3 Ways To Cite Short Stories In MLA - WikiHow

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Terms of Use wikiHow is where trusted research and expert knowledge come together. Learn why people trust wikiHow How to Cite Short Stories in MLA PDF download Download Article Explore this Article methods Sample Citations 1 Writing In-Text Citations 2 Creating a Citation for the Works Cited Page Other Sections Expert Q&A Related Articles Expert Interview References Article Summary Co-authored by Marissa Levis

Last Updated: April 29, 2024 References

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This article was co-authored by Marissa Levis. Marissa Levis is an English Teacher in the Morris County Vocational School District. She previously worked as an English director at a tutoring center that caters to students in elementary and middle school. She is an expert in creating a curriculum that helps students advance their skills in secondary-level English, focusing on MLA formatting, reading comprehension, writing skills, editing and proofreading, literary analysis, standardized test preparation, and journalism topics. Marissa received her Master of Arts in Teaching from Fairleigh Dickinson University. There are 7 references cited in this article, which can be found at the bottom of the page. This article has been viewed 94,654 times.

Short stories can be great resources for a literary essay or a paper for an English class. To cite a short story, you have to include an in-text citation, which will take the form of "(O'Connor 10)" and then create a citation in the Works Cited page, which will look like this: "O’Connor, Flannery. ‘A Good Man is Hard to Find.’ The Collected Stories of Flannery O’Connor. New York: FSG, 2000. 255-356. Print."

Steps

Sample Citations

In Text Citations for a Short Story in MLA Method 1 Method 1 of 2:

Writing In-Text Citations

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  1. Step 1 Put quotations around short quotes from the text. 1 Put quotations around short quotes from the text. If you are using content from the short story that is 3 lines or shorter, you can place it in text in quotes. This will let the reader know you are quoting directly from the short story.[1]
    • For example, you may write, “In the short story 'A Good Man is Hard to Find', the Misfit character notes, ‘I found out the crime don’t matter. You can do one thing or you can do another, kill a man or take a tire off his car, because sooner or later you’re going to forget what it was you done and just be punished for it.’”
  2. Step 2 Use block quotes for a quote longer than 4 lines. 2 Use block quotes for a quote longer than 4 lines. If you are taking lines word for word out of the story that are very long, indent them to the left in block quotes so they stand out on the page. When you use block quotes, you do not need to use quotation marks as well.[2] [3]
    • For example, you may write, “The aftermath of the shooting is described with brutality and plainness by O’Connor:

      ‘She was a talker, wasn't she?’ Bobby Lee said, sliding down the ditch with a yodel.’She would of been a good woman,’ The Misfit said, ‘if it had been somebody there to shoot her every minute of her life.’‘Some fun!’ Bobby Lee said.‘Shut up, Bobby Lee,’ The Misfit said. ‘It's no real pleasure in life.’

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  3. Step 3 Place the citation in parentheses at the end of the quote. 3 Place the citation in parentheses at the end of the quote. The in-text citation should always appear at the end of the quoted text in parentheses. Place periods or commas after the citation, not before it.[4]
    • For example, you may write, “In the short story 'A Good Man is Hard to Find,' the Misfit character notes, ‘I found out the crime don’t matter. You can do one thing or you can do another, kill a man or take a tire off his car, because sooner or later you’re going to forget what it was you done and just be punished for it’ (O’Connor 10).”
    • Or you may write, “The aftermath of the shooting is described with brutality and plainness by O’Connor:

      ‘She was a talker, wasn't she?’ Bobby Lee said, sliding down the ditch with a yodel.’She would of been a good woman,’ The Misfit said, ‘if it had been somebody there to shoot her every minute of her life.’‘Some fun!’ Bobby Lee said.‘Shut up, Bobby Lee,’ The Misfit said. ‘It's no real pleasure in life’(O'Connor 23)."

