Basic MLA citation style

The basic MLA citation style consists of a brief in-text citation keyed to a reference in an alphabetical list of works included at the end of the paper. A complete citation thus has two parts: （1） an in-text citation in the body of the paper, and （2） a bibliographic reference in the list of works cited. The point is to improve readability by minimizing interruptions in the body of the paper.

　　（1） In-text citation

　　The novel opens evocatively, with a beginning that sounds almost like an ending: "So the beginning of this was a woman and she had come back from burying the dead" （Hurston 9）.

　　（2） Reference in the list of works cited

　　Hurston, Zora Neale. Their Eyes Were Watching God （Urbana: U of Illinois P, 1978）.

　　A pointer to the specific passage quoted, denoted usually by a page number, is included in the in-text citation, along with an identifier （generally the author's name） that points to a specific reference. The reference includes the full bibliographic information one would need to find the book in a library.

　　Let's look first at how in-text citations work, then at the list of works cited and its references, and then turn to detailed formats for citing and referencing different kinds of sources.