how to cite a personal essay mla

Create manual citation. The guidelines for citing an essay in MLA format are similar to those for citing a chapter in a book. Include the author of the essay, the title of the essay, the name of the collection if the essay belongs to one, the editor of the collection or other contributors, the publication information, and the page number (s).

In-text citations: Author-page style. MLA format follows the author-page method of in-text citation. This means that the author's last name and the page number (s) from which the quotation or paraphrase is taken must appear in the text, and a complete reference should appear on your Works Cited page. The author's name may appear either in the ...

The nine core elements of MLA citations. 1. Author. Begin each source entry with the name of the author (s) or creator (s). The name of the first author is always inverted (Last name, First name). When a source has two authors, the second author's name is shown in the normal order (First name Last name).

Step 1. For a personal interview, letter or email, list the entry in alphabetical order by the last name of the author. Begin the entry with the speaker's last name, a comma and the first name followed by a period. Explain the type of communication that took place with a phrase like "personal interview" followed by a period.

MLA (Modern Language Association) style is most commonly used to write papers and cite sources within the liberal arts and humanities. This resource, updated to reflect the MLA Handbook (9th ed.), offers examples for the general format of MLA research papers, in-text citations, endnotes/footnotes, and the Works Cited page.

Cite your MLA source. Start by applying these MLA format guidelines to your document: Use an easily readable font like 12 pt Times New Roman. Set 1 inch page margins. Use double line spacing. Include a ½" indent for new paragraphs. Include a four-line MLA heading on the first page. Center the paper's title.

Revised on March 5, 2024. An MLA in-text citation provides the author's last name and a page number in parentheses. If a source has two authors, name both. If a source has more than two authors, name only the first author, followed by " et al. ". If the part you're citing spans multiple pages, include the full page range.

For example, the Kirkey article you are reading includes a quotation by Smith that you would like to include in your essay. The basic rule is that in both your References list and in-text citation you will still cite Kirkey. Kirkey will appear in your Works Cited list - NOT Smith. You will add the words "qtd. in" to your in-text citation.

Access Date: The date you first look at a source.The access date is added to the end of citations for all websites except library databases. Citation: Details about one cited source. Citing: The process of acknowledging the sources of your information and ideas. In-Text Citation: A brief note at the point where information is used from a source to indicate where the information came from.

Scroll back up to the generator at the top of the page and select the type of source you're citing. Books, journal articles, and webpages are all examples of the types of sources our generator can cite automatically. Then either search for the source, or enter the details manually in the citation form. The generator will produce a formatted MLA ...

This guide is based on the MLA Handbook for Writers of Research Papers, 9th ed. and provides selected citation examples for common types of sources. For more detailed information, please consult the full manual: available in print and online. For personal communications such as emails, letters, and interviews, you only need a name, description ...

These citations within the essay are called in-text citations. You must cite all quoted, paraphrased, or summarized words, ideas, and facts from sources. Without in-text citations, you are in danger of plagiarism, even if you have listed your sources at the end of the essay. In-text citations point the reader to the sources' information in ...

Smith, Linda. Personal interview. 19 Oct. 2018. In-Text In the text of the essay, follow the same guidelines as for any other source. (Use the first element in the Works Cited entry in either an attributive tag or parenthetical, and include any additional information as required if you have multiple sources with the same first element.)

Sometimes you may find interviews with people in journals, magazines, newspapers, websites, etc. In those cases don't use the "Personal Communications" category. Instead, cite them according to where you found the information. For example, an interview in a magazine would be cited like a magazine article.

Cite your source automatically in MLA. Use the following format for all sources: Author. Title. Title of container (self contained if book), Other contributors (translators or editors), Version (edition), Number (vol. and/or no.), Publisher, Publication Date, Location (pages, paragraphs URL or DOI). 2 nd container's title, Other contributors ...

List the author of the letter in the "Author" slot and provide a description of the letter in the "Title of source" slot. Include the recipient's name in the description. Then list the date of the letter, if known. In the optional-element slot at the end of the entry, indicate that the letter is in a personal collection rather than an ...

Citing a personal interview in MLA. To cite an interview that you conducted yourself, start the Works Cited entry with the name of the interviewee. Then simply describe it with the word "Interview," followed by your own name (or "the author") and the date on which the interview took place. Works Cited entry. Gray, Alasdair.

To cite them in the main text of an essay, MLA requires you to either: Mention the name of the person who sent it or the interviewee in the text. Add the surname of the sender/interviewee in brackets. So, for instance, we could cite an email in the text in either fashion: In an email, Dr. Rochester claimed his research had been inconclusive.

Start the quotation on a new line, with the entire quote indented 1/2 inch from the left margin while maintaining double-spacing. Your parenthetical citation should come after the closing punctuation mark. When quoting verse, maintain original line breaks. (You should maintain double-spacing throughout your essay.)

List the interview by the name of the interviewee. Include the descriptor "Personal interview" and the date of the interview, as in the following example: Billiken, Billy. Personal interview. 1 Dec. 2014. In the body of your paper, the interviewee's last name should appear in a parenthetical citation where needed. For example: (Billiken).

Note: The MLA considers the term "e-book" to refer to publications formatted specifically for reading with an e-book reader device (e.g., a Kindle) or a corresponding web application.These e-books will not have URLs or DOIs. If you are citing book content from an ordinary webpage with a URL, use the "A Page on a Web Site" format above.

Cite a book automatically in MLA. The 8 th edition of the MLA handbook highlights principles over prescriptive practices. Essentially, a writer will need to take note of primary elements in every source, such as author, title, etc. and then assort them in a general format. Thus, by using this methodology, a writer will be able to cite any ...

The following rules apply when citing information from a note in an MLA in-text citation: To cite information from a single numbered note, write "n" after the page number, and then write the note number, e.g. (Smith 105n2) To cite information from multiple numbered notes, write "nn" and include a range, e.g. (Smith 77nn1-2)