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MLA Works Cited Page: Basic Format

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According to MLA style, you must have a Works Cited page at the end of your research paper. All entries in the Works Cited page must correspond to the works cited in your main text.

Basic rules

• Begin your Works Cited page on a separate page at the end of your research paper. It should have the same one-inch margins and last name, page number header as the rest of your paper.
• Only the title should be centered. The citation entries themselves should be aligned with the left margin.
• Double space all citations, but do not skip spaces between entries.
• Indent the second and subsequent lines of citations by 0.5 inches to create a hanging indent.
• List page numbers of sources efficiently, when needed. If you refer to a journal article that appeared on pages 225 through 250, list the page numbers on your Works Cited page as pp. 225-50 (Note: MLA style dictates that you should omit the first sets of repeated digits. In our example, the digit in the hundreds place is repeated between 2 25 and 2 50, so you omit the 2 from 250 in the citation: pp. 225-50). If the excerpt spans multiple pages, use “pp.”   Note that MLA style uses a hyphen in a span of pages.
• If only one page of a print source is used, mark it with the abbreviation “p.” before the page number (e.g., p. 157). If a span of pages is used, mark it with the abbreviation “pp.” before the page number (e.g., pp. 157-68).
• If you're citing an article or a publication that was originally issued in print form but that you retrieved from an online database, you should type the online database name in italics. You do not need to provide subscription information in addition to the database name.
• For online sources, you should include a location to show readers where you found the source. Many scholarly databases use a DOI (digital object identifier). Use a DOI in your citation if you can; otherwise use a URL. Delete “http://” from URLs. The DOI or URL is usually the last element in a citation and should be followed by a period.
• All works cited entries end with a period.

Additional basic rules new to MLA 2021

New to MLA 2021:

• Apps and databases should be cited only when they are containers of the particular works you are citing, such as when they are the platforms of publication of the works in their entirety, and not an intermediary that redirects your access to a source published somewhere else, such as another platform. For example, the Philosophy Books app should be cited as a container when you use one of its many works, since the app contains them in their entirety. However, a PDF article saved to the Dropbox app is published somewhere else, and so the app should not be cited as a container.
• If it is important that your readers know an author’s/person’s pseudonym, stage-name, or various other names,  then you should generally cite the better-known form of author’s/person’s name. For example, since the author of Alice's Adventures in Wonderland is better-known by his pseudonym, cite Lewis Carroll opposed to Charles Dodgson (real name).
• For annotated bibliographies , annotations should be appended at the end of a source/entry with one-inch indentations from where the entry begins. Annotations may be written as concise phrases or complete sentences, generally not exceeding one paragraph in length.

Capitalization and punctuation

• Capitalize each word in the titles of articles, books, etc, but do not capitalize articles (the, an), prepositions, or conjunctions unless one is the first word of the title or subtitle: Gone with the Wind, The Art of War, There Is Nothing Left to Lose .
• Use italics (instead of underlining) for titles of larger works (books, magazines) and quotation marks for titles of shorter works (poems, articles)

Listing author names

Entries are listed alphabetically by the author's last name (or, for entire edited collections, editor names). Author names are written with the last name first, then the first name, and then the middle name or middle initial when needed:

Do not  list titles (Dr., Sir, Saint, etc.) or degrees (PhD, MA, DDS, etc.) with names. A book listing an author named "John Bigbrain, PhD" appears simply as "Bigbrain, John." Do, however, include suffixes like "Jr." or "II." Putting it all together, a work by Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. would be cited as "King, Martin Luther, Jr." Here the suffix following the first or middle name and a comma.

More than one work by an author

If you have cited more than one work by a particular author, order the entries alphabetically by title, and use three hyphens in place of the author's name for every entry after the first:

Burke, Kenneth. A Grammar of Motives . [...]

---. A Rhetoric of Motives . [...]

When an author or collection editor appears both as the sole author of a text and as the first author of a group, list solo-author entries first:

Heller, Steven, ed. The Education of an E-Designer .

Heller, Steven, and Karen Pomeroy. Design Literacy: Understanding Graphic Design.

Work with no known author

Alphabetize works with no known author by their title; use a shortened version of the title in the parenthetical citations in your paper. In this case, Boring Postcards USA has no known author:

Baudrillard, Jean. Simulacra and Simulations.  [...]

Boring Postcards USA  [...]

Burke, Kenneth. A Rhetoric of Motives . [...] 

Work by an author using a pseudonym or stage-name

New to MLA 9th edition, there are now steps to take for citing works by an author or authors using a pseudonym, stage-name, or different name. 

If the person you wish to cite is well-known, cite the better-known form of the name of the author. For example, since Lewis Carroll is  not only a pseudonym of Charles Dodgson , but also the better-known form of the author’s name, cite the former name opposed to the latter. 

If the real name of the author is less well-known than their pseudonym, cite the author’s pseudonym in square brackets following the citation of their real name: “Christie, Agatha [Mary Westmacott].”

Authors who published various works under many names may be cited under a single form of the author’s name. When the form of the name you wish to cite differs from that which appears on the author’s work, include the latter in square brackets following an italicized published as : “Irving, Washington [ published as Knickerbocker, Diedrich].”.

Another acceptable option, in cases where there are only two forms of the author’s name, is to cite both forms of the author’s names as separate entries along with cross-references in square brackets: “Eliot, George [ see also Evans, Mary Anne].”.

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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MLA Citation Help

• In-Text Citations
• Creating a Works Cited Page
• MLA Style Research Paper

Works Cited Examples

Here are examples for an MLA-style Works Cited Page. The Works Cited page contains citations for various resources and materials that you encountered throughout your research process. Each reference will provide the formatting and an example.

The examples on this page were taken from the MLA Handbook, 8th Edition.

Books (Print): One Author  (Find this example on page  21  of the handbook)

Last Name, First Name. Title of Book . Publisher, Publication date.

Jacobs, Alan.  The Pleasure of Reading in an Age of Distraction . Oxford UP, 2011.  

Books (Print): Two Authors (Find t his e xample on page  21  of the handbook)

Last Name. First Name, & First Name Last Name.  Title of Book .

Publisher, Publication date.

Dorris, Michael & Louise Erdrich.  The Crown of Columbus .

HarperCollins Publishers, 1999.

Journal Article (Print) (Find t his e xample on page  21  of the handbook)

Last Name, First Name. "Title of Article."  Title of Journal , vol. #, no. #,

Publication date, pp. #.

Baron, Naomi S. "Redefining Reading: The Impact of Digital Communication

Media."  PMLA , vol. 128, no. 1, Jan. 2013, pp. 193-200.

Selected Work in Reference Collection or Anthology (Print) (Find t his e xample on page  27  of the handbook)

Last Name, First Name. "Title of Work." Ti tle of Collection , edited by

Editor's Name(s),  Publisher(s), Year, page range of entry .

Dewar, James A., and Peng Hwa Ang. "The Cultural Consequences of Printing

and the Internet."  Agents of Change:  Print Culture Studies after Elizabeth L.

Eisenstein , edited by Sabrina Alcorn Baron et al., University of  Massachusetts

Press/Center for the Book, Library of Congress, 2007, pp. 365-77.

Government Document (Print) (Find more information on corporate authors in  section 2.1.3 , or  page 104 ,  of the handbook)

Organizational Author. Ti tle of Document . Publication Office, Publication date.

United States Government Accountability Office.  Climate Change: EPA and DOE

Should Do More to Encourage Progress Under Two Voluntary Programs .

Government Printing Office, 2006.

Photograph, Painting, or Sculpture (Find a similar  e xample on page 49   of the handbook)

Last Name, First Name.  Title of Artwork .  Composition  date, medium of the piece,

location of institution where artwork is held.

Goya, Francisco.  The Family of Charles IV . 1800, oil on canvas, Museo del Prado, 

eBooks (Find t his e xample on page  34  of the handbook)

Last Name, First Name.  Title of Book . Publisher, Publication date.

eBook host , http://www.xxxxx .

Gikandi, Simon. Ngugi wa Thiong'o . Cambridge University Press, 2000.  

ACLS Humanitites E-Book ,  hdl.handle.net/2027/heb.07588.0001.001 .

Online Resources

Journal Article (Online) (Find t his e xample on page 48   of the handbook)

Publication date.  Database title,   doi: or  URL.

Chan, Evans. "Postmodernism and Hong Kong Cinema."   Postmodern Culture , vol. 10,

no. 3, May 2000. Project Muse , doi: 10.1353/pmc.2000.0021.

Web Post or Article (Online) (Find t his e xample on page  44  of the handbook)

Last Name, First Name. "Article Title." Title of Website , Day Month Year,

Hollmichel, Stefanie. "The Reading Brain: Differences between Digital and Print."

So Many Books,  25 Apr. 2013, 

somanybooksblog.com/2013/04/25/the-reading-brain-differences-between-

digital-and-print .

Website with an Author* (Find t his e xample on page  28  of the handbook)

Last Name, First Name. Website  Title . Publication Date,

www.xxxxx .

Hollmichel, Stefanie. So Many Books . 2003-16,

somanybooksblog.com .

