As you write, keep track of the sources you use and record of all the information that you will need to properly cite each source, including the title, author, publisher, and where and when it was published.
Cite your sources in parentheses within the text of your paper.
For more detailed formatting instructions, see chapter 4 of the MLA Handbook, or ask your instructor or librarian for help.
How to Cite a Direct Quote (92-105)
The accuracy of quotations in academic writing is very important, and they must reproduce the original sources exactly. When you incorporate a direct quotation into a sentence, you must cite the source. Fit quotations within your sentences, making sure the sentences are grammatically correct. All that is required is the author's last name and the page number where the reference was found. If the author's name has already been included in the sentence, it does not need to be included again in the citation.
e.g. Gibaldi indicates, “Quotations are effective in research papers when used selectively” (109).
Remember that “[q]uotations are effective in research papers when used selectively” (Gibaldi 109).
If the quotation will run to more than 4 lines in your paper, you must use a block format in which the quotation is indented 1 inch from the left margin, double spaced with no quotation marks.
How to Cite when you are Altering a Direct Quote
When you need to leave out part of a quotation to make it fit grammatically or because it contains irrelevant/unnecessary information, insert ellipses (. . .). They may be inserted into the middle or at the end of a sentence to indicate part of that quotation has been left out (97-101).
If you must add or slightly change words within a quotation for reasons of grammar or clarity, surround the change with square brackets (101).
How to Cite Summaries or Paraphrases
Even if you put information in your own words by summarizing or paraphrasing, you must cite the original author as well as the page or paragraph number(s). For example, a paraphrase of Gibaldi’s earlier quotation might be identified as follows:
Within the research paper, quotations will have more impact when used judiciously (Gibaldi 109).
For more tips on paraphrasing check out The OWL at Purdue.
How to Cite a Work with Multiple Volumes
When you are citing one volume out of a multi volume work, include the page number and separate the two by a colon and a space. You do not need to include the words volume or page (p 222).
Example: (Ryerson 2: 38).
How to Cite if the Author's Name is Unavailable (223-224)
Use the title of the article or book or Web source, including the appropriate capitalization and quotation marks/italics format, followed by the page number. If the title is long, you may use a shortened version instead.
e.g. (“Asthma Rates Increasing” 29).
How to Cite Two or More Works by the Same Author or Authors (225)
When citing one of two or more works by the same author(s), put a comma after the author’s last name and add the title of the work in italics and the relevant page number. If the title is long, you may use a shortened version instead.
e.g. (Frye, Double Vision 85).
How to Cite Information When You Have Not Seen the Original Source (226)
If a resource contains no page numbers, as can be the case with electronic sources, then you cannot include a page number in the parentheses. However, if the source indicates paragraph numbers, use the abbreviation “par.” or “pars.” and the relevant numbers in the parentheses.
One website describes these specific dragons (King). A solution was suggested in 1996 (Pangee, pars. 12-18).
How to Cite Poetry (95-96)
When citing 2-3 lines of poetry, you would insert a "/" (without the quotes) between the lines.
When citing more than three lines of poetry, you would start the quotation on a new line and indent each of the lines one inch from the left margin.
How to Cite Plays (96-97)
When referencing the lines of only one character, follow the guidelines for poetry and prose.
When quoting a conversation between two or more characters in a play, start the quote on a new line, indented one inch from the left margin.
Write the name of the first speaker in capital letters, followed by a period and the speaker's line(s). Do the same for the next speaker or speakers as necessary.
If the quote you are using for one of the speakers continues onto another line, it is indented an additional quarter inch.
DESDEMONA. Shall I deny you? No. Farewell, my lord. (3.3.83-85)
List entries with a hanging indent and ensure that the entire list is double-spaced (130-131).
Arrange entries alphabetically by the last name of the first author or by title if there is no author. When beginning with the title ignore initial articles (e.g. A, An, The) for alphabetization (131-133).
Cite the first author’s name with the last name first, but otherwise give the authors’ names as they appear in the source.
Capitalize each word in a title, except for articles such as A, An, or The, unless they are the first word in the title (86-87).
Italicize book titles, journal titles, and titles of other works published independently (88). Use quotation marks around the titles of works published as part of another work, e.g. journal article, short story, or essay in an anthology (89).
Omit any introductory article, e.g. first word The, in the title of an English-language journal (138).
For books, list the city of publication, publisher’s name, and year of publication as they appear on the title page or its reverse. If there is more than one city, list the first one only. Abbreviate publishers' names according to MLA guidelines (e.g. omit articles, business abbreviations such as Co., Inc., etc., and descriptive words such as Books, etc.) (148-152).
Typically when citing Web sources a URL is not included. Include a URL only if you have been instructed to do so by your teacher or if the document would be hard to locate otherwise. (182) When a “Works Cited” entry does include a URL that must be divided between two lines, break it only after a slash (182).
Citations must include an indication of the medium of the source (e.g. "Print" or "Web") (xvii).
MLA Handbook by 
MLA Style Manual and Guide to Scholarly PublishingSome instructors may have additional or specialized requirements for your citations.
For example, while the current MLA format does not require you to include the full URL in your citation, some instructors prefer that you do.
Always be aware of class requirements- check with your instructor if you're not sure!
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