How should Icelandic names be cited?

Many Icelandic names consist of a first name and a matronymic or patronymic, not a family name: Björk Guðmundsdóttir (that is, Björk, Guðmund’s daughter)  Gunnar Karlsson… Read More

Do I capitalize the names of dog breeds?

Do not routinely capitalize the names of dog breeds. Many breed names are composed of proper nouns that you capitalize and generic terms (like retriever… Read More

When you cite from the same source in more than one paragraph and no other source intervenes, do you need to repeat the author’s name each time you start a new paragraph?

As the MLA Handbook notes, “[W]hen an entire paragraph is based on material from a single source,” you might “define a source in the text at the… Read More

How do I cite a name like Queen Elizabeth I, John of Gaunt, and Catherine of Aragon?

Use the first name. Some categories of personal names lack a last name–for example, some rulers and members of the nobility and many premodern people, whose name… Read More

Do you have to provide the author’s name in a parenthetical citation for a work of common literature such as The Iliad?

Yes, unless you have already mentioned the author’s name in your prose. Just because a work is famous doesn’t mean you can omit the name of its… Read More

What should I include in parentheses if the author’s name is provided in a signal phrase and the source has no page numbers or other kind of part number?

As the MLA Handbook notes, “When a source has no page numbers or any other kind of part number, no number should be given in a parenthetical… Read More

How do I cite an author’s name known only by initials?

If a source is written by an author who is known only by initials, you have several options. Treat the Initials as a Unit One… Read More

How should Native American names be treated in works-cited-list entries?

If you are citing a work by a Native American author and the author’s name consists of a first name and a last name, invert… Read More

In works-cited-list entries for a work by more than one author, why is only the name of the first author inverted?

In a works-cited-list entry for a work by more than one author, the first name is inverted because the entry is alphabetized under the first… Read More

How do I cite an author who has transitioned?

When you write about an author who has published works under more than one name and gender identity, we recommend following the guidelines in the… Read More