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😕 What is an MLA Citation Generator?

An MLA citation generator is a software tool designed to automatically create academic citations in the Modern Language Association (MLA) citation format. The generator will take information such as document titles, author, and URLs as in input, and output fully formatted citations that can be inserted into the Works Cited page of an MLA-compliant academic paper.

The citations on a Works Cited page show the external sources that were used to write the main body of the academic paper, either directly as references and quotes, or indirectly as ideas.

👩‍🎓 Who uses an MLA Citation Generator?

MLA style is most often used by middle school and high school students in preparation for transition to college and further education. Ironically, MLA style is not actually used all that often beyond middle and high school, with APA (American Psychological Association) style being the favored style at colleges across the country.

It is also important at this level to learn why it's critical to cite sources, not just how to cite them.

🙌 Why should I use a Citation Generator?

Writing citations manually is time consuming and error prone. Automating this process with a citation generator is easy, straightforward, and gives accurate results. It's also easier to keep citations organized and in the correct order.

The Works Cited page contributes to the overall grade of a paper, so it is important to produce accurately formatted citations that follow the guidelines in the official MLA Handbook .

⚙️ How do I use MyBib's MLA Citation Generator?

It's super easy to create MLA style citations with our MLA Citation Generator. Scroll back up to the generator at the top of the page and select the type of source you're citing. Books, journal articles, and webpages are all examples of the types of sources our generator can cite automatically. Then either search for the source, or enter the details manually in the citation form.

The generator will produce a formatted MLA citation that can be copied and pasted directly into your document, or saved to MyBib as part of your overall Works Cited page (which can be downloaded fully later!).

MyBib supports the following for MLA style:

⚙️ StylesMLA 8 & MLA 9
📚 SourcesWebsites, books, journals, newspapers
🔎 AutociteYes
📥 Download toMicrosoft Word, Google Docs

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

Using MLA Format

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Document Sources

Works cited quick guide.

Learn how to use the MLA format template.

Digital Citation Tool

Build citations with our interactive template.

In-Text Citations

Get help with in-text citations.

Endnotes and Footnotes

Read our guide about using notes in MLA style.

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Set Up Your Paper

Setting up a research paper.

Get our guidelines for setting up academic research papers.

Formatting Captions

Learn how to format captions.

Sample Papers

Read sample papers written in MLA style.

Annotated Bibliographies

Learn how to set up an annotated bibliography.

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Recent questions from Ask the MLA

How do i alphabetize irish surnames in the works-cited list.

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How do I alphabetize a works-cited-list entry that begins with a hashtag or another symbol?

The MLA recommends that writers should “ignore symbols when alphabetizing” (“How”). This includes hashtags. Thus, if an entry begins with a hashtag or another symbol,… Read More

How do I cite a work accessed through Wayback Machine ?

Wayback Machine is an archive of websites that lives on the Internet Archive ’s site, so you would treat the Internet Archive as the container of… Read More

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Fairy tales are typically enclosed in quotation marks, in the style of other short-form works. Some people may not know that Disney’s 1989 film The … Read More

How do I cite an anonymously translated poem?

If a translator’s name is not provided in the source, then skip that element in your works-cited-list entry. Follow the MLA template of core elements,… Read More

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Some works, especially works contained in databases, may list citation information for the work on a cover sheet or in a footer. If that citation… Read More

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MLA Format Guide - 9th edition

  • Essay Formatting

How to Create a Header

  • To add your header, either double-click in the top inch of the page or select the "Insert" tab in Microsoft Word, navigate to the "Header & Footer" section, select "Header," and click the first option titled "Blank."
  • When editing your header, navigate to the "Design" tab and check the box beside "Different First Page" as every heading after your first page should only include the page number. 
  • Still in the design tab under the "Header & Footer" section, select "Page Number." In the drop-down box, select the first option, labeled "Top of Page," then select the third option labeled "Plain Number 3." Add your last name in front of the page number, and change the font settings to match that of the rest of your paper.
  • On the next line, set the text alignment to align your text to the left side of the page (under the "Paragraph" section of the "Home" tab) and on four different lines type your first and last name, your instructor's name, the course the assignment is for, and the date in the format DD Month YYYY.
  • On the next line, center the text (under the "Paragraph" section of the "Home" tab) and type the title of your paper.

An example of an MLA formatted header is included below.

"example of an MLA formatted header"

How to Create a Works Cited Page

You can create your Works Cited page before, during, or after you write your essay. If you do not create it before, be sure to document the sources you used, including any website links, so you can go back and create your citations later. Citation format will be discussed in a later section, but this section will detail how to create a Works Cited Page.

