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If you need to cite a paraphrase and a quotation that occur in the same sentence, you may provide the page numbers at the end of the sentence:
Andrew Davis asserts that the strategies undertaken by the institution were well formulated but ultimately unsuccessful because the institution failed to persuade employees that the “preemptive” efforts were in their best interest (165; see 160-68).
You could also provide the page number for the quotation in parentheses and then insert an endnote about the paraphrase:
Andrew Davis asserts that the strategies undertaken by the institution were well formulated but ultimately unsuccessful because the institution failed to persuade employees that the “preemptive”
No, but you could indicate in a note that the song was originally a poem.
If a person you are interviewing wishes to remain anonymous, do not create a works-cited-list entry for the interview. Instead, indicate in an endnote that the source is a personal interview and provide any relevant details such as the method of communication (e.g., phone, e-mail, text message, in-person meeting) and the date on which the interview took place.
No. In a research paper, dissertation, or other unpublished manuscript, you should select a standard font size (e.g., 12 points) and let the word processing program you are using style note numbers automatically.
Although many professionally typeset books are designed with a variety of font sizes for different elements (text, headers, notes, and so on), such variation is unnecessary for manuscript preparation.
See our guidelines on formatting a research paper for more formatting information.
Yes, you should provide a works-cited-list entry if you refer the reader to a source for more information on a topic. Do not provide the full publication details in the endnote. Instead, key the endnote to the list of works cited, as you would in the body of your paper.
If you merely mention the source in passing, however, you may not need an entry. Read more about passing references.
Published 25 January 2018
In its publications, the MLA generally avoids using block quotations in notes. Exceptions would be made for quotations of more than one paragraph or for other extraordinarily long quotations. However, the MLA’s system of documentation discourages lengthy discussion in the notes and aims to keep the reader’s focus on the primary text.
Read our comprehensive guidelines on using notes in MLA style.
By Angela GibsonOur comprehensive guidelines on using notes in MLA style . . .
Cite a numbered footnote or endnote in a parenthetical citation thus:
Edward Wallis, the editor, notes that the poet used this technique for the first time in “New Poem” (77n5).
When citing multiple notes from a single page, this format is suggested:
The editors of the facsimile edition call the reader’s attention to three instances of this rhetorical device (56 [nn 1, 4, 5]).
It would be unusual to cite a note in the list of works cited, and writers are encouraged to build references into the main body of their work whenever possible.
Sometimes, a source needs to be cited in a piece of prose that doesn’t lend itself to the kind of documentation appropriate for research papers. In a short, informal, or nonacademic piece of writing—such as a letter to the editor or an informational brochure like the one shown in the examples below, from an art school’s one-page tip sheet for new graduates looking for ad agency jobs—the MLA’s guidelines for formatting a works-cited-list entry can easily be adapted to a parenthetical citation.
When bibliographic facts are stated in parentheses, follow the same pattern as in the works-cited list, with two exceptions: the name of the author is given in normal order (not reversed),
Yes. Two kinds of notes are suitable with the parenthetical citations used in MLA style: content notes and bibliographic notes. These may be styled either as footnotes or endnotes.
Content Notes
Content notes offer the reader comment, explanation, or information that the text can’t accommodate. In general, they should be used only when you need to justify or clarify what you have written or when further amplification of your point is especially helpful.
Example in Text
Jane Austen’s 1814 novel Mansfield Park begins and ends with the topic of marriage. In this regard it seems to fit into the genre of the courtship novel,
Published 29 February 2016