*   websites with no author or date will omit the Author and Publication sections.

Audio/Visual

Motion Picture (Find t his e xample on page  41  of the handbook)

Last Name, First Name, director.  Title of Motion Picture.  Studio, Publication date.

Jonze, Spike, director.  Adaptation . Columbia Pictures, 2002.

Episode in Television Series (Find t his e xample on page  28  of the handbook)

"Title of episode."  Television Series , created by First-Last Name [series creator],

performance by First Name, Last Name [lead actor/actress], season #,

episode #, Publisher, Production date.

"Hush."  Buffy the Vampire Slayer , created by Joss Whedon, performance by

Sarah Michelle Gellar, season 4, episode 10, Mutant Enemy, 1999.  

Sound Recording (Song) (Find t his e xample on page  28  of the handbook)

Artist Title. "Song title."  Title of Album .  Publisher , Publication date.

Beyonce. "Pretty Hurts." Beyonce . Parkwood Entertainment, 2013.  

Photograph, Painting, or Sculpture (Online/Reproduction of Work) (Find a similar  e xample on page  50  of the handbook)

Last Name, First Name. Title of Artwork . Composition  date, medium of the piece,

location of image.

Campbell, William. Pittsburgh 1904 . 1903,

chromolithograph,  www.loc.gov/pictures/item/2006676672/ .

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MLA Citation Style Guide: 7th Edition

• Web Sources
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• Magazine & News Articles
• Encyclopedias, Dictionaries, & Reference Materials
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• In-Text Citations

How Do I Set Up My Works Cited Page?

After you put all of your sources into correct MLA format, you will need to include them all on a Works Cited page.

The Works Cited page is a separate page. At the top of this page, center the words Works Cited .

Double-space and then enter or paste in all of the citations for sources that you cited within the body of your research paper; arrange them in alphabetical order by author's last name.

WHAT IF THERE IS MORE THAN ONE AUTHOR?

Alphabetize by the name of the first author listed.

WHAT IF THE CITATION DOESN'T HAVE AN AUTHOR?

Alphabetize by the first word in the title of the article, book, or other source.  Ignore words like A, An, or The.

WHAT IF MULTIPLE CITATIONS HAVE THE SAME AUTHOR?

Arrange the entries alphabetically by title, and use three hyphens in place of the author's name for every cafter the first:

Burke, Kenneth. A Grammar of Motives . [...]

---. A Rhetoric of Motives . [...]

WHAT IS A WORKS CITED AND CONSULTED PAGE?

A Works Cited and Consulted page lists not only the works that you cited in your paper, but those that you have read while researching your paper; these sources helped to shape your thinking about your research topic but were not cited within the body of the paper.

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Citation Manuals

• APA Citations
• Journal Article
• Magazine Article
• Chapters and Parts of Books
• Unpublished Manuscripts/Informal Publications (i.e. course packets and dissertations)
• MLA Citations
• MLA Works Cited Page
• Chicago Citations
• Chicago Bibliography
• Installation
• How to Gather Citations
• Word Processing with Zotero
• Basic Formatting - Microsoft Word
• Basic Formatting - Google Docs

Works Cited Basic Rules

A works-cited list should be included at the end of your research paper after any endnotes. All entries in the works-cited list must correspond to the works cited in your main text.

• Begin your Works Cited page on a separate page at the end of your research paper. The heading, Works Cited, should be centered one inch from the top of the page. If there is only one work in the list, call it Work Cited.  
• Double-space between the heading and the first entry.
• Each entry should be flush against the left margin.
• For entries that run longer than a sentence, indent the second and subsequent lines of citations by 0.5 inches to create a hanging indent.
• Double-space the entire list.

Image source: MLA Sample Works Cited Page, Purdue Online Writing Lab (OWL)

One Author:

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

Two Authors:

Last Name, First Name, and First Name Last Name. Title of Work.  Publisher, Publication Date.

More than Two Authors:

Last Name, First Name, et al. Title of Work . Publisher, Publication Date. 

Unknown Author:

Title of Work. Publisher, Publication Date. 

Short Stories

Short Story from Edited Collection:

Last name, First name. “Story Title.”  Book Title , edited by Editor first name Last name, vol, Publisher, Year, pp.

Short Story from Author's Collection:

Last name, First name. “Story Title.”  Book Title , Publisher, Year, pp.

Journal Articles

Journal Article in a Database with DOI

Last Name,  First Name. "Title of Article." Title of Periodical,  vol. no, year, pp. Source,  DOI.

Journal Article in a Database with a Permalink

Last Name,  First Name. "Title of Article." Title of Periodical,  vol. no, year, pp. Source, Permalink .

•   The MLA Style Center, Works Cited: A Quick Guide. 
• MLA Citations by Format
• Purdue Online Writing Lab sample MLA Works Cited

 MLA Handbook, Ninth Edition . Modern Language Association of America, 2021. 

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Table of Contents

Ai, ethics & human agency, collaboration, information literacy, writing process, formatting the works cited page (mla).

• CC BY-NC-ND 4.0 by Jennifer Janechek - IBM Quantum

Whenever you incorporate outside sources into your own writing, you must provide both in-text citations (within the body of the paper) and full citations (in the Works Cited page). The in-text citations point your reader toward the full citations in the Works Cited page.

That’s why the first bit of information in your in-text citation (generally, the author’s name; if no name is provided, the title of the article/book/webpage) should directly match up with the beginning of your Works Cited entry for that source. For further information about in-text citations, please read “ Formatting In-Text Citations .”

For example, let’s say I have a quote from Benedict Anderson’s Imagined Communities in my research paper. Within the body of the paper, following the quote, I include the following in-text citation: (Anderson 56). This information points to the book’s entry in my Works Cited page:

Anderson, Benedict. Imagined Communities: Reflections on the Origin and Spread of Nationalism . London: Verso, 2006. Print.

When your reader sees the in-text citation in your essay, they may decide that the source might be valuable for their own research. When they look at the Works Cited page, they can easily locate the source (because the Works Cited page is alphabetized and because they have the in-text citation as their referent) and then can use the full citation to retrieve a copy of the source for their own research. But aside from providing the reader with resources for their own research, the Works Cited page serves another function: it establishes the writer’s credibility. If a writer fails to include in-text citations and/or a Works Cited page, that writer has plagiarized because he or she has neglected to provide the publication information of the source. In addition, when a reader locates undocumented information in an essay, they will likely think that the information was made up by the writer or that the information was stolen from a source, or plagiarized. And when a reader peruses a writer’s Works Cited page, they can see the types of sources used by the writer, assessing those sources in terms of their credibility. For instance, if a reader reads my Works Cited page and sees I cite sources from university presses such as Oxford UP and Cambridge UP, they will know that I’ve incorporated credible sources into my research paper. Thus, including both in-text citations and a Works Cited page in a research paper provides the writer with ethos, or credibility.

Now let’s take a look at how to properly format a Works Cited page according to MLA guidelines:

According to MLA style guidelines, the Works Cited page should appear after the body of your paper and any accompanying endnotes. It should begin on a new page, and the pagination should continue from the body of the paper. In the above example, the Works Cited page begins on page 38, which means that the essay concluded on page 37.

General format

The Works Cited page should be double-spaced throughout. The first line of each entry should be flush with the left margin; if the entry extends more than one line, ensuing lines should be indented 1/2 inch from the left margin. The first page of the Works Cited list should have the title “Works Cited,” not “Bibliography.” The Works Cited title should appear in the same manner as the paper’s title: capitalized and centered—not bolded, within quotation marks, italicized, underlined, or in a larger font.

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Citing Sources Guide

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• Citations - Welcome
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Works Cited Page Examples

• Work Cited Guidelines
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MLA Style -  Works Cited Quick Guide

The Works Cited list provides all bibliographic information on all sources cited in your work.

• Works Cited lists are located at the end of the paper
• Works Cited lists are double-spaced with no space between entries
• Use hanging indent to indent the second and subsequent entry lines .5 inches from the left margin
• Arrange entries in alphabetical order by the first element, usually the author. If there is no author, use the title
• Alphabetize letter by letter of the author's name before the comma. Letters after the comma are used only when authors have the same last name
• For multiple works by the same author, alphabetize by title. Also, replace the author's name with three hyphens on the second and subsequent entries
• Alphabetize titles letter by letter, ignoring initial articles (A, An, The, and foreign equivalents)
• The location of an online work should include a URL or DOI
• End all citations with a period

​​​​​​ Title

• " Article Title "  is in quotation marks
• Journal Title  is in italics
• If there is no author, begin with the "Article Title."

Multiple Authors

• Rettberg, Jill, and Radhika Gajjala
• Wright, Chrysalis, et. al.

Page Numbers: 

• For single pages, use 'p.' followed by the number
• For multiple pages, use 'pp.' followed by the numbers
• If an article is not printed on consecutive pages, cite only the first-page number in the range, followed by a plus sign:  pp. A1+

Publication Date:  

• When available, it is written as Day Month Year

Two authors  

• Only the first author's name is inverted.

Last Name, First Name, and First Name Last Name.

