mla citations meaning

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The MLA Style Center

What is mla style.

Building confidence in the information and ideas we share with one another is perhaps more important today than ever before, and for nearly a century it has been the driving principle behind MLA style, a set of standards for writing and documentation used by writers to find and evaluate information, alert their audience to the trustworthiness of their findings through citation, and shape the expression of their ideas in conversation with others. 

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MLA Handbook , 9th Edition

The ninth edition of the MLA Handbook , published in spring 2021, builds on the MLA's unique approach to documenting sources using a template of core elements—facts common to most sources, like author, title, and publication date—that allows writers to cite any type of work, from books, e-books, and journal articles in databases to song lyrics, online images, social media posts, dissertations, and more. With this focus on source evaluation as the cornerstone of citation, MLA style promotes the skills of information and digital literacy so crucial today. The new edition offers

• New chapters on grammar, punctuation, capitalization, spelling, numbers, italics, abbreviations, and principles of inclusive language
• Guidelines on setting up research papers in MLA format with updated advice on headings, lists, and title pages for group projects
• Revised, comprehensive, step-by-step instructions for creating a list of works cited in MLA format that are easier to learn and use than ever before
• A new appendix with hundreds of example works-cited-list entries by publication format, including websites, YouTube videos, interviews, and more
• Detailed examples of how to find publication information for a variety of sources
• Newly revised explanations of in-text citations, including comprehensive advice on how to cite multiple authors of a single work
• Detailed guidance on using notes in MLA style
• Instructions on quoting, paraphrasing, summarizing, and avoiding plagiarism
• Annotated bibliography examples
• Numbered sections throughout for quick navigation
• Advanced tips for professional writers and scholars

The MLA Style Center offers free online resources on MLA style, including an interactive MLA format template, answers to common questions on Ask the MLA, advice from the MLA editors, and more. Get updates by signing up for The Source newsletter, and follow us on Twitter @MLAstyle .

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MLA In-Text Citations: The Basics

Welcome to the Purdue OWL

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

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

Guidelines for referring to the works of others in your text using MLA style are covered throughout the  MLA Handbook  and in chapter 7 of the  MLA Style Manual . Both books provide extensive examples, so it's a good idea to consult them if you want to become even more familiar with MLA guidelines or if you have a particular reference question.

Basic in-text citation rules

In MLA Style, referring to the works of others in your text is done using parenthetical citations . This method involves providing relevant source information in parentheses whenever a sentence uses a quotation or paraphrase. Usually, the simplest way to do this is to put all of the source information in parentheses at the end of the sentence (i.e., just before the period). However, as the examples below will illustrate, there are situations where it makes sense to put the parenthetical elsewhere in the sentence, or even to leave information out.

General Guidelines

• The source information required in a parenthetical citation depends (1) upon the source medium (e.g. print, web, DVD) and (2) upon the source’s entry on the Works Cited page.
• Any source information that you provide in-text must correspond to the source information on the Works Cited page. More specifically, whatever signal word or phrase you provide to your readers in the text must be the first thing that appears on the left-hand margin of the corresponding entry on the Works Cited page.

In-text citations: Author-page style

MLA format follows the author-page method of in-text citation. This means that the author's last name and the page number(s) from which the quotation or paraphrase is taken must appear in the text, and a complete reference should appear on your Works Cited page. The author's name may appear either in the sentence itself or in parentheses following the quotation or paraphrase, but the page number(s) should always appear in the parentheses, not in the text of your sentence. For example:

Both citations in the examples above, (263) and (Wordsworth 263), tell readers that the information in the sentence can be located on page 263 of a work by an author named Wordsworth. If readers want more information about this source, they can turn to the Works Cited page, where, under the name of Wordsworth, they would find the following information:

Wordsworth, William. Lyrical Ballads . Oxford UP, 1967.

In-text citations for print sources with known author

For print sources like books, magazines, scholarly journal articles, and newspapers, provide a signal word or phrase (usually the author’s last name) and a page number. If you provide the signal word/phrase in the sentence, you do not need to include it in the parenthetical citation.

These examples must correspond to an entry that begins with Burke, which will be the first thing that appears on the left-hand margin of an entry on the Works Cited page:

Burke, Kenneth. Language as Symbolic Action: Essays on Life, Literature, and Method . University of California Press, 1966.

In-text citations for print sources by a corporate author

When a source has a corporate author, it is acceptable to use the name of the corporation followed by the page number for the in-text citation. You should also use abbreviations (e.g., nat'l for national) where appropriate, so as to avoid interrupting the flow of reading with overly long parenthetical citations.