  4. Step 4 Include the author’s last name and the page number in the citation. 4 Include the author’s last name and the page number in the citation. Put a space, rather than a comma, between the author’s name and the page number. If there are multiple authors, separate their last names with a comma.[5]
    • For example, you may write a citation such as: “(O’Connor 23)” or “(Gaitskill 12).”
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Method 2 Method 2 of 2:

Creating a Citation for the Works Cited Page

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  1. Step 1 Begin the citation with the author’s last and first name. 1 Begin the citation with the author’s last and first name. Note the author of the short story in the citation, placing a comma between their last and first name. If there are multiple authors, use "and" to separate their names.[6]
    • For example, you may write, “O’Connor, Flannery” or “Erdrich, Louise, and Diaz, Junot.”
  2. Step 2 Include the title of the short story in quotation marks. 2 Include the title of the short story in quotation marks. For example, you may write, "O’Connor, Flannery. ‘A Good Man is Hard to Find'" or "Erdrich, Louise. ‘The Flower.’"
  3. Step 3 Note the title of the collection or anthology in italics. 3 Note the title of the collection or anthology in italics. If you found the short story online, you do not need to include the title of the collection or anthology.[7]
    • For example, you may write, “O’Connor, Flannery. ‘A Good Man is Hard to Find.’ The Collected Stories of Flannery O’Connor.” or “Erdrich, Louise. ‘The Flower.’ The Best American Short Stories 2016.”
  4. Step 4 Write the editor's name, if applicable. 4 Write the editor's name, if applicable. Put “Ed.” and then note the editor of the anthology, if listed. You do not need to include the editor's name if the short story is from a short story collection.[8]
    • For example, you may write, “Erdrich, Louise. ‘The Flower.’ The Best American Short Stories 2016, Ed. by Junot Diaz.”
  5. Step 5 Include the publisher's location, name, and the year the book was published. 5 Include the publisher's location, name, and the year the book was published. The publisher's location should be noted by city. If you cannot find publisher information for a short story you found online, you do not need to include it.[9]
    • For example, you may write, “O’Connor, Flannery. ‘A Good Man is Hard to Find.’ The Collected Stories of Flannery O’Connor. New York: FSG, 2000.” Or you may write, “Erdrich, Louise. ‘The Flower.’ The Best American Short Stories 2016, Ed. by Junot Diaz, New York: Harper Collins, 2016.”
  6. Step 6 Include the name of the website in italics if you found the short story online. 6 Include the name of the website in italics if you found the short story online. Put the name of the website in the citation so the reader knows where they can find the story online. You do not need to include a URL for the website.[10]
    • For example, you may write, “Gaitskill, Mary. ‘Something Better Than This.’ Fictionaut.'"
  7. Step 7 Cite the page numbers for the story if it is not web-based. 7 Cite the page numbers for the story if it is not web-based. Note the page names of the short story in the source text. If you are citing a short story from a website, you do not need to include page numbers.[11]
    • For example, you may write, “Erdrich, Louise. ‘The Flower.’ The Best American Short Stories 2016, Ed. by Junot Diaz, New York: Harper Collins, 2016. 324-414.”
  8. Step 8 Note the medium of the short story. 8 Note the medium of the short story. If the short story is from a printed book, use “Print” for the medium. If the short story is from a website, use “Web” for the medium and note the date you accessed the site.[12]
    • For example, you may write, “O’Connor, Flannery. ‘A Good Man is Hard to Find.’ The Collected Stories of Flannery O’Connor. New York: FSG, 2000. 255-356. Print.”
    • Or you may write, “Gaitskill, Mary. ‘Something Better Than This.’ Fictionaut. Web. 12 December 2017.”
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Expert Q&A