Rettberg, Jill, and Radhika Gajjala.

Three or more authors  

• Use "et. Al." 
• Only the first author is listed

Last Name, First Name, et al. 

Wright, Chrysalis, et al.

Journal Article in a Database

Last Name, First Name. "Title of Article."  Title of Journal , volume number, issue number, date, page number.  Name of the database,  doi.

Lee, Derek. "Dark Romantic: F. Scott Fitzgerald and the Specters of Gothic Modernism."  Journal of Modern Literature , vol. 41, no. 4, 2018, pp. 125-42.  Ebsco,  https://www.doi.org/10.1016/j.socscimed.2020.113572. 

Journal Article in a Database with a Season

Last Name, First Name. "Title of Article."  Title of Journal , volume number, issue number, season date, page number.

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 .

Journal Article in Print

Last Name, First Name. "Title of Article."  Title of Journal , volume number, issue number, date, page number.

Meisenhelder, Susan. "Conflict and Resistance in Zora Neale Hurston's Mules and Men."  Journal of American Folklore , vol. 109, no.433, 1996, pp. 267.

Newspaper Article from a Database

Last Name, First Name. "Title of Article."  Title of Newspaper,  Day Month Year of publication,   URL.

Davis, Anna, and Sophia Sleigh. "London Teens in Record A-Level Surge."  Evening Standard , 10 Aug. 2021, www.proquest.com/newspapers/london-teens-record-level-surge/docview/2559699413/se-2?accountid=35757 . 

Newspaper Article by a Group (Opinion or Editorial Board) from a Database

Name of Group. "Title of Article."  Title of Newspaper,  Day Month Year of publication, URL.

Editorial Board. "The Plight of 'Boarder Babies'."  The Christian Science Monitor , 06 Jul. 1992,  http://rocky.iona.edu:2048/login?url=https://www.proquest.com/newspapers/plight-boarder-babies/docview/291210942/se-2?accountid=35757.

Newspaper Article in Print

Last Name, First Name. "Title of Article."  Title of Newspaper, D ay, Month, Year of publication, p. page#.

Mueller, Benjamin. "Despite Another Covid Surge, Deaths Stay Near Lows."  The  New York Times , 21 June 2022, p.A1.

Magazine Article without an Author from a Database

"Title of Article."  Title of Magazine , volume number, issue number, day, month and year of publication, page number.  Name of the  database,  DOI, or permalink. 

"Gustav Mahler."  Billboard , vol. 128, no. 31, 10 Dec. 2016, p. 32.  Gale General OneFile,  https://link.gale.com/apps/doc/A481243580/ITOF?u=nysl_me_iona&sid=bookmark-ITOF&xid=89fd9eaa .

Magazine Article in Print

Last Name, First Name. "Title of Article."  Title of Magazine , volume number, issue number, day, month and year of publication, page number.

Coppins, McCay. "The Men Who Are Killing America's Newspapers."  The Atlantic , Nov. 2021, pp. 32-40.

E-book from a Database

​Last name, First name.  Title of the Book.  Publisher, Year of Publication.  Name of E Provider,  URL.

Milne, A A.  Winnie-the-Pooh . Illustrated by Ernest H Shepard, McClelland & Stewart, Ltd, 1926,  Project Guttenberg ,  www.gutenberg.org/files/67098/67098-h/67098-h.htm .

E-book from an App

Last Name, First Name.  Title of the Book . App Source ed., Publisher, Date.

Swartz, Omar.  The View from on the Road: The Rhetorical Vision of Jack Kerouac . Kindle ed., Southern Illinois University Press, 1999.

Print Book with a Single Author

Last Name, First Name.  Title of the Book . Publisher, Date.

Mantel, Hilary.  Wolf Hall: A Novel . 2nd ed., Henry Holt, 2009.

Print Book with Two Authors

Last Name, First Name, and First Name Last Name.  Title of the Book . Publisher, Date.

King, Steven, and Peter Straub.  The Talisman . Viking, 1984.

Print Book with Three or more Authors

*Note only the first author is listed, and then all names are combined into et al.,

Last Name, First Name, et al.  Title of the Book . Publisher, Date.

Griliches, Zvi, et al.,  Handbook of Econometrics . North-Holland Pub. Co, 1983.

Print Book with an  Author and an Editor/Translator/Illustrator

Last Name, First Name.  Title of the Book . Edited/Translated/Illustrated by First Name Last Name, Publisher, Date.

Shakespeare, William.  A Midsummers Night's Dream . Edited by Linda Buckle, Cambridge University Press, 2019.

Flaubert, Gustave.  Madame Bovary . Translated by Eleanor Marx-Aveling, Independently Published, 2021.

Baum, Frank L.  The Wonderful Wizard of Oz . Illustrated by W.W. Denslow, SeaWolf Press, 2019.

Book with an  Unknown Author and an Editor/Translator/Illustrator

Title of the Book . Translated by First Name Last Name, Edited/Translated/Illustrated by First Name Last Name, Publisher, Date.

The Arabian Nights : Tales of 1,001 Nights. Translated by Malcolm C. Lyons, Edited by Robert Irwin, Penguin Classics. 2010.

Chapter in a Print Book

Last Name, First Name. "Title of Chapter."  Title of the Book . Publisher, Date.

Chaucer, Geoffrey. "The Monk's Tale."  The Canterbury Tales.  Penguin Books, 2007.

Chapter in an Print Anthology

Last name, First name. "Title of Chapter."  Title of the Book: Plus a Subtitle,  Edited by First name Last name, Publisher, Year of Publication. Inclusive Page Numbers.

Shikibu, Murasaki. "The Tale of Genji."  The Norton Anthology of World Literature , Edited by Martin Puchner et al., W.W. Norton & Company, 2019, pp. 1237-1418.

Example of Short Story Posted by Professor on a Course Management Platform:

Note if the Professor provides a link to an external site, then use that site for the citation and not the course management platform.

​Author Last Name, First Name. "Title of Short Story." Learning Management System,  Day Month Year, URL.

​Jackson, Shirley. "The Lottery."  Blackboard , uploaded by Jane Doe, 5 March 2024, learn.iona.edu .

Short Story on a Website:

​Author Last Name, First Name. "Title of Short Story." Title of Website,  Year, URL.

​Jackson, Shirley. "The Lottery."  AmericanLiterature.com , 2024, URL.

Short Story from an Anthology:

​Author Last Name, First Name. "Title of Short Story." Title of Anthology,  edited by First Name Last Name and First Name Last Name, Edition, Publisher, Year, pages.

​Jackson, Shirley. "The Lottery."  Novels and Stories: The Lottery, The Haunting of Hill House, We Have Always Lived in the Castle, Other Stories and Sketche s. edited by Joyce Carol Oates, Library of America, 2010, pp.. 3-33.

General Information on Citing Shakespeare

Italicize the titles of the plays – Macbeth  (for the play)

Use standard font for the name of a character Macbeth  –  (for the character)

You may abbreviate the title of the play in the parenthetical citation ( check with your instructor first )

• Macbeth –  Mac.
• Hamlet –  Ham.
• Usually use Arabic numbers (1.5.4-5) or (2.1.110-13)
• Some instructors prefer Roman numerals (II.iv.4-6)
• If the author’s name is mentioned in the text, only put the page number in parentheses; otherwise (author’s last name #).
• If there are no different sources between quotes – can use  (#) 

In-Text Citations

Short Quotes 

( Name of Play,  Act. Scene, Line) or (Author, Act, Scene, Line)

• "Haste me to know't, that I, with wings as swift" ( Hamlet  1.5.35).
•   "This is a sorry sight" (Shakespeare 2.2.26).

If the quote is more than one line, use the forward-slash between each line/verse.

 "Haste me to know't, that I, with wings as swift / As meditation … / May sweep to my revenge" ( Hamlet  1.5.35-37).  

The forward-slash is separated from the text by spaces and indicates a new verse.

 The ellipsis ... indicates that part of the text was excluded.

Play in a Database

Shakespeare, William.  Macbeth . Yale University Press, 2005.  JSTOR ,  www.jstor.org/stable/j.ctt1nq91p .

Play from a Website

Shakespeare, William.  As You Like It ,  The Complete Works of William Shakespeare.  shakespeare.mit.edu/asyoulikeit/index.html .

Play in an E-book

Shakespeare, William.  The Winter's Tale.  Kindle ed., Simon & Schuster, 2016.

Play in a Print Book

Shakespeare, William.  Macbeth.  Bedford/St. Martins, 1999.

Play in a Print Anthology

Shakespeare, William.  The Tragedy of Macbeth. T he Complete Works , edited by Stanley Well, Oxford University Press, 1998, pp. 2501-2565.

Citing a song is dependent on how you access the song.

Artist or Band name. "Title of Song."  Album Name,  Label Producer, Date. Format.

Chapin, Harry. "Cat's in the Cradle." Verities & Balderdash,  Electra, 1973. Vinyl EP.

Chapin, Harry. "Cat's in the Cradle." Verities & Balderdash,  Electra, 1973. Spotify,  open.spotify.com/track/2obblQ6tcePeOEVJV6nEGD .