In-text citations for sources with non-standard labeling systems

If a source uses a labeling or numbering system other than page numbers, such as a script or poetry, precede the citation with said label. When citing a poem, for instance, the parenthetical would begin with the word “line”, and then the line number or range. For example, the examination of William Blake’s poem “The Tyger” would be cited as such:

The speaker makes an ardent call for the exploration of the connection between the violence of nature and the divinity of creation. “In what distant deeps or skies. / Burnt the fire of thine eyes," they ask in reference to the tiger as they attempt to reconcile their intimidation with their relationship to creationism (lines 5-6).

Longer labels, such as chapters (ch.) and scenes (sc.), should be abbreviated.

In-text citations for print sources with no known author

When a source has no known author, use a shortened title of the work instead of an author name, following these guidelines.

Place the title in quotation marks if it's a short work (such as an article) or italicize it if it's a longer work (e.g. plays, books, television shows, entire Web sites) and provide a page number if it is available.

Titles longer than a standard noun phrase should be shortened into a noun phrase by excluding articles. For example, To the Lighthouse would be shortened to Lighthouse .

If the title cannot be easily shortened into a noun phrase, the title should be cut after the first clause, phrase, or punctuation:

In this example, since the reader does not know the author of the article, an abbreviated title appears in the parenthetical citation, and the full title of the article appears first at the left-hand margin of its respective entry on the Works Cited page. Thus, the writer includes the title in quotation marks as the signal phrase in the parenthetical citation in order to lead the reader directly to the source on the Works Cited page. The Works Cited entry appears as follows:

"The Impact of Global Warming in North America." Global Warming: Early Signs . 1999. www.climatehotmap.org/. Accessed 23 Mar. 2009.

If the title of the work begins with a quotation mark, such as a title that refers to another work, that quote or quoted title can be used as the shortened title. The single quotation marks must be included in the parenthetical, rather than the double quotation.

Parenthetical citations and Works Cited pages, used in conjunction, allow readers to know which sources you consulted in writing your essay, so that they can either verify your interpretation of the sources or use them in their own scholarly work.

Author-page citation for classic and literary works with multiple editions

Page numbers are always required, but additional citation information can help literary scholars, who may have a different edition of a classic work, like Marx and Engels's  The Communist Manifesto . In such cases, give the page number of your edition (making sure the edition is listed in your Works Cited page, of course) followed by a semicolon, and then the appropriate abbreviations for volume (vol.), book (bk.), part (pt.), chapter (ch.), section (sec.), or paragraph (par.). For example:

Author-page citation for works in an anthology, periodical, or collection

When you cite a work that appears inside a larger source (for instance, an article in a periodical or an essay in a collection), cite the author of the  internal source (i.e., the article or essay). For example, to cite Albert Einstein's article "A Brief Outline of the Theory of Relativity," which was published in  Nature  in 1921, you might write something like this:

See also our page on documenting periodicals in the Works Cited .

Citing authors with same last names

Sometimes more information is necessary to identify the source from which a quotation is taken. For instance, if two or more authors have the same last name, provide both authors' first initials (or even the authors' full name if different authors share initials) in your citation. For example:

Citing a work by multiple authors

For a source with two authors, list the authors’ last names in the text or in the parenthetical citation:

Corresponding Works Cited entry:

Best, David, and Sharon Marcus. “Surface Reading: An Introduction.” Representations , vol. 108, no. 1, Fall 2009, pp. 1-21. JSTOR, doi:10.1525/rep.2009.108.1.1

For a source with three or more authors, list only the first author’s last name, and replace the additional names with et al.

Franck, Caroline, et al. “Agricultural Subsidies and the American Obesity Epidemic.” American Journal of Preventative Medicine , vol. 45, no. 3, Sept. 2013, pp. 327-333.

Citing multiple works by the same author

If you cite more than one work by an author, include a shortened title for the particular work from which you are quoting to distinguish it from the others. Put short titles of books in italics and short titles of articles in quotation marks.

Citing two articles by the same author :

Citing two books by the same author :

Additionally, if the author's name is not mentioned in the sentence, format your citation with the author's name followed by a comma, followed by a shortened title of the work, and, when appropriate, the page number(s):

Citing multivolume works

If you cite from different volumes of a multivolume work, always include the volume number followed by a colon. Put a space after the colon, then provide the page number(s). (If you only cite from one volume, provide only the page number in parentheses.)

Citing the Bible

In your first parenthetical citation, you want to make clear which Bible you're using (and underline or italicize the title), as each version varies in its translation, followed by book (do not italicize or underline), chapter, and verse. For example:

If future references employ the same edition of the Bible you’re using, list only the book, chapter, and verse in the parenthetical citation:

John of Patmos echoes this passage when describing his vision (Rev. 4.6-8).

