There are many formats designed to organize the citation process. At West Valley College the English Department has chosen as a standard the MLA format, developed by the Modern Language Association of America. Instructors in other disciplines also often specify this citation format as it is one of the easiest to understand. Other instructors may leave the choice of format to you-in that case, you can choose to use the MLA format described in this handout. MLA uses parenthetical citations within the text, near the information they refer to.
Punctuation follows the closing parenthesis.
Double space and use a normal, legible 10 or 12 point font. You may replace underline with italics, as long as it is still legible. The Adventures of Tom Sawyer . Puffin Books, 1979. Dana, Charles A., Mark Twain, and Olivia Langdon Clemens.