  • At the end of your essay, insert a page break (found under the "Insert" tab) and center the words "Works Cited" at the top of your page (not in the header). If there is only one source being cited, type "Work Cited".
  • Insert your citations in alphabetical order in the subsequent lines. Make sure they are left aligned.
  • If your citation is more than one line, apply the hanging indent feature to everything after the first line for each individual entry. You can do this by selecting the second line of the entry, navigating to the "Home" tab in Microsoft Word, selecting the arrow at the bottom right in the "Paragraph" section to open up the "Paragraph Settings" box, and under the "Indentation" section, select the drop-down box labeled "Special," and choose "Hanging". This will move everything but the first line of your citation slightly to the right.

"example Works Cited page"

Other essay formatting notes

When formatting your essay, there are a few things to keep in mind:

  • Use the correct font as listed under the "Home" tab of this guide. Double-space your text, use 12 pt font, and use a legible font style, such as Times New Roman, Ariel, Calibri, etc., ensuring that the regular and italic font styles are distinct.
  • After the first page, only include your last name and the page number in the top right corner of the header.
  • Change the paragraph options to remove space before and after all paragraphs. Select the entire essay (you can use the Ctrl + A feature), and in the "Paragraph" section of the "Home" tab, select the drop-down arrow where you can adjust the line spacing and make sure both selections at the bottom of the drop-down box read "Add Space Before Paragraph" and "Add Space After Paragraph". If they say "Remove Space Before Paragraph" and/or "Remove Space After Paragraph," click to remove the space.
  • On the last page, include a Works Cited page with your citations listed in alphabetical order.
  • Last Updated: Jun 12, 2024 7:50 AM
  • URL: https://uaccm.libguides.com/what_is_MLA_style

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MLA Style Guide, 8th & 9th Editions: Book with Editor(s)

  • Works Cited entries: What to Include
  • Title of source
  • Title of container
  • Contributors
  • Publication date
  • Supplemental Elements
  • Book with Personal Author(s)
  • Book with Organization as Author
  • Book with Editor(s)
  • Parts of Books
  • Government Publication
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  • Multivolume Works
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  • Other Formats
  • Websites, Social Media, and Email
  • About In-text Citations
  • In-text Examples
  • How to Paraphrase and Quote
  • Citing Poetry
  • Formatting Your MLA Paper
  • Formatting Your Works Cited List
  • MLA Annotated Bibliography
  • MLA 9th Edition Quick Guide
  • Submit Your Paper for MLA Style Review

Books with Editor(s)

Book with author(s) and editors - citing a portion written by the author(s)

(Tynan 131) 

Tynan, Kenneth. "The Kansas Farm Murders."  edited by Joseph J. Waldmeir and John C. Waldmeir, Greenwood Press, 1999, pp. 129-34.​

Book with author(s) and editors(s) - citing a portion written by the editor(s) (Coetzee vi-viii)

Coetzee, J. M. Introduction.  by Robert Musil, translated by Shaun Whiteside, Penguin Classics, 2001, pp. xix-xxxvi.

If you are citing a portion of the book written by the editor, begin with the editor. Give the author's name after the title preceded by [by].

Anthology with editor(s)    (O'Brien 690)

O'Brien, Tim. "The Things They Carried."  edited by Robert DiYanni, 6th ed., McGraw Hill, 2007, pp. 684-97.

Book with two editors and no author (Tallett and Trim 311-21)                                       

Tallett, Frank and D.J.B. Trim, editors. . Cambridge UP, 2010.

Book with three or more editors and no author (McCuen-Metherell et al. 79)                                       

McCuen-Metherell, Jo Ray, et al., editors. . Cengage Learning, 2016.

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  • Last Updated: May 21, 2024 5:26 PM
  • URL: https://irsc.libguides.com/mla

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MLA Citation Style, 9th Edition

  • In-Text References
  • Works Cited
  • One Author or Editor
  • Multiple Authors or Editors
  • Author and Editor
  • Author and Translator
  • Organization as Author
  • Anonymous Work
  • Chapter from an Edited Work
  • Introduction, Preface, Foreword, or Afterword
  • Multivolume Work
  • Edition Other than the First
  • Dictionary or Encyclopedia
  • Journal Article
  • Magazine Article
  • Newspaper Article
  • Book Review
  • Basic Webpage
  • Video Recording
  • Sound Recording
  • YouTube Video
  • Interview or Personal Communication
  • Lecture or Presentation
  • Thesis or Dissertation
  • Indirect Source
  • Government Document
  • AI Generated Content

Multiple Authors or Editors - Examples

Example 1 – Two Authors

In-Text:       

(Dobson and Kamboureli 89)

Works Cited:

Example 2 – Two Editors

(Shatz and Wilkinson 156)

Example 3 – Three or more Authors or Editors

( Bennett et al. 303 )

NOTE: In the case of more than three authors or editors, it is also acceptable to include all of the authors' or editors' names in the in-text parenthetical reference and works cited entry, if you choose to do so. Whichever you choose, be consistent.

  • Last Updated: Jun 28, 2024 4:05 PM
  • URL: https://library.ulethbridge.ca/mlastyle9

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  • How to format your MLA Works Cited page

MLA Works Cited | 2021 Guidelines & Free Template

Published on June 7, 2021 by Shona McCombes . Revised on March 5, 2024.

In MLA style , the list of Works Cited (also known as a reference list or bibliography) appears at the end of your paper. It gives full details of every source that you cited in an MLA in-text citation .

Like the rest of an MLA format paper, the Works Cited should be left-aligned and double-spaced with 1-inch margins.

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Table of contents

Formatting the works cited page, examples of works cited entries, authors and titles in the works cited list, ordering the list of works cited, frequently asked questions about the works cited.

The Works Cited appears at the end of your paper. The layout is similar to the rest of an MLA format paper :

  • Title the page Works Cited, centered and in plain text (no italics, bold, or underline).
  • Alphabetize the entries by the author’s last name.
  • Use left alignment and double line spacing (no extra space between entries).
  • Use a hanging indent on entries that run over onto additional lines.
  • Include a header with your last name and the page number in the top right corner.

Format of an MLA Works Cited page

Creating a hanging indent

If an entry is more than one line long, each line after the first must be indented 0.5 inches. This is called a hanging indent, and it helps the reader see where one entry ends and the next begins.

In Microsoft Word, you can create a hanging indent on all entries at once.

  • Highlight the whole list and right click to open the Paragraph options.
  • Under Indentation  > Special , choose Hanging from the drop-down menu.
  • Set the indent to 0.5 inches or 1.27cm.

If you’re using Google Docs, the steps are slightly different.

  • Highlight the whole list and click on Format > Align and indent > Indentation options .
  • Under Special indent , choose Hanging from the dropdown menu.

You can also use our free template to create your Works Cited page in Microsoft Word or Google Docs.

Download Word template Copy Google Docs template

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MLA provides nine core elements that you can use to build a reference for any source. Mouse over the example below to see how they work.

Author. “Title of the Source.” Title of the Container , Other contributors, Version, Number, Publisher, Publication date, Location.

You only include the elements that are relevant to the type of source you’re citing.

Use the interactive tool to see different versions of an MLA Works Cited entry.

Examples for common source types

The main elements of a book citation are the author, title (italicized), publisher, and year.

  • Morrison, Toni. The Bluest Eye . Vintage International, 2007.

If there are other contributors (such as editors or translators), or if you consulted a particular volume or edition of a book, these elements should also be included in the citation.

Book chapter

If a book is a collection of chapters by different authors, you should cite the author and title of the specific work. The container gives details of the book, and the location is the page range on which the chapter appears.

  • Andrews, Kehinde. “The Challenge for Black Studies in the Neoliberal University.”   Decolonising the University , edited by Gurminder K. Bhambra et al., Pluto Press, 2018, pp. 149–144.

This format also applies to works collected in anthologies (such as poems , plays , or stories ).

Journal article

Journals usually have volume and issue numbers, but no publisher is required. If you accessed the article through a database, this is included as a second container. The DOI provides a stable link to the article.

  • Salenius, Sirpa. “Marginalized Identities and Spaces: James Baldwin’s Harlem, New York.” Journal of Black Studies , vol. 48, no. 8, Jul. 2016, pp. 883–902. Sage Journals , https://doi.org/10.1177/0021934716658862.

If there is no DOI, look for a stable URL or permalink instead. Omit the “https://” prefix if using a URL or permalink, but always include it with a DOI.

For websites (including online newspapers and magazines), you usually don’t have to include a publisher. The URL is included, with the “https://” prefix removed. If a web page has no publication date , add an access date instead.

  • Coates, Ta-Nehisi. “The Case for Reparations.” The Atlantic , Jun. 2014, www.theatlantic.com/magazine/archive/2014/06/the-case-for-reparations/361631/.

If a web page has no publication date, add an access date instead.

More MLA citation examples

We also have examples for a wide range of other source types.

Play | Poem | Short story |  Movie | YouTube video | Newspaper | Interview | Lecture | PowerPoint Image | Song | Podcast | TV show | PDF | TED Talk | Bible | Shakespeare | Constitution

There are a few important formatting rules when writing author names and titles in your Works Cited entries.

Author names

Author names are inverted in the Works Cited list. However, when a second author is listed, their name is not inverted. When a source has three or more authors, only the first author is listed, followed by “ et al. ” (Latin for “and others”). A corporate author may sometimes be listed instead of an individual.

  • Smith, John.
  • Smith, John, and David Jones.
  • Smith, John, et al.

When no author is listed for a source, the Works Cited entry instead begins with the source title. The in-text citation should always match the first element of the Works Cited entry, so in these cases, it begins with the title (shortened if necessary) instead of the author’s last name.

Oxford Classical Dictionary . 4th ed., Oxford UP, 2012.

( Oxford Classical Dictionary )

Source and container titles

The titles of sources and containers are always written in title case (all major words capitalized).

Sources that are part of a larger work (e.g. a chapter in a book, an article in a periodical, a page on a website) are enclosed in quotation marks. The titles of self-contained sources (e.g. a book, a movie, a periodical, a website) are instead italicized. A title in the container position is always italicized.

If a source has no title, provide a description of the source instead. Only the first word of this description is capitalized, and no italics or quotation marks are used.

  • Kafka, Franz. “The Metamorphosis.”   The Metamorphosis and Other Stories , . . .
  • Eliot, George.  Middlemarch . . . .
  • Mackintosh, Charles Rennie. Chair of stained oak . . . .

Arrange the entries in your Works Cited list alphabetically by the author’s last name. See here for information on formatting annotations in an MLA annotated bibliography.

Multiple sources by the same author(s)

If your Works Cited list includes more than one work by a particular author, arrange these sources alphabetically by title. In place of the author element, write three em dashes for each source listed after the first.

The same applies to works by the same group of authors; replace the author element with three em dashes for subsequent sources.

Note, however, that two sources by “Smith, John, et al.” aren’t necessarily by the exact same authors; the authors represented by “et al.” could be different. Only use the three em dashes if the group of authors is exactly the same in each case; otherwise, repeat the author name and “et al.”

One author in combination with different coauthors

Sometimes, multiple entries will start with the same author, but in combination with different coauthors. Works by the author alone should come first, then works by two authors, and finally works by three or more authors (i.e., entries containing “et al.”).

Within this, sources with two authors are alphabetized by the second author’s last name , while sources using “et al.” are instead alphabetized by the title of the source.

Sources with no author

If there is no author, alphabetize the source based on the title of the work. Ignore articles ( the, a , and an ) for the purposes of alphabetization. If a title begins with a number, alphabetize it as you would if the number was spelled out.

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The MLA Works Cited lists every source that you cited in your paper. Each entry contains the author , title , and publication details of the source.

According to MLA format guidelines, the Works Cited page(s) should look like this:

  • Running head containing your surname and the page number.
  • The title, Works Cited, centered and in plain text.
  • List of sources alphabetized by the author’s surname.
  • Left-aligned.
  • Double-spaced.
  • 1-inch margins.
  • Hanging indent applied to all entries.

To apply a hanging indent to your reference list or Works Cited list in Word or Google Docs, follow the steps below.

Microsoft Word:

  • Under Indentation > Special , choose Hanging from the dropdown menu.

Google Docs:

  • Highlight the whole list and click on Format >  Align and indent >  Indentation options .
  • Under  Special indent , choose Hanging from the dropdown menu.

When the hanging indent is applied, for each reference, every line except the first is indented. This helps the reader see where one entry ends and the next begins.

A standard MLA Works Cited entry  is structured as follows:

Only include information that is available for and relevant to your source.

If a source has two authors, name both authors in your MLA in-text citation and Works Cited entry. If there are three or more authors, name only the first author, followed by et al.

Number of authors In-text citation Works Cited entry
1 author (Moore 37) Moore, Jason W.
2 authors (Moore and Patel 37) Moore, Jason W., and Raj Patel.
3+ authors (Moore et al. 37) Moore, Jason W., et al.

Yes. MLA style uses title case, which means that all principal words (nouns, pronouns , verbs, adjectives , adverbs , and some conjunctions ) are capitalized.

This applies to titles of sources as well as the title of, and subheadings in, your paper. Use MLA capitalization style even when the original source title uses different capitalization .

The fastest and most accurate way to create MLA citations is by using Scribbr’s MLA Citation Generator .

Search by book title, page URL, or journal DOI to automatically generate flawless citations, or cite manually using the simple citation forms.

Cite this Scribbr article

If you want to cite this source, you can copy and paste the citation or click the “Cite this Scribbr article” button to automatically add the citation to our free Citation Generator.

McCombes, S. (2024, March 05). MLA Works Cited | 2021 Guidelines & Free Template. Scribbr. Retrieved July 8, 2024, from https://www.scribbr.com/mla/works-cited/

Is this article helpful?

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Purdue Online Writing Lab Purdue OWL® College of Liberal Arts

MLA Works Cited: Electronic Sources (Web Publications)

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Welcome to the Purdue OWL

This page is brought to you by the OWL at Purdue University. When printing this page, you must include the entire legal notice.