Citing indirect sources

Sometimes you may have to use an indirect source. An indirect source is a source cited within another source. For such indirect quotations, use "qtd. in" to indicate the source you actually consulted. For example:

Note that, in most cases, a responsible researcher will attempt to find the original source, rather than citing an indirect source.

Citing transcripts, plays, or screenplays

Sources that take the form of a dialogue involving two or more participants have special guidelines for their quotation and citation. Each line of dialogue should begin with the speaker's name written in all capitals and indented half an inch. A period follows the name (e.g., JAMES.) . After the period, write the dialogue. Each successive line after the first should receive an additional indentation. When another person begins speaking, start a new line with that person's name indented only half an inch. Repeat this pattern each time the speaker changes. You can include stage directions in the quote if they appear in the original source.

Conclude with a parenthetical that explains where to find the excerpt in the source. Usually, the author and title of the source can be given in a signal phrase before quoting the excerpt, so the concluding parenthetical will often just contain location information like page numbers or act/scene indicators.

Here is an example from O'Neill's  The Iceman Cometh.

WILLIE. (Pleadingly) Give me a drink, Rocky. Harry said it was all right. God, I need a drink.

ROCKY. Den grab it. It's right under your nose.

WILLIE. (Avidly) Thanks. (He takes the bottle with both twitching hands and tilts it to his lips and gulps down the whiskey in big swallows.) (1.1)

Citing non-print or sources from the Internet

With more and more scholarly work published on the Internet, you may have to cite sources you found in digital environments. While many sources on the Internet should not be used for scholarly work (reference the OWL's  Evaluating Sources of Information  resource), some Web sources are perfectly acceptable for research. When creating in-text citations for electronic, film, or Internet sources, remember that your citation must reference the source on your Works Cited page.

Sometimes writers are confused with how to craft parenthetical citations for electronic sources because of the absence of page numbers. However, these sorts of entries often do not require a page number in the parenthetical citation. For electronic and Internet sources, follow the following guidelines:

• Include in the text the first item that appears in the Work Cited entry that corresponds to the citation (e.g. author name, article name, website name, film name).
• Do not provide paragraph numbers or page numbers based on your Web browser’s print preview function.
• Unless you must list the Web site name in the signal phrase in order to get the reader to the appropriate entry, do not include URLs in-text. Only provide partial URLs such as when the name of the site includes, for example, a domain name, like  CNN.com  or  Forbes.com,  as opposed to writing out http://www.cnn.com or http://www.forbes.com.

Miscellaneous non-print sources

Two types of non-print sources you may encounter are films and lectures/presentations:

In the two examples above “Herzog” (a film’s director) and “Yates” (a presentor) lead the reader to the first item in each citation’s respective entry on the Works Cited page:

Herzog, Werner, dir. Fitzcarraldo . Perf. Klaus Kinski. Filmverlag der Autoren, 1982.

Yates, Jane. "Invention in Rhetoric and Composition." Gaps Addressed: Future Work in Rhetoric and Composition, CCCC, Palmer House Hilton, 2002. Address.

Electronic sources

Electronic sources may include web pages and online news or magazine articles:

In the first example (an online magazine article), the writer has chosen not to include the author name in-text; however, two entries from the same author appear in the Works Cited. Thus, the writer includes both the author’s last name and the article title in the parenthetical citation in order to lead the reader to the appropriate entry on the Works Cited page (see below).

In the second example (a web page), a parenthetical citation is not necessary because the page does not list an author, and the title of the article, “MLA Formatting and Style Guide,” is used as a signal phrase within the sentence. If the title of the article was not named in the sentence, an abbreviated version would appear in a parenthetical citation at the end of the sentence. Both corresponding Works Cited entries are as follows:

Taylor, Rumsey. "Fitzcarraldo." Slant , 13 Jun. 2003, www.slantmagazine.com/film/review/fitzcarraldo/. Accessed 29 Sep. 2009. 

"MLA Formatting and Style Guide." The Purdue OWL , 2 Aug. 2016, owl.english.purdue.edu/owl/resource/747/01/. Accessed 2 April 2018.

Multiple citations

To cite multiple sources in the same parenthetical reference, separate the citations by a semi-colon:

Time-based media sources

When creating in-text citations for media that has a runtime, such as a movie or podcast, include the range of hours, minutes and seconds you plan to reference. For example: (00:02:15-00:02:35).

When a citation is not needed

Common sense and ethics should determine your need for documenting sources. You do not need to give sources for familiar proverbs, well-known quotations, or common knowledge (For example, it is expected that U.S. citizens know that George Washington was the first President.). Remember that citing sources is a rhetorical task, and, as such, can vary based on your audience. If you’re writing for an expert audience of a scholarly journal, for example, you may need to deal with expectations of what constitutes “common knowledge” that differ from common norms.

