Citation Guide (MLA 9th Edition)

Good news! MLA 9 expands upon MLA 8; there are just a few minor changes. (The new handbook clarifies the elements and provides many, many examples. It also has a section on inclusive language.)

The Role of Citations

Why do we cite?

(Simple) Answer: To give proper credit to others' work/writing/ideas.

Additional reasons we cite:

• It connects your work to the work of others, producing a nexus of ideas and scholarship.
• It directs whoever engages with your work to the information and sources you have engaged with.
• It demonstrates that you did proper research, contributing to your own credibility.
• It provides documentation for you and others to locate the sources.
• To avoid plagiarism!

When should we cite?

You need to include a citation whenever you quote, paraphrase, summarize, or otherwise refer to someone else's work.

Always give credit where credit is due, even for items in the public domain. For more information, visit our Copyright and Fair Use guide.

About the MLA Style Citation System

At Otis, we generally use MLA-style citations. However, there are other systems in existence, each with its own rules, format, and guidelines. Your professor may require you to use a different style; you should defer to their requirements.

The MLA system was created by the Modern Language Association of America (MLA). It is a set of guidelines for general formatting and citing research in writing. For this style, you must cite sources you have paraphrased, quoted, or otherwise used to write your research paper.

There are two components needed:

1. In the body of your paper, add brief in-text citations.
2. Include a full citation for each source on the Works Cited page.

MLA citations include facts about the source. These facts are known as elements. The elements are arranged in a specific order depending on the type of material.

MLA Style Manual: