MLA is short for Modern Language Association.  

MLA Style is used to format papers and to cite sources within the Liberal Arts and Humanities.  There are many other citation styles such as APA (American Pyschological Association) for Pyschology and Sciences, and the Chicago Manual of Style for Anthropology and History. Please note that there are many other citation styles available.  Citations styles may vary with disciplines, with publishers, etc.  Please consult your instructor about which citation style you should use.  Be consistent with your citation style; use only one citation style throughout your paper. This guide provides citation examples in MLA Style.

When to Cite Sources
When you are writing your research paper, any information you quote, summarize or paraphrase must be cited and documented.  You must document all of your sources to avoid plagiarism.

General Format for Citing Sources
To properly document the sources used for your research, you need to include:

• In-text citations - use the parenthetical citation format throughout the body of your paper when you quote or paraphrase from researched information.
• Works Cited - include a list of sources used in your paper at the very end, as a separate page.

This guide is for the MLA Style 8th edition (released in 2016).  

From the Irvine Valley College Library MLA Citation Guide