If I cite a work that has no page numbers and I give the author’s name at the beginning of my sentence, how does the reader know where the author’s idea ends, since there is no parenthetical citation?

As the MLA Handbook notes, when you borrow an idea from a source, “it is important to signal at the end . . . that you are… Read More

How do I indicate that a line has been omitted from a run-in poetry quotation?

Use three ellipsis points bracketed by forward slashes to indicate that one or more lines have been omitted from a run-in poetry quotation. Read More

How do I cite a volume originally published in a multivolume work and republished as part of a different multivolume work?

To cite a volume originally published in a multivolume work and republished as part of a different multivolume work, cite the work as it appears… Read More

Do I need to use quotation marks around numerical data that I quote from sources?

No. For an example, see our post on citing raw data. Read More

How do I cite a newspaper article that has been retyped and collected in the documents section of a website?

When you are citing something you found on a website, the website itself should be considered the container no matter the original form of publication. Read More

Do I need to indicate in my works-cited-list entry that I conducted an interview orally?

No, but if it’s important for your reader to know, you can write “Oral interview” as a description in the “Title of source” slot in the… Read More

How do I make clear that a paraphrase is on the same page as a quotation I’ve given in the previous sentence?

The MLA Handbook (3.5) provides techniques for making citations more concise when a source is used more than once in succession. But it notes that you should… Read More

If more than one source for a paraphrased idea is cited in a parenthetical citation, in what order do I list the sources?

If you paraphrase a single idea from more than one source and the sources are equally important, the order in which you list them is… Read More

How do I style the names of functional elements of a website when I refer to them in my prose?

In its online and print publications, when the MLA refers in prose to the label or functional element of a website or other electronic device… Read More

If I am citing a song whose lyrics are derived from a poem, do I need to credit the poem in my citation?

No, but you could indicate in a note that the song was originally a poem. … Read More