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Citation and Documentation Styles

Find resources on Citation and Documentation Styles. APA, MLA, and Chicago Manual of Style have resources you can find at Forsyth Library and online, as well as a quick guide to the types of sources most often cited.

MLA Resources

With the updated version of the MLA Handbook, 9th edition, the citation format did not change, but the Handbook itself was updated for more user friendly format. 

Some of these updates include:

  • Updated appendix with many examples for citations (pp. 303-346).
  • Updated guidance for in-text citation. In-text citation has not changed, but there are more examples: two authors with the same last name, citing with a time stamp, and more (pp. 227-286).
  • Updates for why citations matter and how to avoid plagiarism (pp. 95-102).
  • Including inclusive language in writing (pp. 89-94).
  • Updated guidelines on how to format a paper in MLA format (formatting did not change, but this information was on included in the 8th edition (pp. 1-14)).
  • Guidance for spelling, punctuation, and grammar in MLA format (pp. 15-87).
  • Guidance for using notes in MLA format (pp. 287-291).

Quick Guide to MLA Citation 9th Edition

MLA uses a "Container" system, and has a template showing what elements are required, the order to put them in, and what punctuation to use. According to the MLA Works Cited Quick Guide: 

"When the source being documented forms part of a larger whole, the larger whole can be thought of as a container that holds the source. For example, a short story may be contained in an anthology. The short story is the source, and the anthology is the container."

MLA template

MLA Interactive Practice Template

Some sources only need one container:

Example:

Harjo, Joy. "This Morning I Pray for My Enemies." Massachusetts Review, vol. 50, no. 1–2, Spring/Summer 2009, p. 232. 

But others, such as the sources you find through the library databases, need two containers. One for the source, and one for the database you found it in. 

Example:

Leen, Mary. "An Art of Saying: Joy Harjo's Poetry and the Survival of Storytelling." The American Indian Quarterly 19.1 (1995): 1-16. Gale Academic OneFile, link.gale.com/apps/doc/A17339821/AONE?u=klnb_fhsuniv&sid=AONE&xid=5a8b0ac6

 

Elements for Journal Articles:

  1. Name of Author(s) if available
  2. "Full Title of Article in quotations."
  3. Title of Journal italicized,
  4. Volume Number of Journal,
  5. Issue Number of Journal,
  6. Date of Publication, 
  7. Page Numbers of Article if available.

If from an online database or webpage, also include a second container with:

  1. Database or name of website italicized,
  2. DOI, URL, or permalink

Online Journal Article (needs two containers):

Author(s) Last Name, First Name. "Title of Article in Quotation Marks and Title Case." Title of Journal italicized, volume, issue, Publication date, page numbers. Database italicized, DOI, permalink, or URL. 

Example:

Carnes, Jeremy M. "Reinventing the Enemy's Intentions: Native Identity and the City in the Poetry of Joy Harjo." Studies in the Humanities, vol. 42, no. 1-2, 2015, pp. 36+. Gale Academic OneFile, link.gale.com/apps/doc/A441400770/AONE?u=klnb_fhsuniv&sid=AONE&xid=86856e38.

Printed Journal Article (needs one container):

Author(s) Last Name, First Name. "Title of Article in Quotation Marks and Title Case." Title of Journal italicized, volume, issue, Publication date, page numbers.  

Treat, James. "Muscogee Nation Indian Territory: From Oral History to Found Poetry." Tribal College Journal of American Indian Higher Education, vol.28, no. 3, 2017, pp.7.

Elements for Dissertations and Master's Theses:

  1. Name of Author. 
  2. Title of dissertation/thesis italicized.
  3. Date of Publication,
  4. Institution granting the degree (optional),
  5. Description of the work (optional).

If found online through a library database or website, add a second container:

  1. Database italicized,
  2. DOI, permalink, or URL.

Online Dissertation or Thesis:

Author(s) Last Name, First Initial. Title of Dissertation/Thesis italicized. Publication date, Institution granting the degree, description of the work. Database in italics, DOI, permalink, or URL. 

Example:

Killelea, Patricia. Between these Songs: Contemporary Experimental Native American Poetry & Poetics. 2015, University of California, Davis, Doctoral Dissertation. ProQuest, search.proquest.com/docview/1720548329?accountid=27424.

Print Dissertation or Thesis:

Author(s) Last Name, First Initial. Title of Dissertation/Thesis italicized. Publication date, Institution granting the degree, description of the work. 

Cagle, Amanda N. B. Pushing from their Hearts a New Song: The (Re)Construction of the Feminine in American Indian Women's Poetry. 2006, University of Connecticut, Doctoral Dissertation. 

