Citing Sources

This is a quick tip.  Consult the MLA Handbook for complete information.

Parenthical citations in the body of your paper are generally formatted as the author's surname followed by the cited page number.

...in 1933, the original King Kong opened to crowds of anxious movie-goers (Smith 209).

...1933 saw "groundbreaking new film-making techniques" used in the classic motion picture King Kong. (Smith 320)

If you mention the author's name in the sentence, put just the page number in parentheses.

Smith declares that "movie-making would never be the same." (320)

According to Smith, the film opened to crowds of anxious movie-goers (209).

This is the MLA guidance as of March 17, 2023.  

• Start with the prompt as the source title.   
• ChatGPT or other generative AI should not be treated as the author according to MLA.  
• Instead, place it after the prompt and include the version number or name. 
• Then the name of the company that produced the tool as the publisher.
• Follow this with the date the item was produced.
• Finish with a link to the tool’s main website (currently there is no way to create a specific link to AI generated materials.

Works Cited list example

"Describe the symbolism of rabbits in the novella Of Mice and Men by John Steinbeck" prompt. ChatGPT, OpenAI, 22 July 2024. chat.openai.com/chat