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MLA Works Cited Page

What is a works cited page.

The works cited page is a list of all the sources cited within the body and notes of your paper. A works cited page should begin on its own page after the end of the paper content and should list all the entries in alphabetical order by the first item in each entry (usually the author’s name). It should be included in order to give full credit to the sources used and avoid plagiarism, as well as to allow the reader to easily locate each source if needed. Papers in MLA format should always have a works cited page.

It is not necessary to include sources that you consulted but did not directly reference in the works cited list – it should only include the sources you directly quoted or paraphrased. Each in-text citation should therefore have a corresponding entry in the works cited list.

Creating an MLA Works Cited Page:

Citing sources in mla.

• Bibliography vs. Works Cited — What’s the Difference?
• Formatting the Works Cited Page
• Heading & Title Format
• Organizing the References in the List
• Formatting Author Names
• Formatting Author Names in Other Languages
• Title Rules: Capitalization, Italics, and Quotation Marks

Let’s get started with an explanation of what exactly a works cited page is and why creating one is necessary!

Note: This guide is not affiliated with the Modern Language Association. It was developed by EasyBib.com’s in-house librarians to serve as a quick guide and snapshot of some of the guidelines found in the MLA Handbook, 9th ed.

When students and scholars create a research paper, they seek out information in books, websites, journal articles, and many other types of sources. The information from these sources, combined with the scholar’s own thinking and knowledge, aid in the formation of a final project.

However, simply placing information from books, websites, journal articles, newspaper articles, and other source types into a project without a reference is not acceptable. Without a reference or citation, it’ll look like the paper’s author came up with everything themselves!

That means it’s necessary to call out when information is included from outside sources and originated elsewhere.

An MLA works cited page shows all the sources that were consulted and included in a project. Each source has a corresponding in-text citation within the paper.

In-text & parenthetical citations

In the body of a research project, add a short reference next to a quote or paraphrased information that came from a source. This is called a citation in prose or a parenthetical citation.

In-text Citation Example:

Langdon’s expertise is revealed in Chapter 1, when he is introduced to a group of university students. “Our guest tonight needs no introduction. He is the author of numerous books: The Symbology of Secret Sects , The Art of the Illuminati , The Lost Language of Ideograms , and when I say he wrote the book on Religious Iconology, I mean that quite literally. Many of you use his textbooks in class” (Brown 8).

In the example above, the writer displays that the quote was taken from Brown’s book, on page 8.

Even though this information is helpful, the brief reference to Brown and page 8 isn’t enough information to truly understand the origin of the quote. Other relevant information, such as the full name of the author, the title of the book, the publisher, and the year the book was published is missing.

Where can the reader find that information? In the MLA works cited list!

Full references in the works cited list

The MLA works cited list is the final page of a research project. Here, the reader can take the time to truly understand the sources included in the body of the project. The reader can turn to the MLA works cited list, look for “Brown” and see the full reference, which looks like this:

Brown, Dan. The DaVinci Code . Knopf Doubleday, 2003.

Included in the above reference is the full name of the author (Dan Brown), the title of the source ( The DaVinci Code ), the publisher of the book (Knopf Doubleday), and the year the book was published (2003).

The information provided in the reference supplies the reader with enough information to seek out the original source themselves, if he or she would like.

Works Cited Example:

Bibliography vs. Works cited – What’s the difference?

Quite often, the two terms are used interchangeably. While similar, they have some unique differences.

The remainder of this guide focuses on the placement, organization, and styling guidelines for the MLA works cited list.

Another commonly used reference style is APA. If your teacher or professor requests your references be made in APA citation style, check out this page on APA format .

Here’s more information on how to develop an MLA in-text citation and APA in-text citation .

Formatting the MLA works cited page

The reference page is the final page of a research paper and starts on its very own page.

If your project isn’t an actual research paper, but a slideshow, video, or another type of project, follow the same guidelines as above. Place the works cited list on the final slide, page, or screen of the project.

Here are the recommended guidelines for margins, spacing, and page numbers taken from the MLA Style Center’s web page “Formatting a Research Paper.”

Margins in MLA:

• Place one inch margins around the entire document.
• The only exception is the “running head.” See the “Running Head” section below to learn more about the margins of this component.
• Most word processing programs automatically default to one inch margins. In the page setup settings, you can view and modify the size of the margins.

Spacing in MLA:

• Double space the entire page. The title, references, and other components should all have double spaces.

It is not necessary to create double spaces manually by pressing the “enter” or “return” key in between each and every line. Your word processing program can automatically adjust the line spacing for you. Look for a section in the settings area called “Line spacing” or “Paragraph spacing.” You should be able to click or check off “double spacing.”

Page numbers in MLA:

• The reference list is the final page(s) of a research paper.
• If the conclusion of a research project is on page 7, page 8 would be the first page of the reference list. If the list runs onto the next page after that, it would be page 9.

For more information regarding how to display the page numbers, see the section below titled, “Running Head.”

While an APA reference page  is very different from a Modern Language Association style works cited, note that  APA bibliography pages also use double spacing throughout and 1 inch margins.

Heading & title format in MLA

This next section focuses on how to properly label and format the page numbers and title.

Running head

The running head is found at the top of every page of the research project. It’s also included on the reference list.

The running head displays the name of the writer or author of the research project + page number .

There is one space between the author’s name and the page number. Here is an MLA works cited page example of a running head:

The above is an example of a running head that would be seen on page 8 of a research project. The writer’s last name is Kleinman.

General running head guidelines:

• It is placed in the top right corner of every page.
• It sits half of an inch from the top of the page and along the right side’s one inch margin.

Reminder : If the concluding sentence of the research project is on page 10, the reference list starts on page 11. Even though the reference page starts on its own page, the numbering throughout the entire project includes the reference page.

Title of the page

Below the running head is the title of the page, which should either be “Work Cited” or “Works Cited.”

• Only 1 reference = “Work Cited”
• Multiple references =”Works Cited”

Whether you’re making an MLA work cited page or an MLA works cited page, here are some general rules to follow:

• Align the title to the center of the document
• Add a one-inch margin below the top edge of the paper
• Do not bold, italicize, or underline the title
• The title should be the same size and style as the rest of the document (12-point font)
• Place a double space between the title and the first citation on the page

Here’s a sample MLA works cited running head and title:

If you’re reading through this page, but have yet to determine your research paper topic, look no further! We have thorough guides on historical individuals to rev up your brainstorming engine! Check out our guides on Abraham Lincoln , Muhammad Ali , and Marilyn Monroe .

Organizing the references in the MLA works cited list

Hanging indent formatting.

• The full citation entries run along the left side of the paper, along the one inch margin.
• Double space each line.
• Each MLA work cited entry has a hanging indent, meaning the first line of the full reference starts along the one inch margin and any additional lines after the first are indented in one and a half inches from the left margin.

Hanging indent example:

Organizing the Works Cited Entries

There are two options: alphabetical order and non alphabetical order.

Alphabetical order

The majority of references are organized in alphabetical order by the first item in the reference, which is usually an author’s last name. When a source doesn’t have an author, the title is placed first in the reference. Many films and movies, for instance, begin with the title, since no author is present.

Either way, whether the reference starts with the last name of the author, or a title, the entries are placed in alphabetical order.

Works cited MLA example, organized in alphabetical order.

Benjamin, Chloe. The Immortalists . Penguin, 2018.

Black Panther. Directed by Ryan Coogler, performance by Chadwick Boseman, Marvel Studios, 2018.

Egan, Jennifer. Manhattan Beach . Scribner, 2017.

Non-alphabetical order

The majority of reference lists are organized in alphabetical order. However, it is acceptable to only organize “annotated bibliographies” in alphabetical order, chronological order, or subject order.

Here’s more information about the organization and creation of an MLA annotated bibliography .

Formatting Author Names in MLA

If you need help structuring or formatting the author’s name (or multiple authors’ names) in your references, this section will help.

Let’s start with the proper structure for one author’s name (taken from Section 5.6 of the official Handbook ). If the source you’re attempting to cite was created by one individual author, structure the name as follows:

Last name, First name.

The last name of the author is placed at the start of the reference, followed by a comma, and the first name of the author. Conclude this information with a period.

One author with a middle name or middle initial

Work Cited Examples:

• Burroughs, William S.
• Yeats, W. B.
• Alcott, Louisa May.

Wondering how to organize two or more works by Louisa May Alcott in your paper? It may be tricky to determine how to alphabetically arrange the references, since each MLA work cited entry begins with Louisa May Alcott.

Citing multiple sources with the same author To create a proper MLA works cited list when there are multiple sources by the same author, place the references in alphabetical order by the title. Only include the author’s name in the first reference. In place of the author’s name in subsequent entries, place three dashes, followed by a period. (Follows rules from Section 5.126 of the Handbook .)

Below is a visual representation of a properly organized and structured MLA style works cited list. All three sources in this MLA works cited page example are by the author, Louisa May Alcott.

Alcott, Louisa May. “Eight Cousins.” Project Gutenberg , 2018, www.gutenberg.org/files/2726/2726-h/2726-h.htm.

– – -. Little Women. Bantam Classics, 1983.

– – -. Rose in Bloom . CreateSpace, 2018.

Citing a Source with Two Authors in MLA

According to section 5.7 of the official Handbook , the first listed author’s name on the source is the first author seen in the reference. The second listed author’s name on the source is the second author placed in the reference.

The first author’s name is placed in reverse order, followed by a comma and the word “and.” The second author’s name is listed in standard order, followed by a period.

Last name, First name of Author 1, and First name Last name of Author 2.

Work Cited Examples

Brust, Steven, and Emma Bull.

Jory, John, and Mac Barnett.

Citing multiple sources with the same co-authors When there are multiple sources on a reference list by the same co-authors, organize those specific references alphabetically by the titles. Only include the names of the coauthors in the first entry.

Jory, John, and Mac Barnett. The Terrible Two. Amulet, 2017.

– – -. The Terrible Two Get Worse. Amulet, 2017.

Here’s a complex scenario…

There may be times when you’re attempting to add additional sources by one of the co-authors, or the lead co-author along with a different individual.

Here is an example of how a works cited page in MLA would be organized. Included is a source solely written by one of the coauthors (John Jory) and a source by John Jory with a different coauthor, Avery Monsen.

Works Cited Example

Jory, John. The Bad Seed. HarperCollins, 2017.

– – -. Giraffe Problems. Random House, 2018.

Monsen, Avery, and Jory John. All My Friends Are Dead , Chronicle, 2010.

Summary of the above examples:

• Jory John’s work, The Bad Seed , is listed first in the reference list since the single author’s name is organized first in alphabetical order.
• The second entry includes the three hyphens and a period in place of John Jory’s name since it is redundant to write out and display the author’s name again in the list.
• Entries three and four are by the coauthors Jory John and Mac Barnett. The hyphens in the fourth source replace the authors’ names in the third for the same reason as above: it’s unnecessary to write out both co-authors’ names twice. The Terrible Two book is placed before The Terrible Two Get Worse as the titles are placed in alphabetical order.
• The fifth entry is by John Jory and Avery Monsen. Monsen’s name is displayed first on the source, which is why her name is listed first in the entry. Remember: authors are placed in the order they appear on the source.

Citing a Source with Three or More Authors in MLA

When there are three or more authors listed on a source, it is unnecessary to include all individuals’ names in the reference list.

Only include the first listed author’s last name, followed by a comma and their first name, followed by another comma and the abbreviation “et al.”

Work Cited Example

Robertson, Judy, et al.

Et al. is an abbreviation used in academic works. It translates to “and others” in Latin. Replace the second, third, and any additional authors’ names with “et al.” on your work cited page in MLA.

The above example represents a journal article written by Judy Robertson, Beth Cross, Hamish Mcleod, and Peter Wiemer-Hastings. Instead of including all four authors’ names in the entry, only the first listed author’s name is included.

Robertson, Judy, et al. “Children’s Interactions with Animated Agents in an Intelligent Tutoring System.” International Journal of Artificial Intelligence in Education , vol. 14, no. 3-4, 2004, pp. 335-357. IOS Press , content.iospress.com/articles/international-journal-of-artificial-intelligence-in-education/jai14-3-4-05.

If including an additional reference by Judy Robertson, but with different co-authors, include her name again in the reference list.

For example, take a look at this journal article by Judy Robertson, Judith Good, and Helen Pain. The MLA work cited entry would begin with Judy Robertson, et al. and not three hyphens since there are different co-authors than the first.

Robertson, Judy, et al. “BetterBlether: The Design and Evaluation of a Discussion Tool for Education.” International Journal of Artificial Intelligence in Education , 1998, pp. 9, 219-236, ijaied.org/pub/1026/file/1026_paper.pdf.

The entries are listed in alphabetical order by the title of the source since the first positions are the same.

Citing Authors with proper titles in MLA

There are times when an author is graced with a prestigious title such as a Duke, Sir, Saint, and others (see Section 2.83 of the Handbook for more examples).

When an author has a specific title, it should be omitted from the body of a project and also omitted from the reference list.

Sir Arthur Conan Doyle should be in the project as Arthur Conan Doyle.

On a work cited page in MLA, it would be displayed as:

Doyle, Arthur Conan.

Citing Authors with Suffixes in MLA

If an author has a suffix in his or her name, such as Junior (Jr.) or a roman numeral such as II, III, IV, or V, this information is included in the reference list.

The individual’s name is placed in reverse order, with the last name displayed in the first position. Immediately following the last name is a comma, followed by the first name and middle name. After the first and middle names, a comma is placed, and the suffix of the individual is placed at the end with a period. You should not include the comma preceding the suffix, however, if it is a numeral.

For example, Cal Ripken, Jr. would be structured as

• Ripken, Cal, Jr.

Frederick William III would be structured as:

William, Frederick III.

Citing Pen Names in MLA

If the author’s pen name is one that is well known, it is acceptable to use the pen name in place of the author’s real first and last name.

For example, Mark Twain , Dr. Seuss , George Orwell, and O. Henry are all acceptable to use in a works cited MLA section, as their pen names are well known.

If the author’s pen name is less familiar, you can include the author’s real name in brackets in the reference.

Coffey, Brian [Dean Koontz]. Blood Risk. Bobbs-Merrill, 1973.

Van Dyne, Edith [L. Frank Baum]. Aunt Jane’s Nieces At Work. 1st World Library, 2006.

Formatting Author’s Names in Other Languages

Many names in languages other than English include conventions and features that are different from names in English. This next section provides information to help you properly structure and organize the names of authors in other languages. It follows rules from section 2.73 in the official Handbook .

Citing French Names in MLA

French names often include the particles de, d’, or du. Some examples include Valery Giscard d’Estaing, Bertrand du Guesclin, and Charles Maurice de Talleyrand-Perigord.

When “de” is used in an individual’s name, it is separated from the last name. Charles Maurice de Talleyrand-Perigord would be structured in a work cited MLA list as:

Talleyrand-Perigord, Charles Maurice de.

If, however, the last name is only one syllable, “de” is considered part of the last name. The reference entry would begin with de and then the last name of the individual, followed by a comma and the first name. In this instance, “de” remains lowercased.

When “du” or “des” is used in an individual’s name, it is included as part of the last name. Capitalize the “d” in “du.” Bertrand du Guesclin would be structured in a work cited MLA list as:

Du Guesclin, Bertrand.

When d’ is placed before a last name, d’ is included as part of the last name, but only when the last name begins with a vowel. Valery Giscard d’Estaing would be structured as:

d’Estaing, Valery Giscard.

Citing Asian Names in MLA

Prior to determining how to structure an Asian author’s name, consider the source. Many Asian publishers display the author’s last name first on sources. If the source was published in Asia, do not reverse the author’s name in the reference list. Write it in the order shown on the source, without any commas. End the author’s name with a period.

If the source was published in English, it is quite possible that the author’s last name is displayed first as well. This is when the researcher must do a bit of detective work to determine the author’s first name and last name. Run the name through a search engine and identify the author’s first name and last name. If the last name is placed first on the source, keep it as is in the reference entry. Do not reverse the names and write it in standard form.

If, on the source, the author’s name is placed in standard order (first name followed by last name) reverse it in the reference list. Begin the reference with the last name of the individual, add a comma, and add the first name of the author. End the field with a period.

Citing Latin Names in MLA

Famous historical figures in Roman history have names that are widely known. Some examples include Julius Caesar, Augustus, Claudius, Constantine, and others. While these individuals are known by their Roman names, their full names are in Latin.

Begin the reference entry with the Roman name. Immediately following the Roman name, add the individual’s full name in brackets. End the information with a period.

Augustus [Gaius Julius Caesar Octavianus]. “The Deeds of the Divine Augustus.” The Internet Classics Archive , translated by Thomas Bushnell, 1998, classics.mit.edu/Augustus/deeds.html.

APA citation website references look much different! Make sure you check out our handy guides on EasyBib.com!

Citing German Names in MLA

Two commonly used particles in German names are “von” and “zu.” Examples include Alexander von Humboldt, Ferdinand von Zeppelin, Prince Chlodwig zu Hohenlohe-Schillingsfürst, and Maximilian zu Wied-Neuwied.

When a German individual’s name includes the particles “von” or “zu,” the particles are not included as part of the person’s last name. Ferdinand von Zeppelin would be organized in the work cited MLA list as:

Zeppelin, Ferdinand von.

If, on the source, von is displayed as a last name, it is acceptable to include it at the beginning of the individual’s last name. Examples include books by Dita Von Teese and Diane Von Furstenberg.

Von Furstenberg, Diane. Diane: A Signature Life . Simon & Schuster, 2009.

Citing Italian Names in MLA

If the particles d’, del, de, della, di, da, are used in an individual’s last name, and the individual is relatively current and from modern times, the particles are included as part of the last name and the reference entry begins with the capitalized particle.

Di Lampedusa, Giuseppe Tomasi.

When the individual’s name begins with one of the same particles above, but he or she is from historical or ancient times, the particle is not included as part of the individual’s last name.

Citing Spanish Names in MLA

There are two commonly used particles in Spanish names: “de” and “del.” If an individual’s name includes the particle, “de,” do not include it as part of his or her last name. When “del” is visible in an individual’s last name, the “d” in “del” is capitalized and placed at the beginning of the citation.

• Del Toro, Benicio.
• Leon, Juan Ponce de.
• Soto, Hernando de.
• Del Rio, Andres Manuel.

Title rules

Capitalization rules in mla.

According to section 2.90 of the Handbook , titles should be written in title case format. This means that the first letter in the first word, the first letter in the last word, and the first letters of all other important words are capitalized. Any coordinating conjunctions (and, for, but, or, so, nor, and yet), articles (a, an, the), and prepositions in the title are not capitalized.

Here are a few MLA works cited examples of how titles should appear in references:

• A Tree Grows in Brooklyn
• The Wizard of Oz
• Roll of Thunder, Hear My Cry
• Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban

If the source you’re attempting to cite is in a language other than English, it is recommended to use “sentence case” form. Sentence case only has the first letter in the first word capitalized and the first letter in any proper nouns capitalized. All other words are written in lowercase letters.

Don’t forget to use EasyBib.com’s MLA work cited generator to develop your works cited page in MLA.

Italics vs. Quotation marks in MLA

Whether the source is placed in italics or quotation marks depends on where the source was found. If the title stands alone (like a book or movie), place the title in italics. If the title was found in a container, such as a website, anthology, edited book, or another type of container, place the source in quotation marks and the container in italics.

Mather, Victor. “Japan Advances in World Cup 2018 Despite Losing to Poland.” New York Times , 28 June 2018, nyti.ms/2IzyUdm.

Salinger, J. D. The Catcher in the Rye . Little Brown, 1991.

Formatting titles beginning with numbers in MLA

Titles beginning with numbers are placed in the reference list in alphabetical order, as if the title was written out alphabetically.

Here’s an MLA works cited example: The movie 2 Fast 2 Furious , would be organized in alphabetical order as if it said “ Too Fast Too Furious .” The citation would still be begin with the number even though it is organized alphabetically.

Don’t forget to try EasyBib.com’s MLA works cited generator to help you develop your references and your MLA works cited page. Our MLA works cited generator is free and simple to use!

Developing MLA references on EasyBib.com

EasyBib.com has an MLA works cited generator, which helps you produce references . This means you don’t have to spend time determining how to structure and organize the components of a citation.

To create your complete page of works cited in MLA with our tools, head to the EasyBib homepage.

Did your teacher or professor request that your references be made in MLA format? Luckily for you, MLA is the default format on EasyBib.com. If you’re not sure which style to use, ask your teacher.

• Select your source. Examples: book, website, video, etc. There are several types to choose from!
• Input information. Sources like websites, books, etc., will let you do an automatic search for citation information on your source. Input details like your source’s title, author, ISBN, DOI, or keywords.
• Select your source. Look through the results list and choose the one that matches your source.
• Review details. See what was found during the search.
• Review and edit the citation form. Feel free to add any missing details, or update any fields.
• Complete citation. Congratulations on your new citation! Copy and paste it into your document, or keep adding citations to your list.

All references are automatically organized in proper order and can be exported to Microsoft Word Documents, Google Docs, Dropbox, or One Drive. There’s even an option to email the reference!

Even better? EasyBib Plus gives you access to tools that do more than simply creating full references. References in the text are created for you, too! Whether it’s a Modern Language Association reference, or an APA parenthetical citation , APA book citation , or APA journal reference, we’ll create both types for you.

Need a bit more help? Our plagiarism checker is a one-stop shop to help you with your writing, grammar, and reference needs. Copy and paste your paper into our proofreader and receive comprehensive feedback! Stress less and submit your paper with confidence!

Follow our EasyBib Twitter feed to discover more citing tips, fun grammar facts, and the latest product updates.

MLA Works Cited

“Formatting a Research Paper.” MLA Style Center , Modern Language Association of America, style.mla.org/formatting-papers/.

MLA Handbook . 9th ed., Modern Language Association of America, 2021

Published October 16, 2013. Updated June 20, 2021.

Written and edited by Michele Kirschenbaum and Elise Barbeau. Michele Kirschenbaum is a school library media specialist and the in-house librarian at EasyBib.com. Elise Barbeau is the Citation Specialist at Chegg. She has worked in digital marketing, libraries, and publishing.

MLA Formatting Guide

MLA Formatting

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• The title should be the same size and style as the rest of the document (12-point font)/li>

If the title stands alone, place the title in italics. If the title was found in a container, such as a website, anthology, edited book, or another type of container, place the source in quotation marks and the container in italics.

According to Section 1.2 of the Handbook, titles should be written in title case format. Any coordinating conjunctions (and, for, but, or, so, nor, and yet), articles (a, an, the), and prepositions in the title are not capitalized.

If an author has a suffix in his or her name, the last name is displayed in the first position followed by a comma, the first name, and the middle name. After the first and middle names, a comma is placed, and the suffix of the individual is placed at the end.

Cal Ripken Jr. would be structured as

Author with roman numeral suffix would be structured as

• William, Frederick, III.

An MLA works cited list contains complete details of all the sources that are cited in the text. It helps the reader locate the source in case they want to read it for further understanding. It is included at the end of the paper after the main text. Each entry provides all of the information about each source so that it can be easily located. For example, the works cited list entry for a journal article would include the following elements:

Title of the article

Journal title

Volume number

Issue number

Publication date

With the help of the mentioned elements, a reader can locate the source for future reference. In addition, the works cited list arranges entries in alphabetical order according to the surname of the first author or title (if there is no author) to help the reader locate the entry in the list quickly. A few works cited list entries are listed below as examples:

Brenner, Barbara. “Pink Ribbons and Lou Gehrig: Time to Bury Useless Symbols.” So Much to be Done: The Writings of Breast cancer Activist Barbara Brenner , edited by Barbara Sjoholm, UP of Minnesota, 2016, pp. 199–202.

Feldman, Alice E. “Dances with Diversity: American Indian Self‐Presentation Within the Re‐presentative Contexts of a Non‐Indian Museum.” Text and Performance Quarterly , vol. 14, no. 3, 1994, pp. 210–21.

Hymes, Dell H. Discovering Oral Performance and Measured Verse in American Indian Narrative . Johns Hopkins UP, 1977.

The main purpose of the works cited list is to provide the readers with the complete details of the sources cited in the text. It helps the reader locate the source in case they want to do further research or verify information. It also helps to ensure that full credit is given to the sources utilized in the paper. The works cited list is placed at the end of the paper after the main text. For example, the works cited list entry for a journal article would include the author’s name, the title of the article, the journal title, the volume and issue number of the journal, the date the article was published, the page numbers of the article, and the URL if the article was found online. With the help of the mentioned elements, a reader can locate the source for future reference.

The works cited list arranges entries in alphabetical order according to the surname of the first author or title (if there is no author) to help the reader locate the entry in the list quickly.

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In MLA style, two citations are used to cite a source: a short citation used in the text (called the in-text citation) and a full citation (called the works-cited-list entry) in the works-cited list, which appears at the end of a paper.

What is an MLA works cited?

Every source cited using an in-text citation also has a corresponding works-cited entry in the list. The works-cited entry provides additional information about the cited source, enough information so the reader can find the source if needed. This usually includes additional information like the publication date, who published the source, and the location of the source (e.g., URL, DOI number, etc.).

Basic formatting

The works-cited list appears at the end of the paper after any endnotes, if they are present.

Page margins

All margins (top, bottom, left, and right) should be set at 1 inch.

Running head

Write the running head in the top right of the page at 0.5 inch from the top. Use the running head “Surname Page #.”

The font should be clear enough to read. Use Times New Roman font sized at 12 points.

Formatting entries

Entries should be double-spaced. If any entry runs over more than a line, indent the subsequent lines 0.5 inch from the left margin.

Formatting the title

The title should be “Works Cited.” It should be aligned to the center of the page. Do not bold, italicize, or underline the title. If you cite only one source in the list, the title should be “Work Cited.”

Formatting works cited

Works-cited-list entries are arranged alphabetically. Entries should be double-spaced. If any entry runs over more than a line, indent the subsequent lines 0.5 inch from the left margin.

Examples of works-cited-list entries

Below are a few examples of different types of works-cited-list entries along with their templates. The examples given are for one author.

The title of the book is given in italics and title case.

Surname, First name Middle initial. Title of the Book . Publisher, Publication Date. Page range.

Fienup-Riordan, Ann. Boundaries and Passages: Rule and Ritual in Yup’ik Eskimo Oral Tradition . UP of Oklahoma, 1995.

Journal article                                      

The title of the article is in title case and given inside the quotation marks. The journal title is in italics. Include “vol.” before the volume number and “no.” before the issue number. Use “pp.’’ before the page range.

Surname, First name. “Title of the Article.” Journal Title , Volume, Issue, Publication Date, Page range.

MacDonald, Shauna M. “Performance as Critical Posthuman Pedagogy.” Text and Performance Quarterly , vol. 34, no. 2, 2014, pp. 164–81.

Webpage of a website

The webpage title is in plain text, while the website name is given in italics. Follow the format given in the template and example for writing the date, month, year, and URL.

Author or Organization Name. “Title of the Webpage.” Website Name . Publication Date, URL.

Carbert, Michelle. “Canada Will Not Move Embassy to Jerusalem, Federal Government Says.” The Globe and Mail . 7 Sept. 2017, www.theglobeandmail.com/news/politics/canada-will-not-move-embassy-to-jerusalem-federal-government-says/article37219576/ .

YouTube video

The video title is given in title case and inside quotation marks. This is followed by the word “YouTube.” Then the uploader’s name is given in the first name-surname format followed by the uploaded date. Finally, the URL is given.

“Title of the Video.” YouTube , uploaded by Uploader’s Name, Day Month Year, URL.

“Covid: Leaks, Lies and Incompetence.” YouTube , uploaded by Russel. Brand, 29 May 2021, www.youtube.com/watch?v=dArz2OPsGSU .

Works cited entries for different numbers of authors

The number of authors in the source decides how the author name(s) will be added to the works-cited list. Here, you will see many journal references with different numbers of authors.

List the author name in surname-first name order.

MacGill, Belinda. “Craft, Relational Aesthetics, and Ethics of Care.” Art/Research International: A Transdisciplinary Journal , vol. 4, no. 1, 2019, pp. 426–29.

Two authors

The first author’s name is styled in surname-first name order, whereas the second author’s name is styled in first name-surname order. The authors’ names are separated by “and.”

Author Surname, First name. Middle initial., and First name Surname. “Title of the Article.” Journal Title , Volume, Issue, Publication Date, Page range.

Gingrich-Philbrook, Craig, and Jake Simmons. “Reprogramming the Stage: A Heuristic for Posthuman Performance.” Text and Performance Quarterly , vol. 35, no. 4, 2015, pp.  323–44.

More than two authors

List only the first author’s name in the surname-first name order followed by a comma. Then, use “et al.”

Author Surname, First name, et al. “Title of the Article.” Journal Title , Volume, Issue, Publication Date, Page range.

Meints, Samanta M., et al. “Racial and Ethnic Differences in the Experience and Treatment of Noncancer Pain.” Pain Management , vol. 9, no. 3, 2019, pp. 317–34.

Arranging works-cited list

Follow the below guidelines for arranging the entries in the works-cited list.

Entries are arranged in alphabetical order according to the surname of the first author.

If there is no author, then the title is considered for alphabetical arrangement.