Other Sources

The MLA Handbook describes how to cite many different kinds of authors and content creators. However, you may occasionally encounter a source or author category that the handbook does not describe, making the best way to proceed can be unclear.

In these cases, it's typically acceptable to apply the general principles of MLA citation to the new kind of source in a way that's consistent and sensible. A good way to do this is to simply use the standard MLA directions for a type of source that resembles the source you want to cite.

You may also want to investigate whether a third-party organization has provided directions for how to cite this kind of source. For example, Norquest College provides guidelines for citing Indigenous Elders and Knowledge Keepers⁠ —an author category that does not appear in the MLA Handbook . In cases like this, however, it's a good idea to ask your instructor or supervisor whether using third-party citation guidelines might present problems.

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Fundamentals of MLA

Modern Language Association (MLA) style includes parenthetical in-text citations and a works cited . 

MLA uses parenthetical citations as its form of in-text citation. Provide a parenthetical citation before the period directly following the information you are citing. These citations, generally, should give a specific page number for the specific information and, specifically, should correspond to a more detailed citation in the Works Cited. The essential elements for this in-text citation are a page number and the author's last name. The last name may be omitted if the sentence states or makes clear the source material.

MLA uses a works cited,  an alphabetized list of sources following the end of the book or paper, for its complete list of sources referenced. This list should be alphabetized by the first item in the citation, which, in most cases, is the author's last name. The format of indentation for this list should be 0" for the first line and 1" for all following lines.

MLA 8 Outline

MLA 8 , specifically, seeks to create a general citation format that can be applied regardless of material type. The following elements are used strictly in the following order:

• Source title
• Container title
• Contributors (e.g. editors)
• Version  (e.g. volume)
• Number (e.g. issue)
• Publication date
• Location (e.g. url, doi)

The relationship between source and container is that a source exists within a container. As an example, for an article in a journal, the article title is the source, while the journal title is the container.

The general format for this citation is:

Author. Souce title. Container title , Contributors, Version, Number, Publisher, Publication date, Location.

In-text Citation Examples

Standard case :

"Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit" (Last name 10).

If the author is not available , the title of the source may be used. 

Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet consectetu adipiscing elit ("Source title" 10).

If multiple authors cited have the same last name , use the author's first initial along with their last name.

Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet consectetu adipiscing elit (E. Bronte 10).

"Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet consectetu adipiscing elit" (C. Bronte 10).

Examples of Full Citations for the Works Cited

Archival material :

Child, Julia.  Journal, 1974. 1974.  Papers  of Julia Child, 1925-1993 .  Schlesinger Library on the History of Women in America, Radcliffe Institute ,  https://id.lib.harvard.edu/ead/c/ sch00222c00006 /catalog .

Child, Paul.  Julia Child at the White House . Produced by WGBH, 1967.  Schlesinger Library on the History of Women in America, Radcliffe Institute , https://id.lib.harvard.edu/images/olvwork539731/urn-3:RAD.SCHL:4510469/catalog.

Beck, Simone, Louise Bertholle, and Julia Child.  Mastering the art of French cooking.  1st ed., Knopf, 1961.

Child, Julia.  The French chef cookbook . Drawings and photographs by Paul Child, 1st ed.,  Alfred A. Knopf, 1968 .

Journal article :

Muneal, Marc.  Studies in Popular Culture , vol. 34, no. 1, 2011, pp. 152–154.  JSTOR , www.jstor.org/stable/23416357.

Nussbaum, David. "In Julia Child's Kitchen, October 5 1998".  Gastronomica , vol. 5, no. 3., pp. 29-38.  JSTOR , doi: 10.1525/gfc.2005.5.3.29.

• MLA Style Center Website This website provides guidance on formatting a paper and citing resources in MLA. It also offers interactive templates and support from MLA editors.
• Purdue OWL MLA guide The Purdue Online Writing Lab (OWL) is one of the most complete citation guides available online. The MLA Guide explains how to format a paper in MLA and breaks down citations by type with numerous examples.
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Citing Sources: MLA Style

What is mla style.

MLA (Modern Language Association) Style is widely used in the humanities , especially in writing on language and literature. MLA style uses brief parenthetical citations in the text that refer to an alphabetical list of works cited appearing at the end of the work. 

MLA Style is used most heavily in disciplines that engage deeply with specific texts, including English, Literatures, Languages and Philosophy.

Note: the 9th edition of the MLA Handbook was released in May 2021. Many sites and citation generators may not yet be updated to reflect changes in this edition. 

Official Guidance from the MLA

• MLA Style Center Official website for the MLA Handbook, with sections on citing sources, writing and research, sample papers, and FAQ.
• Works Cited: A Quick Guide Examples and an interactive practice template for constructing citations using the MLA's system of core elements.
• Citations by Format Example citations for five basic source types, using the MLA's template of core elements.
• Ask the MLA Frequently asked questions about MLA Style.

Other MLA Guides

• MLA Style, from the Excelsior Online Writing Lab Detailed tutorial on using APA Style, including guidance on formatting papers,and references, along with sample papers, activities, and videos.

Books on MLA Style

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MLA 9th Style Guide: What is MLA?

• How do I write my paper in MLA style?
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• In-Text Citation Examples
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• Legal Citation
• Specific Database Examples

This guide is designed to help you understand the MLA style rules. To jump directly to citation examples, click "Work Cited Page Citation Examples" on the left.

All materials posted in this online guide are for MLA 9th , the most recent edition. To see the guide for the previous version, MLA 8th, click on the link at the bottom of this box.

If you are unsure about which edition you should use, please check with your professor.

MLA 9th edition:

• MLA 9th ed. Style Quick Guide Shortened, printable PDF guide for MLA 9th.

Previous, MLA 8th edition:

• MLA 8th Style Guide Full electronic version of the MLA 8th style guide.
• MLA 8th ed. Style Quick Guide Shortened, printable PDF guide for MLA 8th.

What is MLA? What does MLA style mean?

The guide is a joint effort by CSN Library Services and the Writing Center.

The guide is a joint effort by CSN Libraries and the CSN Writing Center.

Last updated January 2023.

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Table of Contents

Ai, ethics & human agency, collaboration, information literacy, writing process, mla citation – mla in text citation.

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

MLA Citation refers to conventions for citing sources according to MLA Handbook, 9th Edition. Even if you plan to use an MLA Format Citation Generator, you can benefit from understanding the basics of MLA citation. Being conversant in MLA in text citation is a basic literacy in the knowledge economy.

What is MLA Citation?

MLA Citation  refers to the guidelines for  citing  sources according to the  MLA Handbook, 9th Edition .

• MLA  refers to the  Modern Language Association , an international organization that informs the discourse practices of teachers, scholars, and students in the humanities
• The  9th Edition  is the current, official handbook of the MLA.

MLA Citation Format  provides writers with two major ways to  attribute  sources:

• in the actual  text using a parenthetical system  
• at the end of a text on a  Works Cited Page .

MLA In Text Citation vs. MLA Works Cited

The bibliographical information (e.g., who is the author? publisher? and so on) that MLA requires for in text citation differs from the bibliographic information MLA requires for Works Cited Pages :

In Text Citation See the article below to explore creative ways to introduce and vet sources inside the body of your paper in MLA citation style.

Works Cited Page See MLA Works Cited Page for a summary of MLA’s guidelines for constructing a list of references at the end of your paper.

MLA Citation is also known as

• MLA In Text Citation
• MLA Citation Format

MLA Format Citation

• In text Citation MLA
• Parenthetical Citation

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

Why Does MLA Citation Matter?

Writers, speakers, and knowledge workers in humanities-related disciplines use MLA Citation to acknowledge when they are

• summarizing
• paraphrasing or
• quoting information .

Words matter. Ideas matter. People want to be acknowledged when others use their ideas, whether those ideas are expressed in conversations or texts .

Words are a form of intellectual property , and they are governed by copyright . Failure to cite sources and acknowledge the ideas of others is called plagiarism . Acts of plagiarism are a violation of ethics and integrity.

Correct MLA In text citation is a signal of professionalism across workplace and academic contexts. Lack of correct usage suggests a failure to attend to detail or a lack of respect of intellectual property and copyright policies, conventions, and laws.

Beyond being required by law and academic policies governing academic honesty and integrity, MLA citation matters

• teachers want to see that students can accurately summarize information and introduce it in ways that support rather than detract from your purpose , voice , and ethos .
• whether claims are supported by evidence
• whether information is cited attributed according to professional standards.

Even if you use an MLA Format Citation Generator to compile a Works Cited page , you still need to know how to introduce sources into the body of your text in ways that support rather than weaken your thesis , research question , hypothesis. Knowledge of correct MLA Citation practices

• helps you identify citation errors in your work and the work of others
• empowers you to write your own citations, which can be less time consuming than using a citation tool.

The  MLA Handbook, 9th Edition provides a number of different ways to format in text citations , depending on the bibliographical information available about the source.

Most generally, a standard MLA in text citation typically includes

• the author’s last name
• the page number of the source if available.

Note: Unlike APA’s or Chicago’s author-date system , MLA does not provide the date of publication along with the author’s name inside the parentheses. Most likely MLA excludes the date reference because writers using MLA are often citing literary classics, which are often reprinted on various dates by multiple publishers.

This lack of a date in the parenthetical citations in MLA puts a bit of pressure on the writer to clarify the dates of publications when that’s important information for the reader to have. This rhetorical situation often comes up because writers are often articulating how ideas evolve over time thanks to ongoing investigations, ongoing scholarly conversations .

Example of Standard MLA Template

If you were quoting or paraphrasing from this source,

Martyna, Wendy. “What Does ‘He’ Mean? Use of the Generic Masculine.” Journal of Communication , vol. 28, no. 1, 1978 pp. 131–138. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1460-2466.1978.tb01576.x

then your in text citation needs to reference Martyna –the author’s last name–and the page number. If you don’t have a page number because the source isn’t paginated, no worries: just list the author’s last name.

You have multiple ways to introduce sources:

In the beginning of a sentence

You can put Martyna (the author’s last name) in the beginning of the sentence . Remember, the beginning of the sentence is the most important part of the sentence –that, and the end of the sentence .

Sample Paraphrase

• Martyna argues there were three major problems with using the generic he to refer to both men and women: (1) ambiguity (2) exclusiveness, and (3) inequity.

At the end of a sentence

Sometimes it can feel intrusive to introduce an author by first or last name in a text. You will have occasions when you want to put the author — or sometimes multiple authors — at the end of a sentence.

• (1) A mbiguity (2) Exclusiveness, and (3) Inequity — these are the three central problems with using the generic he to refer to both men and women (Martyna 131).

MLA Advice on First Name and Last Name on First Introduction

MLA style suggests that you include both the first and last name of the author when you first mention the source it in your paper.

Thus, rather than the above, on first mention the following might be more appropriate:

• Using “he” as a “generically human term” creates (1) ambiguity . . . (2) exclusiveness . . . (3) inequity” (Martyna 131).

MLA Approaches to Establishing Credibility

Sometimes it makes sense to establish the credibility of a source when it is introduced into a text . Qualifications can be addressed succinctly. For instance, to continue the example from above, the following might work:

MLA Template for In Text Citation at the End of a Sentence

Sometimes, when composing a text , you may feel that it’s a bit intrusive to keep introducing sources by listing first and last names . Sometimes you may want to keep the flow of the sentence on another subject other than the first and last name of a source’s creator. In that instance you can follow this template:

• Sentence (Author Last Name).

MLA Format Templates for Special Circumstances

Because many sources have more than one author and no page numbers (particularly electronic sources), the basic format discussed above won’t always work. See the chart below for common templates for MLA in text citations.

MLA In Text Citation Templates

If you have included any of the bibliographical information ordinarily included in a parenthetical citation (e.g., the authors’ names), you do not need to repeat that information in the parenthetical citation. After all, brevity is a major textual attribute of effective academic and workplace writing .

**The same rules apply to summary and paraphrase. You should introduce your sources and cite them even if you are not using their exact language.

In Text Citation Rubric

The criteria for evaluating in text citations may vary across academic and professional disciplines. Below are some commonplace rhetorical moves writers make when introducing sources or putting sources in conversation with one another.

In Text Citation Exercises

Look at the sentences below, each of which contains an incorrectly formatted in-text citation. Identify the errors in each.

• The parlor metaphor of writing describes writing as entering into a conversation, as in arriving late and a parlor and talking to guests who have been there long before you have (7).
• In “Argument as Emergence, Rhetoric as Love,” Jim Corder explains that “Everyone is an argument.” (1)
• The narrator “and why pretend? But lunch tomorrow? No?” (Collins line 4).
• The opening lines of the novel are “Lolita, light of my life, fire of my loins” (Nabokov, 1).
• he opening lines of the novel are “Lolita, light of my life, fire of my loins” ( Lolita 1).
• The citation identifies the page number but not the source.
• The punctuation should be outside the parenthetical citation, not inside the quote.
• There should not be any punctuation after the citation when the quote ends with a question mark.
• There should not be a comma between the author and page number.
• The citation should include the author’s last name, not the book title.

4 Steps for Using Sources

Step 1: identify needed information/sources.

The first step to finding appropriate sources is to reflect on your information needs.

During the preliminary stages of a writing project, when you’re engaged in prewriting , drafting, and rhetorical reasoning , take a moment to reflect on what’s been published about a topic in the archive . Here be careful to make distinctions in the authority of available information.

When discussing their sources for inspiration, writers often talk about the importance of reading other writers. They say they get their best ideas by reading the works of others. Sometimes people write to vet or refute the works of others. Other times people aspire to extend or develop knowledge on a given topic.

How to Identify Needed Information

• Which texts are canonical ?
• Who are the thought leaders?
• What are the major turns in the conversation?
• What are the current scholarly debates? What are the research questions scholars are pursuing in professional, peer-reviewed, academic journals and presses?
• Does the audience privilege anecdotal evidence , textual evidence , empirical evidence? What media , genre , rhetorical moves , research methods are you expected to use in order to communicate with your audience ?
• What citation style does your audience expect you to use? MLA? APA?