Copyright ©1995-2018 by The Writing Lab & The OWL at Purdue and Purdue University. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, reproduced, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed without permission. Use of this site constitutes acceptance of our terms and conditions of fair use.

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.

However, this guide will highlight a few concerns when citing digital sources in MLA style.

Best Practices for Managing Online Sources

Because online information can change or disappear, it is always a good idea to keep personal copies of important electronic information whenever possible. Downloading or even printing key documents ensures you have a stable backup. You can also use the Bookmark function in your web browser in order to build an easy-to-access reference for all of your project's sources (though this will not help you if the information is changed or deleted).

It is also wise to keep a record of when you first consult with each online source. MLA uses the phrase, “Accessed” to denote which date you accessed the web page when available or necessary. It is not required to do so, but it is encouraged (especially when there is no copyright date listed on a website).

Important Note on the Use of URLs in MLA

Include a URL or web address to help readers locate your sources. Because web addresses are not static (i.e., they change often) and because documents sometimes appear in multiple places on the web (e.g., on multiple databases), MLA encourages the use of citing containers such as Youtube, JSTOR, Spotify, or Netflix in order to easily access and verify sources. However, MLA only requires the www. address, so eliminate all https:// when citing URLs.

Many scholarly journal articles found in databases include a DOI (digital object identifier). If a DOI is available, cite the DOI number instead of the URL.

Online newspapers and magazines sometimes include a “permalink,” which is a shortened, stable version of a URL. Look for a “share” or “cite this” button to see if a source includes a permalink. If you can find a permalink, use that instead of a URL.

Abbreviations Commonly Used with Electronic Sources

If page numbers are not available, use par. or pars. to denote paragraph numbers. Use these in place of the p. or pp. abbreviation. Par. would be used for a single paragraph, while pars. would be used for a span of two or more paragraphs.

Basic Style for Citations of Electronic Sources (Including Online Databases)

Here are some common features you should try to find before citing electronic sources in MLA style. Not every web page will provide all of the following information. However, collect as much of the following information as possible:

  • Author and/or editor names (if available); last names first.
  • "Article name in quotation marks."
  • Title of the website, project, or book in italics.
  • Any version numbers available, including editions (ed.), revisions, posting dates, volumes (vol.), or issue numbers (no.).
  • Publisher information, including the publisher name and publishing date.
  • Take note of any page numbers (p. or pp.) or paragraph numbers (par. or pars.).
  • DOI (if available, precede it with "https://doi.org/"), otherwise a URL (without the https://) or permalink.
  • Date you accessed the material (Date Accessed). While not required, saving this information it is highly recommended, especially when dealing with pages that change frequently or do not have a visible copyright date.

Use the following format:

Author. "Title." Title of container (self contained if book) , Other contributors (translators or editors), Version (edition), Number (vol. and/or no.), Publisher, Publication Date, Location (pages, paragraphs and/or URL, DOI or permalink). 2 nd container’s title , Other contributors, Version, Number, Publisher, Publication date, Location, Date of Access (if applicable).

Citing an Entire Web Site

When citing an entire website, follow the same format as listed above, but include a compiler name if no single author is available.

Author, or compiler name (if available). Name of Site. Version number (if available), Name of institution/organization affiliated with the site (sponsor or publisher), date of resource creation (if available), DOI (preferred), otherwise include a URL or permalink. Date of access (if applicable).

Editor, author, or compiler name (if available). Name of Site . Version number, Name of institution/organization affiliated with the site (sponsor or publisher), date of resource creation (if available), URL, DOI or permalink. Date of access (if applicable).

The Purdue OWL Family of Sites . The Writing Lab and OWL at Purdue and Purdue U, 2008, owl.english.purdue.edu/owl. Accessed 23 Apr. 2008.

Felluga, Dino. Guide to Literary and Critical Theory . Purdue U, 28 Nov. 2003, www.cla.purdue.edu/english/theory/. Accessed 10 May 2006.

Course or Department Websites

Give the instructor name. Then list the title of the course (or the school catalog designation for the course) in italics. Give appropriate department and school names as well, following the course title.

Felluga, Dino. Survey of the Literature of England . Purdue U, Aug. 2006, web.ics.purdue.edu/~felluga/241/241/Home.html. Accessed 31 May 2007.

English Department . Purdue U, 20 Apr. 2009, www.cla.purdue.edu/english/. Accessed 31 May 2015.

A Page on a Web Site

For an individual page on a Web site, list the author or alias if known, followed by an indication of the specific page or article being referenced. Usually, the title of the page or article appears in a header at the top of the page. Follow this with the information covered above for entire Web sites. If the publisher is the same as the website name, only list it once.

