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MLA/APA Quick Citation Guide for AI : MLA Citing Generative AI

Citing Generative AI tools within classroom guidelines

Example

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.

Paraphrased in Your Prose

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.

Citing Generative AI Tools

The MLA Style recently posted How do I cite generative AI in MLA style? This link opens in a new window in Ask the MLA This link opens in a new windowPlease see the post for more comprehensive instructions.

MLA Generative AI Template Citation Components

Author

We do not recommend treating the AI tool as an author. This recommendation follows the policies developed by various publishers, including the MLA’s journal PMLA

Title of Source

Describe what was generated by the AI tool. This may involve including information about the prompt in the Title of Source element if you have not done so in the text. 

Title of Container

Use the Title of Container element to name the AI tool (e.g., ChatGPT).

Version

Name the version of the AI tool as specifically as possible. For example, the examples in this post were developed using ChatGPT 3.5, which assigns a specific date to the version, so the Version element shows this version date.

Publisher

Name the company that made the tool.

Date

Give the date the content was generated.

Location

Give the general URL for the tool.1

More Help

 Be sure to consult with your instructor and syllabus about the best way to cite sources in your class.