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ENGL 1102, 2130 or 2110 Literary Research
Gwinnett Tech Library - Your Partner in Education

Cite SMART

Cite as you go

Even if you're not sure whether you will use a source, it's much easier to note the citation information up front than to decide you need it later!

How Do I Cite Sources? (MLA Style)

How to copy & paste an MLA citation
  • Highlight the citation
  • Right-click to Copy the citation
  • Open a Word document
  • Right-click on the Word document and choose Paste Option: Merge Formatting to paste the citation into the document
How to create the hanging indent
  • Highlight the citation
  • Right-click on the citation
  • Click on Paragraph
  • Set all Indentation and Spacing to 0"
  • Set Special: Hanging
  • Set Line Spacing: Double
How to copy and paste in a Macbook
  1. Select the item you want to Copy.
  2. Hold down the Command key (⌘) and press ( C )
  3. Inside the location where you want to save the file, hold down the Command key (⌘) and press (V).
  4. Create a hanging indent by selecting the line you want indented and then holding down the Command key (⌘) and press ( T ).

 

MLA Works Cited Checklist

Think you are finished with your MLA Works Cited page?  Double check these formatting requirements!

Alphabetize

  • Place your citations in alphabetical order according to the first letter of the first word.

  • Skip words like The, A, An, etc.

  • In Microsoft Word 2013, highlight your list of citations and click the "A-Z" buttonA-Z button screenshot on the "Home" toolbar.

Think you are finished with your MLA Works Cited page?  Double check these formatting requirements!

  • Make sure each citation has a hanging indent.  The top line of each citation should be further to the left than the lines below.

  • In Microsoft Word 2013, highlight your list of citations and click CTRL + T.

Think you are finished with your MLA Works Cited page?  Double check these formatting requirements!

  • Your works cited page (and your whole paper) should be double spaced WITHOUT extra spaces between paragraphs and citations.

  • In Microsoft Word 2013, press CTRL+A to highlight your entire paper. 

    • Click the "Spacing" button on the "Home" toolbar.  Select "2.0" to double space the paper.

    • To remove extra spaces after paragraphs, make sure the entire paper is still highlighted.  Click the "Spacing" button again and select "Remove Space After Paragraph."

Think you are finished with your MLA Works Cited page?  Double check these formatting requirements!

 

  • Font style should be Times New Roman.

  • Font size should be 12-point font.

Manuals for More MLA Help

For in-depth help, these MLA manuals are kept on reserve at the library’s service desk and can be used in the library. Student ID is required.

Primary Source

Details for primary source

This term refers to an original work, as opposed to later commentaries, elaborations, or analyses of it. A primary historical source, for example, would be the documents from a particular period, such as contracts or annals, or those from a person, such as letters or diaries. A primary literary source would be a manuscript or printed first edition of a novel, play, poem, or other work.

Short Tutorial- How Do I Cite Sources

Video Tutorials - MLA Works Cited

1st Video Tutorial: Microsoft Word Desktop version (downloaded version of Microsoft Word on your computer)

 

2nd Video Tutorial: Microsoft Word online version (Office 365 available in your Dashboard account)

 

3rd Video Tutorial: Google Docs

Secondary Source

Details for secondary source

Any work of reference, literary criticism, or biography concerning an author is a secondary source. It is called this because these sorts of works are written on the basis of information from the author's works, called the primary source, and so are secondhand.