Robertson Senior English: MLA Style

In-Text Component contains:

(Author pg.#)  no comma

If no page number--just author

If no author--shortened title (2-3 words)

*In Text should match FIRST PART of bibliographic entry

Purdue Owl MLA In-Text Basics with examples

Zhang and Bateman’s 2011 report found “direct evidence of pollution in the river” (288).

Many characters experienced “ghostly visitations and other paranormal activities” (Niederhoff 102). 

It has been found that “a fraction of the 200,000 stars observed meet the parameters” (NASA).

Unexplained events were discussed by many of the people involved (Niederhoff 102).

Zhang and Bateman’s research clearly indicates that the river is polluted (288).

Only a small number of stars that were looked at met the parameters scientists were seeking (NASA).

Works Cited

Byfield, Brenda. This Is a Book. Governor's Publishing, 2019.

"Can Garnet Planets Be Habitable?" NASA, 5 Jan. 2017, exoplanets.nasa.gov/news/1402/can-garnet-planets-be-habitable/.

Hongzhou, Zhang and Sam Bateman. "Fishing Militia, the Securitization of Fishery and the South China Sea Dispute." Contemporary Southeast Asia: A Journal of International & Strategic Affairs, vol. 39, no. 2, Aug. 2017, p. 288. EBSCOhost, doi:10.1355/cs39-2b

Niederhoff, Burkhard. "The Return of the Dead in Margaret Atwood's Surfacing and Alias Grace." Contemporary Literary Criticism, edited by Lawrence J. Trudeau, vol. 371, Farmington Hills, Gale, 2015. Literature Resource Center, link.galegroup.com/apps/doc/H1100118853/LitRC?u=mlin_n_governor&sid=LitRC&xid=d659e802. 

See Purdue Owl Sample Works Cited Page HERE

• White standard-sized paper (8.5 x 11)
• 1-inch margins all the way around
• 12 point font--typically Times New Roman or other easily read font
• Double-space all text (except block quotes); one space after punctuation or between sentences 
• Number pages in upper right-hand corner beginning with the first page of text

MLA does NOT suggest the use of a Title Page unless specifically requested by your teacher.

In the UPPER LEFT-HAND CORNER of the first page--double spaced--list:

• Your Names
• Instructor's Name
• Course Name
• Date

After one double space CENTER the Title; DO NOT underline, bold, all-cap, or put your title in quotation marks.

Titles are only standard capitalization of first letters.

Double-space between Title and the first line of the paper.

Insert page numbers In UPPER RIGHT CORNER starting on the first page.

EXAMPLE:

Assign each image, video, etc. a figure number and refer to them in the text by that. 

Example: As shown by the photograph of the fish (fig.2), wolffish can be very colorful.

Place relevant information under the image: Author/Artist Last Name, First Name. Title or Description of Image. Year Created. Museum/Publisher name if applicable, URL.

Example:

Fig. 2. Oceana.org. Wolffish. 2019. oceana.org/marine-life/ocean-fishes/atlantic-wolffish

Citation does not need to be repeated in the Works Cited list

MLA recommends citing any content quoted, paraphrased, or otherwise utilized by any AI-generator. 

The IN-TEXT parenthetical citation should contain the prompt, or the start of the prompt if it is too long, only. MLA does not recommend using ChatGPT or other generator as an author. 

IN-TEXT EXAMPLE: 

Shakespeare utilized humor in his writing as a way to connect with the common man of 16th and 17th century England ("Why did Shakespeare"). (Where the original prompt given to ChatGPT was "Why did Shakespeare use humor in his plays".)

WORKS CITED EXAMPLE:

“Why did Shakespeare use humor in his plays” prompt. ChatGPT, version 3.5, OpenAI, 8 Mar. 2023, chat.openai.com/chat.