For entries beginning with a title, only the main words are considered for alphabetical arrangement (e.g., exclude “A,” “An,” and “The”).

Accented characters are considered normal characters (e.g., “á” should be considered as “a”). However, “ä” should be considered “ae”)

Space between words is ignored while arranging the entries alphabetically.

Works by different numbers of authors

Works by one author

If there are two or more works by the same author, add the author’s name only for the first entry. Use three em dashes followed by a period in subsequent entries.

Dumond, Don E. “The Artic Small Tool Tradition in Southern Alaska.” Alaskan Journal of Anthropology , vol. 3, no. 2, 2005, pp. 67–78.

———. “A Reexamination of Eskimo-Aleut Prehistory.” American Anthropologist , vol. 89, 1987, pp. 32–56.

Works by two authors

If there are two or more works by the same first author but different second authors, arrange the entry according to the surname of the second author.

Fienup-Riordan, Ann, and Melia Knecht. “Irr’inarqellriit /Amazing Things: Quinhagak Elders Reflect on Their Past.” Alaskan Journal of Anthropology , vol. 13, no. 2, 2015, pp. 36–39.

Fienup-Riordan, Ann, and Alice Rearden. Ellavut, Our Yup’ik World & Weather: Continuity and Change on the Bering Sea Coast. Washington UP, 2012.

If there are two or more works by the same two authors, add the names only for the first entry. Use three em dashes followed by a period in subsequent entries.

Works by a single author and the same author with a coauthor

If there are multiple works, a few by a single author and others by the same first author with other coauthors, arrange the single author works first using three em dashes in place of the author’s name. Then arrange entries with the same first author and other coauthors according to the surname of the second author. Do not use three em dashes here, as the author is not exactly the same. The below examples will help you arrange your works-cited list entries alphabetically.

Fienup-Riordan, Ann. Hunting Tradition in a Changing World: Yup’ik Lives in Alaska Today . Rutgers UP, 2000.

———. Yup’ik Elders at the Ethnologisches Museum Berlin: Fieldwork Turned on Its Head . Washington UP, 2005.

Fienup-Riordan, Ann, and Alice Rearden. Ellavut, Our Yup’ik World & Weather: Continuity and Change on the Bering Sea Coast . Washington UP, 2012.

———. Wise Words of the Yup’ik People: We Talk to You Because We Love You . Washington UP, 2018.

Fienup-Riordan, Ann, et al. Yup’ik words of wisdom=Yupiit qanruyutait . Washington UP, 2018.

Works by titles

Arrange entries by title only when

There is no author name

There are more works by the same single author

There are more works by the same first author and same coauthor

There are more works by the same first author followed by et al.

Example works cited

“Covid: Leaks, Lies and Incompetence.” YouTube , uploaded by Russell. Brand, 29 May 2021, www.youtube.com/watch?v=dArz2OPsGSU .

Resource Types

For additional information on MLA format, select from one of the resource types below. For help creating MLA citations, check out the BibMe MLA citation generator .

• How to cite a Book in MLA
• How to cite a Magazine in MLA
• How to cite a Newspaper in MLA
• How to cite a Website in MLA
• How to cite a Journal Article in MLA
• How to cite a Movie in MLA
• How to cite an Interview in MLA
• How to cite a Lecture in MLA
• How to cite a TV Show / Radio Broadcast in MLA
• How to cite an Encyclopedia in MLA
• How to cite a Photograph in MLA

MLA Format:

• In-Text Citation Basics
• Works Cited Page

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Creating an MLA Works cited page

General formatting information for your works cited section.

Beginning on a new page at the end of your paper, list alphabetically by author every work you have cited, using the basic forms illustrated below. Title the page Works Cited (not Bibliography), and list only those sources you actually cited in your paper. Continue the page numbering from the body of your paper and make sure that you still have 1–inch margins at the top, bottom, and sides of your page. Double-space the entire list. Indent entries as shown in the models below with what’s called a “hanging indent”: that means the first line of an entry begins at the left margin, and the second and subsequent lines should be indented half an inch from the left margin. Most word-processing programs will format hanging indents easily (look under the paragraph formatting options).

Introduction to the 8th Edition

In 2016, MLA substantially changed the way it approaches works cited entries. Each media type used to have its own citation guidelines. Writers would follow the specific instructions for how to cite a book, a translated poem in an anthology, a newspaper article located through a database, a YouTube clip embedded in an online journal, etc. However, as media options and publication formats continued to expand, MLA saw the need to revise this approach. Since a book chapter can appear on a blog or a blog post can appear in a book, how can writers account for these different formats?

MLA’s solution to this problem has been to create a more universal approach to works cited entries. No matter the medium, citations include the specifically ordered and punctuated elements outlined in the following table.

Elements of a Works Cited Entry

• Last name, First name
• Italicized If Independent ; “Put in Quotations Marks if Not.”
• Often Italicized,
• Name preceded by role title (for example: edited by, translated by, etc),
• i.e. 2nd ed., revised ed., director’s cut, etc.,
• vol. #, no. #,
• Name of Entity Responsible for Producing Source,
• i.e. 14 Feb. 2014; May-June 2016; 2017,
• i.e. pp. 53-79; Chazen Museum of Art; https://www.wiscience.wisc.edu/ (If possible, use a DOI (digital object identifier) instead of a url.)
• Optionally included when citing a web source.

If the source doesn’t include one of these elements, just skip over that one and move to the next. Include a single space after a comma or period.

The third category—”container”—refers to the larger entity that contains the source. This might be a journal, a website, a television series, etc. Sometimes a source can also appear nested in more than one container. A poem, for example, might appear in an edited collection that has been uploaded to a database. A television episode fits in a larger series which may be contained by Netflix. When a source is in a larger container, provide information about the smaller one (i.e. the edited collection or the TV series), then provide information for elements 3–10 for the larger container. For example, the works cited entry detailed below is for a chapter from an economics textbook, entitled Econometrics, that is contained on UW–Madison’s Social Science Computing Cooperative website.

Example of a Works Cited Entry

Hansen, Bruce E. “The Algebra of Least Squares.” Econometrics, University of Wisconsin Department of Economics, 2017, pp. 59-87. Social Science Computing Cooperative, UW–Madison, http://www.ssc.wisc.edu/~bhansen/econometrics/Econometrics.pdf.

Here is the breakdown of these elements:

• Hansen, Bruce E.
• “The Algebra of Least Squares.”
• Econometrics,
• Other Contributors,
• University of Wisconsin Department of Economics
• Title of source.
• Social Science Computing Cooperative,
• Other contributors,
• UW-Madison,
• Publication date,
• http://www.ssc.wisc.edu/~bhansen/econometrics/Econometrics.pdf.
• (This could be included, but this site is fairly stable, so the access date wasn’t deemed to be important.)

One of the benefits of this system is that it can be applied to any source. Whether you’re citing a book, a journal article, a tweet, or an online comic, this system will guide you through how to construct your citation.

A Few Notes

• Books are considered to be self-contained, so if you’re citing an entire book, items 2 and 3 get joined. After the author’s name, italicize the title, then include a period and move on items 4–9.
• No matter what your last item of information is for a given citation, end the citation with a period.
• Also, if it is appropriate to include an access date for an online source, put a period after the full url in addition to one after the access date information.
• It is particularly important to include access dates for online sources when citing a source that is subject to change (like a homepage). If the source you are working with is more stable (like a database), it’s not as critical to let your readers know when you accessed that material.

For more information about any of this, be sure to consult the 2016 MLA Handbook itself.

Works Cited page entry: Article

Article from a scholarly journal, with page numbers, read online from the journal’s website.

Shih, Shu-Mei. “Comparative Racialization: An Introduction.” PMLA , vol. 123, no. 5, 2008, pp. 1347-62. Modern Language Association , doi:10.1632/pmla.2008.123.5.1347.

Author last name, First name. “Article title.” Journal name , vol. number, issue number, year of publication, pp. numbers. Publisher , doi

PMLA provides DOI numbers, so this is used in this citation preceded by “doi:” instead of the url address. Also, given the enduring stability of PMLA’s page, no access date has been included, but it could be if the writer preferred.

Article from a scholarly journal, with multiple authors, without page numbers, read online from the journal’s website

Bravo, Juan I., Gabriel L. Lozano, and Jo Handelsman. “Draft Genome Sequence of Flavobacterium johnsoniae CI04, an Isolate from the Soybean Rhizosphere.” Genome Announcements , vol. 5, no. 4, 2017, doi: 10.1128/genomeA.01535-16.

First author last name, First name, Middle initial., Second author first name Middle initial. Last name, and Third author First name Last name. “Article title.” Journal name , vol. number, issue number, year of publication, doi

Article from a scholarly journal, no page numbers, read through an online database

Mieszkowski, Jan. “Derrida, Hegel, and the Language of Finitude.” Postmodern Culture , vol. 15, no. 3, 2005. Project MUSE, https://muse.jhu.edu/article/186557.

Author Last name, First name. “Article title.” Journal name , vol. number, issue number, year of publication. Database , url. 

Article from a scholarly journal, with page numbers, read through an online database

Sherrard-Johnson, Cherene. “‘A Plea for Color’: Nella Larsen’s Iconography of the Mulatta.” American Literature , vol. 76, no. 4, 2004, pp. 833-69. Project MUSE , https://muse.jhu.edu/article/176820.

Author Last name, First name. “Article title.” Journal name , vol. number, issue number, year of publication, pp. numbers. Database , url. 

Valenza, Robin. “How Literature Becomes Knowledge: A Case Study.” ELH , vol. 76, no. 1, 2009, pp. 215-45. Project MUSE . https://muse.jhu.edu/article/260309.

Author Last name, First name. “Article title.” Journal name , vol. number, issue number, year of publication, pp. numbers. Database , url.

Article from a scholarly journal, by three or more authors, print version

Doggart, Julia, et al. “Minding the Gap: Realizing Our Ideal Community Writing Assistance Program.” The Community Literacy Journal , vol. 2, no. 1, 2007, pp. 71-80.

First author Last name, First name, et al. “Article title.” Journal name , vol. number, issue number, year of publication, pp. numbers. 

Raval, Amish N., et al. “Cellular Therapies for Heart Disease: Unveiling the Ethical and Public Policy Challenges.” Journal of Molecular and Cellular Cardiology , vol. 45, no. 4, 2008, pp. 593–601.

[The Latin abbreviation “et al.” stands for “and others,” and MLA says that you should use it when citing a source with three or more authors.]

Article from a webtext, published in a web-only scholarly journal

Butler, Janine. “Where Access Meets Multimodality: The Case of ASL Music Videos.” Kairos: A Journal of Rhetoric, Technology, and Pedagogy , vol. 21, no. 1, 2016, http://kairos.technorhetoric.net/21.1/topoi/butler/index.html. Accessed 7 June 2017.

Author Last name, First name. “Article title.” Journal name , vol. number, issue number, year of publication, url. Date of access.

Balthazor, Ron, and Elizabeth Davis. “Infrastructure and Pedagogy: An Ecological Portfolio.” Kairos: A Journal of Rhetoric, Technology, and Pedagogy , vol. 20, no. 1, 2015, http://kairos.technorhetoric.net/20.1/coverweb/balthazor-davis/index.html. Accessed 7 June 2017.

First author Last name, First name and Second author First name Last name. “Article title.” Journal name , vol. number, issue number, date of publication, url. Date of access.

Article from a magazine, print version

Oaklander, Mandy. “Bounce Back.” Time , vol. 185, no. 20, 1 June 2015, pp. 36-42.

Author Last name, First name. “Article title.” Magazine name , vol. number, issue number, month and year of publication, pp. numbers. 

Article from a magazine, read through an online database

Rowen, Ben. “A Resort for the Apocalypse.” The Atlantic , vol. 319, no. 2, Mar. 2017, pp. 30-31. EBSCOhost, search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&AuthType=ip,uid&db =aph&AN=120967144&site=ehost-live&scope=site.

Author Last name, First name. “Article title.” Magazine name , vol. number, issue number, month and year of publication, pp. numbers. Database name , url. 

Article from a newspaper, read through an online database

Walsh, Nora. “For Frank Lloyd Wright’s 150th, Tours, Exhibitions and Tattoos.” New York Times , 27 May 2017, international ed. ProQuest , https://search-proquest-com.ezproxy.library.wisc.edu/docview/1903523834/fulltext/71B144CD12054C76PQ/2?accountid=465.

Author Last name, First name. “Article title.” Newspaper name , day month and year of publication, edition. Database name , url. 

Works Cited page entry: Short Story

Short story in an edited anthology.

Hawthorne, Nathaniel. “The Minister’s Black Veil.” Nathaniel Hawthorne’s Tales , edited by James McIntosh, Norton, 1987, pp. 97–107.

Author Last name, First name. “Short story title.” Anthology title , edited by Editor name, Publisher, year of publication, pp. numbers. 

Works Cited page entry: Book

Book, written by one author, print version.

Bordwell, David. Figures Traced in Light: On Cinematic Staging . U California P, 2005.

Britland, Karen. Drama at the Courts of Queen Maria Henrietta . Cambridge UP, 2006.

Card, Claudia. The Atrocity Paradigm : A Theory of Evil . Oxford UP, 2005.

Cronon, William. Nature’s Metropolis . Norton, 1991.

Mallon, Florencia E. Courage Tastes of Blood: The Mapuche Community of Nicholás Ailío and the Chilean State , 1906–2001. Duke UP, 2005.

Author Last name, First name. Book title . Publisher, year of publication. 

Book, written by more than one author, print version

Bartlett, Lesley, and Frances Vavrus. Rethinking Case Study Research: A Comparative Approach . Taylor & Francis, 2016.

First author Last name, First name, and Second author First name Last name. Book title . Publisher, year of publication. 

Flanigan, William H., et al. Political Behavior of the American Electorate . CQ Press, 2015.

First author last name, First name Middle initial., et al. Book title . Publisher, year of publication. 

Book, an edited anthology, print version

Olaniyan, Tejumola, and Ato Quayson, editors. African Literature: An Anthology of Criticism and Theory . Blackwell, 2007.

First editor Last name, First name, and Second editor first name Last name, editors. Anthology title . Publisher, year of publication. 

Book, edited, revised edition, print version

Douglass, Frederick. Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass, an American Slave, Written by Himself . Edited by William L. Andrews and William S. McFeely, revised ed., Norton, 1996.

Author Last name, First name. Book title . Edited by first editor First name Middle initial. Last name and Second editor First name Middle initial. Last name, edition., publisher, year of publication. 

A play in an edited collection, print version

Shakespeare, William. The Comedy of Errors: A New Variorum Edition of Shakespeare . Edited by Standish Henning, The Modern Language Association of America, 2011, pp. 1–254.

Author Last name, First name. Play title . Edited by editor First name Last name, publisher, year of publication, pp. numbers. 

