Using Modern Language Association (MLA) Format from The MLA Handbook for Writers of Research (6th edition)

Please refer to the MLA Handbook for specific formatting for your Works Cited page.

Handling Quotations In Your Text

MLA format follows the author-page method of citation. This means that the author's last name and the page number(s) from which the quotation is taken must appear in the text, and complete reference should appear in your works-cited list. The author's name may appear either in the sentence itself or in parentheses following the quotation, but the page number(s) should always appear in the parentheses, not in the text of your sentence.

Short quotations (fewer than four typed lines of prose or three typed lines of verse) should be enclosed by double quotation marks. Punctuation goes after the parenthetical citation.

Quotations longer than four typed lines are placed in a free-standing block of typewritten lines, and quotation marks are omitted. Start the quotation on a new line, indented one inch from the left margin, and maintain double-spacing. Your parenthetical citations should come after the closing punctuation mark. When quoting verse, maintain original line breaks. You should maintain double-spacing throughout the body of your document.