Why you should do your works cited page as you research, how to do in-text citations, how to created works cited entries, how to format the works cited page--updated for MLA edition 8

1. MLA Citation
The Works Cited Page & In-Text Citations

2. The Works Cited Page
Do it as you do your research to make your in-text citations
easier to format.

3. The easiest way to do your in-text citations,
which appear in your essay itself, is to do the
works cited page first.
Why?
When you do the in-text citations, you will
include the first bit of information included
in your works cited page in the parentheses
of your in-text citation.

4. Here’s an example.
Sumner, Thomas. "States Ranked On Climate Change
Preparation." Science News, vol. 189, no. 2, 23 Jan. 2016, pp.
5. EBSCOhost, Accessed 12 Jan. 2016.
Works
Cited
entry
“Report cards are out and some states are better prepared
for climate change threats than others” (Sumner 5).
In-text
citation
The in-text citation uses the
first item from the works
cited entry!
The in-text citation uses the
first item from the works
cited entry!

5. In-Text Citations
Include one every time you put information in your paper that you
found somewhere else, i.e. somewhere other than your own brain.

6. Two reasons for the in-text
citation
• To show that you found the information
in your paper elsewhere, i.e. to show that
you are not plagiarizing.
• To tell the reader where to look on the
works cited page for the resource where
you found that information.

7. When to include an in-text
citation
When you directly quote a section from
another text.
Example: “The paper takes stock of the
wide-ranging implications for fiscal,
financial, and macroeconomic policies of
coming to grips with climate change” (“IMF
Releases Paper”).

8. When to include an in-text
citation
When you directly quote pieces from
another text.
Example: “Environmentalists chose” not to
participate in state efforts to remedy the
pollution at Silver Springs “and say they
have no regrets” (Hiers).

9. When to include an in-text
citation
When you paraphrase a section or idea from
a text.
Example: In Australia, the middle class will
be both the ones who lose the most from
climate change and the ones with the most
impact on government decisions (Bennett
16).

10. When NOT to include an
in-text citation
• When you are including commonly
known information, such as the fact that
George Washington was the first
president of the U.S.
• When you are including a quote that is
well-known or from a very famous person,
such as “I have not yet begun to fight,” by
John Paul Jones.

11. How to Format an In-Text
Citation
“In other words, the people who will
figure out a response -- if not a
solution -- to climate change will be
working in the forests, in the
waterways and in the farmland”
(Trillhaase).
Use quotation
marks around
the words you
copy from the
source.
Place the in-text
citation after the
quotation marks.
Place the
period AFTER
the parentheses,
not inside the
quote itself.

12. How to Format an In-Text
Citation—the block quote
If the quote extends beyond four lines on your
page, format it as a block quote.
Start the
quote on a
new line,
and indent
each line
of the
quote.
Place the end
punctuation
(the period)
before the
parentheses.
Continue your
paper on the
next line after
the quote.

13. Basic Format for an In-
Text Citation
When you know the author’s name and the
page number:
Example: “The disappearance of
mammoths and giant sloths has defied
explanation since the turn of the 19th
century” (Keats 14). Include the author’s last name
and the page number(s) where
the quote appeared, no comma.

14. Format for an In-Text
Citation
When you know the author’s name, but
there is no page number:
Example: “There is no reason free trade
and climate progress can't coexist” (Boyd).
Include the
author’s last
name only.

15. Format for an In-Text
Citation
When you don’t know the author’s name, but the
information comes from an organization:
Example: “The United States and the world are
warming, global sea level is rising, and some types
of extreme weather events are becoming more
frequent and more severe” (US Global Change
Research Program). Include the name of
the organization in
parentheses.

16. Watch out!
Sometimes you have to dig to find the author’s
name, especially when you are getting
information from a website.
Try clicking on the “about us” link if there is one
to discover the name of the author or
organization.
If you can’t find an author or organization name,
you might not want to use the resource in your
paper.

17. Format for an In-Text
Citation
When you don’t know the author’s or
organization’s name:
Example: “I am grateful to those who reach out
to me, to others, when they are clearly in need or
just to nod in understanding” (“Bears Repeating”).
Include an
abbreviated name of
the article in
quotation marks.

18. Remember
Whatever you put in the parentheses will match
the first item in the full citation. That’s why it’s a
good idea to do your citation (or even the whole
works cited page) first.
Full Citation:
"IMF Releases Paper On Implications Of Climate
Change For Fiscal, Financial, And
Macroeconomic Policies."Arabia 2000, 12 Jan.
2016. Newspaper Source, Accessed 13 Jan. 2016.
Parenthetical Citation:
(“IMF Releases Paper”)
The
parenthetical
citation
matches the
first thing in
the full
citation.

19. The Works Cited Page
Use a cheat like www.citefast.com to create the citation for
you.

20. Create your works cited
entries: Use citefast.com
Most citation generators have not
updated to version 8 of MLA. The
only one currently that has is
www.citefast.com, so USE IT!

21. How to use citefast.com
Go to www.citefast.com

22. How to use citefast.com
Choose the type of resource you want to cite.
Click “More” to see other resource types.

23. How to use citefast.com
If you are citing a webpage, copy and paste
the URL and click the search button.

24. How to use citefast.com
Citefast creates a citation using MLA v. 8!
BUT it
doesn’t grab
all the
information
from the
webpage, so
you have to
add it.
Add the author
name.
Add the
publication date.
Add the date you found
the article (today, usually).

25. How to use citefast.com
Finally, save your citation.
Then, Copy/Paste it or Export to Word.
Vinas, Maria-Jose. "Climate Change: Vital Signs of the
Planet: Arctic Sea Ice Annual Minimum Ties Second
Lowest on Record." Climate Change: Vital Signs of the
Planet, 15 Sept. 2016, climate.nasa.gov/news/2496/
arctic-sea-ice-annual-minimum-ties-second-lowest-on-
record/. Accessed 26 Sept. 2016.

26. Create your works cited
entries: Library Databases
You can also get citations from
most library databases, such as
EBSCOhost, Student Research
Center, Opposing Viewpoints in
Context, CQ Researcher, and Issues
and Controversies.

27. How to use library databases
for citations.
Unfortunately, most library
databases are not yet using MLA
edition 8, which is the most recent
version of MLA.

28. How to use library databases
for citations.
What does this mean for you? You
can either tweak the citation given
to you by a library database or use
www.citefast.com to create the
citation.

29. Use citefast to create
library database citations.
Citefast will not find
most content from library
databases.
Instead, you will have to
choose the type of source
(usually Journal).
Click “Manual Entry.”
And fill in the blanks
with the information
from the database.

30. Warning!
If you enter the information
incorrectly into citefast, the citation
will be incorrect. Always check for
errors.

31. Warning!
If you get your citation from a library
database instead, be careful! Some of
the information may not be formatted
correctly. For example, author names
should not be in all caps. Always check!
Don’t take for granted that the citation
is correct!

32. The Works Cited Page
(Cont.)
Make sure you format the works cited page correctly.

33. Begin your
works cited
page on a
new page.
Center the title “Works Cited”
in the middle of the page.
Don’t misspell it as “Sighted”
or “Sited.”
Include one
blank line
between the
title and the
first citation.
Double space
the page.
How to format your works
cited page.

34. How to format your works
cited page.
Indent any
subsequent
line(s) of each
citation.
Alphabetize the
entries according
to the first word
in each citation.
Left align the first
line of each
citation.

35. Questions?
• Try Googling your question, such as “How do
I cite a Tweet in MLA format?”
• Refer to the OWL at Purdue:
owl.english.purdue.edu
• Look in your textbook.
• Ask your professor.