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  • Question How do I format a Shakespeare quote in MLA? Marissa Levis Marissa Levis English Teacher Marissa Levis is an English Teacher in the Morris County Vocational School District. She previously worked as an English director at a tutoring center that caters to students in elementary and middle school. She is an expert in creating a curriculum that helps students advance their skills in secondary-level English, focusing on MLA formatting, reading comprehension, writing skills, editing and proofreading, literary analysis, standardized test preparation, and journalism topics. Marissa received her Master of Arts in Teaching from Fairleigh Dickinson University. Marissa Levis Marissa Levis English Teacher Expert Answer Whether it's prose or verse, count the lines of text you're citing. If it's prose, you can treat it like a regular citation. However, if it's verse, use line breaks (slashes) when necessary. If your quote is more than three lines, format it as a block quote. Thanks! We're glad this was helpful. Thank you for your feedback. If wikiHow has helped you, please consider a small contribution to support us in helping more readers like you. We’re committed to providing the world with free how-to resources, and even $1 helps us in our mission. Support wikiHow Yes No Not Helpful 0 Helpful 0
  • Question How do I cite the same author? Tom De Backer Tom De Backer Top Answerer Every time you quote a work, you must include a citation. If you quote the same work more than once, you must include a citation of that same work every time you quote it. You use page numbers in your citation to immediately direct the reader to the page where the quote can be found. You can, however, also group the citations and link to the same single entry in your bibliography every time you quote that same work without using page numbers. Thanks! We're glad this was helpful. Thank you for your feedback. If wikiHow has helped you, please consider a small contribution to support us in helping more readers like you. We’re committed to providing the world with free how-to resources, and even $1 helps us in our mission. Support wikiHow Yes No Not Helpful 5 Helpful 3
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Expert Interview

Thanks for reading our article! If you’d like to learn more about citations, check out our in-depth interview with Marissa Levis.

References

  1. ↑ https://penandthepad.com/cite-short-story-mla-format-1134.html
  2. ↑ Marissa Levis. English Teacher. Expert Interview
  3. ↑ https://owl.purdue.edu/owl/general_writing/punctuation/quotation_marks/quotation_marks_with_fiction.html
  4. ↑ https://penandthepad.com/cite-short-story-mla-format-1134.html
  5. ↑ https://otis.libguides.com/mla_citations/books#s-lg-box-15872775
  6. ↑ https://otis.libguides.com/mla_citations/books#s-lg-box-15872775
  7. ↑ https://penandthepad.com/cite-short-story-anthology-8558144.html
  8. ↑ https://warren.libguides.com/c.php?g=1062317&p=7724336
  9. ↑ https://warren.libguides.com/c.php?g=1062317&p=7724336
More References (3)
  1. ↑ https://penandthepad.com/cite-short-story-mla-format-1134.html
  2. ↑ https://penandthepad.com/cite-short-story-mla-format-1134.html
  3. ↑ https://owl.purdue.edu/owl/research_and_citation/mla_style/mla_formatting_and_style_guide/mla_works_cited_page_books.html

About This Article

Marissa Levis Co-authored by: Marissa Levis English Teacher This article was co-authored by Marissa Levis. Marissa Levis is an English Teacher in the Morris County Vocational School District. She previously worked as an English director at a tutoring center that caters to students in elementary and middle school. She is an expert in creating a curriculum that helps students advance their skills in secondary-level English, focusing on MLA formatting, reading comprehension, writing skills, editing and proofreading, literary analysis, standardized test preparation, and journalism topics. Marissa received her Master of Arts in Teaching from Fairleigh Dickinson University. This article has been viewed 94,654 times. 3 votes - 47% Co-authors: 7 Updated: April 29, 2024 Views: 94,654 Categories: MLA Style Manual | Citation Article SummaryX

Citing a short story can be a great way to strengthen your paper. To do an in-text citation, include the author’s last name and the page number in parentheses after the quoted text. For example, if you’re citing from page 10 of O’Connor’s “A Good Man is Hard to Find,” you would follow your quote with (O’Connor 10). Always place the period in the sentence after your citation. On your works cited page, you need to provide a more detailed citation. It should begin with the author’s last and first names, with a comma separating them. Then, add the title of the story in quotation marks, the name of the anthology in italics, the place of publication, the publisher’s name, and the date of publication. A completed citation may look like, “O’Connor, Flannery. 'A Good Man is hard to Find.' The Collected Stories of Flannery O’Connor. New York: FSG, 2000.” To see some additional examples of MLA citations, keep reading! Did this summary help you?YesNo

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Yes No Advertisement Cookies make wikiHow better. By continuing to use our site, you agree to our cookie policy. Marissa Levis Co-authored by: Marissa Levis English Teacher 3 votes - 47% Click a star to vote 47% of people told us that this article helped them. Co-authors: 7 Updated: April 29, 2024 Views: 94,654

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