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MLA Style: Basics

This guide is intended to help you cite sources in MLA style, avoid plagiarism, learn what MLA style is and includes, find examples of MLA style, lead you to campus resources that can help you cite sources in MLA, and more.

Example Citations

MLA allows for the creation of bibliographic or long-form citations with the core elements, or you can always use citation examples to build and format your citations. When building citations from examples, follow these steps:

  1. Identify the type of source you want to cite.
  2. Find an example citation in your chosen citation style for the type of source you would like to cite.
  3. Plug matching information from your source into the format of your example. Be careful to retain punctuation and formatting.

You may need to consult multiple examples. If you are citing a source with two authors but the example that matches your source type only has one, also find an example with two authors (or consult the Formatting Authors page). Follow the example that matches the source type, except when formatting the author's names.

Use the pages in the menu on the left to find an example that matches your source.