Online Dictionary

"Word, Part of Speech. (Number of the definition used)."  Title of Book . Date, URL.

"Victorious, Adj. (2)."  Merriam-Webster , 2021,  www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/victorious . 

Print Dictionary

"Word, Part of Speech. (Number of the definition used)."  Title of Book . Edition, Publisher, Date, page number.

 Example:

"Amity, N. (1)."  Shorter Oxford English, 2020 , 5th ed., Shorter Oxford, 2002, p. 69.

Page on a Website

Last Name, First Name. "Page Title."  Name of Website,  day month year, URL/ DOI.

Carillo, Ellen, et al. "MLA Style Center, the Only Authorized Web Site on MLA Style, Provides Free Resources on Research, Writing, and Documentation."  MLA Style Center , 2021,  style.mla.org/?_ga=2.84140569.1427309408.1637273253153117140.1635779276 .

Page on a Website without an author

Format: 

“Title of Publication.”  Title of the Website . Publisher of the site, year of publication. URL. 

"It's Time to End Solitary Confinement: Ian Manuel Story."   ACLU,  American Civil Liberties Union ,  4 January 2024,  https://www.aclu.org/podcast/its-time-to-end-solitary-confinement-ian-manuels-story .

Page of a Government Website

Name of Government Organization. "Page Name."  Title of Source , Date of Source. URL

The United States Department of Justice. "Readout of Meeting between U.S. Deputy Attorney General Lisa O. Monaco and United Kingdom Home Secretary Priti Patel."  The United States Department of Justice , 19 Nov. 2021,  www.justice.gov/opa/pr/readoutmeeting-between-us-deputy-attorney-general-lisa-o-monaco-and-united-kingdom-home .

Government Source in Print

Name of Government Organization.  Title of Source.  Date of Source. Publisher, Date of Publication.

United States, Congress, Committee on the Judiciary.  Federal Rules of Bankruptcy Procedure.  2010. Government Printing Office, 2020.

Report Published Online

Name of Author or Agency.  Title of Source.  Date of Source. URL.

D&B Hoovers.  Live Nation Entertainment, Inc. Profile.  June 2023,  w w w.proquest.com/reports/live-nation-entertainment- inc/docview/1860786790/se-2?accountid=35757.

Rules for citing the Bible

Books of the Bible are abbreviated; see the MLA Handbook for standard abbreviations.

Example: (Phil. 3.8)

A period, not a colon, separates chapter and verse.

When you first refer to a particular version, include the name, a comma, and the passage.

Examples: ( New Revised Standard Version , Phil. 3.8) 

After this, only include the scripture reference unless you switch versions.

Online version of the Bible 

Title.  Version, date. URL.

The Bible.  King James Bible Online, 2022.  www.kingjamesbibleonline.org/ .

Print Religious Texts

Title.  Version, Editor, Publisher, year.

The Bible . Authorized King James Version, Oxford University Press, 2010.

The Qu'ran.  Translated by M.A.S. Abdel Haleem, Oxford UP, 2015.

The New Jerusalem Bible.  Edited by Henry Wansbrough, Doubleday, 1985.

Author Name. "Title of post." Social Media Forum,  Day Month year, URL

Example of Post:

Modern Language Association. "If you're just beginning your PhD journey or are still in the early years of your program, these five tips can help you make the most of your experience."  LinkedIn , 2021, www.linkedin.com/posts/modern-language-association_lessons-on-how-to-make-the-most-of-ones-activity-6808411708323901440-Xl8Z/.

Author Name. Comment on "Title of post," by Author of Post First Name Last Name.  Social Media Forum,  Day Month year, URL

Example of Comment:

Varro-reatinus. Comment on U/reggiew07's review of  King Leopold's Ghost: A Story of Greed, Terror, and Heroism in Colonial Africa  by Adam Hochschild.  Reddit , 31 Oct. 2020, www.reddit.com/r/books/comments/jlbrs4/king_leopolds_ghost_a_story_of_greed_terror_and/ .

The description of the image can vary (Photo of or Cover of) and is only italicized if the name of a book,

Author Name. Description.  Social Media Forum,  Day Month year, URL

Thomas, Angie. Photo of  The Hate U Give  cover.  Instagram , 4 Dec. 2018,  www.instagram.com/p/Bq_PaXKgqPw /.

Profile 

Name [@name]. "Description of Post."  Social Media Platform,  URL. Accessed Day Month Year.

Meg [@literaturewithmeg]. "Finish a book with me."  TikTok , www.tiktok.com/@literaturewithmeg/video/ . Accessed 22 April 2020.

Thread 

@name. "Description of Post."  Social Media Platform,  Day Month Year of Post, URL.

@roopikarisam (Roopika Risam). "Thank you, @annetiquate & @caitduffy49 for the opportunity to speak today and to all of you who are participating. . . . " Twitter , 18 July 2019,  twitter.com/roopikarisam/status/1151919685149036545 .

Author Last Name, First Name, or Account Name. "Description of Post."  Title of Blog ,  Day Month Year of Post, URL.

Liddon, Angela. "Perfect Little Pumpkin Cookies with Spiced Buttercream."  Oh She Glows, An Elite Cafemedia a Food Publisher , 23 Feb. 2021,  ohsheglows.com/2020/09/20/perfect-little-pumpkin-cookies-with-spiced-buttercream/.

Sender Last Name, Sender First Name. Email to. day month year.

Kane, Doris. Email to Standards Committee. 21 June 2020.

X (Formally Twitter)

Use X now that Twitter no longer exists as older posts are now hosted on X. Also refer to "posts" rather than "tweets."

Author of the post or the account name "Title of the material or a description." Title of the social media site, Day Month Year of post, URL.

O’Connor, Kim. “Kelly Link on ‘nighttime logic.’”  X , 13 Feb. 2024, twitter.com/shallowbrigade/status/1757476492647219227.

Keys, Alicia. “Videos.”  TikTok , 2020, www.tiktok.com/@aliciakeys?lang=en.

Creator. "Title."  Name of Series,   hosted by First name Last name. episode #,   day Month Year, URL.

Turow, Scott. "How Scott Turow Writes."  How Writers Write , hosted by Brian Murphy, episode 90, 23 Sept. 2021,  podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/how-writers-write-by-happywriter/id1484859401 .

Creator. "Title (Video)."  YouTube,  uploaded by First name Last name,   day Month Year of upload, URL.

Frost, Robert. "The Road not Taken (Video)."  YouTube,  uploaded by QuestioVerum2010, 8 Nov. 2012,  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KUaQgRiJukA .

Generating citations is a quick and easy way to begin the citation process. Be careful, though, as the generators are not 100% accurate. They will get you part of the way there, and then you will need to tailor each citation.

From the video home screen (the page after selecting a video before playing the video):

• Click the more tab
• Click the citation tool
• Choose between: MLA, APA & Chicago citation styles

TV Series Watched on an App

"Title of Episode."   Directed by First Name Last Name.  Name of Series,  season #, episode #, Film Studio, Date.  Name of app  app.

"A Seat at the Table." Directed by Mimi Leder.  The Morning Show , season 1, episode 2, Amazon Prime, 1 Nov. 2019.  Amazon Prime Video  app.

Film Watched on an App

Title.  Film Studio, Date.  Name of app  app.

Freedom Writer s. Paramount Pictures, 2007.  Netflix  app.

TV Series Watched on a Website

"Title of Episode."  Name of Series,  season #, episode #, Film Studio, Date.  Name of Website, URL.

"The One Where the Monkey Gets Away."  Friends , season 1, episode 20, Warner Bros., 9 Mar. 1995.  Netflix ,  www.netflix.com .

Film watched on TV or in a Theater

Title.  Directed by First Name Last Name, Film Studio, Date.

The Godfather . Directed by Francis Ford Coppola, Paramount Pictures, 1972.

Images Viewed Online

Artist Last Name, First Name.  Title of Piece . Date.  Name of Institute , URL.

Kandinsky, Wassily.  Composition VII . 1913.  The State Tretyakov Gallery ,  artsandculture.google.com/exhibit/vasily-kandinsky-counterpointcomposition-vi-composition-vii/UgKCjKX9MXThIw . 

Images Viewed in Person

Artist Last Name, First Name.  Title of Piece . Date, Name of Institute, Place.

Matisse, Henri.  Dance . 1910, Museum of Modern Art, New York City.

Image Viewed in a Print Book 

Artist Last Name, First Name.  Title of Piece . Date of Piece, Name of Institute.  Title of Book,  by First Name Last Name, Publisher, Date, Page.

Hirkoshige, Andō . Yamabushi Valley in Mimasaka Provinces . Circa 1853-56, Österreichische Museum für Angewandte Kunst.  Japonisme: The Japanese Influence on Western Art in the 19th and 20th Centuries , by Siegfried Wichmann, Park Lane, 1980, p. 277.

On a learning management system - Blackboard, Moodle, Canvas...

"Slides Name or Number." Title of Course, taught by First Name Last Lame.   Learning Management System,  University, Day Month Year, URL.

