It may be helpful to see how MLA citation rules work in practice. 

To view a sample MLA-formatted paper, click here. 

Below are some basics. For citing sources not mentioned here, consult the downloadable MLA handout on this page. 

●  A Scholarly Article in an Online Database

    Redmon, Allen H. “How Many Lebowskis Are There? Genre, Spectatorial Authorship, and The Big

            Lebowski.” Journal of Popular Film & Television, vol. 40, no. 2, 2012, pp. 52-61. EBSCOhost,

            http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=aph&AN=76192537&site=ehost-

            live&scope=site.

●  General informational Website

United States, Department of Health and Human Services, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

            “Basics about Diabetes.” Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 31 Mar. 2015,

            www.cdc.gov/diabetes/basics/diabetes.html.

●  Generative AI

"Description of prompt" prompt. AI model name, Date version, Publisher of model, Date generated, URL. 

“Describe the symbolism of the green light in the book The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald” prompt. ChatGPT, 13 Feb. version, OpenAI, 8 Mar. 2023, chat.openai.com/chat.

“Pointillist painting of a sheep in a sunny field of blue flowers” prompt, DALL-E, version 2, OpenAI, 8 Mar. 2023, labs.openai.com/.

●  Video on a Website

An entry for a YouTube video must include the date when the video was posted online, as well as the username of the poster.

“All in the Family: Archie and the FBI.” Created by Norman Lears, season two, episode 16, YouTube,

            uploaded by Marie Dickey, 7 Sept., 2015, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RO60lMucet0. 

● A Book by a Single Author

     Wrigley, Owen. The Politics of Deafness. Gallaudet UP, 1996.

●  A Book by 2 Authors

      Eggins, Suzanne, and Diana Slade. Analysing Casual Conversation. Cassell, 1997.

●  A Book by 3 or More Authors

     Prochaska, James, et al. Changing for Good. Morrow, 1994.

Plagiarism occurs when you use another person’s words or ideas and present them as your own, intentionally or unintentionally.

To find out more, you can watch this video.