MLAReferencingandCitationsGuide

Referencing and citations are how the authors of papers credit the ideas of other academics.
Whenwritingaformalpapereveryone,fromatenuredprofessortoagrade10studentneedsto
usequotations,statisticsorparaphrasetheworkofotherstosupporttheirargument.Whena
quotation, statistic or paraphrased idea is used, the writer needs to inform the reader where
thatideacamefrom.Generalknowledge(ThefirstPresidentoftheUnitedStateswasGeorge
Washington),orideasthatappearinavarietyofbooks,donotneedtobecitedorreferenced.

Currently,therearethreecommonlyusedmannersofcitationandreferencing.MLA(Modern
LanguageAssociation)StyleorChicagoStyleisusuallyemployedinthehumanities/liberalarts
(History, Philosophy, English). APA is usually employed in the sciences and social sciences
(Psychology, Sociology, Political Science, Economics). This guide will cover MLA citation
practices. They are used for the majority of courses in the History and Social Sciences
Department.

InMLAwhenyouuseaquotation,statisticorparaphraseanideathatisnotyourownyoumust:
Place the authors name and the number of the page from where you found the
information in brackets directly following the quotation, statistic or paraphrased idea
(thisisknownasanintextcitation).
Listthebook/articleetcinthebibliographyattheendofyourpaper.
Whenyouuseaquotationunder25wordsitshouldappearinquoteswithintheregular
textofthepaper.
Whenyouuseaquotationover25wordsitshouldbesinglespacedandindented.

The following are examples of how to use intext citations. Imagine these sentences are
appearingmidpaper.

Intextcitationforindentedquotation:

There is a clear indication that Plato does not believe his society could actually come
into being:
Do you suppose that what we say is any less good on account of our not
being able to prove that it is possible to found a city the same as the one in
speech. (Plato 472)
This shows that the society discussed in The Republic is a philosophic exercise as
opposed to an actual plan.

Intextcitationfornonindentedquotation:

It was the Sophists notion of moral relativity that inspired Socrates.

Protagoras

declared that, Man is the measure of all things. (Gaarder 62) This displayed a lack of
understanding, or caring, for any higher truths.

Thus, Socrates, had to teach the

Athenians that there were matters more important than the individual, and that a
universal ethics existed.

Intextcitationforaparaphrasedidea:

Although Jefferson displayed progressive ideas, he would not release his slaves. The
reason was a practical one, money. (Johnson 336) Jefferson was constantly in debt,
mostly to London banking houses.

Intextcitationforastatistic:

In the years 1997 to 1999 Nike spent over 85% of their operating budget on
advertisement as opposed to 5% on wages and salaries.

(Klein 76)

This statistic

illuminates how care for brands has become more important than care for people.

Information from intext citations must correspond to information in the bibliography/works

cited list. Every book/article etc that appears in an intext citation must be listed in the
bibliography/workscitedlist.Abibliography/workscitedlistmustappearattheendofapaper.
It must be compiled alphabetically by author, and in the case of no author, by title. The
followingareexamplesofhowtoreferenceabook/articleetcinabibliography/workscitedlist.

Abookwithoneauthor:

Diamond, Jared. Guns, Germs and Steel. New York: W.W. Norton & Company, 1997

Abookwithtwoauthors:

Johnson, Paul and Anthony, James. A History of the Jewish People. New York: Harper
and Collins, 1991.

Abookwiththreeauthorsormore:

Jackson, Steven, et al. The New America. Boston: Harvard University Press, 1983.

Abookwithanauthorandtranslator:

Plato. The Republic of Plato. Trans. Allan Bloom. The United States: Basic Books,
1996.

Aneditionofabook:

Crowley, Sharon. Ancient History for Modern Students. 3rd ed. New York: Pearson and
Longman, 2006.

Aworkbyanauthorpreparedbyaneditor:

Bronte, Charlotte. Jane Eyre. Ed. Margaret Smith. Oxford: Oxford University Press,
1998.

Anessayorchapterbyanauthorfromabookwithaneditor:

Klein, Naomi. The Anti-Globalization Movement. Globalization in Focus. Ed. Michael

Lewis. Toronto: McGraw Hill, 2002.

Anarticlefromamagazine:

Buchanan, Phillip. Censorship: A Modern Necessity. Time. December 2005: p. 24

27

Anarticlefromanewspaper:

Bielski, Zosia. The Homeless in Toronto. The National Post. 24 May 2004. E4.

Anarticlefromanewspaperretrievedfromtheweb:

Stolley, Karl.
Grits Not Tough Enough.
The Toronto Star.
10 May 2006.
<http://thetorontostar.ca/gritsnot/may/politics/nes>

Anarticlefromawebsite:

Mayer, Mason. Hannah Arendt. The Internet Encyclopaedia of Philosophy. 4 May

2002. The University of Tennessee. 30 November 2008. <http://iep.utm.edu/arendt>

Awebpagewithnoauthor:

Statistics Canada: Ontario. Statistics Canada. 10 June 2005. Government of Canada.

12 September 2008. <http://gov.stat.ca/ontario/pop/eth>

Afilmormovie:

Tarantino, Quinton. Pulp Fiction. 1994. Twentieth Century Fox.

TelevisionShoworRadioBroadcast:

They Saved Lisas Brain. The Simpsons. Twentieth Century Fox. 1999.