MLA Citation: An Introduction
When you write about something you have read (stories, novels, articles) or viewed (TV shows, news programs, movies), or listened to (podcasts, radio programs), you need to use the MLA citation system to write correctly. This means you need to include several things within your writing:
1) A SHORT (one-sentence) summary of the content/meaning of the source you are discussing
2) Your opinion, written as a fact (no "I think" or "My opinion is"), about what you read/viewed - this is called a thesis statement
3) A transition phrase that leads into some evidence
4) Evidence (a quotation or paraphrase) from your source that supports your opinion/proves your thesis is true (gathered through some research)
5) A proper citation IN THE SAME SENTENCE as your evidence and transition (either before, or in parentheses after, the quotation)
6) A CLEAR and EASY TO UNDERSTAND explanation of what you think the evidence means and how it supports your opinion - this should take you two or more sentences.
7) After all the rest of your writing, a properly formatted list of any and all sources you referred to in your writing (Works Cited or Bibliography) - Be sure to get all the source information you need to do this correctly.
Any time you use information from some source other than your own brain (like when you write a research paper or an essay that includes quotations from a source), you'll need to borrow someone else's words or ideas. When you do this, you need to give the creator credit, or else you are plagiarizing their work.
The Modern Language Association (MLA) is a group that suggests formats for different writing types and styles. Theirs is one of the most widely used systems for citation.
There are two main components of the MLA system itself:
Click here to find out more about research and different sources of information.
MLA-related topics: