LTWR100: Introduction to Literature

MLA stands for the Modern Language Association. It is the citation style most commonly used by literature and language scholars, but is also often used in other humanities subjects.

There is a specific formatting style required by MLA, as well as two parts to how you must cite sources, which are:

• In-text citations in the body of your paper.
• Works Cited list at the end of your paper where you give more complete information for the source.

Note:

An in-text citation appears at the end of the sentence, within the period; include author & pages (when available).  See common examples below:

In-Text Citations When Summarizing and Paraphrasing:

• One researcher found that misinformation spreading through social media can be dangerous for democracy (Schiffrin 123-126).

• In her research, Schiffrin discovered that misinformation spreading through social media can be dangerous for a democracy (123-126).

In-Text Citations When Quoting:

• According to Schiffrin, “the implications of these developments for democracy are enormous” (123).

• One author states that “the implication of these developments for democracy are enormous” (Schiffrin 123).

In-Text Citations For Sources With No Author:

• According to “College Depression: What Parents Need to Know” college students face many new challenges, pressures, and anxieties that can cause them to feel overwhelmed (93).​​
• College students face many new challenges, pressures, and anxieties that can cause them to feel overwhelmed (“College Depression” 93).

In-Text Citations for Sources with 3+ Authors:

• List et al. after first author along with page number: (Perry et al. 193).

Helpful Links:

• MLA Citation Style Trifold (CSUSM)
• In-Text Citations (Purdue OWL)
• CiteSource MLA (Trinity College)
• In-Text Citations (MLA Style Center)
• MLA Style Center FAQs

Note:

In MLA style you must have a Works Cited page at the end of your research paper. All entries in the Works Cited page must correspond to the in-text citations in your main text.  Note: When citing an online work from a reliable and stable source, such as a scholarly article database or regularly published periodical, access dates are now optional according to MLA 9. See below for some common types of MLA citations:

Journals:

Journal Article (In Database)

Schiffrin, Anya. “Disinformation and Democracy: The Internet Transformed Protest but Did Not Improve Democracy.” Journal of International Affairs, vol. 71, no. 1, Fall/Winter 2017, pp. 117–125. EBSCOhost, doi:10.1080/07421222.2017.1334450.

Journal Article (On a Website)

Smith, John. "Social Media and Civic Engagement." Journal of Media Studies, vol. 15, no. 2, 2021, pp. 45–67.

Books:

Print Book

Kendi, Ibram X. How to Be an Antiracist. One World, 2019.

Essay/Chapter in Book (Print)

Choi, Eric. “Fixer Upper.” Science Fiction by Scientists: An Anthology of Short Stories, edited by Michael Brotherton, Springer, 2017, pp. 161–180.

Ebook (In Database)

Goldstein, Jack, and Isabella Reese. 101 Amazing Facts about Jane Austen. Andrews UK, 2014. EBSCOhost, search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=nlebk&AN=760372&site=ehost-live&scop

Digital Content:

Entire Website

California State San Marcos University Library. California State San Marcos, 2024, csusm.library.edu. Accessed 9 July 2024.

Page on a Website

Shah, Khushbu. “When Your Family Spreads Misinformation: In Times of Crisis, Family Group Chats Can Become Dangerous Platforms for the Spread of False Claims.” The Atlantic, 16 June 2020, theatlantic.com/family/archive/2020/06/when-family-members-spread-coronavirus-misinformation/613129/utm_source=share&utm_campaign=share. Accessed 9 July 2020.

YouTube Video

“New Video Shows How Face Coverings Help Fight COVID-19.” YouTube, uploaded by ABC13 Houston, 1 July 2020, youtu.be/zOub_oMD0cc.

Email

Kalish, Amanda. "Re: Help Downloading a Book." Received by Sarah Sheshunoff, 5 April 2019.

Twitter Posts

@DanRather. “Sad... Angry... Hopeful... All at the same time.” Twitter, 12 July 2020, 10:35 a.m., twitter.com/DanRather/status/1282368014541664256

Other:

Film or Television

“Remedial Chaos Theory.” Community, season 4, episode 4, NBC, 13 October 2011. Netflix, netflix.com/title/70155589

Class Lecture

Walsh, Joan. “Civil War Music.” Hist 205, 16 Oct. 1996, UCLA, Los Angeles, CA. Lecture.

Personal Interview

Opdahl, Judy. Personal interview. 19 Feb. 2019.

Helpful Links:

• MLA Citation Style Trifold (CSUSM)
• Works Cited Page (Purdue OWL)
• Purdue University's Online Writing Lab (OWL)
• MLA Style Center FAQs

Reminder:

Notes:

When citing something created with an AI tool (like ChatGPT), follow the MLA Style Center guidelines:

• Author: Do not list the AI as the author. If there’s no author, simply skip this element and begin the citation with the Title of Source.

• Title of Source: Describe what the AI produced (you can include the prompt if it’s not in your text).

• Title of Container: The name of the AI tool (e.g., ChatGPT).

• Version: List the model version (e.g., GPT-4o).

• Publisher: The company that made the tool (e.g., OpenAI).

• Date: The date you generated the content.

• Location: A stable link to the output. If no shareable link is available, use the tool’s main URL.

Paraphrasing Text Created by GenAI: 

Passage in AI Source:

 Democracy is considered fragile because it depends not just on laws and institutions but also on shared trust, civic participation, and respect for norms. When misinformation spreads or public trust breaks down, democratic systems can weaken quickly.

Paraphrased in Your Prose:

Democracies are vulnerable since they rely on citizens’ trust and participation, which makes them fragile when misinformation or distrust spreads (“Explanation of democracy’s fragility”).

Works-Cited-List Entry:

“Explain democracy’s fragility” prompt. ChatGPT, model GPT-4o, OpenAI, 29 Aug. 2025, chatgpt.com/share/example-link.

Quoting Text Created by GenAI:

Passage in AI Source:

In Little Women, the March sisters struggle with balancing personal ambition and family duty, showing how identity is shaped by both individual desires and social expectations.

Quoted in Your Prose:

Alcott’s Little Women illustrates how characters “struggle with balancing personal ambition and family duty, showing how identity is shaped by both individual desires and social expectations” (“Theme of identity”).

Works-Cited-List Entry:

“Theme of identity in Louisa May Alcott’s Little Women” prompt. ChatGPT, model GPT-4o, OpenAI, 29 Aug. 2025, chatgpt.com/share/example-link.

Note: While a detailed description of the prompt is shown here, a more general one (e.g., Theme of identity in Alcott’s Little Women prompt) could also be used, since you are describing something similar to a conversation, which could have various prompts along the way.

Citing Visual Works Created by GenAi:

If you are incorporating an AI-generated image in your work, you will likely need to create a caption for it following the guidelines in section 1.7 of the MLA Handbook. Use a description of the prompt, followed by the AI tool, model name or version, and date created:

Fig. 1. “Create an image of a teenager boy learning to drive while his mom and dog look proudly on” prompt, ChatGPT, model GPT-5.o, OpenAI, 3 Sept. 2025, chatgpt.com/c/68b879b5-1354-8330-a4fb-4f9b0c7a663d

You can use this same information if you choose to create a works-cited-list entry instead of including the full citation in the caption (see MLA Handbook, section 1.7 ).

Quoting Creative Textual Work Created by AI:

When you cite a poem (or similar text) created by a generative AI tool, the format depends on whether you give it a title.

For example, if you ask ChatGPT to write a poem about living in the present and titled the poem “Being present,” your entry might look like this:

“Being present” poem. ChatGPT, model GPT-5, OpenAI, 3 Sept. 2025, chatgpt.com/share/66f1c740-7500-8000-a38b-6d6045c811f5.

If you did not title the poem, use the first line as the title:

“Joy is clearest when we look ahead . . .” poem about focusing on life in the moment. ChatGPT, model GPT-5, OpenAI, 3 Sept. 2025, chatgpt.com/share/66f1ce9d-0b38-8000-a209-112496d3e0b1.

See MLA Handbook, sections 5.28–5.29, for more on using descriptions or text as titles.

Citing Secondary Sources Used by an AI Tool:

• Verify every source an AI lists. Track each one down and read it.

• Cite the original, not the AI. If the source checks out, use that source in your citation.

• Expect gaps and errors. AI may provide no citations, misattribute them, or even invent sources.

• If you haven’t read the sources yourself, say so. Don’t cite them as if you had. Either (a) read and cite the originals, or (b) cite the AI output as a secondary source and disclose that you relied on its summary.

The Sample MLA Paper provides general guidelines for how to prepare a paper in MLA format.  Scroll down for an example of what an actual Works Cited page looks like.

Helpful Links: