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Research in: Critical Race and Ethnic Studies

A guide to research for classes in the CRES department

MLA Citations

Basics of MLA Citation Style

Below is a guide to in text citations and works cited entries for common sources. There are Formulas that tell you what is expected in each citation and examples so you can see what it would look like in context. If you need to cite a source that is not on this list, please see the MLA citation style guides or consult with a librarian. 

Book with a single author or editor

In-Text Formula: (Author Last Name page #).  

In-text Example: (Schoenberger 10). 

Works Cited Formula: Last Name, First Name. Title of Book. City of Publication, Publisher, Publication Date.

*Note: the City of Publication should only be used if the book was published before 1900, if the publisher has offices in more than one country, or if the publisher is unknown in North America.

Works Cited Example: Schoenberger, Melissa. Cultivating Peace: The Virgilian Georgic in English, 1650-1750. Bucknell University Press: 2019. 

Journal article from an online database

In-Text Formula: (Author Last Name page #).  

In-text Example:  (Amatangelo 250). 

Works Cited Formula: Author(s). "Title of Article." Title of Journal, Volume, Issue, Year, page range (if given). Name of Database, URL or DOI link. Date of Access.

Works Cited Example: Amatangelo, Susan. "Coming to Her Senses: The Journey of the Mother in La lunga vita di Marianna Ucria." Italica, vol. 79, no. 2, 2002, pp. 240-256. JSTOR, https://doi.org/10.2307/3655997. 

Online newspaper/magazine article

In-text Formula: (Author Last Name). 

In-text Example: (Malia).

Works Cited Formula: Author Last Name, First. "Article Title." Newspaper Title, date published, link access date.

Works Cited Example: Malia, Scott. "Bradley Cooper, Cillian Murphy and the Myths of Method Acting." The Caledonian-Record, March 5, 2024. Access World News, https://infoweb.newsbank.com/apps/news/document-view?p=WORLDNEWS&docref=news%2F1979DD1A9FC9E8B0#copy.

Page from a website

In-text Formula: ("Name of Page").  

In-text Example: ("Glosario").

Works Cited Formula: Author Last Name, First Name (if given). "Title of webpage." Title of Website, link. Access date. 

Works Cited Example:  "Glosario." Cineglos, https://cineglos.holycross.edu/glosario/a/. Accessed August 18, 2024. 

MLA Style Citation Guides 

RefWorks

When conducting your research, it's important not to lose track of your sources of information! Refworks is a tool provided by the college that can help you keep track of your research sources and build correct citations when it's time to integrate them into your project.

With RefWorks, you can import references from Holy Cross databases to create your own personal list of references and bibliographies for your papers. This will help you with formatting as well as with keeping track of all of the different sources you've drawn on for your research. 


A few RefWorks caveats and tips: 

  • ALWAYS proofread your citations. RefWorks only knows what the database feeds it -- if there is anything wrong with the information in the database or other source you used, RefWorks will repeat that incorrect information. 
     
  • Be aware of RefWorks' strengths and weaknesses. RefWorks works well for traditional, published sources of information. It is less accurate at recording the correct citation details and formats for things like websites and social media. 
     
  • Actively curate your RefWorks library. As an initial step, you can absolutely do a quick export and walk away. But long-term, it's to your benefit to make use of folders and other organizational tools and to edit your references, to correct things like all-caps and misspellings and add relevant notes. Taking the time to do this at the front-end means that the process of converting those disparate references into a bibliography will go much more smoothly. 
     
  • RefWorks will often import the author's official abstract or summary along with the citation. Be wary of this if you are using the annotated bibliographies feature, to make sure that the final bibliography includes your writing, not theirs. 

Need more help with RefWorks? You can always set up an appointment for a one-on-one "tutorial." 

You should also check out the helpful Research Guides below: 

Citing New Media Formats In MLA

Below are some example citations of different types of media sources, such as streaming videos, podcast episodes, and more. Refer to these examples if you ever need to cite these mediums.

Citing Youtube Videos

Format: Creator Last name, First name. "Title of Video in Title Casing." Youtube, uploaded by Channel Name, date of Upload day month year, link.

Example: Green, Hank. "The Secret to my Productivity." Youtube, uploaded by Vlogbrothers, 27 October 2017, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1LAhHDEtTD0

In Text Citation for direct quote: (Green, 00:08 - 00:57) Include time stamp

In Text Citation: (Green)

Citing Podcast Episodes

Podcast episode Streamed from the Web: Author Last name, First name, Host/Narrator. "Title of Episode." Title of Podcast, season #, episode #, Publisher(s) of Podcast (if given), episode release date (or date the site is copyrighted), URL. 

Example: Schwartz, Dana, Host. " The Thrift Shop Pope." Noble Blood, episode 151, IHeartPodcasts and Grim & Mild, October 24, 2023, https://www.grimandmild.com/nobleblood

Podcast Streamed from an App: Author Last name, First name, Host/Narrator. "Title of Episode." Title of Podcast, season #, episode #, Publisher of Podcast (if given), Name of app app, episode release date.

Example: Schwartz, Dana, Host. " The Thrift Shop Pope." Noble Blood, IHeartPodcasts and Grim & Mild, Spotify app, October 24, 2023.

NOTE: Spotify did not provide the episode number for this podcast episode, so I did not include it in my citation. Only cite the information that the medium you're citing gives you, even if you find more information somewhere else.  

In Text Citation for Direct quote: (Schwartz, 00:07- 00:37)

In Text Citation: (Schwartz)

Verbal Citations

If you are creating a podcast episode or video for your final project, you will need to provide standard MLA citations in your show/video notes. However, you will also need to clarify in your audio where you are getting information if you are quoting or directly referencing a source. This works much like an in- text citation in a paper:

"In an article published by the __________ titled "_____," Author _______ states that..."

Or

"In Episode __ titled "______,"  host ______ mentions the..."

Make sure your spoken citations include the author, title, and publisher of the work. If the date is relevant to the source, such as a news source or a source on a specific event, include the date of publication as well.

Optional Exercise: Listen to your Favorite podcast, and pay attention to whether or not the host uses this style of citation. In the Crime Junkie Podcast for example, host Ashley Flowers often uses this format to cite news articles she has read about the case, so that listeners know where she is getting her information. If you hear one of these audio citations, see if you can track down the article from the information they gave you - if the citation was complete, you should be able to!