Lundman, Susan. “How to Make Vegetarian Chili.”  eHow , www.ehow.com/how_10727_make-vegetarian-chili.html. Accessed 6 July 2015.

“ Athlete's Foot - Topic Overview. ”   WebMD , 25 Sept. 2014, www.webmd.com/skin-problems-and-treatments/tc/athletes-foot-topic-overview.

Citations for e-books closely resemble those for physical books. Simply indicate that the book in question is an e-book by putting the term "e-book" in the "version" slot of the MLA template (i.e., after the author, the title of the source, the title of the container, and the names of any other contributors).

Silva, Paul J.  How to Write a Lot: A Practical Guide to Productive Academic Writing. E-book, American Psychological Association, 2007.

If the e-book is formatted for a specific reader device or service, you can indicate this by treating this information the same way you would treat a physical book's edition number. Often, this will mean replacing "e-book" with "[App/Service] ed."

Machiavelli, Niccolo.  The Prince , translated by W. K. Marriott, Kindle ed., Library of Alexandria, 2018.

Note:  The MLA considers the term "e-book" to refer to publications formatted specifically for reading with an e-book reader device (e.g., a Kindle) or a corresponding web application. These e-books will not have URLs or DOIs. If you are citing book content from an ordinary webpage with a URL, use the "A Page on a Web Site" format above.

An Image (Including a Painting, Sculpture, or Photograph)

Provide the artist's name, the work of art italicized, the date of creation, the institution and city where the work is housed. Follow this initial entry with the name of the Website in italics, and the date of access.

Goya, Francisco. The Family of Charles IV . 1800. Museo Nacional del Prado, Madrid. Museo Nacional del Prado , www.museodelprado.es/en/the-collection/art-work/the-family-of-carlos-iv/f47898fc-aa1c-48f6-a779-71759e417e74. Accessed 22 May 2006.

Klee, Paul. Twittering Machine . 1922. Museum of Modern Art, New York. The Artchive , www.artchive.com/artchive/K/klee/twittering_machine.jpg.html. Accessed May 2006.

If the work cited is available on the web only, then provide the name of the artist, the title of the work, and then follow the citation format for a website. If the work is posted via a username, use that username for the author.

Adams, Clifton R. “People Relax Beside a Swimming Pool at a Country Estate Near Phoenix, Arizona, 1928.” Found, National Geographic Creative, 2 June 2016, natgeofound.tumblr.com/.

An Article in a Web Magazine

Provide the author name, article name in quotation marks, title of the web magazine in italics, publisher name, publication date, URL, and the date of access.

Bernstein, Mark. “ 10 Tips on Writing the Living Web. ”   A List Apart: For People Who Make Websites , 16 Aug. 2002, alistapart.com/article/writeliving. Accessed 4 May 2009.

An Article in an Online Scholarly Journal

For all online scholarly journals, provide the author(s) name(s), the name of the article in quotation marks, the title of the publication in italics, all volume and issue numbers, and the year of publication. Include a DOI if available, otherwise provide a URL or permalink to help readers locate the source.

Article in an Online-only Scholarly Journal

MLA requires a page range for articles that appear in Scholarly Journals. If the journal you are citing appears exclusively in an online format (i.e. there is no corresponding print publication) that does not make use of page numbers, indicate the URL or other location information.

Dolby, Nadine. “Research in Youth Culture and Policy: Current Conditions and Future Directions.” Social Work and Society: The International Online-Only Journal, vol. 6, no. 2, 2008, www.socwork.net/sws/article/view/60/362. Accessed 20 May 2009.

Article in an Online Scholarly Journal That Also Appears in Print

Cite articles in online scholarly journals that also appear in print as you would a scholarly journal in print, including the page range of the article . Provide the URL and the date of access.

Wheelis, Mark. “ Investigating Disease Outbreaks Under a Protocol to the Biological and Toxin Weapons Convention. ”   Emerging Infectious Diseases , vol. 6, no. 6, 2000, pp. 595-600, wwwnc.cdc.gov/eid/article/6/6/00-0607_article. Accessed 8 Feb. 2009.

An Article from an Online Database (or Other Electronic Subscription Service)

Cite online databases (e.g. LexisNexis, ProQuest, JSTOR, ScienceDirect) and other subscription services as containers. Thus, provide the title of the database italicized before the DOI or URL. If a DOI is not provided, use the URL instead. Provide the date of access if you wish.

Alonso, Alvaro, and Julio A. Camargo. “ Toxicity of Nitrite to Three Species of Freshwater Invertebrates. ”   Environmental Toxicology, vol. 21, no. 1, 3 Feb. 2006, pp. 90-94. Wiley Online Library , https://doi.org/10.1002/tox.20155. Accessed 26 May 2009.