Elements in a book citation:

  1. Name of author, editor, person or group primarily responsible for creating the work.
  2. Title of book iitalicized,
  3. Edition used, (if other than the first) or Version (such as King James Version)
  4. Volume number, 
  5. Name of Publisher,
  6. Year of Publication,
  7. Publication Location.

If it is an ebook, include a second container:

  1. Database or website used to access italicized,
  2. DOI, permalink, or URL.

Online or E-book (needs two containers):

Author(s) Last Name, First Name. Title of Book italicized. Publisher, Year. Database italicized, DOI, permalink, or URL. 

Example:

Krupat, Arnold. "That the People Might Live" : Loss and Renewal in Native American Elegy, Cornell University Press, 2012. ProQuest Ebook Central, ebookcentral.proquest.com/lib/fhsu/detail.action?docID=3138377.

Printed Book:

Author(s) Last Name, First Name. Title of Book italicized. Publisher, Year.

Example:

Warm, Water L, and Lucille Day. Red Indian Road West: Native American Poetry from California. Scarlet Tanager Books, 2016.

 

Elements in a reference citation:

  1. Name of author, editor, person or group primarily responsible for creating the work.
  2. "Title of entry in quotation marks."
  3. Title of encyclopedia italicized,
  4. edited by, Editor name,
  5. Edition used, (if other than the first) or Version (such as King James Version)
  6. Volume number, 
  7. Name of Publisher,
  8. Year of Publication,
  9. Publication Location.

If it is an ebook, include a second container:

  1. Database or website used to access italicized,
  2. DOI, permalink, or URL.

Online or E-book Encyclopedia or Dictionary Entry with an individual author and an editor (needs two containers):

Author(s) Last Name, First Name. "Title of entry in quotation marks." Title of Encyclopedia italicized, edited by Editor First Name, Last Name, edition used, volume number, Publisher, Year. Database italicized, DOI, permalink, or URL. 

Example:

Potts, Donna L. "Native American Poetry." Encyclopedia of American Poetry: The Twentieth Century, edited by Eric L. Haralson, Routledge, 2001. Credo Reference, search.credoreference.com/content/entry/routampoetry/native_american_poetry/0

Online or E-book Encyclopedia or Dictionary Entry with no author and no editor (needs two containers):

 "Title of entry in quotation marks." Title of Encyclopedia italicized, edition used, volume number, Publisher, Year. Database italicized, DOI, permalink, or URL. 

Example:

"American Indians." The Macmillan Encyclopedia, Market House Books Ltd, 2nd edition, 2003. Credo Reference, search.credoreference.com/content/entry/move/american_indians/0

Printed Encyclopedia or Dictionary Entry with an individual author and an editor 

Author(s) Last Name, First Name. "Title of entry in quotation marks." Title of Encyclopedia italicized, edited by Editor First Name, Last Name, edition used, volume number, Publisher, Year. 

Example:

Potts, Donna L. "Native American Poetry." Encyclopedia of American Poetry: The Twentieth Century, edited by Eric L. Haralson, Routledge, 2001. 

Printed Encyclopedia or Dictionary Entry with no author and no editor 

 "Title of entry in quotation marks." Title of Encyclopedia italicized, edition used, volume number, Publisher, Year. 

Example:

"American Indians." The Macmillan Encyclopedia, Market House Books Ltd, 2nd edition, 2003. 

Elements for Web Pages:

  1. Author's name, or Corporate Author. 
  2. "Title of work in quotations."  
  3. Title of the Web site italicized, (if different from the specific work)
  4. Date of publication/last updated,
  5. URL, omitting http://

Blog post example :

Harjo, Joy. "Who is Telling Your Story?" Joy Harjo, 30 July 2019, www.joyharjo.com/who-is-telling-your-story

Corporate Author example:

Peabody Museum of Archeology & Ethnology. "From Nation to Nation: Examining Lewis and Clark's Indian Collection."  Peabody Museum of Archeology & Ethnology.​ www.peabody.harvard.edu/node/2314

Use the Author-Page System to cite your references in the text of your paper

Template:

(Last Name page number).

Example:  (Stafford 90).

Narrative Citations: If you refer to the author in your written text, use only the page number in parentheses after the quote, summary, or paraphrase.

Example: Stafford compares two Native American poets, Luci Tapahonso and Simon Ortiz (90).

Specific Quotes and Paraphrases: Include information about the specific part of your citation, such as page, paragraph, or chapter.

Example: "Time compresses in space, and the past seeps into the present in order to inject various events into the present" (Stafford 93).

