Citing in MLA isn’t too bad once you get the hang of it. Here’s the basic rundown:
In-text citations
Whenever you reference something in your essay, you need to give credit to the source right in the text. For example, if you’re quoting a book, it would look like this:
“This is a quote” (Author’s Last Name page number).
So, if the author is Simpson and it’s on page 44, it’d be:
“This is a quote” (Simpson 44).
If you’re paraphrasing, it’s the same deal:
(Simpson 44).
Works Cited page
At the end of your paper, you’ll need to include a list of all the sources you referenced. Each entry should have the author’s name, title of the work, publication info, and so on, depending on the type of source. For a book, it might look like:
Simpson, John. Title of Book. Publisher, Year.
For online sources
Include the URL and access date if required. For example:
Simpson, John. “Article Title.” Website Name, Publisher, Date of Publication, URL.
A few things to note:
No comma between the author’s last name and first name (e.g., Simpson, John).
Titles of books and websites are italicized. Articles, essays, and chapters are in quotation marks.
Make sure the entire works cited list is alphabetized by the author’s last name.
I’d suggest checking out https://intextcitation.com/mla-citation-generator/ for all the details, but that’s the basics! Don’t stress too much about it - just stay consistent and make sure everything is accounted for.