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How to Cite Your Sources

Overview of MLA Citations

In-text citations provide brief information about a source and refer the reader to the full citation in the reference list.

Examples of parenthetical in-text citations:

Noble (36) describes the biases inherent in search algorithms.

Many digital media scholars have been investigating how commercial search algorithms contain inherent biases (Noble 36).

Example in-text citation with quotation:

It has become clear that "search results play a powerful role in providing fact and authority" (Noble 36).

"Some biases in AI-generated content include dataset bias, where the training data doesn't represent the full diversity of the real world, and algorithmic bias, which occurs when the AI system perpetuates or amplifies existing societal prejudices." OpenAI, 2024.


For more information about in-text citations, check out this guide from Purdue OWL: In-text Citations

Works Cited list citations provide all the information required about the source and correspond to the in-text citation.

Example of citation on Works Cited page:

Noble, Safiya Umoja. Algorithms of Oppression: How Search Engines Reinforce Racism. New York University Press, 2018.

Common Reference Examples

For more examples of how to cite different type of sources (e.g. podcasts, tweets, press releases, and more), check out this guide from the MLA website: Citations by Format

Books

Book by One Author

Mantel, Hilary. Wolf Hall. Picador, 2010.

Book by an Unknown Author

Beowulf. Translated by Alan Sullivan and Timothy Murphy, edited by Sarah Anderson, Pearson, 2004.

An Edited Book

Sánchez Prado, Ignacio M., editor. Mexican Literature in Theory. Bloomsbury, 2018.

Online Works

Article on a website

Deresiewicz, William. “The Death of the Artist—and the Birth of the Creative Entrepreneur.” The Atlantic, 28 Dec. 2014, theatlantic.com/magazine/archive/2015/01/ the-death-of-the-artist-and-the-birth-of-thecreative-entrepreneur/383497/.

Book on a website

Poe, Edgar Allan. “The Masque of the Red Death.” The Complete Works of Edgar Allan Poe, edited by James A. Harrison, vol. 4, Thomas Y. Crowell, 1902, pp. 250-58. HathiTrust Digital Library, hdl.handle.net/2027/coo.31924079574368.

Journal Article in a Database

Goldman, Anne. “Questions of Transport: Reading Primo Levi Reading Dante.” The Georgia Review, vol. 64, no. 1, spring 2010, pp. 69-88. JSTOR, www.jstor.org/stable/41403188.

AI generated content

"Some biases in AI-generated content include dataset bias, where the training data doesn't represent the full diversity of the real world, and algorithmic bias, which occurs when the AI system perpetuates or amplifies existing societal prejudices." ChatGPT, 9 July version, OpenAI, 9 July 2024, chat.openai.com/chat.

Featured Resources

Understanding MLA citations

Understanding MLA Citation Tutorial Link