Step 2: Conduct a CRAAP Test (Currency, Relevance, Authority, Accuracy, Purpose) of Each Source

Before you cite a text, be sure to critique it.

Sarah Blakeslee’s (2004) CRAAP Test provides five critical frameworks for evaluating the usefulness of a source:

Step 3: Introduce Your Source

When you first introduce a source, MLA recommends that you put the first and last name of the author in the sentence:

When writing about non-fiction, tell your readers where the information came from. Where was it published? Who wrote it? What makes the writer credible?

• Example: The generic “he” is described by  Dr. Dennis Baron, professor Emeritus at the University of Illinois and author of  What’s Your Pronoun ,  as “the grammatical equivalent of manspreading.”

In subsequent uses of the same source, you don’t have to fully introduce your source, but you still need to contextualize the quote for your reader.

• Example:  The grammatical inconvenience of this missing part of speech resulted in calls for a gender-neutral singular pronouns. Baron notes  that the singular “they” first appeared in writing in 1370 and in 1792, a Scottish economist suggested adopting “ou” as a gender-neutral singular pronoun.
• Example:  After describing the natural diet and habitat of the flamingo and delineating its revered place in religion and myth, Price notes  that New Englanders have “reproduced [the flamingo] and brightened it and sent it wading across an inland sea of grass.”

When writing about literature, tell your readers who is speaking to whom about what. Orient them to what is happening in the story. 

• Example:  Upon hearing that Romeo has murdered her cousin, Juliet exclaims,   “Oh serpent heart, hid with a flowering face!”

Step 4: Integrate Your Source into Your Text

When using direct evidence in academic essays, writers shouldn’t ever start a sentence with a quote. Instead, the quote should be smoothly integrated into your sentence. There are three methods for embedding sources:

Dialogue Introduction :

• Correct:  Price says, “Americans in temperate New England reproduced it, brightened it, and sent it wading across an inland see of grass.”
• Alternatives to “says”: admits, emphasizes, responds, agrees, insists, replies, argues, notes, suggests, asserts, observes, thinks, believes, points out, writes, claims, reasons, denies, compares, refutes, confirms, rejects, contends, reports, declares

Introduction with a colon :

• Correct : Price ends the piece by noting the unnatural nature of the decorative flamingo trend: “Americans in temperate New England reproduced it, brightened it, and sent it wading across an inland see of grass.”
• Incorrect : Price ends the piece by noting: “reproduced it, brightened it, and sent it wading across an inland see of grass.”

Narrative Introduction : 

• Correct : Price notes that the flamingos stand out “loudly” as they are “sent wading” through the lawns of “temperate New England.”
• Incorrect : Price says “loudly” and “wading across an inland sea of grass.”

Step 5: Quote your source

When incorporating quotes from outside sources, it’s important to quote the language of the original source exactly. However, sometimes quotes need to be adapted for space or clarity. When making adaptations it is essential that

1) the changes are noted using brackets or ellipses

2) the changes do not alter the meaning of the original quote

At times, quotes will need to be adapted by pronouns to more specific nouns or vice versa for clarity or to avoid redundancy.

• After Mr. Smith spent all day spying on his neighbors, [he] was dismayed to have discovered nothing.”
• In response to the unwarranted attack, “[Mallory] launched into a passionate defense of herself.”

Particularly when integrating narratively, it might also be necessary to change verb tense to conform with the grammar of your sentences.

• When Gene “[jounces] the limb,” Finny crashes onto the muddy riverbank below and “[shatters] his leg.”  

Finally, you may find that you want to omit non-essential information from the middle of a quote. In these cases, use ellipses (…) to note where content has been omitted. Use three dots for brief omissions, and four dots if a sentence or more has been removed.

• Morgan asserts, “The Russian sailor as a Harlequin thus is an archetype for Marlow’s descent into the heart of darkness…but where Marlow returns home transformed, the Russian sailor remains behind, slipping back into the darkness” (37). 

It’s important to note that you shouldn’t ever use ellipses to note when something has been removed at the start or end of a quote. Except in the unlikely event that you are quoting the very first or very last line of a text, readers can always assume that something preceded or followed quoted material, so ellipses to start or end a quote are superfluous.

Step 6: Cite your source

As explained in detail above, the last step when incorporating outside evidence is to credit the original source via citation. Remember to include the first item listed in the bibliographic entry (author’s last name or source title) along with a page number if there is one.

Blakeslee, S. (2004). The CRAAP test .  LOEX Quarterly . 31 (3), Article 4.

Related Articles:

Quoting in MLA - Definition & Examples

Quoting plays and poetry in mla, suggested edits.