Langhamer, Claire. “Love and Courtship in Mid-Twentieth-Century England.” Historical Journal, vol. 50, no. 1, 2007, pp. 173-96. ProQuest , https://doi.org/10.1017/S0018246X06005966. Accessed 27 May 2009.

E-mail (including E-mail Interviews)

Give the author of the message, followed by the subject line in quotation marks. State to whom the message was sent with the phrase, “Received by” and the recipient’s name. Include the date the message was sent. Use standard capitalization.

Kunka, Andrew. “ Re: Modernist Literature. ”  Received by John Watts, 15 Nov. 2000.

Neyhart, David. “ Re: Online Tutoring. ” Received by Joe Barbato, 1 Dec. 2016.

A Listserv, Discussion Group, or Blog Posting

Cite web postings as you would a standard web entry. Provide the author of the work, the title of the posting in quotation marks, the web site name in italics, the publisher, and the posting date. Follow with the date of access. Include screen names as author names when author name is not known. If both names are known, place the author’s name in brackets.

Author or compiler name (if available). “Posting Title.” Name of Site , Version number (if available), Name of institution/organization affiliated with the site (sponsor or publisher), URL. Date of access.

Salmar1515 [Sal Hernandez]. “Re: Best Strategy: Fenced Pastures vs. Max Number of Rooms?” BoardGameGeek , 29 Sept. 2008, boardgamegeek.com/thread/343929/best-strategy-fenced-pastures-vs-max-number-rooms. Accessed 5 Apr. 2009.

Begin with the user's Twitter handle in place of the author’s name. Next, place the tweet in its entirety in quotations, inserting a period after the tweet within the quotations. Include the date and time of posting, using the reader's time zone; separate the date and time with a comma and end with a period. Include the date accessed if you deem necessary.

@tombrokaw. “ SC demonstrated why all the debates are the engines of this campaign. ”   Twitter, 22 Jan. 2012, 3:06 a.m., twitter.com/tombrokaw/status/160996868971704320.

@PurdueWLab. “ Spring break is around the corner, and all our locations will be open next week. ”   Twitter , 5 Mar. 2012, 12:58 p.m., twitter.com/PurdueWLab/status/176728308736737282.

A YouTube Video

Video and audio sources need to be documented using the same basic guidelines for citing print sources in MLA style. Include as much descriptive information as necessary to help readers understand the type and nature of the source you are citing. If the author’s name is the same as the uploader, only cite the author once. If the author is different from the uploader, cite the author’s name before the title.

McGonigal, Jane. “Gaming and Productivity.” YouTube , uploaded by Big Think, 3 July 2012, www.youtube.com/watch?v=mkdzy9bWW3E.

“8 Hot Dog Gadgets put to the Test.” YouTube, uploaded by Crazy Russian Hacker, 6 June 2016, www.youtube.com/watch?v=WBlpjSEtELs.

A Comment on a Website or Article

List the username as the author. Use the phrase, Comment on, before the title. Use quotation marks around the article title. Name the publisher, date, time (listed on near the comment), and the URL.

Not Omniscient Enough. Comment on “ Flight Attendant Tells Passenger to ‘Shut Up’ After Argument Over Pasta. ”  ABC News, 9 Jun 2016, 4:00 p.m., abcnews.go.com/US/flight-attendant-tells-passenger-shut-argument-pasta/story?id=39704050.

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  1. Free MLA Citation Generator

    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

  2. MLA Formatting and Style Guide

    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 (9th ed.), offers examples for the general format of MLA research papers, in-text citations, endnotes/footnotes, and the Works Cited page.

  3. MLA Format

    Cite your MLA source. Start by applying these MLA format guidelines to your document: Use an easily readable font like 12 pt Times New Roman. Set 1 inch page margins. Use double line spacing. Include a ½" indent for new paragraphs. Include a four-line MLA heading on the first page. Center the paper's title.

  4. Free MLA Citation Generator and Format|Citation Machine

    MLA essay format requires the use of first initials in-text in this scenario. Ex: (J. Silver 45) ... 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 ...

  5. Free MLA Citation Generator [Updated for 2024]

    Generate MLA format citations and create your works cited page accurately with our free MLA citation generator. Now fully compatible with MLA 8th and 9th Edition. arrow_back. ... The citations on a Works Cited page show the external sources that were used to write the main body of the academic paper, either directly as references and quotes, or ...

