Jonah Patel
The MLA citation style is widely used for academic writing, and it is essential to correctly cite sources to maintain academic integrity and avoid plagiarism. When referencing legal documents such as the Constitution, there are specific guidelines to follow. The MLA style has particular rules for citing the United States Constitution, and understanding these rules is crucial for producing well-formatted and academically sound writing. This topic will explore the correct way to cite the Constitution in MLA style, including in-text citations and works cited entries, ensuring that your writing meets the required standards.
| Characteristics | Values |
|---|---|
| In-text citation | Use article/amendment and section numbers instead of page numbers. Use the abbreviations "art." (Article), "amend." (Amendment), and "sec." (Section). Convert Roman numerals to Arabic numerals. |
| Works Cited entry | Include information about where you accessed it. Only provide either the article or amendment number as appropriate. |
| Referencing the Constitution | Generally, you don't need to cite the whole Constitution, but instead, cite the specific pieces you are using. When mentioning the Constitution in your paper, you can generally just call it the Constitution without italicization or quotation marks. |
| Date | Include the date if relevant. |
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What You'll Learn
Citing specific pieces
The Modern Language Association (MLA) style is commonly used to write papers and cite sources in the liberal arts and humanities. The MLA handbook describes how to cite many different kinds of authors and content creators. However, there are times when you may encounter a source or author category that the handbook does not describe. In such cases, it is generally acceptable to apply the general principles of MLA citation to the new source type in a consistent and sensible manner.
When citing specific pieces in MLA style, in-text citations are included in the main body of a project when using a quote or paraphrasing a piece of information from another source. These in-text citations are placed directly next to the quote or paraphrased information. They contain a small piece of the information found in the regular MLA citation. The regular or complete citation is located at the end of a project on the works-cited list or what is sometimes called an MLA bibliography.
For print sources like books, magazines, scholarly journal articles, and newspapers, provide a signal word or phrase (usually the author’s last name) and a page number. If you provide the signal word/phrase in the sentence, you do not need to include it in the parenthetical citation. For example, "Human beings have been described by Kenneth Burke as 'symbol-using animals' (3)." These examples must correspond to an entry that begins with Burke, which will be the first thing that appears on the left-hand margin of an entry on the Works Cited page.
In the case of an online source, the MLA Handbook recommends including a date of access on which the material was accessed, since an online work may change or move at any time. It is also recommended to include URLs when citing online sources, but it is advised to check with the instructor or editor and include URLs at their discretion.
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MLA in-text citation
When citing the US Constitution in MLA style, you must cite the specific pieces you are using, instead of the whole document. You should generally just call it the Constitution without using italics or quotation marks.
In the in-text citation, use article/amendment and section numbers instead of page numbers. For example: ("Constitution of the United States," art. 1, sec. 4). Use the abbreviations "art." (Article), "amend." (Amendment), and "sec." (Section) as appropriate in your citations. Convert any Roman numerals used in the text to Arabic numerals (e.g., "XIV" becomes "14").
For state constitutions, use the abbreviated name of the state: "N.C. Const.," "Ariz. Const.," etc. When citing a provision that has been amended, add the date it was amended in parentheses. For example: "U.S. Const. amend. XVIII (repealed 1933)."
MLA style requires both reference list entries and in-text citations for specific pieces of constitutions. The formatting is generally the same for both reference list entries and in-text citations. In your reference list entry, include information about where you accessed the Constitution.
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Citing online versions
When citing online versions of the Constitution, you will need to follow specific guidelines to ensure your citation is accurate and complies with MLA format. Here are detailed instructions on how to create proper in-text citations and reference entries for various online sources.
Government Websites
When citing the Constitution from a government website, such as Congress.gov or the United States Government Publishing Office (GPO), your citation should include the following elements:
In-text citation:
> (Amendment II) or (U.S. Const. amend. XIV)
The in-text citation typically includes the You may want to see also To cite the Constitution of the United States in MLA style, you must include information on where you accessed it in the 'Works Cited' entry. In the in-text citation, use article/amendment and section numbers instead of page numbers. The Constitution has been published in book form in various editions. To cite one of these, write the title of the book in italics and list any editors, annotators, or other main contributors to the edition after the title. "The Constitution of the United States, 7th edition, edited by John Smith, University of XYZ Press, 2022." In this example, "The Constitution of the United States" is the title of the book in italics. "7th edition" indicates the specific edition of the book. "Edited by John Smith" lists the editor or main contributor to this edition. "University of XYZ Press" is the publisher, and "2022" is the year of publication. Note that the specific details may vary depending on the edition you are citing. Always refer to the latest MLA guidelines and consult other resources for more comprehensive information on MLA citations. You may want to see also When documenting legal works in MLA style, it is important to follow the guidelines provided by the MLA Handbook. Here are some detailed instructions and examples to help you properly cite legal works: Citing Court Cases When citing court cases, italicize the case name in the text of your paper. Here is an example: > United States, Supreme Court. *Brown v. Board of Education*. 17 May 1954. Legal Information Institute, Cornell U Law School, www.law.cornell.edu/supremecourt/text/347/483. In the above example, the case name "Brown v. Board of Education" is italicized, following the MLA style for court cases. The date of the decision is included, along with the name of the container, publisher, and URL if accessed online. Citing Laws, Acts, and Political Documents When citing laws, acts, and political documents, capitalize their names like titles and set them in roman font. For example: > United States, Congress. Public Law 104-191, Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act. govinfo.gov, 1996. U.S. Government Printing Office, https://www.govinfo.gov/app/details/PLAW-104publ191. In this example, the name of the law, "Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act," is capitalized and set in roman font. The format includes the name of the country, the government branch, the public law number, and the title of the law. Citing Congressional Documents When citing congressional documents, be sure to include the number of the Congress, the session when the hearing was held or resolution passed, and the report number. Here is an example: > United States, Congress, House. Anti-Phishing Act of 2005. Congress.gov, https://www.congress.gov/bill/109th-congress/house-bill/1099. 109th Congress, House Resolution 1099, Introduced 03 Mar. 2005. In this citation, the country, branch of government (Congress, House), and the title of the act are included. The URL is provided, followed by the specific Congress number, resolution number, and date of introduction. Citing the Constitution When citing the Constitution of the United States in MLA style, you can refer to it as "the Constitution" in your text without using italics or quotation marks. In your in-text citation, use article/amendment and section numbers instead of page numbers. For example: > ("Constitution of the United States," art. 1, sec. 4) In this citation, the abbreviation "art." for Article, "sec." for Section, and Arabic numerals (e.g., "4" instead of "IV") are used. General Guidelines When documenting legal works in MLA style, keep in mind the following general guidelines: You may want to see also In your text, you can simply refer to it as the Constitution. In your parenthetical citation, specify the version of the Constitution you are citing. In your Works Cited entry, include information about where you accessed the Constitution. If you are citing a specific article, amendment, or section, use "art." for Article, "amend." for Amendment, and "sec." for Section, followed by their corresponding numbers. No, you do not need to italicize or enclose the title of the Constitution in quotation marks. For state constitutions, use the abbreviated name of the state, followed by "Const." For example, "N.C. Const." or "Ariz. Const.".Citizenship and Voting: Exploring Constitutional Requirements
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