MLA citations style consists of a works cited list and use of in-text citations. Use this guide as a reference point on how to cite correctly.
Paraphrasing:
A paraphrase is a way to represent an idea from a source in your own words. It is typically as long as the original quotation. Paraphrasing is used most often to explain jargon or difficult to understand information in terms the reader can easily understand.
MLA requires you to include the author's name and page number.
Author Incorporated into Text:
Robert Lenz states that Oregon salmon populations have dramatically declined in the past decade (27).
Author After Paraphrase:
Oregon salmon populations have dramatically declined in the past decade (Lenz 27).
Passage in source
High, high above the North Pole, on the first day of 1969, two professors of English Literature
approached each other at a combined velocity of 1200 miles per hour.
Quoted in your work (incorrect)
At the beginning of David Lodge’s novel Changing Places, “two professors of English Literature
approach each other at a combined velocity of 1200 miles per hour” (7).
Quoted in your work (correct)
As David Lodge’s novel Changing Places opens, “two professors of English Literature” are coming
toward each other “at a combined velocity of 1200 miles per hour” (7).
MLA Handbook, 9th Ed. pp.98-103, pp.278-279.