MLA Style: Writing & Citation

• Use AI as a tool to help you create a focus for your research, to create an outline, to organize information, to create keyword/search terms lists to use in database searches, and to proof for grammatical/spelling errors in your paper. Do not use AI as reliable source information to back up your ideas unless you vet that information through research.
• For transparency and academic integrity, if you choose to use AI for finding and using information in your paper, be sure that you acknowledge your use of it. Include a statement indicating that AI has been used; specify which tool(s) was used; describe how the information was generated (a description, an image, a text revision); include the prompt(s) used; and explain how the output from the prompt(s) was used in your paper/project.
• Remember that AI is not human, therefore not an author. You are citing the chat not the tool in your paper and in your Works Cited list.
• If you use an AI tool to help you brainstorm, summarize a piece of information for easier understanding, or for organization, you do not need to cite its use. 

Works Cited page: 

“Prompt in quotation marks”. the word ‘prompt’. AI tool used, version if known, name of company, date in day-month-year format, URL

Ex.: 

 “Why is citation important when writing a paper for class?” prompt. Microsoft Copilot, version if known, Microsoft, 22 October 2025, https://copilot.microsoft.com/shares/6QjcxyJvMxnk51TeLAcH8

In-text Citation:

Citation in prose: 

Direct quote from chat ("Why is Citation").

Example Acknowledgement statement:

I acknowledge the use of [insert AI system(s) and link] to [specific use of generative artificial intelligence]. The prompts used include [list of prompts]. The output from these prompts was used to [explain use].