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The Modern Languages Association (MLA) style is predominantly used in the field of humanities. The MLA referencing style uses an author-page number system. The sources are cited by providing the surname of the author and the page number(s) in brackets.
1. MLA in-text citation examples
In the following example, we are stating that a recent study has shown that students use generative AI in their papers frequently. This idea is from paper authored by Ethan Jones on page numbers 6-7. There are two ways you can cite the paper in MLA referencing style. You can either cite at the end of the sentence or integrate it into the sentence.
✔ Citation at the end of the information. Both surname and page numbers within brackets.
A recent research showed that students use generative AI in more than 90% of their assignments (Jones 6-7).
✔ Citation integrated into the text. Surname outside the bracket and page number within brackets.
Jones (6-7) showed that students use generative AI in more than 90% of their assignments.
✔ If page number cannot be given to a source, then use ‘n.pag’
Smith (n.pag.) proposed a simple approach to cutting food intake to treat obesity.
2. Citing multiple authors in MLA style
If the source has two authors then you can specify the surnames of both authors followed by the page number(s). The same format applies to three authors. If the source has four or more authors then you have to use the surname of the first author followed by ‘et al’, which stands for ‘and all’.
| Single author | The simple and more effective approach to treating obesity is cutting food intake (Smith 2-4) |
| Two authors | The simple and more effective approach to treating obesity is cutting food intake (Smith and Jones 2-4) |
| Three authors | The simple and more effective approach to treating obesity is cutting food intake (Smith, Jones and Williams 2-4) |
| Four or more authors | The simple and more effective approach to treating obesity is cutting food intake (Smith et al. 2-4) |
3. Multiple sources at the same point
If you want to cite multiple sources at the same point, you simply have to separate them with a semicolon.
✔ Multiple sources separated by semicolon
Obesity is a global pandemic with over one-third of the world’s population being classified as overweight (Brown 6-7; Walker et al. 56; Martin and Jones 4).
4. Multiple sources from the same author
If you are dealing with multiple papers published by the same author, then you can differentiate them by adding a short description of the title in the citation. In the following example, you can see that we have two publications from the same author (Jones). We have differentiated the sources by adding a short title of the sources to the references – ‘E-learning’ and ‘Online teaching’.
✔ Sources from the same author from the same year differentiated by adding a short title
The research proves that students use generative AI in more than 90% of their assignments (Jones, E-learning 56; Jones, Online teaching 34).
5. Multiple authors with the same name
If you are dealing with papers published by different authors with same name then, you can differentiate them by adding the initial to the surname. If the authors share the same initials, you can include the full first name.
✔ Sources from different authors with the same name are differentiated by adding the initials
The research proves that students use generative AI in more than 90% of their assignments (E. Jones 23; P. Jones 62).
✔ Sources from different authors with the same name and same initials are differentiated by adding the full first name
The research proves that students use generative AI in more than 90% of their assignments (John Jones 23; Jack Jones 62).
6. Direct quotes from sources
If you are making a direct quote from a paper word-for-word, you must include the page number or page numbers at the end of the statement. In the following example, we have used the exact text from a paper, and hence while citing the paper we have included the page number at the end.
✔ Direct quote from a paper – page number mentioned at the end of the sentence
As Wilson et al. states, “More than 70% of papers rejected by scientific journals are written by non-native English speakers” (23).
6. Reference list
You must include a bibliography or reference list at the end of your text. It should be titled ‘Works Cited’ and double line spacing should be used. You must list all sources in the reference list, and it should be arranged alphabetically by the author’s last name. The first line of your reference should be aligned with the left margin and each line after that should have a hanging indent applied as shown in the example below.
Example below shows a list of references formatted in MLA style. The following reference list includes a journal, a book, a website, and a conference proceeding. If you use a good citation tool, the reference list will be automatically generated for you. If you choose to format the references manually, please read this blog, you will find formatting rules for various sources.
7. Summary
If you have any questions, please drop a comment below, and we will answer as soon as possible. We also recommend you to refer to our other blogs on academic writing tools, academic writing resources, academic writing phrases, research paper examples and research paper writing tips which are relevant to the topic discussed in this blog.