  6. MLA Style Center

    MLA Style Center, the only authorized Web site on MLA style, provides free resources on research, writing, and documentation. ... Ask the MLA; Sample Essays: Writing with MLA Style; Using MLA Format; Works Cited: A Quick Guide; Teaching Resources. A Century of Queer Korean Fiction: An Interview with Samuel Perry

  7. Student's Guide to MLA Style (2021)

    This guide follows the 9th edition (the most recent) of the MLA Handbook, published by the Modern Language Association in 2021. To cite sources in MLA style, you need. In-text citations that give the author's last name and a page number. A list of Works Cited that gives full details of every source. Make sure your paper also adheres to MLA ...

  8. MLA Sample Paper

    MLA Sample Paper. This resource contains a sample MLA paper that adheres to the 2016 updates. To download the MLA sample paper, click this link.

  9. Sample Essays: Writing with MLA Style

    Congratulations to the students whose essays were selected for the 2024 edition of Writing with MLA Style! Essays were selected as examples of excellent student writing that use MLA style for citing sources. Essays have been lightly edited. If your institution subscribes to MLA Handbook Plus, you can access annotated versions of the essays selected …

  10. Using MLA Format

    Get started with MLA style. Learn how to document sources, set up your paper, and improve your teaching and writing. Document Sources Works Cited Quick Guide Learn how to use the MLA format template. Digital Citation Tool Build citations with our interactive template. In-Text Citations Get help with in-text citations. Endnotes and Footnotes Read our …

  11. MLA Formatting and Style Guide

    Guidelines on writing an MLA style paper MLA Formatting and Style Guide Overview of how to create MLA in-text citations and reference lists In-Text Citations. Resources on using in-text citations in MLA style. The Basics General guidelines for referring to the works of others in your essay ...

  12. Citation Machine®: Format & Generate

    Stay up to date! Get research tips and citation information or just enjoy some fun posts from our student blog. Citation Machine® helps students and professionals properly credit the information that they use. Cite sources in APA, MLA, Chicago, Turabian, and Harvard for free.

  13. General Format

    Type your paper on a computer and print it out on standard, white 8.5 x 11-inch paper. Double-space the text of your paper and use a legible font (e.g. Times New Roman). Whatever font you choose, MLA recommends that the regular and italics type styles contrast enough that they are each distinct from one another.

  14. LibGuides: MLA Format Guide

    When formatting your essay, there are a few things to keep in mind: Use the correct font as listed under the "Home" tab of this guide. Double-space your text, use 12 pt font, and use a legible font style, such as Times New Roman, Ariel, Calibri, etc., ensuring that the regular and italic font styles are distinct.

  15. MLA Style Guide, 8th & 9th Editions: Book with Editor (s)

    If you are citing a portion of the book written by the editor, begin with the editor. Give the author's name after the title preceded by [by]. Anthology with editor (s) (O'Brien 690) O'Brien, Tim. "The Things They Carried." Literature: Reading Fiction, Poetry, and Drama, edited by Robert DiYanni, 6th ed., McGraw Hill, 2007, pp. 684-97.

  16. MLA Works Cited Page: Books

    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. ... the title of the essay, the editor's last name, and the page range: L'Eplattenier, Barbara. "Finding ...

  17. Author Names in MLA

    When there are two authors, simply cite both surnames, separated by "and". When there are three or more authors, cite the first author's surname followed by "et al." if the citation appears in parentheses. If you cite in the main text, instead of "et al.", write "and colleagues" or "and others". Number of authors.

  18. MLA Style

    MLA Essay Template. For even experienced students, formatting a paper can be a daunting task. For that reason, the Excelsior Online Writing Lab created this template to give writers a foundation for formatting using the Modern Language Association guidelines. The template also references OWL sections that might be helpful when writing an essay.

  19. MLA In-Text Citations: The Basics

    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 (9th ed.), offers examples for the general format of MLA research papers, in-text citations, endnotes/footnotes, and the Works Cited page.

  20. Multiple Authors or Editors

    Producing Canadian Literature: Authors Speak on the Literary Marketplace. Wilfrid Laurier UP, 2012. Example 2 - Two Editors. In-Text: (Shatz and Wilkinson 156) Works Cited: Shatz, Marilyn, and Louise C. Wilkinson, editors. The Education of English Language Learners: Research to Practice. Guilford, 2010.

  21. MLA Works Cited

    Like the rest of an MLA format paper, the Works Cited should be left-aligned and double-spaced with 1-inch margins. You can use our free MLA Citation Generator to create and manage your Works Cited list. Choose your source type and enter the URL, DOI or title to get started. Generate accurate MLA citations with Scribbr

  22. MLA Works Cited: Electronic Sources (Web Publications)

    However, MLA only requires the www. address, so eliminate all https:// when citing URLs. Many scholarly journal articles found in databases include a DOI (digital object identifier). If a DOI is available, cite the DOI number instead of the URL. Online newspapers and magazines sometimes include a "permalink," which is a shortened, stable ...