Documenting the sources you use in your research papers is a key part of the research and writing process. Complete and accurate citations to the books, journal articles, historical sources, and other items you use will allow readers to verify your sources and explore them further if they'd like to learn more about the issues you've raised.

Here are the main links for MLA (Modern Language Association) Style:

• The MLA Style Center

In addition, the Purdue OWL (Online Writing Lab) offers helpful overviews of MLA and other citation styles. Here is the link to the overview of the MLA Style.

You may already have a software program or a system for keeping track of your sources, but, if not, you will want to think about what way of organizing your research will work best for you. The Yale Library has licenses to some citation management tools, and there are also free tools on the web for managing your citations. Two tools you may want to consider are:

• RefWorks 
  • This is a resource licensed by the Yale Library; you will need to use your Yale e-mail address to create an account.
• Zotero
  • This is a free web tool used by many researchers in the humanities and social sciences.

For more information and an overview of several of the resources that are available, consult our citation management guide.