[Page numbers are included in this entry to draw attention to the play itself since this edition includes an additional 400 pages of scholarly essays and historical information.]

Bordwell, David. Foreword. Awake in the Dark: Forty Years of Reviews, Essays, and Interviews , by Roger Ebert, U of Chicago P, 2006, pp. xiii–xviii.

Foreward author Last name, First name. Title of work in which foreward appears , by author of work, publisher, year of publication, pp. numbers. 

Chapter in an edited anthology, print version

Amodia, David, and Patricia G. Devine. “Changing Prejudice: The Effects of Persuasion on Implicit and Explicit Forms of Race Bias.” Persuasion: Psychological Insights and Perspectives , edited by T.C. Brock and C. Greens, 2nd ed., SAGE Publications, 2005, pp. 249–80.

Chapter first author Last name, First name, and Second author First name Middle initial. Last name. “Chapter title.” Anthology title , edited by first editor First initial. Middle initial. Last name and Second editor first initial. Last name, edition number, publisher, year of publication, pp. numbers.

Hawhee, Debra, and Christa Olson. “Pan–Historiography: The Challenges of Writing History across Time and Space.” Theorizing Histories of Rhetoric , edited by Michelle Ballif, Southern Illinois University Press, 2013, pp. 90–105.

Chapter first author Last name, First name, and Second author First name Last name. “Chapter title.” Anthology title, edited by editor First name Last name, publisher, date of publication, page #s. 

Shimabukuro, Mira Chieko. “Relocating Authority: Coauthor(iz)ing a Japanese American Ethos of Resistance under Mass Incarceration.” Representations: Doing Asian American Rhetoric , edited by LuMing Mao and Morris Young, Utah State UP, 2008, pp. 127–52.

Author Last name, First name Middle name. “Chapter title.” Anthology title , edited by first editor First name Last name and second editor First name Last name, Publisher, year of publication, pp. numbers. 

Works Cited page entry: Electronic source

Since MLA’s 8th edition does not substantially differentiate between a source that is read in print as opposed to online, see our information about citing articles for examples about citing electronic sources from periodicals.

Non-periodical web publication, with no author and no date of publication

“New Media @ the Center.” The Writing Center at the University of Wisconsin-Madison . U of Wisconsin-Madison Writing Center, 2012, http://www.writing.wisc.edu/[email protected]. Accessed 8 March 2017.

“Title of publication.” Title of the containing website . Publisher of the site, year of publication. Url. Accessed date. 

The syntax for a non-periodical web publication is: author (if no author, start with the title); title of the section or page, in quotation marks; title of the containing Web site as a whole, italicized; version or edition used (if none is specified, omit); publisher or sponsor of the site (if none is mentioned, then just skip this); date of publication (if none is listed, just skip this); use a comma between the publisher or sponsor and the date; the source’s url address; date of access.

Non–periodical scholarly web publication, no date of publication

Stahmer, Carl, editor. “The Shelley Chronology.” Romantic Circles . University of Maryland, https://www.rc.umd.edu/reference/chronologies/shelcron. Accessed 26 March 2017.

Editor Last name, First name, editor. “Title of publication.” Title of the containing website . Publisher, Url. Accessed date. 

Non–periodical web publication, web publication, corporate author

Rhetoric Society of America. “Welcome to the website of the Rhetoric Society of America and Greetings from Gregory Clark, President of RSA!” RSA , Rhetoric Society of America, 2017, http://www.rhetoricsociety.org/aws/RSA/pt/sp/home_page. Accessed 27 March 2017.

Name of Corporate Author. “Title of publication.” Title of the containing website , Publisher of the website, year of publication, url. Accessed date 

The syntax for this entry is: corporate author; title, in quotation marks; title of the overall Web site, in italics; publisher or sponsor of the site; date of publication; the source’s url address; date of access.

Since the material on homepages is subject to change, it is particularly important to include an access date for this source.

E-mail message

Blank, Rebecca. “Re: A request and an invitation for Department Chairs and Unit Leaders.” Received by Brad Hughes, 30 August 2016.

Sender Last name, First name. “Email subject line.” Received by recipient First name Last name, day month and year email was sent and received. 

@UW-Madison. “Scientists at @UWCIMSS used a supercomputer to recreate the EF-5 El Reno tornado that swept through Oklahoma 6 years ago today. #okwx.” Twitter, 24 May 2017, 2:23 p.m., https://twitter.com/UWMadison/status/867461007 362359296.

@Twitter Handle. “Entire tweet word-for-word.” Twitter, day month year of tweet, time of tweet, url. 

When including tweets in the works cited page, alphabetize them according to what comes after the “@” symbol.

Include the full tweet in quotation marks as the title.

Works Cited page entry: Government publication, encyclopedia entry

Government publication.

National Endowment for the Humanities. What We Do . NEH, March 2017, https://www.neh.gov/files/whatwedo.pdf.

Name of Government entity. Title of publication . Publisher, date of publication, url. 

This is treated as a source written by a corporate author.

Signed encyclopedia entry

Neander, Karen. “Teleological Theories of Mental Content.” The Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy , edited by Edward N. Zalta, spring ed., 2012, https://plato.stanford.edu/archives/spr2012/entries/content-teleological/.

Author Last name, First name. “Entry title.” Title of encyclopedia , edited by editor First name Middle initial. Last name, ed., year of publication, url. 

Works Cited page entry: Personal interview, film, tv program, and others

An interview you conducted.

Brandt, Deborah. Personal Interview. 28 May 2008.

Interviewee Last name, First name. Personal Interview. Day month year of interview. 

A published interview, read through an online database

García, Cristina. Interview by Ylce Irizarry. Contemporary Literature , vol. 48, no. 2, 2007, pp. 174-94. EBSCOhost. http://web.b.ebscohost.com.ezproxy.library.wisc.edu/ehost/pdfviewer /pdfviewer?vid=5&sid=f95943f6-5364-49e7-8b83-7341edc4b434%40sessionmgr104. Accessed 26 March 2017.

Interviewee Last name, First name. Interview by interviewer First name Last name. Journal title , vol. number, issue number, year of publication, pp. numbers. Database name. Url. Accessed day month and year. 

Film or DVD

Sense and Sensibility . Directed by Ang Lee, performances by Emma Thompson, Alan Rickman, and Kate Winslet, Sony, 1999.

Title of film . Directed by director First name Last name, performances by first actor First name Last name, second actor First name Last name, and third actor First name Last name, Production company, year of release. 

You only need to include performers’ names if that information is relevant to your work. If your paper focuses on the director, begin this entry with the director, i.e., Lee, Ang, director. Sense and Sensibility . . . . If your primary interest is an actor, begin the entry with the actor’s name, i.e., Thompson, Emma, perf. Sense and Sensibility . . . .

Television broadcast

“Arctic Ghost Ship.” NOVA . PBS, WPT, Madison, 10 May 2017.

“Title of episode.” Television series name . Broadcasting network, Broadcasting station, City, day month year of broadcast. 

PBS is the network that broadcast this show; WPT is the Wisconsin PBS affiliate in Madison on which you watched this show.

Media accessed through streaming network

“Self Help.” The Walking Dead , season 5, episode 5, AMC, 9 Nov. 2014. Netflix , https://www.netflix.com/watch/80010531?trackId=14170286&tctx=1%2C4%2C04bba31e-60a0-4889-b36e-b708006e5d05-911831.

“Title of episode.” Title of television series , season number, episode number, Broadcasting channel, date month year of release. Name of streaming service used to access episode , url. 

Gleizes, Albert. The Schoolboy . 1924, gouache or glue tempera on canvas. U of Wisconsin Chazen Museum of Art, Madison, WI.

Artist Last name, First name. Title of piece. Year of composition, medium. Name of institution housing art piece, City, State initials. 

Address, lecture, reading, or conference presentation

Desmond, Matthew. “Evicted: Poverty and Profit in the American City.” 1 Nov. 2016, Memorial Union Theater, Madison, WI.

Lecturer Last name, First name. “Title of lecture.” Day month year lecture is given, Location of lecture, City, State initials. 

Modern Language Association Documentation

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MLA Table of Contents

Orientation to MLA

Creating an MLA works cited page

Using MLA in–text citations

Abbreviating references to your sources

MLA Citation Guide (9th edition) : Works Cited and Sample Papers

• Getting Started
• How do I Cite?
• In-Text Citations
• Works Cited and Sample Papers
• Additional Resources

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Quick Rules for an MLA Works Cited List

Your research paper ends with a list of all the sources cited in your paper. Here are some quick rules for this Works Cited list:

• Begin the works cited list on a new page after the text.
• Name it "Works Cited," and center the section label in bold at the top of the page.
• Order the reference list alphabetically by author's last name.
• Double-space the entire list (both within and between entries).
• Apply a hanging indent of 0.5 in. to each entry. This means that the first line of the reference is flush left and subsequent lines are indented 0.5 in. from the left margin.

Sample Paper with Works Cited List

The Modern Language Association (MLA) has compiled  several sample papers  that include explanations of the elements and formatting in MLA 9th edition. 

MLA Title Pages

MLA Title Page: Format and Template   This resource discusses the correct format for title pages in MLA style and includes examples.

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Works-Cited-List Entries

Citations by format.

Entries in the works-cited list are created using the MLA template of core elements —facts common to most sources, like author, title, and publication date. To use the template, evaluate the work you’re citing to see which elements apply to the source. Then, list each element relevant to your source in the order given on the template. 

The examples below show you how to cite five basic source types. Click on an entry to get more information, as well as links to posts with more examples. For hundreds of sample entries by format, check out the ninth edition of the MLA Handbook . 

Book by One Author

Mantel, Hilary. Wolf Hall . Picador, 2010.

Book by an Unknown Author

Beowulf . Translated by Alan Sullivan and Timothy Murphy, edited by Sarah Anderson, Pearson, 2004.

An Edited Book

Sánchez Prado, Ignacio M., editor. Mexican Literature in Theory . Bloomsbury, 2018.

Online Works

Article on a website.

Deresiewicz, William. “The Death of the Artist—and the Birth of the Creative Entrepreneur.” The Atlantic , 28 Dec. 2014, theatlantic.com/magazine/archive/2015/01/ the-death-of-the-artist-and-the-birth-of-thecreative-entrepreneur/383497/.

Book on a website

Poe, Edgar Allan. “The Masque of the Red Death.” The Complete Works of Edgar Allan Poe , edited by James A. Harrison, vol. 4, Thomas Y. Crowell, 1902, pp. 250-58. HathiTrust Digital Library , hdl.handle.net/2027/coo.31924079574368.

Journal Article in a Database

Goldman, Anne. “Questions of Transport: Reading Primo Levi Reading Dante.” The Georgia Review , vol. 64, no. 1, spring 2010, pp. 69-88. JSTOR , www.jstor.org/stable/41403188.

Songs, Recordings, and Performances

Song from an album.

Snail Mail. “Thinning.” Habit , Sister Polygon Records, 2016. Vinyl EP. 

Song on a website

Snail Mail. “Thinning.” Bandcamp , snailmailbaltimore.bandcamp.com.

Concert Attended in Person

Beyoncé. The “Formation” World Tour. 14 May 2016, Rose Bowl, Los Angeles.

Movies, Videos, and Television Shows

A movie viewed in person.

Opening Night. Directed by John Cassavetes, Faces Distribution, 1977. 

A Movie Viewed Online

Richardson, Tony, director. Sanctuary . Screenplay by James Poe, Twentieth Century Fox, 1961. YouTube , uploaded by LostCinemaChannel, 17 July 2014, www.youtube.com/watch?v=IMnzFM_Sq8s .

A Television Show Viewed on Physical Media

“Hush.” 1999. Buffy the Vampire Slayer: The Complete Fourth Seaso n, created by Joss Whedon, episode 10, Mutant Enemy / Twentieth Century Fox, 2003, disc 3. DVD.

A Photograph Viewed in Person

Cameron, Julia Margaret. Alfred, Lord Tennyson . 1866, Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York City.

A Painting Viewed Online

Bearden, Romare. The Train . 1975. MOMA , www.moma.org/collection/works/65232?locale=en.

An Untitled Image from a Print Magazine

Karasik, Paul. Cartoon. The New Yorker , 14 Apr. 2008, p. 49.

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The complete guide to mla & citations, what you’ll find in this guide.

This page provides an in-depth overview of MLA format. It includes information related to MLA citations, plagiarism, proper formatting for in-text and regular citations, and examples of citations for many different types of sources.

Looking for APA? Check out the Citation Machine’s guide on APA format . We also have resources for Chicago citation style as well.

How to be a responsible researcher or scholar

Putting together a research project involves searching for information, disseminating and analyzing information, collecting information, and repurposing information. Being a responsible researcher requires keeping track of the sources that were used to help develop your research project, sharing the information you borrowed in an ethical way, and giving credit to the authors of the sources you used. Doing all of these things prevents plagiarism.

What is Plagiarism?

Plagiarism is the act of using others’ information without giving credit or acknowledging them. There are many examples of plagiarism. Completely copying another individual’s work without providing credit to the original author is a very blatant example of plagiarism. Plagiarism also occurs when another individual’s idea or concept is passed off as your own. Changing or modifying quotes, text, or any work of another individual is also plagiarism. Believe it or not, you can even plagiarize yourself! Reusing a project or paper from another class or time and saying that it’s new is plagiarism. One way to prevent plagiarism is to add citations in your project where appropriate.

What is a Citation?

A citation shows the reader of your project where you found your information. Citations are included in the body of a project when you add a quote to your project. Citations are also included in the body when you’re paraphrasing another individual’s information. These citations in the body of a research paper are called in-text citations. They are found directly next to the information that was borrowed and are very brief to avoid causing distraction while reading a project. These brief citations include the last name of the author and a page number. Scroll down for an in-depth explanation and examples of MLA in-text citations.

In-text citations provide us with a brief idea as to where you found your information, though they usually don't include the title and other components. Look on the last page of a research project to find complete citations.

Complete citations are found on what MLA calls a works-cited list, which is sometimes called an MLA bibliography. All sources that were used to develop a research project are found on the works-cited list. Complete citations are also created for any quotes or paraphrased information used in the text. Complete citations include the author’s name, the title, publisher, year published, page numbers, URLs, and a few other pieces of information.

Looking to create your citations in just a few clicks? Need an MLA format website or book citation? Visit Citation Machine.net! Our Citation Machine MLA generator, which is an MLA citation website, will create all of your citations in just a few clicks. Click here to see more styles .

Why Does it Matter?

Citing your sources is an extremely important component of your research project. It shows that you’re a responsible researcher and that you located appropriate and reputable sources that support your thesis or claim. In addition, if your work ends up being posted online or in print, there is a chance that others will use your research project in their own work!

