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MLA Style (8th/9th Ed.)

Check with your instructor first!

It is highly recommended that you confirm with your instructor what is permitted for a specific assignment prior to using an AI tool.

  • Some instructors and/or the nature of some assignments will not permit the use of ChatGPT or other generative Artificial Intelligence (AI) tools.
  • Citations created by generative AI should be reviewed for accuracy. Many citations have errors or reference non-existent resources.
  • Note: MLA Style experts have provided guidance on citing AI in MLA style. See the MLA Style Centre for latest guidelines: https://style.mla.org/citing-generative-ai/

Citing ChatGPT, an AI generative tool (June2023)

The following guidelines were retrieved from the MLA Style Center on June 5th 2023. Because of the rapid developments in Artificial Intelligence (AI) and generative AI technologies such as ChatGPT, these guidelines may be updated periodically. Please refer to the MLA Style Centre for the most recent updates: https://style.mla.org/citing-generative-ai/

Notes: When using generative AI tools you should:

  • Cite a generative AI tool whenever you incorporate its output into your own work, including text, images, data, etc.
  • Acknowledge all functional uses of the tool (i.e. editing or translating) in a note, the body of the text or another suitable location
  • Carefully review secondary sources it cites as frequently there are errors in the citations and cited resources may not exist

MLA Style 9th edition is designed using a "containers" structure with flexibility to accommodate new resource types such as generative AI tools including ChatGPT. MLA encourages users to modify these recommendations if they have a rationale for doing so.

Recommended container content for AI Generative tools:

  • Author: MLA does not recommend treating AI tool as an author
  • Title of Source: Describe what was generated by the AI tool. This may include information about the prompt
  • Title of Container: Use this element ot name the AI tool, i.e. ChatGPT
  • Version: Name version of AI Tool. Tools may use different conventions. Chat GPT uses date of version release
  • Publisher: The name of the company that made the tool. For ChatGPT or DALL-E this is OpenAI
  • Date: Give the date the content was generated
  • Location: Give the general URL for the tool or if the tool generates a public access link to the content generated provide that specific link

Text generated by AI tool, e.g. ChatGPT

FORMAT For TEXT

“Description of content or prompt.” Name of tool, version,  Publisher, Date of content generation, URL of tool. 

EXAMPLES

Works-Cited-List-Entry

"Describe the symbolism of the green light in the book The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald" prompt. ChatGPT, 13 Feb. version, OpenAI, 8 Mar. 2023, chat.openai.com/chat.

In Text: ("Describe the symbolism")

In Text Paraphrase example (from MLA Style Center):

While the green light in The Great Gatsby might be said to chiefly symbolize four main things: optimism, the unattainability of the American dream, greed, and covetousness ("Describe the symbolism"), arguably the most important--the one that ties all four themes together is greed.

In Text Quotation example (from MLA Style Centre):

When asked to describe the symbolism of the green light in The Great Gatsby, ChatGPT provided a summary about optimism, the unattainability of the American dream, greed, and covetousness. However, when further prompted to cite the source on which that summary was based, it noted that it lacked “the ability to conduct research or cite sources independently” but that it could “provide a list of scholarly sources related to the symbolism of the green light in The Great Gatsby” ("Describe the symbolism”).

Note*

  • The title of the content/prompt can be shortened or generalized for convenience, i.e. "Symbolism of the green light in The Great Gatsby" prompt.

Creative visual works generated by AI tool, e.g. DALL-E

FORMAT for CREATIVE VISUAL WORKS (guidelines for Figures section 1.7 of the MLA Handbook)

“Description of content or prompt.” Name of tool, version,  Publisher, Date of content generation, URL of tool. 

EXAMPLES

Figure Caption

Fig. 1. “Pointillist painting of a sheep in a sunny field of blue flowers” prompt, DALL-E, version 2, OpenAI, 8 Mar. 2023, labs.openai.com/.

Works-Cited-List-Entry 

"Pointillist painting of a sheep in a sunny field of blue flowers” prompt, DALL-E, version 2, OpenAI, 8 Mar. 2023, labs.openai.com/.

In Text: ("Pointillist painting of a sheep")

Citing secondary sources used by AI

AI tools vary in their ability to create reliable citations and references to sources. It is recommended that users carefully vet AI generated content and where possible consult or seek out referenced sources. If this is not possible it is recommended that secondary sources be acknowledged.

If the AI tool leads you to the original reliable source this can be cited.

If you want to treat a source cited in a generative AI tool as an indirect source, and you know in fact it is the source for the information provided by the AI, follow the guidance in section 6.77 of the MLA Handbook.

The above information was taken from the MLA Style Center page, "How do I cite generative AI in MLA Style": https://style.mla.org/citing-generative-ai/