A question that often arises from students when they are required to write an essay is how to cite an essay with the Modern Language Association (MLA) format. The MLA is the format that all faculty and schools to use in order to determine what is printed in a student’s school report, term paper, essay, or even personal essay. There are actually four different formats in which to write an essay. Students need to know how to cite sources in these different formats. Once students understand how to cite an essay in each of the four different formats, they will be better prepared for the academic writing requirements that they will encounter as they continue their education.
The first format in which to cite an essay with the Modern Language Association (MLA) format is the author’s name, first name, last name, title. For example, if your essay is entitled “Sourcebook: Business English,” then you should write “Sourcebook: Business English. James, B.E. (Authors’ names should follow lower-case Roman numerals, e.g., “James”, “B.E.”). If you are citing a source in this style, it should be placed after the name of the author, such as James, and before the word “ibliography”.
The second format for how to cite an essay with the Modern Language Association (MLA) format is source citing the source in quotation marks. For example, I would write “ourced from,” not “according to” the author’s quote. For example, I would say “Sources are believed to suggest that…” If I am citing an article in my essay, I prefer to use the words “according to” rather than “according to…” Also, I prefer to use the capitalization given below for the article in quotation marks; i.e., I prefer “according to…” rather than “according to (insert name of author here). Where the article refers to a source, the use of parenthesis should also be used instead of the plain brackets, and also before the quote, enclosed within braces. The MLA rules regarding brackets do require that the author’s name, together with his or her address, appear in full in the first two clauses of a quote.
The third MLA format for how to cite an essay is the hyperlink-based format, which is similar to the MLA format. The MLA rules about hyperlinks state that the web page or website where a hyperlink is located may be cited via that hyperlink, provided that proper citations of the materials cited are indicated. In this case, I would write “ourced from” rather than “according to” the source in quotation marks, and I would include the name of the web page or website in the second line of quoting the information. It would be up to the reader to check the citations of the internet sources.
As previously stated, the MLA citation style requires the author’s name, address, and publication date to be explicitly indicated, unless otherwise specified. The MLA format for how to cite an essay has evolved over time. In the old days, it required the publisher’s name, publisher, and the city or town in which the work was published to be included in citations. However, newer editions of the MLA citations rule now require only that the full name, title, publication date, and the city or town in which the work was published be given.
A good reference service can help you get the best citations for your writing. Online services like AcademicCitationGenius allow you to search for websites that provide access to citations for research papers, dissertations, and more. Once you have found a good service, you can enter your essay or dissertation and look at the sources used by the service. If you’re not sure how to cite your sources, there are many examples on the AcademicCitationGenius home page. The site provides information about all sorts of reference formats, including APA, Chicago, Harvard, MLA, NY Times, and more. If you’re having difficulty determining how to cite your sources, try using an online service like AcademicCitationGenius to help you out.