Scroll down to find directions on how to create citations.

How the Modern Language Association Helps You Become a Responsible Researcher

What is mla format.

The Modern Language Association is an organization that was created to develop guidelines on everything language and literature related. They have guidelines on proper grammar usage and research paper layouts. In addition, they have English and foreign language committees, numerous books and journal publications, and an annual conference. They are not connected with this guide, but the information here reflects the association’s rules for formatting papers and citations.

What are citations?

The Modern Language Association is responsible for creating standards and guidelines on how to properly cite sources to prevent plagiarism. Their style is most often used when writing papers and citing sources in the liberal arts and humanities fields. “Liberal arts” is a broad term used to describe a range of subjects including the humanities, formal sciences such as mathematics and statistics, natural sciences such as biology and astronomy, and social sciences such as geography, economics, history, and others. The humanities focuses specifically on subjects related to languages, art, philosophy, religion, music, theater, literature, and ethics.

Believe it or not, there are thousands of other types of citation styles. While this citation style is most often used for the liberal arts and humanities fields, many other subjects, professors, and schools prefer citations and papers to be styled in MLA format.

What’s the difference between a bibliography and a works-cited list?

Great question. The two terms cause a lot of confusion and are consistently misused not only by students but educators as well! Let’s start with what the two words mean.

A bibliography displays the sources the writer used to gain background knowledge on the topic and also research it in-depth. Before starting a research project, you might read up on the topic in websites, books, and other sources. You might even dive a bit deeper to find more information elsewhere. All of these sources you used to help you learn about the topic would go in an MLA format bibliography. You might even include other sources that relate to the topic.

A works-cited list displays all of the sources that were mentioned in the writing of the actual paper or project. If a quote was taken from a source and placed into a research paper, then the full citation goes on the works-cited list.

Both the works-cited list and bibliography go at the end of a paper. Most teachers do not expect students to hand in both a bibliography AND a works-cited list. Teachers generally expect to see a works-cited list, but sometimes erroneously call it a bibliography. If you’re not sure what your teacher expects, a page in MLA bibliography format, a works-cited list, or both, ask for guidance.

Why do we use this MLA style?

These specific guidelines and standards for creating citations were developed for numerous reasons. When scholars and researchers in literature, language, and numerous other fields all cite their sources in the same manner, it makes it easier for readers to look at a citation and understand the different components of a source. By looking at an MLA citation, we can see who the author is, the title of the source, when it was published, and other identifiable pieces of information.

Imagine how difficult it would be to understand the various components of a source if we didn’t all follow the same guidelines! Not only would it make it difficult to understand the source that was used, but it would also make it difficult for readers to locate it themselves. This streamlined process aides us in understanding a researcher’s sources.

How is the new version different than previous versions?

This citation style has changed dramatically over the past couple of years. The MLA Handbook is currently in its 9th edition.

The new version expands upon standards previously set in the 8th edition of the MLA Handbook, including the core elements. The structure of citations remains the same, but some formatting guidance and terminology have changed.

• DOI numbers are now formatted as https://doi.org/xx.xxxx/xxx.xxxx.xxxx
• Seasons in publishing daters are lowercased: spring 2020
• The term “optional elements” is now “supplemental elements”
• “Narrative in-text citations” are called “citations in prose”

In addition, new information was added on the following:

• Hundreds of works-cited-list entries
• MLA formatting for papers
• Punctuation, spelling, and other mechanics of prose
• Chapter on inclusive language
• Notes (bibliographic and content)

For more information on MLA 9, click here .

A Deeper Look at Citations

What do they look like.

There are two types of citations. The first is a full, or complete, citation. These are found at the end of research projects. These citations are usually listed in alphabetical order by the author’s last names and include all of the information necessary for readers to be able to locate the source themselves.

Full citations are generally placed in this MLA citation format:

%%Last name of the author, First name of the author. “Source’s Title.” Container’s Title, roles and names of any other individuals who helped contribute to the source, the version of the source, any numbers associated with the source, the name of the publisher, the date the source was published, the location where individuals can find the source themselves (usually a DOI, URL, or page range).

There are times when additional information is added into the full citation.

Not sure how to transfer the information from your source into your citation? Confused about the term, “containers”? See below for information and complete explanations of each citation component.

The second type of citation, called an “in-text citation,” is included in the main part, or body, of a project when a researcher uses a quote or paraphrases information from another source. See the next section to find out how to create in-text citations.

What are in-text citations?

As stated above, in-text citations are included in the main part of a project when using a quote or paraphrasing a piece of information from another source. We include these types of citations in the body of a project for readers to quickly gain an idea as to where we found the information.

These in-text citations are found directly next to the quote or paraphrased information. They contain a small tidbit of the information found in the regular MLA citation. The regular, or complete, citation is located at the end of a project, on the works-cited list.

Here’s what a typical in-text citation looks like:

In the book The Joy Luck Club, the mother uses a vast amount of Chinese wisdom to explain the world and people’s temperaments. She states, “Each person is made of five elements…. Too much fire and you have a bad temper...too little wood and you bent too quickly...too much water and you flowed in too many directions” (Tan 31).

This specific in text citation, (Tan 31), is called an MLA parenthetical citation because the author’s name is in parentheses. It’s included so the reader sees that we are quoting something from page 31 in Tan’s book. The complete, regular citation isn’t included in the main part of the project because it would be too distracting for the reader. We want the reader to focus on our work and research, not get caught up on our sources.

Here’s another way to cite in the text:

In Tan’s novel The Joy Luck Club, the mother uses a vast amount of Chinese wisdom to explain the world and people’s temperaments. She states, “Each person is made of five elements... Too much fire and you have a bad temper... too little wood and you bent too quickly... too much water and you flowed in too many directions" (31).

If the reader would like to see the source’s full information, and possibly locate the source themselves, they can refer to the last part of the project to find the regular citation.

The regular citation, at the end of the project looks like this:

%%Tan, Amy. The Joy Luck Club. Penguin, 1989, p. 31.

Notice that the first word in the full citation (Tan) matches the “Tan” used in the body of the project. It’s important to have the first word of the full citation match the term used in the text. Why? It allows readers to easily find the full citation on the works-cited list.

If your direct quote or paraphrase comes from a source that does not have page numbers, it is acceptable to place a line number (use line or lines), paragraph number (use the abbreviation par. or pars.), sections (sec. or secs.), or chapters (ch. or chs.). Only use these other terms if they are actually labeled on the source. If it specifically says on the source, “Section 1,” for example, then it is acceptable to use “sec. 1” in the in-text citation.

If there are no numbers to help readers locate the exact point in the source, only include the author’s last name.

To determine how to create in-text citations for more than one author, no authors, or corporate authors, refer to the “Authors” section below.

More about quotations and how to cite a quote:

• Use quotes from outside sources to help illustrate and expand on your own points. The majority of your paper should be your own writing and ideas.
• Include the quote exactly as you found it. It is okay to use only certain words or phrases from the quote, but keep the words (spelling and capitalization) and punctuation the same.
• It is acceptable to break up a direct quote with your own writing.

Example from a movie:

Dorothy stated, "Toto," then looked up and took in her surroundings, "I’ve a feeling we’re not in Kansas anymore" ( Wizard of Oz ).

• The entire paper should be double-spaced, including quotes.
• If the quote is longer than four lines, it is necessary to make a block quote. Block quotes show the reader that they are about to read a lengthy amount of text from another source.
• Start the quote on the next line, half an inch from the left margin.
• Do not use any indents at the beginning of the block quote.
• Only use quotation marks if there are quotation marks present in the source.
• If there is more than one paragraph in the block quote, indent the beginning of the paragraphs after the first one an additional half an inch from the left margin.
• Add your in-text citation after the final period of the block quote. Do not add an additional period after the parenthetical citation.

While his parents sat there in surprise, Colton went onto say:

“Cause I could see you,” Colon said matter-of-factly. “I went up and out of my body and I was looking down and I could see the doctor working on my body. And I saw you and Mommy. You were in a little room by yourself, praying; and Mommy was in a different room, and she was praying and talking on the phone.” (Burpo xxi)

How to create a paraphrase:

As stated above, the majority of your paper should be your own writing and ideas. It’s acceptable to include quotes, but they shouldn’t crowd your paper. If you’re finding that you’re using too many quotes in your paper, consider adding paraphrases. When you reiterate a piece of information from an outside source in your own words, you create a paraphrase.

Here’s an example:

Readers discover in the very first sentence of Peter Pan that he doesn’t grow up (Barrie 1).

What paraphrases are:

• Recycled information in the paper writer’s own words and writing style.
• They’re still references! Include an in-text citation next to the paraphrased information.

What paraphrases are not:

• A copy and pasted sentence with a few words substituted for synonyms.

Confused about whether footnotes and endnotes should be used?

Footnotes and endnotes are completely acceptable to use in this style. Use a footnote or endnote if:

• Adding additional information will help the reader understand the content. This is called a content note .
• You need to cite numerous sources in one small section of your writing. Instead of clogging up a small paragraph with in-text citations (which could cause confusion for the reader), include a footnote or endnote. This is called a bibliographic note .

Keep in mind that whether you choose to include in-text citations or footnotes/endnotes, you need to also include a full reference on the MLA format works-cited list.

Content note example:

Even Maurice Sendak’s work (the mastermind behind Where the Wild Things Are and numerous other popular children’s picture books) can be found on the banned books list. It seems as though nobody is granted immunity. 1

• In the Night Kitchen ’s main character is nude on numerous pages. Problematic for most is not the nudity of the behind, but the frontal nudity.

Work Cited:

%%Sendak, Maurice. In The Night Kitchen. Harper Collins, 1996.

Bibliographic note example:

Dahl had a difficult childhood. Both his father and sister passed away when he was a toddler. He was then sent away by his mother to boarding school (de Castella). 1

• Numerous books, such as Matilda, James and the Giant Peach, and The BFG, all feature characters with absent or difficult parents.

MLA Works Cited:

Include 4 full citations for: de Castella’s article, Matilda, James and the Giant Peach, and The BFG .

Don’t forget to create full, or regular citations, and place them at the end of your project.

If you need help with in-text and parenthetical citations, CitationMachine.net can help. Our MLA citation generator is simple and easy to use!

Common Knowledge: What Is It and How Will It Affect My Writing?

Footnotes, endnotes, references, proper structuring. We know it’s a lot. Thankfully, you don’t have to include a reference for EVERY piece of information you add to your paper. You can forget about including a reference when you share a piece of common knowledge.

Common knowledge is information that most people know. For example, these are a few facts that are considered common knowledge:

• The Statue of Liberty is located in New York City
• Tokyo is the capital of Japan
• Romeo and Juliet is a play written by William Shakespeare
• English is the language most people speak in England
• An elephant is an animal

We could go on and on. When you include common knowledge in your paper, omit a reference. One less thing to worry about, right?

Before you start adding tons of common knowledge occurrences to your paper to ease the burden of creating references, we need to stop you right there. Remember, the goal of a research paper is to develop new information or knowledge. You’re expected to seek out information from outside sources and analyze and distribute the information from those sources to form new ideas. Using only common knowledge facts in your writing involves absolutely zero research. It’s okay to include some common knowledge facts here and there, but do not make it the core of your paper.

If you’re unsure if the fact you’re including is common knowledge or not, it doesn’t hurt to include a reference. There is no such thing as being overly responsible when it comes to writing and citing.

Wikipedia - Yay or Nay?

If you’re wondering whether it’s okay to use Wikipedia in your project, the answer is, it depends.

If Wikipedia is your go-to source for quick information on a topic, you’re not alone. Chances are, it’s one of the first websites to appear on your results page. It’s used by tons of people, it’s easily accessible, and it contains millions of concise articles. So, you’re probably wondering, “What’s the problem?”

The issue with Wikipedia is that it’s a user-generated site, meaning information is constantly added and modified by registered users. Who these users are and their expertise is somewhat of a mystery. The truth is anyone can register on the site and make changes to articles.

Knowing this makes some cringe, especially educators and librarians, since the validity of the information is questionable. However, some people argue that because Wikipedia is a user-generated site, the community of registered users serve as “watchdogs,” ensuring that information is valid. In addition, references are included at the bottom of each article and serve as proof of credibility. Furthermore, Wikipedia lets readers know when there’s a problem with an article. Warnings such as “this article needs clarification,” or “this article needs references to prove its validity” are shared with the reader, thus promoting transparency.

If you choose to reference a Wikipedia article in your research project, and your teacher or professor says it’s okay, then you must reference it in your project. You would treat it just as you would with any other web source.

However, you may want to instead consider locating the original source of the information. This should be fairly easy to do thanks to the references at the bottom of each article.

Specific Components of a Citation

This section explains each individual component of the citation, with examples for each section for full citations and in-text citations.

Name of the author

The author’s name is usually the first item listed in the MLA citation. Author names start with the last name, then a comma is added, and then the author’s first name (and middle name if applicable) is at the end. A period closes this information.

Here are two examples of how an author’s name can be listed in a full citation:

Twain, Mark.

Poe, Edgar Allan.

For in-text:

(Author’s Last name page number) or Author’s Last name... (page).

Wondering how to format the author’s name when there are two authors working jointly on a source? When there are two authors that work together on a source, the author names are placed in the order in which they appear on the source. Place their names in this format:

Author 1’s Last Name, First name, and Author 2’s First Name Last Name.

Here are two examples of how to cite two authors:

Clifton, Mark, and Frank Riley.

Paxton, Roberta J., and Michael Jacob Fox.

(Author 1’s Last name and Author 2’s Last name page number) or Author 1’s Last name and Author 2’s Last name... (page).

There are many times when three or more authors work together on a source. This often happens with journal articles, edited books, and textbooks.

To cite a source with three or more authors, place the information in this format:

Author 1’s Last name, First name, et al.

As you can see, only include the first author’s name. The other authors are accounted for by using “et al.” In Latin, et al. is translated to “and others.” If using the Citation Machine citation generator, this abbreviation is automatically added for you.

Here’s an example of a citation for three or more authors:

%%Warner, Ralph, et al. How to Buy a House in California. Edited by Alayna Schroeder, 12th ed., Nolo, 2009.

(Author 1’s Last name et al. page number)

Is there no author listed on your source? If so, exclude the author’s information from the citation and begin the citation with the title of the source.

For in-text: Use the title of the source in parentheses. Place the title in italics if the source stands alone. Books and films stand alone. If it’s part of a larger whole, such as a chapter in an edited book or an article on a website, place the title in quotation marks without italics.

( Back to the Future )

(“Citing And Writing”)

Other in-text structures:

Authors with the same last name in your paper? MLA essay format requires the use of first initials in-text in this scenario.

Ex: (J. Silver 45)

Are you citing more than one source by the same author? For example, two books by Ernest Hemingway? Include the title in-text.