"Slides on Fitzpatrick." English 102, taught by Sally Smith.  Moodle,  Iona University, 9 Oct. 2019,  URL.

In-Text Citation Example:

(Instructor's last name, Slide #)

Example of Short Story Posted by Professor:

Note: if the Professor provides a link to an external site, use that site for the citation and not the course management platform.

If your professor permits the use of AI, you need to create a reference and use in-text citations when quoting or paraphrasing AI-generated information.

"Title of posed request" prompt.  Name of AI tool,  version of AI tool, Name of company, Date prompt was generated, URL.

"Describe how Animal Farm is an allegory" prompt.  ChatGPT,  5 May version, OpenAI, 8 Mar. 2023, chat.openai.com/chat.

MLA Style guidance:

• Cite all quotes and paraphrased information generated by AI that you include in your writing
• Add an acknowledgment if you use AI to edit your writing
• Evaluate all sources suggested by AI

Author : do not use AI as an author

Title of Source : use the prompt you entered in the AI tool

Title of Container : name of AI tool

Version : version of AI

Publisher: company or creator of the AI tool

Date: date the content was generated

Location : If your generated response is retrievable, use that URL; otherwise, use the general URL of the tool

Additional examples are available on the MLA Style - Ask The MLA - How do I cite generative AI in MLA style page found at  style.mla.org/citing-generative-ai/?utm_campaign=sourcemar23&utm_medium=email&utm_source=mlaoutreach .

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Home / Guides / Citation Guides / MLA Format / Creating an MLA Bibliography

Creating an MLA Bibliography

If you write a research paper in MLA format, then you will need to include a Works Cited page according to the current 9th edition of the Modern Language Association (MLA) guidelines. Along with citing your sources within the body of your paper, you also need to include full citations of all sources at the end of your paper. The references in a bibliography are formatted in the same way as they would be in a Works Cited page. However, a bibliography refers to all works that you have consulted in your research, even if you did not use their information directly in your paper.

When you use the correct MLA bibliography format, it shows the reader what sources you consulted, makes finding your sources easier for the reader, and gives credibility to your work as a researcher and writer. This MLA sample paper will show you how the bibliography is incorporated into the rest of your paper. We also have a guide on APA reference pages , if you are following APA style in your paper.

Works cited or bibliography?

You may be wondering, what is a bibliography, and how is it different from a Works Cited page? The difference between the two is that while a bibliography refers to any source you consulted to write your research paper, a Works Cited page only includes full citations of the sources you quoted or paraphrased within your paper.

Typically, when someone says, “MLA bibliography” they really mean a Works Cited page, since the MLA format usually uses a Works Cited page instead of a bibliography.

A bibliography in MLA format may also refer to a Works Consulted page. If you used other sources that you did not directly quote or paraphrase within the paper, you will need to create a Works Consulted/Additional Resources page. A Works Consulted page starts on a separate page and follows the Works Cited page. It follows the same formatting guidelines as a Works Cited page, but you will use Works Consulted (or Additional Resources) as the title.

If you’re unsure of what to include in your citations list (works cited, works consulted, or both), ask your instructor. For the rest of this article, we will refer to this page as the MLA bibliography.

MLA bibliography formatting guidelines

These are the formatting rules you need to follow to create your bibliography according to MLA’s current edition guidelines. Your first page(s) will be your Works Cited page(s) and include the references that you directly refer to in your paper. Usually, this is all that is needed. If your instructor wants you to also include the works you consulted but did not include in your paper (more like a bibliography), then add Works Consulted or Additional Resources page for these sources.

• Your MLA Works Cited (and Works Consulted or Additional Resources pages) should begin on a separate page or pages at the end of your essay.
• Your essay should have a header on every page that includes your last name and the page number.
• The last name/page number header should be on the top right of each page with a ½ inch margin from the top of the page.
• One-inch margins.
• Title the page Works Cited (no italicization or quotation marks) unless otherwise instructed. Center the title. The top should look like this:

• Only center the Works Cited title; all citations should be left-justified.
• Double-space citations.
• Do not add an additional space between citations.
• After the first line, use a hanging indent of ½ inch on all additional lines of a citation. The hanging indent should look like this:

• Typically, this is the author’s last name, but sometimes it could be the title of the source if the author’s name is not available.

If you have a Works Consulted or Additional Resources page after your Works Cited page, format it in the same way, but with the title of Works Consulted or Additional Resources instead of Works Cited. Alternatively, your instructor may require a bibliography. If this is the case, all your sources, whether they are cited in your paper are not, are listed on the same page.

MLA citation guidelines

These are the rules you need to follow to create citations for an MLA bibliography. This section contains information on how to correctly use author names, punctuation, capitalization, fonts, page numbers, DOIs, and URLS in the citations on your MLA bibliography.

Author names

After the title Works Cited, the last name of the author of a source should be the first thing to appear on your page.

List the author’s last name followed by a comma, then the first name followed by the middle name or middle initial if applicable, without a comma separating the first and middle names. Add a period after the name.

Rowling, J.K.

Smith, Alexander McCall.

• Do not include titles such as Dr., Mrs., etc. or professional qualifications such as PhD, M.S., etc. with author names.
• Include suffixes such as Jr. or III after the author’s first name. Separate the first name and the suffix by a comma unless the suffix is a numeral. For example, to cite an author named John Smith, Jr., you would type Smith, John, Jr.

Sources with two authors

For a source with two authors, list the author names in your citation in the order they appear on the source, not alphabetically.

Type the last name of the first author listed on the source followed by a comma, then the first author’s first name followed by a comma. Then type the word “and” then list the second author’s first name and last name in the standard order. Follow the second name with a period.

Include middle names or initials and suffixes when applicable according to the guidelines for one author as listed above.

1st Author’s Last Name, First Name, and 2nd Author’s First Name Last Name.

Lutz, Lisa, and David Hayward.

Clark, Mary Higgins, and Alafair Burke.

Sources with three or more authors

For a source with three or more authors, only type the last and first name of the first author listed in the source, followed by a comma and the phrase et al., which is Latin for “and others.” Be sure to always place a period after the al in et al. but never after the et.

1st Author’s Last Name, First Name, et al.

Charaipotra, Sona, et al.

Williams, Beatriz, et al. All the Ways We Said Goodbye . HarperLuxe, 2020.

Organizations and corporations as authors

For sources with organizations or corporations listed as the author, type the name of the corporation in place of an author’s name. If the organization begins with an article like a, an, or the, it should be excluded in the Works Cited entry.

Modern Language Association of America. MLA Handbook . 2016.

*Note: If the organization is listed as both the author and the publisher, begin the citation with the title and include the organization’s name within the publisher field instead. 

For a source with no author listed, simply omit the author’s name and begin the citation with the title of the source. Use the first letter of the title when considering alphabetical order in your MLA bibliography.

Capitalization

Use MLA title case when citing titles of sources.

• Nouns, pronouns, verbs, adverbs, adjectives, and subordinating conjunctions should be capitalized.
• Articles, prepositions, and coordinating conjunctions should not be capitalized.

Font formatting

• Italicize the titles of larger works such as magazines and books. Also, italicize database and website names.
• Instead of italicization, use quotation marks around titles of shorter works such as poems, short stories, and articles.
• End all bibliography citations with a period.

Page numbers

Include page numbers in your full citations whenever possible. This helps the reader find the information you cited more quickly than if you just cited the entire source and lends more credibility to your argument. If you cite different pages from the same source within your paper, you should cite the entire source on your MLA bibliography instead of listing all of the page numbers you used.

When including page numbers in a citation, use the abbreviation p. to cite one page and the abbreviation pp. to cite multiple pages with a hyphen between the page numbers.

p. 25 or pp. 16-37

When citing page numbers in MLA, omit the first set of repeated digits.

pp. 365-69, not pp. 365-369

DOIs and URLs

A Digital Object Identifier (DOI) is used to locate and identify an online source. While URLs may change or web pages might be edited or updated, a DOI is permanent and therefore more useful in a source citation.

• Use a DOI (digital object identifier) whenever possible. Otherwise use a permalink or URL.
• DOIs should be formatted with “https://doi.org/” before the DOI number.
• Do not include “http://” or “https://” in your URLs.
• As either one will be the last part of your citation, place a period after the DOI or URL. (Note that this period is not part of the DOI or URL.)

Butarbutar, R, et al. “Analyzing of Puzzle Local Culture-Based in Teaching English for Young Learners.” IOP Conference Series: Earth and Environmental Science , vol. 343, 2019, https://doi.org/10.1088/1755-1315/343/1/012208.

Accessed dates

Since the previous 8th edition of the MLA Handbook was published, you do NOT need to list an accessed date for a stable source (e.g., online newspaper article, journal article, photograph, etc.). However, including an access date is good to include when a source does not have a publishing date, and some instructors will request that accessed dates be included for all sources.

If you do include an access date, here’s how to format it:

• Place it at the end of the citation without “http://” or “https://”.
• Write “Accessed” first, followed by the date accessed.
• The date accessed should be formatted as Day Month (abbreviated) Year.

