When you use outside sources, including the novel you are writing about, you must properly document references to and quotations from these sources.

You are required to use the documentation style of the Modern Language Association (MLA).

The proper format for an in-text parenthetical reference is the author's last name and the page number. However, if you mention the author's name in the introduction to the citation, or if it is obvious from the context of your essay that you are referring to a particular author, cite only the page number.

If you are citing a reference to a novel that has more than one edition, cite the chapter after the page number. Separate the page number and the chapter with a semicolon.

Common Formats

Mention of author in the text:

According to Brian Aldiss, the publication of Dune by Frank Herbert roughly marks the point at which modern science fiction begins (20).

Compare the advice in the rejection letter that Briony receives for "Two Figures by a Fountain" (294; pt. 3) with the actual description of Cecilia's encounter with Robbie at the fountain (24ff; pt. 1, ch. 2).

No mention of author in the text:

Sufism "is concerned with . . . the organic evolution of mankind" (Shah 125).

Note that there is no punctuation between the author's name and the page number.

Provide a Works Cited page at the end of your paper.

Be sure to alphabetize entries by the authors' last names and to double space all entries.

Use hanging indentation (i.e., first line to the left margin, second and subsequent lines indented).

Book with one author:

Herbert, Frank. Dune. New York: Berkley, 1965.

Herbert, Brian, and Kevin J. Anderson. Dune: House Atreides.

New York: Bantam, 1999.

Jensen, Jeff: "Attack of the Clones." Entertainment Weekly.

17 May 2002: 26-35.

Casimir, Viviane. "Data and Dick's Deckard: Cyborg as

Problematic Signifier." Extrapolation. 38.4 (Winter 1997): 278-91.

Full text of article originally published elsewhere but retrieved from an online database:

• Start with the entire MLA reference based on the type of source the article originally appeared in (e.g., a newspaper, a weekly or monthly popular magazine, a monthly or quarterly scholarly journal).
• Add the title of the database; italicize the title.
• Add the date of the electronic publication or last update of the site.
• Include the number range of the pages or paragraphs if they are numbered.
• Provide the date on which you accessed the material.

Malmgren, Carl. "Meta-SF: the Examples of Dick, LeGuin,

and Russ." Extrapolation 43 (Spring 2002): 22 (15). InfoTrac OneFile. 5 July 2002.

Material retrieved directly from a Web Site:

• Start with the author of the material and the title (in quotation marks) of the article.
• Provide the title of the web site; the title can be found at the very top of your screen. If a site has no title, give it a description such as Home page. Italicize (or underline) this title.
• Add the date of electronic publication or last update.
• Provide the date on which you accessed the material.
• Provide the URL (i.e., the online address of the source) in angle brackets.

Taormina, Agatha. "What is Science Fiction?" SciFi Guide. 26 Oct.

2003. Northern Virginia Community College. 8 July 2005. <http://www.nvcc.edu/home/ataormina/scifi/define/>.

Additional information about proper formats for MLA documentation can be found at the following web sites:

• Documentation: Modern Language Association from the University of Wisconsin-Madison Writing Center
• A Guide for Writing Research Papers Based on Modern Language Association (MLA) Documentation from Capital Community College in Hartford, CT
• Using Modern Language Association (MLA) Format from the Purdue University Online Writing Lab