Tips:

  • Use only the surname (or last name) of the author(s)
  • Two authors: Use both last names with and. Example: (Warm and Day 7)
  • Three or more authors: Use the first author plus "et al." Example: (Chad et al. 13)
  • No author: use a shortened version of the title. Example: ("Between These Songs" 3)

Quick Guide to Formatting in MLA

 

  1. Set the top, sides, and bottom margins set at 1 inch
  2. Use easily readable type (like Times New Roman) with type size between 11-13 point
  3. Double-space throughout

 

Last name and Page Number in Header

Your First and Last Name

Your Instructor's Name

The Course Name and Number

The Date

"The Title of Your Paper" 

     One the next double-spaced line, begin the text for the research paper. Make sure to indent the first line of the paragraph.

At the end of the paper and after all endnotes, on a separate page, place the works cited. 

  1. At the top of the page place Works Cited at the center.
    1. Double space
    2. Use a hanging indent format.
    3. Keep citations in alphabetical order

 

Works Cited

 

Carnes, Jeremy M. "Reinventing the enemy's intentions: native identity and the city in the poetry of Joy Harjo." Studies in the Humanities, vol. 42, no. 1-2, 2015, pp. 36+. Gale Academic OneFile, https://link.gale.com/apps/doc/A441400770/AONE?u=klnb_fhsuniv&sid=AONE&xid=86856e38.

Killelea, Patricia. Between these Songs: Contemporary Experimental Native American Poetry & Poetics. 2015, University of California, Davis, Doctoral Dissertation. ProQuest, https://search.proquest.com/docview/1720548329?accountid=27424.

Treat, James. "Muscogee Nation Indian Territory: From Oral History to Found Poetry." Tribal College Journal of American Indian Higher Education vol.28, no. 3, 2017, pp.7.

Inclusive Language

Inclusive language aims to be respectful to others by treating language describing individual and group identity with sensitivity and by avoiding the bias that could make some people feel excluded (The Modern Language Association of America, pp. 89).

To including inclusive language within research papers there are some guiding principles to keep in mind.

  1. Make references to identity relevant.
    1. Change the wording from gender-specific to gender-neutral: man-made to human-made; man-kind to humankind; etc.
  2. Be precise
    1. To avoid perpetuating stereotypes, try to avoid generalizations: Muslim community -> Sunni Muslims in India; Native American language -> Chinookan languages; Jews believe -> A Jewish belief.
  3. Choose terms of identity that respect your subject.
    1. “Both people-first language and identity-first language are generally considered valid approaches, but your choices should always reflect the expressed preferences of individuals or groups when those preferences are known” (The Modern Language Association of America, pp. 90).
  4. Be thoughtful about capitalization and styling
    1. In the dictionary, many terms are denoting of identity and only capitalize proper nouns. However, some words use both, choose one and be consistent.
    2. If working with an author or group and their preferences are known, use the preferred style.
    3. Avoid language or punctuation that would undermine a subject’s identity.
  5. Minimize pronouns that exclude.
    1. For writers that use inclusive pronouns sometimes use he or she
    2. But another option that eliminates the pronoun is often the best solution: their, they (or a neologism like hir).
      1. If not these, refer to specific individuals
  6. Avoid negatively judging others’ experiences
    1. Although appropriate in some context, avoid using suffers from, afflicted with, prisoner of, or victim of. These terms can cause emotions or imagery that may not be accurate.
  7. Use a dictionary to check for offensive terms
    1. When questioning the use of a term, an up-to-date dictionary will mark when a term is believed to be offensive or questionable.

“Be wary of making assumptions about your audience, and do not assume that the audience shares your own identity, background, geographic location, culture, or beliefs” (The Modern Language Association of America, pp. 92).

MLA FAQ

What is MLA?

Known as the Modern Language Association, this style offers uniformity in format for those writing papers and citing sources within the liberal arts and humanities.

Where do I put an in-text citation?

  • When explaining someone’s idea in a paragraph, the in-text citation should be at the end of the paragraph.
  • Citing a quote, in-text citation should be directly after the quote.
  • And if using a quote several times, in-text should be used each time the quote is used.

Do in-text citations count towards word count?

No, the in-text citation is not counted towards the word count of a paper.

What are some General guidelines for a Works Cited page?

  • Use a hanging indent.
  • Make sure to have this page double-spaced.
  • Keep citations in alphabetical order.

What words in a title should be capitalized?

Capitalize each word in titles, but do not capitalize articles, prepositions or conjunctions unless the first word. Example: "That the People Might Live”: Loss and Renewal in Native American Elegy

Should quotation marks be used for all titles or just specific types of works?

Use italics for titles of larger works (such as books or magazines) and quotation marks for titles of shorter works (such as articles and poems)

How should a source be cited when there is no author?

Start with the source title.