Stephen. On Writing, Simon and Schuster, 2002.

3. Many students suffer from anxiety “with approximately 11.9 % of college students suffering from an anxiety disorder” (__________________).

This quote came from page 3 of this article: 

Pedrelli, Paola et al. “College Students: Mental Health Problems and Treatment Considerations.” Academic Psychiatry, vol. 39,5 (2015): 503-11. doi:10.1007/s40596-014-0205-9

4. A recent study examined the impact of knowledge about mental health issues on the likelihood of someone seeking help for their mental health problem (_________).

This quote came from this article:

Shi, Ke and Jinlai Tian. “The impact of mental health literacy on professional psychological help-seeking attitudes among Chinese college students: the chain mediating role of anxiety and depression.” Frontiers in Psychology, Reviewed by Y. Chen and Özkan Ayvaz, vol. 16, 2025, https://www.frontiersin.org/journals/psychology/articles/10.3389/fpsyg.2025.1553716/full.

Incorporating Sources

 Why would you want to use sources in your writing?  

  • To show that an authority supports your point
  • To present a position or argument to critique or comment on

How do you incorporate sources into your writing without it sounding awkward? Use the “source burger” method! 

Figure 7.10 Source Burger

Give your source context within your essay by introducing the source, integrating the source, and then documenting the source.

Since quotation marks set quotes apart, there’s temptation to leave out a signal phrase and “drop” quotes into the writing or use them as stand-alone sentences. Doing so, however, surrenders authorial voice and command.

Dropped Quote: 
Obesity is becoming a costly issue in the states. “Obesity-related spending is estimated to cost up to $190 billion per year; or more than 20% of total U.S. health care costs” (Carroll). The costs just keep increasing because the situation worsens each day with unhealthy food being more and more available and no fitness being practiced.

The quote is just dropped in with no introduction or context. Don’t drop your quotes into the text!

Always use a narrative lead-in or signal phrase to attribute a quotation, paraphrase, or summary.

Introduce the source (The Top Bun of the Source Burger) 

A narrative lead-in is where you narrate, or tell, the reader some of the source information.  Signal phrases “signal” the reader that you are presenting words, ideas, and thoughts that are not your own.  The terms signal phrase and narrative lead-in are often interchangeable; however, signal phrases are generally shorter and can appear at the beginning, in the middle, or at the end of a sentence.  

Example Phrase Structure 

X acknowledges, “____.”

X contends, “_____.”

X agrees when she writes, “____.”

Writing in the book, Title of Book, X argues, “_______.”

X complicates matters when she points out, “_______.”

X disagrees when he writes, “________.”

According to X, “_____________.”

X suggests, “_____________.”
Some Signal Phrases to Introduce Quotes, Paraphrases, and Summaries

Acknowledges

Believes

Declares

Illustrates

Reasons

Thinks

Adds

Claims

Denies

Implies

Refutes

Warns

Admits

Comments

Disputes

Insists

Rejects

Writes

Addresses

Compares

Emphasizes

Notes

Reports

 

Argues

Confirms

Endorses

Observes

Responds

 

Asserts

Contends

Grants

Points out

Suggests

 

Integrate the Source (The Meat of the Source Burger)

In academic language, we call this incorporating the source because the source material becomes part of our written text. The meat of the burger, or the source material, may take the form of a quotation, a paraphrase, or a summary. 

Each method of integration has unique characteristics. See the table below for details.

Figure 7.11

Characteristics of Quoting, Paraphrasing, Summarizing

Quoting

Characteristics of a quotation: exact words of original source, quotation marks, accurate representation of original meaning, signal phrase, and citation.

Paraphrasing

Characteristics of a paraphrase: your own words communicate original meaning of source material, about the same length as original, signal phrase, and citation.

Summarizing

Characteristics of a summary: is similar to a paraphrase in that it communicates original meaning of source material in your own words using a signal phrase and citation. The difference between a paraphrase and a summary is length: a summary condenses the contents of a larger passage into a smaller summary of the content.

Document the Source (Bottom Bun)

As discussed above, this is your in-text citation. 

Example

For the following examples, reference this works cited entry:

Dorcas, Michael E., et al. The Frogs and Toads of North Carolina: Field Guide and Recorded Calls. North Carolina Wildlife Resources Commission, 2007.

The in-text citation for this source would be:

According to scientists, wetland destruction has already occurred on a massive scale (Dorcas 8).

In this example, the signal phrase “According to scientists” introduces a paraphrase of the source, and the citation is included at the end. 

Another example of citing this source might be:

Michael Dorcas explains, “Scientists estimate that one-half of North Carolina’s original wetlands have been lost due to urban development and conversion to cropland” (8). 

In this example, the author’s full name introduces the quote with a signal phrase. The page number then appears at the end. You may also just use the author’s last name; however, you never cite or reference the author by just their first name. If there is no page number, then the author’s last name appearing in the text is sufficient. 

 

Examples

For the following example, reference this works cited entry:

Gupta, Sujata. “Students’ mental health imperiled by $1 billion cuts to school funding.” Science News, 29 May 2025, https://www.sciencenews.org/article/student-mental-health-school-funding. 

According to Gupta’s research, “Providing mental health services in schools allows struggling children and their families to receive help immediately.”

In this example, there is not a parenthetical citation at the end of the sentence because it is a “narrative” citation; in other words, the author’s last name is included as part of the sentence. Since there is no page number, a page number is not included at the end of the sentence in parentheses. 

 

Examples

For the following example, reference this works cited entry: 

“Consequences of Student Mental Health Issues.” Suicide Prevention Resource Center, The Board of Regents of the University of Oklahoma, https://sprc.org/consequences-of-student-mental-health-issues/.  

According to Suicide Prevention Resource Center, “Mental health problems can affect many areas of students’ lives, reducing their quality of life, academic achievement, physical health, and satisfaction with the college experience” (“Consequences of Student Mental Health Issues”). 

In this example, the website is included in the signal phrase, so the article title is listed in the in-text citation. Remember that the in-text citation references the first element in the works cited entry. 

According to “Consequences of Student Mental Health Issues,” “Mental health problems can affect many areas of students’ lives, reducing their quality of life, academic achievement, physical health, and satisfaction with the college experience.”

In this example, the title of the article, which is the first element in the works cited entry, appears as a narrative citation, so you do not need to repeat it at the end of the sentence in parentheses. 

Summarizing, Quoting, and Paraphrasing

Step 6 of Chapter 6: Research Methods explains when to summarize, paraphrase, or quote. The section below focuses on these skills more closely.

Summarizing 

Being able to accurately summarize a reading to someone else is the ultimate demonstration that you understand the reading’s contents. 

Consider this fun example of a summary from the “30-Second Bunny Theater” series: Star Wars in 30 Seconds and Re-enacted by Bunnies.

This recap of the well-known movie Star Wars is a blend of major plot points and fan-favorite scenes. In other words, it conveys all the major points of the film. It also adds a couple of supporting details to capture the flavor of the entire movie. Plus bunny ears!

One way to integrate your source information is through summary. Summaries are generally used to restate the main ideas of a text in your own words. They are usually substantially shorter than the original text because they don’t include supporting material. Instead, they include overarching ideas of an article, a page, or a paragraph.

For example, in the first chapter of his 1854 book, Walden; or, Life in the Woods, Henry David Thoreau wrote the following:

Most men, even in this comparatively free country, through mere ignorance and mistake, are so occupied with the factitious cares and superfluously coarse labors of life that its finer fruits cannot be plucked by them. Their fingers, from excessive toil, are too clumsy and tremble too much for that. Actually, the laboring man has not leisure for a true integrity day by day; he cannot afford to sustain the manliest relations to men; his labor would be depreciated in the market. He has no time to be anything but a machine. How can he remember well his ignorance—which his growth requires—who has so often to use his knowledge? We should feed and clothe him gratuitously sometimes, and recruit him with our cordials, before we judge of him. The finest qualities of our nature, like the bloom on fruits, can be preserved only by the most delicate handling. Yet we do not treat ourselves nor one another thus tenderly. 

What is the main idea in the passage above? The following is one way the passage might be summarized. 

In his 1854 text, Walden; or, Life in the Woods, Henry David Thoreau suggests that the human fixation on work and labor desensitizes man to the world around him, to the needs of his own intellectual growth, and to the complexity and frailty of his fellow humans.

Paraphrasing

When you want to use specific materials from an argument to support a point you are making in your paper but want to avoid too many quotes, you should paraphrase.

What is a paraphrase?

To paraphrase is to restate someone else’s writing in your own words at the same level of detail and often the same overall length of the original work. In a paraphrase, you use your own words to explain the specific points another writer has made. If the original text refers to an idea or term discussed earlier in the text, your paraphrase may also need to explain or define that idea. You may also need to interpret specific terms made by the writer in the original text. 
Be careful not to add information or commentary that isn’t part of the original passage in the midst of your paraphrase. You don’t want to add to or take away from the meaning of the passage you are paraphrasing. Save your comments and analysis until after you have finished your paraphrased and cited it appropriately. 

What does paraphrasing look like?

Paraphrases should begin by making it clear that the information to come is from your source.  

For example, using the Thoreau passage as an example, you might begin a paraphrase like this:

Even though Thoreau praised the virtues of the intellectual life, he did not consider….

Paraphrases may sometimes include brief quotations, but most of the paraphrase should be in your own words. 

 

Example

What might a paraphrase of this passage from Thoreau look like? 

Passage

“Most men, even in this comparatively free country, through mere ignorance and mistake, are so occupied with the factitious cares and superfluously coarse labors of life that its finer fruits cannot be plucked by them. Their fingers, from excessive toil, are too clumsy and tremble too much for that. Actually, the laboring man has not leisure for a true integrity day by day; he cannot afford to sustain the manliest relations to men; his labor would be depreciated in the market.”