Butarbutar, R, et al. “IOPscience.” IOP Conference Series: Earth and Environmental Science , IOP Publishing, 1 Oct. 2019, iopscience.iop.org/article/10.1088/1755-1315/343/1/012208/meta. Accessed 8 Oct. 2020.

Note: If you choose to list an accessed date after a DOI, the accessed date part of the citation will follow the period after the DOI and will end with a period at the end of the citation

Butarbutar, R, et al. “Analyzing of Puzzle Local Culture-Based in Teaching English for Young Learners.” IOP Conference Series: Earth and Environmental Science , vol. 343, 2019, https://doi.org/10.1088/1755-1315/343/1/012208. Accessed 8 Oct. 2020.

MLA 8 th edition vs MLA 9 th edition

The 9 th edition of the MLA handbook re-introduces guidelines regarding paper formatting (which were not present in the 8 th edition). The guidance in the 9 th addition is consistent with the guidance in previous editions and expands on the formatting of tables, figures/illustrations, and lists. The 9 th edition also offers new guidance in areas like annotated bibliographies, inclusive language, and footnotes/endnotes.

Many of the differences between the 8 th edition and 9 th edition have to do with the formatting of the core elements in reference list entries. Some of the main changes include:

Written by Grace Turney , freelance writer and artist. Grace is a former librarian and has a Master’s degree in Library Science and Information Technology. 

MLA Formatting Guide

MLA Formatting

Annotated Bibliography

Bibliography

• Block Quotes
• et al Usage
• In-text Citations
• Paraphrasing
• Page Numbers
• Sample Paper
• Works Cited
• MLA 8 Updates
• MLA 9 Updates
• View MLA Guide

Citation Examples

• Book Chapter
• Journal Article
• Magazine Article
• Newspaper Article
• Website (no author)
• View all MLA Examples

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An MLA bibliography is similar to the Works Cited list that you include at the end of your paper. The only difference between a Works Cited list and a bibliography is that for the former, you need to include the entries for only the sources you cited in the text, whereas for the latter you can also include the sources you consulted to write your paper but didn’t directly cite in your writing. MLA generally prefers Works Cited lists to bibliographies.

If your instructor advises you to create an MLA bibliography, follow the same guidelines you would follow for creating an MLA Works Cited list.

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

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

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 of size 12 points.

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

Bibliographic entries are arranged alphabetically according to the first item in each entry.

Title your bibliography as “Bibliography.”

Braidotti, Rosi. The Posthuman . Polity, 2013.

Brisini, Travis. “Phytomorphizing Performance: Plant Performance in an Expanded Field.” Text and Performance Quarterly , vol. 39, 2019,            pp. 1–2.

Riccio, Thomas. “Reimagining Yup’ik and Inupiat Performance.” Northwest Theatre Review , vol. 12, no. 1, 1999, pp. 1–30.

General rules for creating an annotated bibliography

The annotation is given after the source entry and is generally about 100-150 words in length. The annotation should be indented 1 inch from the left margin to distinguish it from the hanging indent within the citation entry.

The annotation, in general, should be written as short phrases. However, you may use full sentences as well.

The annotation for each source is usually no longer than one paragraph. However, if multiple paragraphs are included, indent the second and subsequent paragraphs without any extra line space between them.

The annotation provides basic information about the source, but does not include details about the source, quotes from the author, etc. The information can be descriptive (by generally describing what the source covers) or evaluative (by evaluating the source’s usefulness to the argument in your paper).

Example annotated bibliography

The below is an example of an annotated bibliography:

Morritt, Robert D. Beringia: Archaic Migrations into North America . Cambridge Scholars Pub, 2011.

The author studies the migration of cultures from Asia to North America. The connection between the North American Athabaskan language family and Siberia is presented, together with comparisons and examinations of the implications of linguistics from anthropological, archaeological, and folklore perspectives. This book explores the origins of the earliest people in the Americas, including Siberian, Dene, and Navajo Creation myths; linguistic comparisons between Siberian Ket Navajo and Western Apache; and comparisons between indigenous groups that appear to share the same origin.

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MLA Works Cited — Format, Sources, and Examples

MLA works cited

An MLA works cited page provides a list of works (sources) used in a research-based humanities paper. Identifying the source material avoids plagiarism and provides readers with a list of resources should they want to study the topic further.

Here is an example of a properly formatted source for a MLA work cited page:

Gibaldi, Joseph. MLA Style Manual and Guide to Scholarly Publishing . Modern Language Association of America, 1998.

Each source listed on a works cited page, or reference list, needs at least one in-text citation in the research paper, including paraphrases. If information from a source does not appear directly in the paper, then it does not need an entry on the works cited page.

A works consulted page or annotated bibliography contains all sources reviewed during the research process regardless of whether the information is included in the paper. Works consulted pages are structured and formatted the same as a works cited page.

The instructions below follow the 9th edition of the MLA Handbook .

Works cited MLA format

When constructing MLA citations on a works cited page, the following formatting rules applies:

The works cited page is a continuation of the paper. It is located on its own page at the end of the document.

Double space the text with no extra spaces between entries.

The page should have the same 1-inch margins as the body of the paper.

Use the same font as the body of the paper, typically 12-point Times New Roman.

The writer’s name and page number should continue in a running head from the body of the paper in the header aligned to the right side of the page.

Place the title, Works Cited, at the top of the page, centered, and in title case in the same font and font size as the rest of the paper. Do not bold, italicize, underline, or place the title in quotation marks.

Include all sources used in the body of the paper on the works cited page.

The first line of a source citation should be flush with the left margin. Indent the second and all subsequent lines using a hanging indent.

Alphabetize sources by the author’s last name. Works with no known author should be in alphabetical order by title. If a title begins with an article (a, an, the), use the first word that follows it to determine its placement.

If two or more works have the same author, organize them based on the title of the work. Provide the author’s name in the first entry only. Use three hyphens followed by a period in place of the name for the entries that follow.

MLA sources

When structuring a works cited entry, there are nine core elements to consider:

Identify the author, the person or group responsible for creating or producing the work. With two authors, only the first author is written with the last name first. When there are more than two authors, list the first followed by “et al.” (Latin for “and others”).

If there is an editor but no author, place the editor’s name in the author position followed by “ed.”. Do not repeat the editor’s name under “other contributors.”

Enter the title exactly as it appears in the source. Modify titles so they fit MLA’s capitalization rules.

Quotation Marks: If the source is part of a larger work, place it between quotations marks. Examples include articles, essays, poems, short stories, song titles, and episode titles.

Italics: The titles of larger works that are self-contained (books, newspapers, films, etc.) are italicized.

A container is the larger work in which the source appears. Example containers: newspapers, magazines, websites, online databases, and books containing a collection of essays, poems, short stories, etc.

When an individual contributes to the work in some important way, add their name to the entry. Their role should precede their name (edited by, translated by, illustrated by, directed by, etc.).

Include the version if there is more than one form of the source, such as editions or revised editions.

If the source appears in a work that is part of a numbered sequence, include the volume number (encyclopedias, journals, etc.).

The publisher is the organization responsible for providing the source to the public.

Identify the publication date, when the publisher produced the work.

The location specifies where the information was found within the larger container.

Print: Includes page numbers

Online: Includes the URL of the web page followed by the date of access

Not every core element will apply to each source; if a source is missing one, proceed to the next element.

The following identifies the placement of each core element along with the necessary punctuation:

Author (last name, first name). Title of Book/Source. Title of Container , Other Contributors, Version, Number, Publisher, Publication Date (day month year), Location.

Following the core elements is the easiest way to construct a source entry on the works cited page.

The following citation examples highlight those elements in each main type of source:

Print Sources

One Author: Gibaldi, Joseph. MLA Style Manual and Guide to Scholarly Publishing . Modern Language Association of America, 1998.

Two Authors: Gibaldi, Joseph, and Walter S. Achtert. MLA Style Manual and Guide to Scholarly Publishing . Modern Language Association of America, 1998.

More than Two Authors: Gibaldi, Joseph, et al. MLA Style Manual and Guide to Scholarly Publishing . Modern Language Association of America, 1998.

Anthology or Collection

Boyd, Carrie C. “MLA and Research.” Collection, edited by Diane B. Lipsett, Westminster John Knox Press, 2014, pp. 103-114.

Article in a Reference Book

"Citing Sources.” The Writer’s Encyclopedia , 3rd ed., Dell, 1997, p. 369.

Newspaper Article

Schackner, Bill. “Students at Pennsylvania’s State-Owned Universities Will See a Tuition Freeze for the Fourth Straight Year.” Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, 18 April 2022, A3.

Academic Journal Article

Author: Steffen, Will, et al. “How to Write a Research Paper.” Writing 101 , vol. 2, no. 1, Jan. 2015, pp. 81–98.

No Author: “How to Write a Research Paper.” Writing 101 , vol. 2, no. 1, Jan. 2015, pp. 81–98.

Government Reports

United States, Congress, House, Committee on the Education and Labor. Impact of Research in Education. Department of Education. Government Printing Office, 2015.

Legal Documents

Supreme Court. Brown v. Board of Education . 17 May 1954. Legal Information Institute, Cornell U Law School.

Digital and electronic sources

Online Book

Silva, Paul J. How to Write a Lot: A Practical Guide to Productive Academic Writing , eBook, American Psychological Association, 2007. Digital Library, www.digitallibrary.com. Accessed 18 April 2022.

Online Article

Millard, Avery. “Research Dos and Don’ts.”  Writer’s Digest . 10 Aug. 2013, www.writersdigestquarterly.com. Accessed 18 April 2022.

Online Database

Trier, James. “‘Cool’ Engagements with YouTube: Part 2.” Journal of Adolescent & Adult Literacy, vol. 50, no. 7, April 2007, pp. 598-603. JSTOR, https://doi.org/10.1598/JAAL.50. Accessed 18 April 2022.

Modern Language Association. 1 Jan. 2022, https://www.mla.org/. Accessed 18 April 2022.

The following sample paper illustrates the structure of the page and the placement of the sources:

MLA Style Guide, 8th & 9th Editions: Formatting Your Works Cited List

• 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
• Journal Article
• Magazine Article
• Multivolume Works
• Newspaper Article
• 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

The Works Cited page is the list of sources used in the research paper. It should be its own page at the end of the paper.

Center the title, "Works Cited" (without quotation marks), at the top of the page. If only one source was consulted, title the page "Work Cited".

Double space the entire list of sources.

Use hanging indention for each entry. Begin each entry flush with the left margin; indent all subsequent lines one-half inch.

Arrange entries in alphabetical order by the first term in each entry (the first author's last name or the title of the work when there is no author).

Continue with the numbering convention used throughout the paper by including your last name and the page number in the upper right-hand corner of the Works Cited page.

Hanging Indents

Each entry in your Works Cited list should have a hanging indent where the first line of the entry is closer to the left margin than all of the following lines. See how to create a hanging indent in Word or Word Online.

Sample Works Cited Page

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Research Writing

• In-Text Citations

Works Cited Page

The Works Cited page, alphabetized by author’s last name, should appear at the end of your essay. It provides the information necessary for a reader to locate and retrieve any sources you cite in the essay. Each source you cite in the essay must appear in your Works Cited list.

Authors' names are inverted (last name first); if a work has more than one author, invert only the first author's name, follow it with a comma, then continue listing the rest of the authors. If you have cited more than one work by a particular author, order them alphabetically by title, and use three hyphens in place of the author's name for every entry after the first. If no author is given for a particular work, alphabetize by the title of the piece (if the title begins with an article, such as "A," "An," or "The," alphabetized by the second word).  

The first line of each entry in your list should be flush left. Subsequent lines should be indented one-half inch (5 spaces or a tab). This is known as a "hanging indent." All references should be double-spaced with no extra spaces between the entries.

Capitalize the first work in the title of the work and all important words (articles—“a,” “the,” etc, prepositions—“in,” “for,” etc, and conjunctions—“and,” “but,” etc, should not be capitalized unless as the first word). Italicize titles of books, journals, magazines, newspapers, and films. Indicate the publication medium with a marker such as Print, Web, or other form (i.e. DVD or TV). 

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Formats & Examples

Author(s). Title of Book. Place of Publication: Publisher, Year of Publication. Print. 

Example:  Tannen, Deborah. You’re Wearing That? Understanding Mothers and Daughters in Conversation. New York: Ballantine-Random, 2006. Print.

A Book with More than One Author

Lane, Barry, Bruce Ballenger and Ann Dumaresq. Discovering the Writer Within. 2nd ed. Shoreham: Discover Writing Press, 2008. Print. 

(Please note: If there are four or more authors, list only the first author followed by a comma and the phrase "et al.")

An Anthology or Collection

Crane, R.S., ed. Critics and Criticism: Ancient and Modern. Chicago: U of Chicago P, 1952. Print.

An Article in a Periodical (i.e. Magazine or Newspaper)

Author(s). “Title of article.” Title of Magazine/Newspaper day Month year: pages. Print. 

(Please note: When citing the date, list day before month; use a three-letter abbreviation of the month (e.g. Jan., Mar., Aug.). If there is more than one edition available for that date (as in an early and late edition of a newspaper), identify the edition following the date (i.e. 17 May 1987, late ed.)

Example:  Paumgarten, Nick. “The Death of Kings.” New Yorker 18 May 2009: 40-57. Print.

An Article in a Scholarly Journal

Author(s). “Title of scholarly article.” Title of Journal Volume.Issue (Year): pages. Print.

Example:  Dewitty, Vernell P., et al. “Workforce Conflict: What’s the problem?” Nursing Management 40.5 (2009): 31-37. Print.

Author(s). "Title of Document." Name of homepage. Publisher Name (if none, write N.p.), Date Published (if none, write n.d.) Web. Date of access. <URL>. 

An Essay in an Anthology or Collection

Jones, Robert F. "Welcome to Muskie Country." The Ultimate Fishing Book. Eds. Lee Eisenberg and DeCourcy Taylor. Boston: Houghton, 1981. 122-34. Print.

Example:  Stolley, Karl. "MLA Formatting and Style Guide." The OWL at Purdue. Purdue University Writing Lab. 10 May 2009. Web. 10 July 2009.

An Article in an Online Periodical

Author(s). "Title of Document." Website Name. Website Publisher, Date of publication.

Web. Date of access. <URL>.

Example:  Cohen, Elizabeth. “Five Ways to Avoid Germs While Traveling.” CNN.com. Cable News Network, 27 Nov. 2008. Web. 12 Jan. 2009.

An Article in an Digital Library Database (i.e. FirstSearch or ProQuest)

General Format Author(s). “Article Title.” Magazine/Newspaper Title. day Month year: page(s). Database Name. Database Publisher. Web. Bay College Library. Date accessed.

Example:  McKibben, Bill. “Waste Not Want Not.”  Mother Jones. May/June 2009: 48-51. WilsonSelectPlus. FirstSearch. Web. Bay College Library. 19 May 2009.

Scholarly Format Author(s). “Article Title.” Magazine/Newspaper Title. Volume #.Issue # (Publication Date): page(s).Database Name. Database Publisher. Web. Bay College Library. Date accessed.

Example:  Vance, Erik. “Energy: High Hopes.” Nature. 460.7255 (2009): 564-566. Sciences Module. ProQuest. Web. Bay College Library. 10 June 2009.

An Interview that You Conducted

Name of the person interviewed. Kind of interview. (Personal, Telephone, etc), and the date.

Example:  Diamonti, Nancy. Personal Interview. 20 May 2009.

An Interview from a Television or Radio Program

Name of the person interviewed. Interviewer’s name may be added if known and pertinent. Name of television/radio program. Network(s), Location. Date viewed. Television.

Example:  Wiesel, Elie. Interview by Ted Koppel. Nightline. ABC. WABC, New York. 18 Apr. 2002. Television.

A Television or Radio Broadcast

“Title of episode or segment”. Title of the program or series. Name of the Network (if any). Call letters and city of the local station (if any). Broadcast date day Month year. Medium of reception (e.g. Radio, Television).

Example:  “Phantom of Corleone.” Sixty Minutes. CBS. WJMN, Escanaba. 10 Dec. 2006. Television.

Online Resources

• Purdue Online Writing Lab MLA Sample Works Cited Page

Copyright © 2024 Bay College Library

Citing Sources: Formatting a Works Cited Page

• Citations Home
• Formatting your paper in MLA style
• Quoting, paraphrasing, and summarizing
• In-text and parenthetical citations
• Formatting a Works Cited Page
• Citing books and e-books
• Citing magazines, newspapers, or journal articles (print or online)
• Citing websites, online videos, blog posts, and tweets
• Citing images and works of art.
• Citing a PowerPoint
• Motion Pictures, TV Episodes, Recorded Music, Lectures, Interviews
• Citing Legal Resources
• Citing OERs in MLA9
• Sample Papers
• Formatting your paper in APA style
• Headings, Figures and Tables
• Formatting a References Page
• Citing journal articles, newspapers, and other documents
• Citing websites, social media posts, emails, interviews and AI tools
• Citing audio visual and other formats
• Formatting your paper in Chicago (Notes-Bibliography)
• Footnotes and endnotes
• Formatting a bibliography in Chicago (Notes-Bibliography)
• Citing journal articles, magazines and newspapers (online or electronic)
• Citing motion pictures, tv shows, radio broadcasts and interviews
• Formatting your paper in the Author-Date System
• Quoting, paraphrasing, and summarizing in the Author-Date System
• Formatting a Reference List
• In-text citations
• Citing journal articles, magazines, and newspapers (online or electronic)
• Citing, websites, online videos, blog posts, and tweets
• Ask A Librarian

Formatting Help from the MLA

• MLA 9th edition: Formatting a Research Paper
• MLA 9th edition: Sample Papers

Works Cited Page

The Works Cited page is an alphabetical list of all the sources you cite in your paper. Every source you want to use in your paper must be listed on the works cited page.

