1. Avoiding Plagiarism
How to use MLA Style Guidelines to Cite Your Sources
Jill Robinson, Librarian
Learning Resource Center
ITT Technical Institute – Morrisville, NC
September 2008

2. Create a Works Cited list
Put this page on its own sheet of paper at the very end of your essay.
You should include all of the resources you used, regardless of whether or not you directly quoted them.
Arrange the list alphabetically by author’s last name, or the title if no author is listed.
Double space the list and indent any lines after the first line of the citation.
It is often best to create your works cited as you write your paper, instead of waiting until you are finished.
This is what a works cited page should look like as far as formatting, etc.

3. Citing Websites in your paper and on your Works Cited Page
Using Websites In Your Works Cited

4. Pause to give credit to the original author
In MLA Style, you should use parenthetical, or in-text citations, in the body of your paper or assignment.
After quoting, paraphrasing, or summarizing a source, include identifying source information in parentheses.
The purpose of in-text citations, should be to lead your reader to your works cited list.
Example:
The author believes that “we need a more creative capitalism: an attempt to stretch the reach of market forces so that more companies can benefit from doing work that makes more people better off ” (Gates 41).
This is a quotation from Bill Gates in Time Magazine.

5. Creating In-Text (parenthetical) Citations
After using any borrowed information, enter a single space, then the author’s last name (or the title if there is no author) and page number in parentheses.
EX: The author is Molly McCray, and the info was on page 45:
We all know that “teaching requires a ton of patience” (McCray 45).
EX: The author is Molly McCray and Joe Jones, and the info was on page 77:
We all know that “teaching requires a ton of patience” (McCray and Jones 77).
EX: Author name unknown, web page title used instead:
We all know that “teaching requires a ton of patience” (“Teaching Today” 1).