MLA Citation Guide | Format & Examples
MLA style is commonly used by students and academics in the humanities. In this citation guide, we give a broad overview of the guidelines from the 9th edition (the most recent) of the MLA Handbook.
MLA citations have two parts:
- In-text citation: Every quotation or paraphrase of another source is accompanied by a parenthetical citation including the author’s last name and the page number.
- Works Cited entry: At the end of the paper, you include a Works Cited page, which gives a full reference for each source cited, listed alphabetically by the author’s last name.
QuillBot’s free MLA Citation Generator makes citations easy by automatically creating in-text citations and a reference list.
Additionally, our Plagiarism Checker can help you avoid accidental plagiarism by identifying source material that has not been correctly cited.
MLA Works Cited list
The Works Cited page (also known as the reference list or bibliography) includes every source you cited in your paper. Each entry contains nine essential elements:
Author. “Title of the Source.” Title of the Container, Other contributors, Version, Number, Publisher, Publication date, Location.
Some sources will include all of these elements, and others will include only some of them. However, the basic format applies, whether you are citing a journal article, a website, a book, or a movie.
Missing elements in MLA citations
The most essential elements in any MLA citation are the author, the title, and the publication date. If a source is missing any of these elements, the Works Cited entry can be modified, as shown in the table below.
| Missing element | Solution | Works Cited example |
|---|---|---|
| Author | Begin with the source title. Alphabetize by the first word (ignoring the articles “a,” “an,” or “the”). | “Emergency Departments Frequently Miss Signs of Epilepsy in Children.” NYU Langone News, 1 May 2024, nyulangone.org/news/emergency-departments-frequently-miss-signs-epilepsy-children. |
| Title | Briefly describe the source. Do not use italics or quotation marks, and capitalize the first word only. | Kent, William. Hall chair, mahogany. 1730–1740, The Museum of Fine Arts, Houston. |
| Date | Omit the publication date. At the end of the citation, include the date you accessed the source. | “Our Alumni Make History.” The University of Texas at Arlington, www.uta.edu/about/alumni. Accessed 9 May 2024. |
MLA in-text citations
In-text citations are an abbreviated form of the Works Cited entry. They should be included any time you quote, paraphrase, or summarize words or ideas from another source.
The first word of an MLA in-text citation must match the first word of the Works Cited entry (typically the author’s last name but occasionally an organization or a source title). Each MLA in-text citation also includes a page number or page range.
| Author type | Format | Example |
|---|---|---|
| 1 author | Author’s last name | (Rodriguez 31) |
| 2 authors | Both authors’ last names connected by “and” (not “&”) | (Rodriguez and Miller 15) |
| 3+ authors | First author’s last name followed by “et al.” | (Rodriguez et al. 21–25) |
| Corporate author (different from the publisher) | Organization name | (American Council on Education 64) |
| No author (or same author and publisher) | Source title (in italics or quotation marks, depending on the type of source) | (“Our Alumni”) |
| Multiple sources by the same author | Author’s last name followed by the title (or a shortened form of the title) | (Egan, Candy House 83)
(Egan, Goon Squad 105) |
If the author has already been named in the sentence, you can include only the page number in parentheses:
Citing sources with no page numbers
For sources with no page numbers, you can use an alternative locator (such as a chapter number or timestamp) or omit the page number.
| Source type | Solution | Citation example |
|---|---|---|
| Source with numbered sections (e.g., an electronic book) | Include a chapter, paragraph, or section number | (Ferrano, par. 18)
(West, ch. 4) |
| Source without numbered sections (e.g., a web page) | Omit the page number | (Corbett) |
| Audiovisual source (e.g., a YouTube video) | Include the timestamps for the relevant section | (Imuro 02:13–02:16) |
Formatting the MLA Works Cited page
The Works Cited page should appear at the end of your paper on a new page and should be in the same format as the rest of the paper. Use the following formatting guidelines:
- Center the title (“Works Cited”) at the top of the page and leave it in plain text (no bold, italics, or underline).
- Use left alignment and double spacing throughout the list (no extra space between reference entries).
- Use a hanging indent of 0.5 inches for entries that are more than one line.
- Alphabetize entries by the author’s last name (or the first word of the entry, excluding articles).
- List multiple works by a single author alphabetically by title. Three hyphens (—) should be used in place of the author’s name for subsequent entries.
- In the header, place your last name and the page number in the top right corner.
Frequently asked questions about MLA citation
- When do I need MLA in-text citations?
-
MLA in-text citations must be included any time you quote or paraphrase another source. Failing to include a citation could result in accidental plagiarism.
Citations are not usually needed for generally available knowledge, such as the dates of historical events or the birthdates of historical figures.