Example: (Hemingway, For Whom The Bell Tolls 12).

Are you citing a film or song? Include a timestamp in the format of hours:minutes:seconds. ( Back to the Future 00:23:86)

Was the source found on social media, such as a tweet, Reddit, or Instagram post? If this is the case, in an MLA format paper, you are allowed to start the citation with the author’s handle, username, or screen name.

Here is an example of how to cite a tweet:

%%@CarlaHayden. “I’m so honored to talk about digital access at @UMBCHumanities. We want to share the @libraryofcongress collection.” Twitter , 13 Apr. 2017, 6:04 p.m., twitter.com/LibnOfCongress/status/852643691802091521.

While most citations begin with the name of the author, they do not necessarily have to. Quite often, sources are compiled by editors. Or, your source may be done by a performer or composer. If your project focuses on someone other than the author, it is acceptable to place that person’s name first in the citation. If you’re using the MLA works cited generator at Citation Machine.net, you can choose the individual’s role from a drop-down box.

For example, let’s say that in your research project, you focus on Leonardo DiCaprio’s performances as an actor. You’re quoting a line from the movie Titanic in your project, and you’re creating a complete citation for it in the works-cited list.

It is acceptable to show the reader that you’re focusing on Leonardo DiCaprio’s work by citing it like this in the MLA works-cited list:

%%DiCaprio, Leonardo, performer. Titanic . Directed by James Cameron. Paramount, 1997.

Notice that when citing an individual other than the author, place the individual’s role after their name. In this case, Leonardo DiCaprio is the performer.

This is often done with edited books, too. Place the editor’s name first (in reverse order), add a comma, and then add the word editor.

If you’re still confused about how to place the authors together in a citation, the tools at CitationMachine.net can help! Our website is easy to use and will create your citations in just a few clicks!

Titles and containers

The titles are written as they are found on the source and in title form, meaning the important words start with a capital.

Here’s an example of a properly written title:

Practical Digital Libraries: Books, Bytes, and Bucks.

Wondering whether to place your title in italics or quotation marks? It depends on whether the source sits by itself or not. If the source stands alone, meaning that it is an independent source, place the title in italics. If the title is part of a larger whole, place the title of the source in quotation marks and the source it is from in italics.

When citing full books, movies, websites, or albums in their entirety, these titles are written in italics.

However, when citing part of a source, such as an article on a website, a chapter in a book, a song on an album, or an article in a scholarly journal, the part is written with quotation marks and then the titles of the sources that they are found in are written in italics.

Here are some examples to help you understand how to format titles and their containers.

To cite Pink Floyd’s entire album, The Wall , cite it as:

%%Pink Floyd. The Wall. Columbia, 1979.

To cite one of the songs on Pink Floyd’s album in MLA formatting, cite it as:

%%Pink Floyd. “Another Brick in the Wall (Part I).” The Wall, Columbia, 1979, track 3.

To cite a fairy tale book in its entirety, cite it as:

%%Colfer, Chris. The Land of Stories. Little Brown, 2016.

To cite a specific story or chapter in the book, cite it as:

%%Colfer, Chris. “Little Red Riding Hood.” The Land of Stories, Little Brown, 2016, pp. 58-65.

More about containers

From the section above, you can see that titles can stand alone, or they can sit in a container. Many times, sources can sit in more than one container. Wondering how? When citing an article in a scholarly journal, the first container is the journal. The second container? It’s the database that the scholarly journal is found in. It is important to account for all containers, so readers are able to locate the exact source themselves.

When citing a television episode, the first container is the name of the show and the second container is the name of the service that it could be streaming on, such as Netflix .

If your source sits in more than one container, the information about the second container is found at the end of the citation.

Use the following format to cite your source with multiple containers :

%%Last name of the author, First name of the author. “Source’s Title.” Container’s Title, roles and names of any other individuals who helped contribute to the source, the version of the source, any numbers associated with the source, the name of the publisher, the date the source was published, the location where individuals can find the source themselves (usually a URL or page range). Title of Second Container, roles and names of any other contributors, the version of the second container, any numbers associated with the second container, the name of the second container’s publisher, the date the second container was published, location.

If the source has more than two containers, add on another full section at the end for each container.

Not all of the fields in the citation format above need to be included in your citation. In fact, many of these fields will most likely be omitted from your citations. Only include the elements that will help your readers locate the source themselves.

Here is an example of a citation for a scholarly journal article found in a database. This source has two containers: the journal itself is one container, and the site it sits on is the other.

%%Zanetti, Francois. “Curing with Machine: Medical Electricity in Eighteenth-Century Paris.” Technology and Culture, vol. 54, no. 3, July 2013, pp. 503-530. Project Muse, muse.jhu.edu/article/520280.

If you’re still confused about containers, the Citation Machine MLA cite generator can help! MLA citing is easier when using the tools at CitationMachine.net.

Other contributors

Many sources have people besides the author who contribute to the source. If your research project focuses on an additional individual besides the author, or you feel as though including other contributors will help the reader locate the source themselves, include their names in the citation.

To include another individual in the citation, after the title, place the role of the individual, the word “by,” and then their name in standard order.

If the name of the contributor comes after a period, capitalize the first letter in the role of the individual. If it comes after a comma, the first letter in the role of the individual is lowercased.

Here’s an example of a citation for a children’s book with the name of the illustrator included:

%%Rubin, Adam. Dragons Love Tacos. Illustrated by Daniel Salmieri, Penguin, 2012.

The names of editors, directors, performers, translators, illustrators, and narrators can often be found in this part of the citation.

If the source that you’re citing states that it is a specific version or edition, this information is placed in the “versions” section of the citation.

When including a numbered edition, do not type out the number, use the numeral. Also, abbreviate the word “edition” to “ed.”

Here is an example of a citation with a specific edition:

%%Koger, Gregory. “Filibustering and Parties in the Modern State.” Congress Reconsidered, edited by Lawrence C. Dodd and Bruce I. Oppenheimer, 10th ed., CQ Press, 2013, pp. 221-236. Google Books, books.google.com/books?id=b7gkLlSEeqwC&lpg=PP1&dq=10th%20edition&pg=PR6#v=onepage&q=10th%20edition&f=false.

Many sources have numbers associated with them. If you see a number different than the date, page numbers, or editions, include this information in the “numbers” section of the citation. For MLA citing, this includes volume and/or issue numbers (use the abbreviations vol. and no.), episode numbers, track numbers, or any other numbers that will help readers identify the specific source that you used. Do not include ISBN (International Standard Book Numbers) in the citation.

It is important to include the name of the publisher (the organization that created or published the source), so that readers can locate the exact source themselves.

Include publishers for all sources except periodicals. Also, for websites, exclude this information when the name of the publisher matches the name of the website. Furthermore, the name of the publisher is often excluded from the citation for second containers, since the publisher of the second container is not necessarily responsible for the creation or production of the source’s content.

Publication dates

Publication dates are extremely important to include in citations. They allow the reader to understand when sources were published. They are also used when readers are attempting to locate the source themselves.

Dates can be written in MLA in one of two ways. Researchers can write dates as:

Day Mo. Year

Mo. Day, Year

Whichever format you decide to use, use the same format for all of your citations. If using the Citation Machine citation generator, the date will be formatted in the same way for each citation.

While it isn’t necessary to include the full date for all source citations, use the amount of information that makes the most sense to help your readers understand and locate the source themselves.

Wondering what to do when your source has more than one date? Use the date that is most applicable to your research.

The location generally refers to the place where the readers can find the source. This includes page ranges, URLs, DOI numbers, track numbers, disc numbers, or even cities and towns.

You can usually leave out http:// or https:// from URLs unless you want to hyperlink them. For DOIs, use http:// or https:// before the DOI: https://doi.org/xx.xxxx/xxx.xxxx.xxxx .

For page numbers, when citing a source found on only one page, use p.

Example: p. 6.

When citing a source that has a page range, use pp. and then add the page numbers.

Example: pp. 24-38.

Since the location is the final piece of the citation, place a period at the end. When it comes to URLs, many students wonder if the links in citations should be live or not. If the paper is being shared electronically with a teacher and other readers, it may be helpful to include live links. If you’re not sure whether to include live links or not, ask your teacher or professor for guidance.

Looking for an online tool to do the work for you? Citation Machine citing tools could help! Our site is simple (and fun!) to use.

Need some more help? There is further good information here .

Common Citation Examples

ALL sources use this format:

%%Last name of the author, First name of the author. “Source’s Title.” Container’s Title, roles and names of any other individuals who helped contribute to the source, the version of the source, any numbers associated with the source, the name of the publisher, the date the source was published, the location where individuals can find the source themselves (usually a URL or page range). *Title of Second Container, roles and names of any other contributors, the version of the second container, any numbers associated with the second container, the name of the second container’s publisher, the date the second container was published, location.

*If the source does not have a second container, omit this last part of the citation.

Remember, the Citation Machine MLA formatter can help you save time and energy when creating your citations. Check out our MLA Citation Machine pages to learn more.

• Journal Articles

How to Format a Paper

When it comes to formatting your paper or essay for academic purposes, there are specific MLA paper format guidelines to follow.

• Use paper that is 8½-by-11 inch in size. This is the standard size for copier and printer paper.
• Use high quality paper.
• Your research paper or essay should have a one-inch margin on the top, bottom, left, and right sides of the paper.
• While most word processors automatically format your paper to have one-inch margins, you can check or modify the margins of your paper by going to the “Page setup” section of your word processor.

Which font is acceptable to use?

• Use an easily readable font, specifically one that allows readers to see the difference between regular and italicized letters.
• Times New Roman, Arial, and Helvetica are recommended options.
• Use 12-point size font.

Should I double-space the paper, including citations?

• Double-space the entire paper.
• There should be a double space between each piece of information in the heading.
• Place a double space between the heading and the title.
• Place a double space between the title and the beginning of the essay.
• The works-cited list should be double-spaced as well. All citations are double-spaced.

Justification & Punctuation

• Text should be left-justified, meaning that the text is aligned, or flush, against the left margin.
• Indents signal to the reader that a new concept or idea is about to begin.
• Use the “tab” button on your keyboard to create an indent.
• Add one space after all punctuation marks.

Heading & Title

• Include a proper heading and title
• The heading should include the following, on separate lines, starting one inch from the top and left margins:
• Your full name
• Your teacher or professor’s name
• The course number
• Dates in the heading and the body of your essay should be consistent. Use the same format, either Day Month Year or Month Day, Year throughout the entire paper
• Examples: 27 July 2017 or July 27, 2017
• The title should be underneath the heading, centered in the middle of the page, without bold, underlined, italicized, or all capital letters.

Page numbers

• Number all pages, including the very first page and the works-cited list.
• Place page numbers in the top right corner, half an inch from the top margin and one inch from the right margin.
• Include your last name to the left of the page number. Example: Jacobson 4

Here’s an example to provide you with a visual:

If you need help with sentence structure or grammar, check out our paper checker. The paper checker will help to check every noun , verb , and adjective . If there are words that are misspelled or out of place, the paper checker will suggest edits and provide recommendations.

• If a citation flows onto the second line, indent it in half an inch from the left margin (called a “hanging indent”).
• For more information on the works-cited list, refer to “How to Make a Works Cited Page,” which is found below.

How to Create a Title Page

According to the Modern Language Association’s official guidelines for formatting a research paper, it is unnecessary to create or include an individual title page, or MLA cover page, at the beginning of a research project. Instead, follow the directions above, under “Heading & Title,” to create a proper heading. This heading is featured at the top of the first page of the research paper or research assignment.

If your instructor or professor does in fact require or ask for an MLA title page, follow the directions that you are given. They should provide you with the information needed to create a separate, individual title page. If they do not provide you with instructions, and you are left to create it at your own discretion, use the header information above to help you develop your research paper title page. You may want to include other information, such as the name of your school or university.

How to Make a Works Cited Page

The MLA Works Cited page is generally found at the end of a research paper or project. It contains a list of all the citations of sources used for the research project. Follow these directions to format the works-cited list to match the Modern Language Association’s guidelines.

• The “Works Cited” page has its own page at the end of a research project.
• Include the same running head as the rest of the project (Your last name and then the page number). The “Works Cited” page has the final page number for the project.
• Name the page “Works Cited,” unless your list only includes one citation. In that case, title it in MLA “Work Cited.”
• The title of the page (either “Works Cited” or “Work Cited”) is placed one inch from the top of the page, centered in the middle of the document.
• Double space the entire document, even between the title of the page and the first citation.
• Citations are listed in alphabetical order by the first word in the citation (usually the last name of the author or the first word in the title if the citation does not include the author’s name. Ignore “A,” “An,” and “The” if the title begins with these words.)
• If there are multiple citations by the same author, place them in chronological order by the date published.
• Also, instead of writing the author’s name twice in both citations, use three hyphens.

%%Angelou, Maya. I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings. Random House, 2009.

%%---. Gather Together in My Name. Random House, 1974.

• All citations begin flush against the left margin. If the citation is long and rolls onto a second or third line, indent the lines below the first line half an inch from the left margin. This is called a “hanging indent.” The purpose of a hanging indent is to make the citations easier to read. If you’re using our MLA citation machine, we’ll format each of your references with a hanging indent for you.

%%Wai-Chung, Ho. “Political Influences on Curriculum Content and Musical Meaning: Hong Kong Secondary Music Education, 1949-1997.” Journal of Historical Research in Music Education, vol. 22, no. 1, 1 Oct. 2000, pp. 5-25. Periodicals Index Online, search-proquest-com.i.ezproxy.nypl.org/pio/docview/1297849364/citation/6B70D633F50C4EA0PQ/78?accountid=35635.

• MLA “Works Cited” pages can be longer than one page. Use as many pages as necessary. If you have only one source to cite, do not place the one citation below the text of your paper. In MLA, a “Work Cited” page is still created for that individual citation.

Here’s a sample paper to give you an idea of what an MLA paper could look like. Included at the end is an MLA “Works Cited” page example.

Looking to add a relevant image, figure, table, or musical score to your paper? Here’s the easy way to do it, while following guidelines set forth by the Modern Language Association:

• Place the image, figure, table, or music close to where it’s mentioned in the text.
• Provide source information and any additional notes directly below the image, figure, table, or music.

For tables:

• Label the table as “Table” followed by an arabic numeral such as “1.” Table 1 is the table closest to the beginning of the paper. The next table mentioned in the text would be Table 2, and so on.
• Create a title for the table and place it below the label. Capitalize all important words.
• The label (Table 1) and the title should be flush against the left margin.
• Double-space everything.

• A figure can be a map, photograph, painting, pie chart, or any other type of image.
• Create a label and place it below the figure. The figure first mentioned in the text of the project is either “Figure 1” or “Fig 1.” Though figures are usually abbreviated to “Fig.” Choose one style and use it consistently. The next mentioned figure is “Figure 2” or “Fig. 2.”, and so on.
• Place a caption next to the label. If all of the source information is included in the caption, there isn’t a need to replicate that information in the works-cited list.

MLA Final Checklist

Think you’re through? We know this guide covered a LOT of information, so before you hand in that assignment, here’s a checklist to help you determine if you have everything you need:

_ Are both in-text and full citations included in the project? Remember, for every piece of outside information included in the text, there should be a corresponding in-text citation next to it. Include the full citation at the end, on the “Works Cited” page.

_ Are all citations, both in-text and full, properly formatted in MLA style? If you’re unsure, try out our citation generator!

_ Is your paper double-spaced in its entirety with one inch margins?

_ Do you have a running header on each page? (Your last name followed by the page number)

_ Did you use a font that is easy to read?

_ Are all citations on the MLA format works-cited list in alphabetical order?

Our plagiarism checker scans for any accidental instances of plagiarism. It scans for grammar and spelling errors, too. If you have an adverb , preposition , or conjunction that needs a slight adjustment, we may be able to suggest an edit.

Common Ways Students Accidentally Plagiarize

We spoke a bit about plagiarism at the beginning of this guide. Since you’re a responsible researcher, we’re sure you didn’t purposely plagiarize any portions of your paper. Did you know students and scholars sometimes accidentally plagiarize? Unfortunately, it happens more often than you probably realize. Luckily, there are ways to prevent accidental plagiarism and even some online tools to help!

Here are some common ways students accidentally plagiarize in their research papers and assignments:

1. Poor Paraphrasing

In the “How to create a paraphrase” section towards the top of this page, we share that paraphrases are “recycled information, in the paper writer’s own words and writing style.” If you attempt to paraphrase a few lines of text and it ends up looking and sounding too close to the original author’s words, it’s a poor paraphrase and considered plagiarism.

2. Incorrect Citations

If you cite something incorrectly, even if it’s done accidentally, it’s plagiarism. Any incorrect information in a reference, such as the wrong author name or the incorrect title, results in plagiarism.

3. Forgetting to include quotation marks

When you include a quote in your paper, you must place quotation marks around it. Failing to do so results in plagiarism.

If you’re worried about accidental plagiarism, try our Citation Machine Plus essay tool. It scans for grammar, but it also checks for any instances of accidental plagiarism. It’s simple and user-friendly, making it a great choice for stress-free paper editing and publishing.

Updated June 15, 2021

Written and edited by Michele Kirschenbaum and Wendy Ikemoto. Michele Kirschenbaum has been an awesome school librarian since 2006 and is an expert in citing sources. Wendy Ikemoto has a master’s degree in library and information science and has been working for Citation Machine since 2012.

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Table of Contents

Collaboration, information literacy, writing process, mla works cited.

• © 2023 by Barbara McLain - The Out-of-Door Academy , Joseph M. Moxley - University of South Florida

MLA Works Cited refers to the rules for compiling a list of references at the end of a text that cites sources according to the MLA Handbook, 9th Edition. Learn how teachers and editors evaluate an MLA works cited page.

What is MLA Works Cited?

MLA Works Cited refers to t he MLA’s (Modern Language Association’s) guidelines for formatting a list of references at the end of a text that cites sources.

The MLA Handbook, 9th Edition requires authors to provide a list of references — aka a works cited page — at the end of their texts

• to acknowledge the people and ideas that have informed their thinking and writing
• to provide citations for summarized , quoted, and paraphrased sources.

MLA Works Cited vs. MLA In Text Citation

The bibliographical information (e.g., who is the author? publisher? and so on) that MLA requires for a Works Cited Page differs from the bibliographic information it requires for an MLA citation in the body of a text.

Works Cited Page See the article below to learn about MLA’s guidelines for formatting a works cited page

In Text Citation See MLA Citation to explore creative ways to introduce and vet sources inside the body of your paper

Scholars use a variety of terms to refer to a works cited page , including references, sources, endnotes, citations.

Related Concepts:  Annotated Bibliography ; Copyright & Writing ; Intellectual Property ;  Page Design ; Plagiarism ; Rhetorical Analysis ; Textual Research Methods

Writers provide a works cited page so that their readers can

• learn more about the topic
• evaluate the currency, relevance, authority, accuracy, purpose of sources they’ve used in a text
• distinguish the author’s ideas and language from the ideas of others
• better understand the flow of a scholarly conversation for a particular topic over time (aka historiography)

In academic writing , teachers are likely to scrutinize the works cited page to see

• whether students have cited all of the sources they referenced in the body of the text
• whether or not the sources reflect the best available information on the topic, including the gated web
• whether the sources you have selected are appropriate given the rhetorical situation
• whether or not students have introduced new information, new sources, in ways that help readers with flow

In both academic and workplace writing, people

• cite sources to acknowledge the author’s copyright, intellectual property, ideas
• cite sources to add additional evidence , backing or qualifications for claims .

MLA Works Cited Page

Required bibliographical information.

Entries on your works cited list will include the following elements.

• Please note that every element listed below won’t necessarily apply to your source. For example, some sources won’t have an author identified, and periodicals don’t require publisher information. If the element listed doesn’t apply to your source, skip it and move on to the next element.
• list author’s name, last name first, followed by a period.
• Capitalize the first word and any major words in the title; enclose titles of articles in quotation marks and titles of larger works such as books, journals, or newspapers in italics.
• If the source you are citing is contained or included in a larger work, such as a journal or edited collection, provide the name of the container here, followed by a comma.
• List the names of other contributors, such as translators or editors, if appropriate, followed by a comma.
• For example, the 9th edition of the  MLA Handbook  is the version we are following here. For journals or magazines, you may instead have a volume number. Follow this with a comma.
• Issue numbers are preceded by the abbreviation “no.” and followed by a comma.
• You can usually find the publisher of a book on the title or copyright page. You do not need to include a publisher’s name for periodicals. Follow the publisher’s name with a comma.
• Provide the year of publication for books; for periodical publications, give the month and year, or day-month-year, if applicable. Follow the publication date with a comma if you have location information.
• For most publications, the location indicates the page number or numbers of the article and is preceded by the abbreviation “p.” for a single page or “pp.” for two or more pages. For online publications, the location is commonly designated by the URL or Web address, or the DOI (Digital Object Identifier), if available. Conclude the entry with a period.
• For an article in a journal accessed through an online database, list the title of the database as the container and whatever other information is available

Skip any information that is not available or applicable. For example, a book in print will not have a container, and a journal will usually not require information about a publisher.

Do include other pertinent information, such as the name of a translator, for instance, if available, in the order in which it is listed above. 

MLA Format Citation

How to Cite Work in MLA Format

Below are the common templates for citing sources.

Works Cited Rubric

The criteria for evaluating a works cited page may vary across academic and professional disciplines.

The rubric below distinguishes failing works cited pages from passing works cited pages . In this framework, a professional works cited list shows a sensitivity to the ongoing scholarly conversations on a topic . The author’s use of quotations, paraphrases, and summaries suggests the author is aware of the thought leaders and scholarly conversations on particular topics .

Brevity - Say More with Less

Clarity (in Speech and Writing)

Coherence - How to Achieve Coherence in Writing

Flow - How to Create Flow in Writing

Inclusivity - Inclusive Language

The Elements of Style - The DNA of Powerful Writing

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Reference list finished? Export to Word with perfect indentation and spacing set up for you.

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Organize the reference list the way you want: from A to Z, new to old, or grouped by source type.

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Stay organized by creating a separate reference list for each of your assignments.

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Explanatory tips help you get the details right to ensure accurate citations.

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How to cite in MLA format

MLA is one of the most common citation styles used by students and academics. This quick guide explains how to cite sources according to the 9th edition (the most recent) of the MLA Handbook . You can also use Scribbr’s free  citation generator to automatically generate references and in-text citations.

An MLA citation has two components:

• In-text citation : Every time you quote or paraphrase a source, you cite the author and the page number in parentheses.
• Works Cited : At the end of your paper, you give a full reference for every source you cited, alphabetized by the author’s last name.

MLA Works Cited list

The list of Works Cited (also known as the bibliography or reference page) gives full details of every source you cited in your text. Each entry is built from nine core elements:

Following this format, you can create a citation for any type of source—for example, a book , journal article , website , or movie . You only include information that’s relevant to the type of source you’re citing.

Missing information in MLA citations

Regardless of the source type, the most important elements of any MLA citation are the author , the source title , and the publication date. If any of these are missing from the source, the Works Cited entry will look slightly different.

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MLA in-text citations

MLA in-text citations are brief references that direct your reader to the full source entry. You include them every time you quote , block quote , paraphrase or summarize a source.

The in-text citation must match the first word of the Works Cited entry—usually the author’s last name . It also includes a page number or range to help the reader locate the relevant passage.

If you already named the author in your sentence, include only the page number in parentheses:

Sources with no page numbers

If the source has no page numbers, you either use an alternative locator, or leave the page number out of the citation:

Tools and resources

Besides the MLA Citation Generator, Scribbr provides many more helpful tools and resources;

• Citation generator : Generate flawless APA , MLA , and Harvard citations in seconds
• Free plagiarism checker : Detect and correct plagiarism with the most accurate plagiarism checker for students
• AI Proofreader : Upload and improve unlimited documents and earn higher grades on your assignments. Try it for free!
• Paraphrasing tool: Avoid accidental plagiarism and make your text sound better.
• Grammar checker : Eliminate pesky spelling and grammar mistakes.
• Summarizer: Read more in less time. Distill lengthy and complex texts down to their key points.
• AI detector: Find out if your text was written with ChatGPT or any other AI writing tool. ChatGPT 2 & ChatGPT 3 supported.
• Proofreading services : Hire a professional editor to improve your writing
• Citation checker : Check your work for citation errors and missing citations.
• Guides and videos : Explore hundreds of articles, bite-sized videos, time-saving templates, and handy checklists that guide you through the process of research, writing, and citation.

Pasco-Hernando State College

• MLA Works Cited
• Finding and Evaluating Sources (Critical Analysis)
• Synthesizing Information from Sources
• MLA Page Format
• MLA In-Text Citations
• APA Documentation
• Writing a Research Paper
• MLA Handout
• MLA Quick Citations
• Sample MLA Works Cited with Various Sources

Related Pages

What is a works cited page.

The Works Cited page is the list of sources at the end of the paper. It is called by different names such as Bibliography or List of Sources in different citation systems.

How do I format a Works Cited page?

General rules.

To get to a new page for the Works Cited, position your cursor at the end of your paper and click Insert/Page Break.  This may appear as Insert/Break/Page Break on some computers. The idea is not to use the Enter key to get to a new page.

The page setup and formatting are required parts of the MLA Works Cited page. The Works Cited page must have the same margins, font, line spacing, and header as the rest of the paper. The Works Cited does not have a heading in the upper left since it is simply the last page of the paper.

The sources must be listed with a hanging indent which is where the first line starts at the left margin and any subsequent line of the source is indented. It is like on reversed paragraph. 

You should take a look at the sample Works Cited pages in Related Pages on the right sidebar.

How to Create a Hanging Indent

The sources must be listed in a hanging indent   with the first line of each source beginning at the left margin and any second and subsequent line is indented. There is a tool for creating a hanging indent in Word. Type in your sources according to the MLA format for that source explained below and alphabetize them. Just left align and hit the Enter key at the end of each source. Then, highlight the list and click Paragraph/Special and scroll to Hanging indent. Click OK.

If you are using Google docs, you may have to set the hanging indent with the pointers in the ruler to adjust the indentation.  

See links to the Sample Works Cited pages in Related Pages on the right sidebar.

How do I list a Works Cited source?

The PHSC library along with English faculty has created a list of examples of source in MLA style. See Related Pages on the right sidebar.

The list must be alphabetical. It should not be numbered.

The general format for listing a source is:

author’s name (last name first).  title of the source. publication information

The problems arise with the details. 

If there is a person named as an author, list last name, first name:

Carlyle, James.

See how there is a comma after the last name. See that there is a period after the first name. Sections of a Works Cited listing are separated by periods.

When there two authors, the first author is listed last name, first name followed by a comma and the word and. The second author is listed first name first.

Carlyle, James, and Phillip P. Harper.

If there are more than two authors named, use the first listed last name and et al. which is the Latin abbreviation for  and others : Carlyle, James, et al.

If there is no person listed author, the listing starts with the title.

More than one source by the same author

When there is more than one source from the same author, do not repeat the author’s name.  Use three dashes, a period, and two spaces in place of the author: – – – .  See Sample Works Cited List with Various Sources-8th-ed for an example.

Generally, sources are either books or articles from magazines, books, or journals. Commonly, the source may be an article or document in a website.

If the source is a book, the title is listed in italics. Titles of long, published works are put in italics. Note that there is a period following the title.

War and Peace.

Dostoyevsky, Fyodor.  War and Peace.

If the title is an article or a document or page in a website (a smaller publication which is published in a larger publication), the rule is that the title has to be in quotation marks.

Marino, Catherine. “Implications of Piaget’s Theory in the Learning Environment.”

Important note about capitalization in titles : 

In MLA style, the first letter of important words in the title are capitalized even when they are not capitalized in the source itself.   Important words  are all words except for articles (a, an, the), coordinating conjunctions (but, or, yet, for, and, nor, so), and one-syllable prepositions (of, at, on) unless any of these words begin the title.

See that the period at the end comes before the end (closing) quotation mark.

Marino, Catherine. “Implications of Piaget’s Theory in the in the Learning Environment.”  Social Behavior.  (See how the title of the journal is in italics.)

Publication Information

Publication information consists of information such as volume, issue, date and/or year, publisher, city of publication, year of copyright, name of website, creator/owner of website, name of database, name of subscription service, URL (preferably a permalink or doi when available for sources in databases), and date of access.  

Some databases are supplied through subscription services such as EBSCO and Gale.  EBSCO and Gale are not databases and should not be included as the name for a database.

The eighth edition (2016) of the MLA Handbook has a number of changes about publication information including using URLs. The problem is that not all publication information should be listed for all sources. Which information should be included and how to list that information depends upon the source.

In the handouts on the PHSC library page called MLA Documentation and Format – list of examples – 8th edition (2016), there is a table of contents at the beginning showing where the sample formats for different types of information can be found. The trick here is to determine what type of source you have in order to look up the proper format.  The table of contents listings are direct links to the examples.

A note about sources from Electronic Library Resources: 

When you click into Electronic Library Resources, you will be taken to the A-Z Databases page. From there you can look through databases alphabetically or by subject. You can also click on the Library Catalog and search for books as well as articles, films and books on CD. There are also links to various helpful LibGuides in each subject area offered by the College.

