You spent a lot of money for the two text books that have an expanded explanation of how to use MLA citations in your papers, but here is a quick survival  sheet that  covers the MLA information.

• One author:

          Works Cited

     Pepin, Ronald E. Literature of Satire in the Twelfth Century. Lewiston: Edwin

           Mellen Press, 1988.

        In-text Citation

     According to Pepin, virtually anyone could find himself the object of
     satirical writing in the twelfth century (18).

•  Two  authors:

     Metheny, N.M., and W. D. Snively. Nurses' Handbook of Fluid Balance. Philadelphia:

           Lippincott, 1967.

     Jones, V.S., M.E. Eakle, and C.W. Foerster. A History of Newspapers. Cambridge,

           Eng.: Cambridge UP, 1987.

     Note that the first author's name is reversed as usual, and subsequent names are given
     first-name-first.

         In-text Citation

     The ph balance is critical in body-fluid crisis control (Metheny and
     Snively 15).
 

• More than three authors:

         Works Cited

     Shields, J., et al. The History of English Alley. Hartford: Merganser Press,

           1997.

         In-text Citation

     During the late 1990s, what was already known as English Alley also
     became known as a hotbed of byzantine intrigue (Shields et al. 170).
 

• An Anonymous Book or Corporate Author

          Works Cited

     Toilet Training and the Feral Child. Philadelphia: Franklin, 2000.

     National Boosters of Small Appliances. Hair-Dryer Safety and the Three-Pronged

           Plug. New York: Booster Press, 2000.

     Do not use "Anonymous" or "Anon" to alphabetize publications without a listed author. Use the
     title instead, ignoring the articles a, an, and the.
 

• Signed Magazine Article:

          Works Cited

     Wolkomir, Richard. "Charting the Terrain of Touch." Smithsonian. June 2000: 38-48.

        In-text Citation

            Same as for books

• Journal article

          Works Cited

     Christie, John S. "Fathers and Virgins: Garcia Marquez's Faulknerian Chronicle

         of a Death Foretold." Latin American Literary Review 13.3 (1993): 21-29.

         In-text Citation
            Same as for books
 
 

• Unsigned magazine article

          Works Cited

     "What's a Hoatzin?" Newsweek 27 Sept. 1993: 72-73.

         In-text Citation

     "Perhaps the most distinctive trait of the hoatzin is its odor. It smells
     like manure—cow manure, to be precise" ("What's a Hoatzin?" 72).

Signed newspaper article

          Works Cited

     Huffstutter, P.J. "Music Rights Get Tangled on the Web." The Hartford Courant

         31 May 2000, eastern ed.: A1+.

     Notice that the "+" indicates that the article is carried over onto subsequent pages (but not
     necessarily the next page). The exact page of a citation will be indicated parenthetically.

         In-text Citation

    Same as for books.
 

• Unsigned newspaper article

     "U.S. troops capture chief aide to warlord." The Hartford Courant 22 Sept.

         1993: A5.

         In-text Citation
        Same as for books

          Works Cited

     Professional Site
     Guide to Grammar and Writing. Capital Community-Technical College.

         2 Dec. 1997 <webster.commnet.edu/HP/pages/darling/grammar.htm>.

     Personal Site
     Jascot, John. Home page. 1 Dec. 1997 (this is the date you accessed this site)

          <webster.commnet.edu/HP/pages/staff/jascot/jascot.htm>.

     Book published online
     Du Bois, W.E.B. The Souls of Black Folk. Chicago, 1903. Project Bartleby.

          Ed. Steven van Leeuwen. Dec. 1995. Columbia U. 2 Dec. 1997.

          <www.cc.columbia.edu/acis/bartleby/dubois/>.

     Article in an online journal
     Fitter, Chris. "The Poetic Nocturne: From Ancient Motif to Renaissance Genre."

          Early Modern Literary Studies 3.1 (Sept. 1997): 60 pars. 2 Dec. 1997

          <www.humanities.ualberta.ca/emls/03-2/fittnoct.html>.

         In-text Citation

     In parenthetical citations, you will treat online resources the same as you would treat other kinds
     of resources, according to their type (book, journal article, etc.). The key, remember, is to
     provide the means necessary for your reader to discover and share in what you have found,
     whether those resources can be found on a library shelf or in cyberspace.