Paraphrase

In his text, Walden; or, Life in the Woods, Henry David Thoreau (1854) points to the incongruity of free men becoming enslaved and limited by constant labor and worry. Using the metaphor of a fruit to represent the pleasures of a thoughtful life, Thoreau suggests that men have become so traumatized by constant labor that their hands—as representative of their minds—have become unable to pick the fruits available to a less burdened life even when that fruit becomes available to them (p. 110).

Note that the passage above is almost exactly the same length as the original. It’s also important to note that the paraphrased passage has a different structure and significant changes in wording. The main ideas are the same, but the student has paraphrased effectively by putting the information into their own words. 

Paraphrasing Structure

As noted on the previous page, when you paraphrase, you have to do more than change the words from the original passage.  You have to also change the sentence structure. Sometimes, students will struggle with paraphrasing because they have an urge to simply use the same basic sentence or sentences and replace the original words with synonyms. This is not a method that works for effective paraphrasing. 

Examples

Let’s see what that looks like. Here’s an original quote from an article about a new video game based on Thoreau’s famous work, Walden. 

Original Quote 

“The digital Walden Pond will showcase a first-person point-of-view where you can wander through the lush New England foliage, stop to examine a bush and pick some fruit, cast a fishing rod, return to a spartan cabin modeled after Thoreau’s and just roam around the woods, grappling with life’s unknowable questions.”

Incorrect Paraphrasing 

According to Hayden, the Walden Pond game will offer a first-person view in which the player can meander within the New England trees and wilderness, pause to study foliage or grab some food, go fishing, return home to a small cabin based on Thoreau’s cabin, and just venture around in the woods, pondering important questions of life.

Explanation 

Here, you can see that the “paraphrase” follows the exact same structure as the original passage. Even though the wording has been changed, this would be considered a form of plagiarism by some because the sentence structure has been copied, taking this beyond just sharing the ideas of the passage. Let’s take a look at a better paraphrase of the passage.

Correct Paraphrasing 

According to Hayden, the upcoming video game Walden Pond is a first-person game that simulates the life and experiences of Thoreau when he lived at Walden Pond. Based upon Thoreau’s famous work, Walden, the game allows players to experience life in the New England woods, providing opportunities for players to fish, gather food, live in a cabin, and contemplate life, all within a digital world.

Explanation 

In this paraphrase, the student has captured the main idea of the passage but changed the sentence structure and the wording. The student has added some context, which is often helpful in a paraphrase, by providing some background for the game.

Using Quotations

Quotations are another way to integrate source information into your paragraphs, but you should use them sparingly. 

How do you know when you should use quotations in your essay? Essentially, quotations should function to support, comment on, or give an example of a point you are making in your own words. And, of course, you should keep in mind that quotes should be kept to a minimum. A good “rule” to remember is that you only want to use a quote when it’s absolutely necessary, when your source puts something in a way that just needs to be put that way or when you need a quote from an expert to support a point you have already made.

You should also remember that you don’t want to use quotations to make your point for you. Readers should be able to skip the quotations in your paper and still understand all your main points. This means, after each quote, you have to provide analysis for that quote. The idea is to help your audience gather the meaning from the quote you want them to gather. It’s your job as a writer to make the quote meaningful for your audience.

Integrating quotations smoothly and effectively is one sign of a truly polished writer. Well-chosen and well-integrated quotations add strength to an argument. But many new writers do not know how to do the choosing and integrating effectively. The following guidelines will help make your quotations operate not as stumbling blocks to a reader, but as smooth and easy stepping-stones through the pathways of your paper. 

Key Takeaways

  • To avoid plagiarizing and to give credit to sources used, sources must be cited.
  • There are two types of citation: in-text citations and works cited entries. Both are required.
  • Each source is cited separately at the end of the paper in a list labeled the “Works Cited.” Each source lists the core elements relevant to that source.
  • When a source is used in the essay, an in-text citation is included.
  • The in-text citation references the works cited entry.
  • Sources should be incorporated into the text, not dropped into the text. The source burger is a method to incorporate quotes.

Attribution

MLA Style Citations  by Ulrike Kestler is licensed under a CC BY-NC-SA 4.0 

Signal Phrases Activity by Excelsior Online Writing is licensed under CC BY 4.0 

MLA Style Citation Tutorial  by University of Alberta Library and NorQuest College Library is licensed under a CC BY-NC-SA 4.0 

MLA Citation Guide – 9th Ed. By Mendocino College is licensed under a CC BY-NC-SA 4.0.

Basic Reading and Writing by Quillbot is licensed under CC BY 4.0 

Write What Matters  by Liza Long; Amy Minervini; and Joel Gladd is licensed under a CC BY-NC-SA 4.0 

 

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Introduction to Composition Copyright © by Shelley Decker; Mary Kieser; Heather Moulton; and Peter Shipman is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License, except where otherwise noted.

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