Many courses will require using the Electronic Library Resources for academic research. Many of these sources are databases of articles from scholarly journals, newspapers, magazines, and other copyrighted, reviewed, and professional prepared sources which are different from the Internet where anybody can post anything. Some sources on the Internet seem as though they have good information such as Wikipedia, but that is a wiki where people who are not necessarily professionals in the field can post information. By its own disclosure, some pages are in a state of development and have not been reviewed for accuracy or presentation of all side on a scholarly debate.

Students are subscribed to our library resources as part of their student fees. There is a direct link in Canvas on the left sidebar: Electronic Library Resources.

For research or citation and formatting assistance, please reach out to one of our librarians at any of our five campuses. https://libguides.phsc.edu/contact

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MLA Works Cited Page: Books

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MLA (Modern Language Association) style is most commonly used to write papers and cite sources within the liberal arts and humanities. This resource, updated to reflect the MLA Handbook (9 th ed.), offers examples for the general format of MLA research papers, in-text citations, endnotes/footnotes, and the Works Cited page.

When you are gathering book sources, be sure to make note of the following bibliographic items: the author name(s), other contributors such as translators or editors, the book’s title, editions of the book, the publication date, the publisher, and the pagination.

The 8 th  edition of the MLA handbook highlights principles over prescriptive practices. Essentially, a writer will need to take note of primary elements in every source, such as author, title, etc. and then assort them in a general format. Thus, by using this methodology, a writer will be able to cite any source regardless of whether it’s included in this list.

Please note these changes in the new edition:

• Commas are used instead of periods between Publisher, Publication Date, and Pagination.
• Medium is no longer necessary.
• Containers are now a part of the MLA process. Commas should be used after container titles.
• DOIs should be used instead of URLS when available.
• Use the term “Accessed” instead of listing the date or the abbreviation, “n.d."

Below is the general format for any citation:

Author. Title. Title of container (do not list container for standalone books, e.g. novels), Other contributors (translators or editors), Version (edition), Number (vol. and/or no.), Publisher, Publication Date, Location (pages, paragraphs URL or DOI). 2 nd  container’s title, Other contributors, Version, Number, Publisher, Publication date, Location, Date of Access (if applicable).

Basic Book Format

The author’s name or a book with a single author's name appears in last name, first name format. The basic form for a book citation is:

Last Name, First Name. Title of Book . City of Publication, Publisher, Publication Date.

* Note: the City of Publication should only be used if the book was published before 1900, if the publisher has offices in more than one country, or if the publisher is unknown in North America.

Book with One Author

Gleick, James. Chaos: Making a New Science . Penguin, 1987.

Henley, Patricia. The Hummingbird House . MacMurray, 1999.

Book with More Than One Author

When a book has two authors, order the authors in the same way they are presented in the book. Start by listing the first name that appears on the book in last name, first name format; subsequent author names appear in normal order (first name last name format).

Gillespie, Paula, and Neal Lerner. The Allyn and Bacon Guide to Peer Tutoring . Allyn and Bacon, 2000.

If there are three or more authors, list only the first author followed by the phrase et al. (Latin for "and others") in place of the subsequent authors' names. (Note that there is a period after “al” in “et al.” Also note that there is never a period after the “et” in “et al.”).

Wysocki, Anne Frances, et al. Writing New Media: Theory and Applications for Expanding the Teaching of Composition . Utah State UP, 2004.

Two or More Books by the Same Author

List works alphabetically by title. (Remember to ignore articles like A, An, and The.) Provide the author’s name in last name, first name format for the first entry only. For each subsequent entry by the same author, use three hyphens and a period.

Palmer, William J. Dickens and New Historicism . St. Martin's, 1997.

---. The Films of the Eighties: A Social History . Southern Illinois UP, 1993.

Book by a Corporate Author or Organization

A corporate author may include a commission, a committee, a government agency, or a group that does not identify individual members on the title page.

List the names of corporate authors in the place where an author’s name typically appears at the beginning of the entry.

American Allergy Association. Allergies in Children . Random House, 1998.

When the author and publisher are the same, skip the author, and list the title first. Then, list the corporate author only as the publisher.

Fair Housing—Fair Lending. Aspen Law & Business, 1985.

Book with No Author

List by title of the book. Incorporate these entries alphabetically just as you would with works that include an author name. For example, the following entry might appear between entries of works written by Dean, Shaun and Forsythe, Jonathan.

Encyclopedia of Indiana . Somerset, 1993.

Remember that for an in-text (parenthetical) citation of a book with no author, you should provide the name of the work in the signal phrase and the page number in parentheses. You may also use a shortened version of the title of the book accompanied by the page number. For more information see the In-text Citations for Print Sources with No Known Author section of In-text Citations: The Basics .

A Translated Book

If you want to emphasize the work rather than the translator, cite as you would any other book. Add “translated by” and follow with the name(s) of the translator(s).

Foucault, Michel. Madness and Civilization: A History of Insanity in the Age of Reason . Translated by Richard Howard, Vintage-Random House, 1988.

If you want to focus on the translation, list the translator as the author. In place of the author’s name, the translator’s name appears. His or her name is followed by the label, “translator.” If the author of the book does not appear in the title of the book, include the name, with a “By” after the title of the book and before the publisher. Note that this type of citation is less common and should only be used for papers or writing in which translation plays a central role.

Howard, Richard, translator. Madness and Civilization: A History of Insanity in the Age of Reason . By Michel Foucault, Vintage-Random House, 1988.

Republished Book

Books may be republished due to popularity without becoming a new edition. New editions are typically revisions of the original work. For books that originally appeared at an earlier date and that have been republished at a later one, insert the original publication date before the publication information.

For books that are new editions (i.e. different from the first or other editions of the book), see An Edition of a Book below.

Butler, Judith. Gender Trouble . 1990. Routledge, 1999.

Erdrich, Louise. Love Medicine . 1984. Perennial-Harper, 1993.

An Edition of a Book

There are two types of editions in book publishing: a book that has been published more than once in different editions and a book that is prepared by someone other than the author (typically an editor).

A Subsequent Edition

Cite the book as you normally would, but add the number of the edition after the title.

Crowley, Sharon, and Debra Hawhee. Ancient Rhetorics for Contemporary Students . 3rd ed., Pearson, 2004.

A Work Prepared by an Editor

Cite the book as you normally would, but add the editor after the title with the label "edited by."

Bronte, Charlotte. Jane Eyre,  edited by Margaret Smith, Oxford UP, 1998.

Note that the format for citing sources with important contributors with editor-like roles follows the same basic template:

...adapted by John Doe...

Finally, in the event that the source features a contributor that cannot be described with a past-tense verb and the word "by" (e.g., "edited by"), you may instead use a noun followed by a comma, like so:

...guest editor, Jane Smith...

Anthology or Collection (e.g. Collection of Essays)

To cite the entire anthology or collection, list by editor(s) followed by a comma and "editor" or, for multiple editors, "editors." This sort of entry is somewhat rare. If you are citing a particular piece within an anthology or collection (more common), see A Work in an Anthology, Reference, or Collection below.

Hill, Charles A., and Marguerite Helmers, editors. Defining Visual Rhetorics . Lawrence Erlbaum Associates, 2004.

Peterson, Nancy J., editor. Toni Morrison: Critical and Theoretical Approaches . Johns Hopkins UP, 1997.

A Work in an Anthology, Reference, or Collection

Works may include an essay in an edited collection or anthology, or a chapter of a book. The basic form is for this sort of citation is as follows:

Last name, First name. "Title of Essay." Title of Collection , edited by Editor's Name(s), Publisher, Year, Page range of entry.

Some examples:

Harris, Muriel. "Talk to Me: Engaging Reluctant Writers." A Tutor's Guide: Helping Writers One to One , edited by Ben Rafoth, Heinemann, 2000, pp. 24-34.

Swanson, Gunnar. "Graphic Design Education as a Liberal Art: Design and Knowledge in the University and The 'Real World.'" The Education of a Graphic Designer , edited by Steven Heller, Allworth Press, 1998, pp. 13-24.

Note on Cross-referencing Several Items from One Anthology: If you cite more than one essay from the same edited collection, MLA indicates you may cross-reference within your works cited list in order to avoid writing out the publishing information for each separate essay. You should consider this option if you have several references from a single text. To do so, include a separate entry for the entire collection listed by the editor's name as below:

Rose, Shirley K, and Irwin Weiser, editors. The Writing Program Administrator as Researcher . Heinemann, 1999.

Then, for each individual essay from the collection, list the author's name in last name, first name format, the title of the essay, the editor's last name, and the page range:

L'Eplattenier, Barbara. "Finding Ourselves in the Past: An Argument for Historical Work on WPAs." Rose and Weiser, pp. 131-40.

Peeples, Tim. "'Seeing' the WPA With/Through Postmodern Mapping." Rose and Weiser, pp. 153-67.

Please note: When cross-referencing items in the works cited list, alphabetical order should be maintained for the entire list.

Poem or Short Story Examples :

Burns, Robert. "Red, Red Rose." 100 Best-Loved Poems, edited by Philip Smith, Dover, 1995, p. 26.

Kincaid, Jamaica. "Girl." The Vintage Book of Contemporary American Short Stories , edited by Tobias Wolff, Vintage, 1994, pp. 306-07.

If the specific literary work is part of the author's own collection (all of the works have the same author), then there will be no editor to reference:

Whitman, Walt. "I Sing the Body Electric." Selected Poems, Dover, 1991, pp. 12-19.

Carter, Angela. "The Tiger's Bride." Burning Your Boats: The Collected Stories, Penguin, 1995, pp. 154-69.

Article in a Reference Book (e.g. Encyclopedias, Dictionaries)

For entries in encyclopedias, dictionaries, and other reference works, cite the entry name as you would any other work in a collection but do not include the publisher information. Also, if the reference book is organized alphabetically, as most are, do not list the volume or the page number of the article or item.

"Ideology." The American Heritage Dictionary.  3rd ed. 1997. 

A Multivolume Work

When citing only one volume of a multivolume work, include the volume number after the work's title, or after the work's editor or translator.

Quintilian. Institutio Oratoria . Translated by H. E. Butler, vol. 2, Loeb-Harvard UP, 1980.

When citing more than one volume of a multivolume work, cite the total number of volumes in the work. Also, be sure in your in-text citation to provide both the volume number and page number(s) ( see "Citing Multivolume Works" on our in-text citations resource .)

Quintilian. Institutio Oratoria . Translated by H. E. Butler, Loeb-Harvard UP, 1980. 4 vols.

If the volume you are using has its own title, cite the book without referring to the other volumes as if it were an independent publication.

Churchill, Winston S. The Age of Revolution . Dodd, 1957.

An Introduction, Preface, Foreword, or Afterword

When citing an introduction, a preface, a foreword, or an afterword, write the name of the author(s) of the piece you are citing. Then give the name of the part being cited, which should not be italicized or enclosed in quotation marks; in italics, provide the name of the work and the name of the author of the introduction/preface/foreword/afterword. Finish the citation with the details of publication and page range.

Farrell, Thomas B. Introduction. Norms of Rhetorical Culture , by Farrell, Yale UP, 1993, pp. 1-13.

If the writer of the piece is different from the author of the complete work , then write the full name of the principal work's author after the word "By." For example, if you were to cite Hugh Dalziel Duncan’s introduction of Kenneth Burke’s book Permanence and Change, you would write the entry as follows:

Duncan, Hugh Dalziel. Introduction. Permanence and Change: An Anatomy of Purpose, by Kenneth Burke, 1935, 3rd ed., U of California P, 1984, pp. xiii-xliv.

Book Published Before 1900

Original copies of books published before 1900 are usually defined by their place of publication rather than the publisher. Unless you are using a newer edition, cite the city of publication where you would normally cite the publisher.

Thoreau, Henry David. Excursions . Boston, 1863.

Italicize “The Bible” and follow it with the version you are using. Remember that your in-text (parenthetical citation) should include the name of the specific edition of the Bible, followed by an abbreviation of the book, the chapter and verse(s). (See Citing the Bible at In-Text Citations: The Basics .)

The Bible. Authorized King James Version , Oxford UP, 1998.

The Bible. The New Oxford Annotated Version , 3rd ed., Oxford UP, 2001.

The New Jerusalem Bible. Edited by Susan Jones, Doubleday, 1985.

A Government Publication

Cite the author of the publication if the author is identified. Otherwise, start with the name of the national government, followed by the agency (including any subdivisions or agencies) that serves as the organizational author. For congressional documents, be sure to include the number of the Congress and the session when the hearing was held or resolution passed as well as the report number. US government documents are typically published by the Government Printing Office.

United States, Congress, Senate, Committee on Energy and Natural Resources. Hearing on the Geopolitics of Oil . Government Printing Office, 2007. 110th Congress, 1st session, Senate Report 111-8.

United States, Government Accountability Office. Climate Change: EPA and DOE Should Do More to Encourage Progress Under Two Voluntary Programs . Government Printing Office, 2006.

Cite the title and publication information for the pamphlet just as you would a book without an author. Pamphlets and promotional materials commonly feature corporate authors (commissions, committees, or other groups that does not provide individual group member names). If the pamphlet you are citing has no author, cite as directed below. If your pamphlet has an author or a corporate author, put the name of the author (last name, first name format) or corporate author in the place where the author name typically appears at the beginning of the entry. (See also Books by a Corporate Author or Organization above.)

Women's Health: Problems of the Digestive System . American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists, 2006.

Your Rights Under California Welfare Programs . California Department of Social Services, 2007.

Dissertations and Master's Theses

Dissertations and master's theses may be used as sources whether published or not. Unlike previous editions, MLA 8 specifies no difference in style for published/unpublished works.

The main elements of a dissertation citation are the same as those for a book: author name(s), title (italicized) , and publication date. Conclude with an indication of the document type (e.g., "PhD dissertation"). The degree-granting institution may be included before the document type (though this is not required). If the dissertation was accessed through an online repository, include it as the second container after all the other elements.

Bishop, Karen Lynn. Documenting Institutional Identity: Strategic Writing in the IUPUI Comprehensive Campaign . 2002. Purdue University, PhD dissertation.

Bile, Jeffrey. Ecology, Feminism, and a Revised Critical Rhetoric: Toward a Dialectical Partnership . 2005. Ohio University, PhD dissertation.

Mitchell, Mark. The Impact of Product Quality Reducing Events on the Value of Brand-Name Capital: Evidence from Airline Crashes and the 1982 Tylenol Poisonings.  1987. PhD dissertation.  ProQuest Dissertations and Theses.

List the names of corporate authors in the place where an author’s name typically appears at the beginning of the entry if the author and publisher are not the same.

Fair Housing—Fair Lending. Aspen Law & Business, 1985.

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Daniel is a qualified librarian, former teacher, and citation expert. He has been contributing to MyBib since 2018.