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AI in Academic Research and Writing: MLA & AI

MLA Guidelines

The current guidance for citing AI using MLA is summarized here through paraphrasing and direct quotations of the original source from the MLA Style Center, How do I cite generative AI in MLA style?

General Guidelines

  • Cite. If you paraphrase, quote, or incorporate into your own work any content created by a generative AI tool, you should cite the tool both in prose and as a Works Cited list entry.
  • Acknowledge. Acknowledge how you’ve used the tool. You can include this in a note, within the text, or other suitable location.
  • Vet. If the tool generates content with citations, vet the sources.

Citation Formatting

MLA’s model of citations uses core elements, or citation building blocks that are meant to be flexible. While MLA provides guidance for citing generative AI tools using these core elements, they also encourage modification as needed.

Notes about citation elements:

  • MLA doesn’t treat the AI tool as an author and therefore doesn't use the Author element.
  • The “Title of source” element is a description of the content generated by the tool. You may use information about the prompt, but definitely do so if the prompt isn't  included in the text.

  • Use the following “Date” format: Day Month Abbreviated. Year

  • If the tool provides a unique URL of the chat transcript, use that.

In-Prose Citation

(“Title of source”)

Works-Cited-List Entry

Title of source. Title of Container, Version, Publisher, Date content was generated, Location URL

In-Text Examples

An example ChatGPT prompt and response. The prompt states, "Describe the symbolism of the green light in the book the great gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald."

Paraphrased in 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.

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/

A chatGPT chat and response. The prompt states, "In 200 words, describe the symbolism of the green light in the Great Gatsby."

A ChatGPT prompt and response that follows the prior image. The prompt states, "What scholarly sources were used to generate that description?"

Quoted in Prose

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” (“In 200 words”).

Works-Cited-List Entry

“In 200 words, describe the symbolism of the green light in The Great Gatsby” follow-up prompt to list sources. ChatGPT, 13 Feb. version, OpenAI, 9 Mar. 2023, chat.openai.com.

Note: While we’ve provided fairly detailed descriptions of the prompts above, a more general one (e.g., Symbolism of the green light in The Great Gatsby prompt) could be used, since you are describing something that mimics a conversation, which could have various prompts along the way.

Creative Works Examples

If you use an AI-generated graphic in your work, you can create a caption or a works-cited-list entry using MLA guideline 1.7: Tables and Illustrations.

Caption

A Pointillist painting of a sheep in a sunny field of blue flowers. Read forward for sample corresponding 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/.

Citing an AI-generated textual work, such as a poem, follows the general citation format, but the “title of the source” element will vary slightly depending on whether or not you personally assign it a title within the prompt.

You Include a Title in the Prompt

“Our Favorite Pete” haiku about OSU’s Pistol Pete. Bard, PaLM 2 version, Google AI, 26 Sept 2023, bard.google.com/chat

You Do Not Include a Title in the Prompt

“In Oklahoma's embrace, autumn arrives . . .” Shakespearean sonnet about fall season in Oklahoma. ChatGPT, Sept 25 version, OpenAI, 26 Sept. 2023, chat.openai.com/

For guidance on using descriptions and text from the work itself in the Title of Source element, see the MLA Handbook, 5.28 and 5.29.

Citing Secondary Sources Used by an AI Tool

If you wish to use any generative AI content that provides sources for its information, you should always vet the sources first. If you’re able to view the source and confirm that the information is correct and originated there, consider citing the original source instead of the generative AI, since the AI tool merely helped you find the source.

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