Here are some basic rules to follow when creating your Works Cited page:

• The Works Cited page should be placed at the end of your paper.
• The Works Cited page should begin on a new page.
• Select all text, and then right-click it.
• From the pop-up menu, select Paragraph .
• To double-space the text, under Spacing , Line Spacing , select Double .
• To add a hanging indent, under Indentation , Special , select Hanging . This indents the lower lines of each entry 0.5” from the left.
• To do the hanging indent in Google Docs : Go to Format - Align and Indent - Indentation Options - Special - Hanging
• Alphabetize each entry/reference on your Works Cited page by author’s last name, or if the author’s name is not given, by the first word in the citation.
• Your last name and page number should be at the top right corner of the page.

Example Works Cited

Example Works Cited page

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• Plagiarism and grammar
• Citation guides

MLA Citation Generator

Keep all of your citations in one safe place

Create an account to save all of your citations

Don't let plagiarism errors spoil your paper

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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Free Works Cited Generator

Generate a Works Cited page in MLA format automatically, with MyBib!

😕 What is a Works Cited Generator?

A works cited generator is a tool that automatically creates a works cited page in the Modern Language Association (MLA) citation format. The generator will take in information about the sources you have cited in your paper, such as document titles, authors, and URLs, and will output a fully formatted works cited page that can be added to the end of your paper (just as your teacher asked!).

The citations included in a Works Cited page show the sources that you used to construct your argument in the body of your school paper, either directly as references and quotes, or indirectly as ideas.

👩‍🎓 Who uses a Works Cited Generator?

Students in middle school and high school will usually be expected to produce a works cited page to accompany their academic papers. Therefore, they will generally be the users of a works cited generator.

Alongside generating a works cited page, at middle school and high school level it is also important to learn why it's critical to cite sources, not just how to cite them.

🙌 Why should I use a Works Cited Generator?

Formatting works cited pages manually is time consuming, and ensuring accuracy is mind-numbing.

Automating this process with a works cited generator is a quick and easy way to be sure you are doing it correctly (and according to the MLA format!). Our generator also provides a backed-up location to save your citations to as you write each part of your paper -- just keep the MyBib website open in a browser tab while you work and add to your works cited page as you go along!

⚙️ How do I use MyBib's Works Cited Generator?

Using our Works Cited Generator is so easy. Every time you cite a source in your paper, just come back to the generator at the top of this page and enter the source you are citing. Our generator can cite books, journal articles, and webpages automatically, and can cite over 30 other sources if you enter the source details manually.

Save each source to your bibliography, then when you have finished writing your paper just click the 'download' button and the generator will produce a formatted Works Cited page that can be copied and pasted directly to the end of your document.

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

Scribbr Citation Generator

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Export to Word

When your reference list is complete, export it to Word. We’ll apply the official formatting guidelines automatically.

Lists and folders

Create separate reference lists for each of your assignments to stay organized. You can also group related lists into folders.

Export to Bib(La)TeX

Are you using a LaTex editor like Overleaf? If so, you can easily export your references in Bib(La)TeX format with a single click.

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Change the typeface used for your reference list to match the rest of your document. Options include Times New Roman, Arial, and Calibri.

Industry-standard technology

Scribbr’s Citation Generator is built using the same citation software (CSL) as Mendeley and Zotero, but with an added layer for improved accuracy.

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• 15 April 2024

Revealed: the ten research papers that policy documents cite most

• Dalmeet Singh Chawla 0

Dalmeet Singh Chawla is a freelance science journalist based in London.

You can also search for this author in PubMed   Google Scholar

Policymakers often work behind closed doors — but the documents they produce offer clues about the research that influences them. Credit: Stefan Rousseau/Getty

When David Autor co-wrote a paper on how computerization affects job skill demands more than 20 years ago, a journal took 18 months to consider it — only to reject it after review. He went on to submit it to The Quarterly Journal of Economics , which eventually published the work 1 in November 2003.

Autor’s paper is now the third most cited in policy documents worldwide, according to an analysis of data provided exclusively to Nature . It has accumulated around 1,100 citations in policy documents, show figures from the London-based firm Overton (see ‘The most-cited papers in policy’), which maintains a database of more than 12 million policy documents, think-tank papers, white papers and guidelines.

“I thought it was destined to be quite an obscure paper,” recalls Autor, a public-policy scholar and economist at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology in Cambridge. “I’m excited that a lot of people are citing it.”

The most-cited papers in policy

Economics papers dominate the top ten papers that policy documents reference most.

Data from Sage Policy Profiles as of 15 April 2024

The top ten most cited papers in policy documents are dominated by economics research. When economics studies are excluded, a 1997 Nature paper 2 about Earth’s ecosystem services and natural capital is second on the list, with more than 900 policy citations. The paper has also garnered more than 32,000 references from other studies, according to Google Scholar. Other highly cited non-economics studies include works on planetary boundaries, sustainable foods and the future of employment (see ‘Most-cited papers — excluding economics research’).

These lists provide insight into the types of research that politicians pay attention to, but policy citations don’t necessarily imply impact or influence, and Overton’s database has a bias towards documents published in English.

Interdisciplinary impact

Overton usually charges a licence fee to access its citation data. But last year, the firm worked with the London-based publisher Sage to release a free web-based tool that allows any researcher to find out how many times policy documents have cited their papers or mention their names. Overton and Sage said they created the tool, called Sage Policy Profiles, to help researchers to demonstrate the impact or influence their work might be having on policy. This can be useful for researchers during promotion or tenure interviews and in grant applications.

Autor thinks his study stands out because his paper was different from what other economists were writing at the time. It suggested that ‘middle-skill’ work, typically done in offices or factories by people who haven’t attended university, was going to be largely automated, leaving workers with either highly skilled jobs or manual work. “It has stood the test of time,” he says, “and it got people to focus on what I think is the right problem.” That topic is just as relevant today, Autor says, especially with the rise of artificial intelligence.

Most-cited papers — excluding economics research

When economics studies are excluded, the research papers that policy documents most commonly reference cover topics including climate change and nutrition.

Walter Willett, an epidemiologist and food scientist at the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health in Boston, Massachusetts, thinks that interdisciplinary teams are most likely to gain a lot of policy citations. He co-authored a paper on the list of most cited non-economics studies: a 2019 work 3 that was part of a Lancet commission to investigate how to feed the global population a healthy and environmentally sustainable diet by 2050 and has accumulated more than 600 policy citations.

“I think it had an impact because it was clearly a multidisciplinary effort,” says Willett. The work was co-authored by 37 scientists from 17 countries. The team included researchers from disciplines including food science, health metrics, climate change, ecology and evolution and bioethics. “None of us could have done this on our own. It really did require working with people outside our fields.”

Sverker Sörlin, an environmental historian at the KTH Royal Institute of Technology in Stockholm, agrees that papers with a diverse set of authors often attract more policy citations. “It’s the combined effect that is often the key to getting more influence,” he says.

Has your research influenced policy? Use this free tool to check

Sörlin co-authored two papers in the list of top ten non-economics papers. One of those is a 2015 Science paper 4 on planetary boundaries — a concept defining the environmental limits in which humanity can develop and thrive — which has attracted more than 750 policy citations. Sörlin thinks one reason it has been popular is that it’s a sequel to a 2009 Nature paper 5 he co-authored on the same topic, which has been cited by policy documents 575 times.

Although policy citations don’t necessarily imply influence, Willett has seen evidence that his paper is prompting changes in policy. He points to Denmark as an example, noting that the nation is reformatting its dietary guidelines in line with the study’s recommendations. “I certainly can’t say that this document is the only thing that’s changing their guidelines,” he says. But “this gave it the support and credibility that allowed them to go forward”.

Broad brush

Peter Gluckman, who was the chief science adviser to the prime minister of New Zealand between 2009 and 2018, is not surprised by the lists. He expects policymakers to refer to broad-brush papers rather than those reporting on incremental advances in a field.

Gluckman, a paediatrician and biomedical scientist at the University of Auckland in New Zealand, notes that it’s important to consider the context in which papers are being cited, because studies reporting controversial findings sometimes attract many citations. He also warns that the list is probably not comprehensive: many policy papers are not easily accessible to tools such as Overton, which uses text mining to compile data, and so will not be included in the database.

The top 100 papers

“The thing that worries me most is the age of the papers that are involved,” Gluckman says. “Does that tell us something about just the way the analysis is done or that relatively few papers get heavily used in policymaking?”

Gluckman says it’s strange that some recent work on climate change, food security, social cohesion and similar areas hasn’t made it to the non-economics list. “Maybe it’s just because they’re not being referred to,” he says, or perhaps that work is cited, in turn, in the broad-scope papers that are most heavily referenced in policy documents.

As for Sage Policy Profiles, Gluckman says it’s always useful to get an idea of which studies are attracting attention from policymakers, but he notes that studies often take years to influence policy. “Yet the average academic is trying to make a claim here and now that their current work is having an impact,” he adds. “So there’s a disconnect there.”

Willett thinks policy citations are probably more important than scholarly citations in other papers. “In the end, we don’t want this to just sit on an academic shelf.”

doi: https://doi.org/10.1038/d41586-024-00660-1

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