Students often use terms such as reference, citation and bibliography interchangeably, but there are differences between these terms. A bibliography (or reference list) is the list of all the sources you used to create your paper. The citation is actually the combination of your in-text source and the full entry listed at the end of your paper. This list, titled a bibliography, works cited or reference list, provides the location of the source so the reader can find it if they want to do so. MLA style uses a works cited list.
Writing Your Research Paper
As you gather your sources together to start writing your paper, you will want to create a preliminary bibliography. This will help you stay organized and not feel so frustrated at the end of your paper when you need to pull together your in-text citations with your works cited list.
As you know, every time you quote or paraphrase a book or other source, you need to make sure you give proper credit to the creator of the source. Throughout your school research paper, you will include information about the source consulted. You don’t want to distract your reader from the flow of information, so you’ll need to place the in-text citation properly.
MLA In-Text Citation
In MLA, your in-text citation includes the first core element, and the page number. If the first core element is an author, (typically it is), you will place the author’s last name inside parentheses along with the page number.
Examples:
According to Lopez, most dogs enjoy “taking walks and eating snacks” (12) but other researchers disagree with this statement.
Or
Most dogs enjoy “taking walks and eating snacks” (Lopez 12) but other researchers disagree with this statement.
The corresponding citation entry in the works cited list will look like this:
Lopez, Alberto J. Talking with Dogs. Doghouse Books, 2018.
Citing Sources With No Authors
If the source you’re referring to does not have an author listed as the first core element, use the title instead plus the page number if available.
Researchers found that most dogs prefer treats as a reward for performing tricks (Dogs: A Survey of Tricks 10).
The corresponding entry in the works cited List will look like this:
Dogs: A Survey of Tricks or Treats. Pew Research Center, September 2018. Canine Research Report 25.
Citing Sources With No Page Numbers
As you gather your sources, you may notice some of them do not have page numbers but instead are divided by chapters or sections. Or some web sources may be numbered by paragraph instead of page number. In these cases, you will indicate the location of your source using those indicators. You will need to add a comma after the author.
Sections: sec. or secs.
Paragraphs: par. or pars.
Chapters: ch. or chs.
Examples:
It’s been proven beyond any doubt that dogs do prefer treats after performing tricks for their owners (DeJon, par. 12).
Or
According to DeJon, it’s been proven beyond any doubt that dogs do prefer treats after performing tricks for their owners (par. 12).
Easy In-Text Citations for Your MLA Paper
MLA provides an easy way to create in-text citations. When writing a school paper, always keep your reader in mind. Provide a clear pathway from your in-text citations to your final entry in your works cited list so your sources can be found quickly and easily by your instructor and your reader.