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MLA Citation Guide (MLA 9th Edition): In-Text Citation

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In-Text Citation

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In-text citations are inserted in the body of your research paper to briefly document the source of your information. 

• In-text citations in MLA style follow the general format of author's last name followed by a page number enclosed in parentheses. Here is an example: "Here's a direct quote" (Smith 8).
• If the author's name is not given, use the first word (or words) of the title. Follow the same formatting that is used in the works-cited list, such as quotation marks. Here is an example: This is a paraphrase ("Trouble" 22).
• If the source does not have page numbers (for example, some online articles, websites and e-books), only include the author's name for the in-text citation. Do not estimate or make up page numbers.  
• In-text citations point the reader to the works-cited list, which is located at the end of your paper, for more complete bibliographic information.

Repeated Use of Sources

If you use information from a single source more than once in succession (i.e., no other sources referred to in between), you can use a simplified in-text citation. Here is an example:

Cell biology is an area of science that focuses on the structure and function of cells (Smith 15). It revolves around the idea that the cell is a "fundamental unit of life" (17).

  Note: If using this simplified in-text citation creates ambiguity regarding the source being referred to, use the full in-text citation format.

In-Text Citation Formatting and Examples

Format:  (Author's Last Name Page Number)

Example: (Hunt 358)

Two Authors

Format:  (Author's Last Name and Author's Last Name Page Number)

Example: (Case and Daristotle 57)

Three or More Authors

Format:   (Author's Last Name et al. Page Number)

Example: (Case et al. 57)

Unknown Author

Where you would normally put the author's last name, instead use the first one, two, or three words from the title. Do not use  initial articles such as "A", "An" or "The". Provide enough words to clarify which sources from your works-cited list that you are referencing. 

Follow the formatting of the title. For example, if the title in the works-cited list is in italics, italicize the words from the title in the in-text citation, and if the title in the works-cited list is in quotation marks, put quotation marks around the words from the title in the in-text citation.

Format: (Title Page Number)

Examples : 

( Cell Biology 12)

("Nursing" 12)

Multiple Sources

To cite more than one source when you are paraphrasing, separate the in-text citations with a semi-colon.

Format: (Author's Last Name Page Number; Author's Last Name Page Number).

(Smith 42; Bennett 71). 

( It Takes Two ; Brock 43).

 Note: In MLA style, the sources within the in-text citation do not need to be in alphabetical order.

Works Quoted in Another Source

Sometimes an author of a book, article or website will mention another person's work by using a quotation or paraphrased idea from that source. (This may be a secondary source.) For example, the Kirkey article you are reading includes a quotation by Smith that you would like to include in your essay. The basic rule is that in both your Works-Cited List and in-text citation you will still cite Kirkey. Kirkey will appear in your Works Cited list – NOT Smith. Add the words "qtd. in" to your in-text citation.

Examples of in-text citations:

According to a study by Smith (qtd. in Kirkey) 42% of doctors would refuse to perform legal euthanasia.

Smith (qtd. in Kirkey) states that “even if euthanasia was legal, 42% of doctors would be against this method of assisted dying” (A.10).

Example of Works Cited List citation:

Kirkey, Susan. "Euthanasia."   The Montreal Gazette , 9 Feb. 2013, p. A.10. Canadian Newsstand Major Dailies.

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😕 What is an MLA Citation Generator?

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

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

👩‍🎓 Who uses an MLA Citation Generator?

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

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

🙌 Why should I use a Citation Generator?

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

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

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

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

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

MyBib supports the following for MLA style:

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Consider your source's credibility. ask these questions:, contributor/author.

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• Can you contact them? Do they have social media profiles?
• Have other credible individuals referenced this source or author?
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• Do they take responsibility for the content? Are they selective about what they publish?
• Take a look at their other content. Do these other articles generally appear credible?
• Does the author or the organization have a bias? Does bias make sense in relation to your argument?
• Is the purpose of the content to inform, entertain, or to spread an agenda? Is there commercial intent?
• Are there ads?
• When was the source published or updated? Is there a date shown?
• Does the publication date make sense in relation to the information presented to your argument?
• Does the source even have a date?
• Was it reproduced? If so, from where?
• If it was reproduced, was it done so with permission? Copyright/disclaimer included?

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MLA Works Cited Page: Format, Template & Examples

The Works Cited page is a part of research papers written in the Modern Language Association (MLA) format where all sources used by the author are listed. While writing research papers, authors may consult several sources and use their data or paraphrase parts of the original text. It is essential to give due credit to the used sources and cite them appropriately to avoid plagiarism. This list of sources offers an easy reference for readers who may want to refer to the original source for their own research.  

A well-formatted and accurate Works Cited page can provide readers with specific details to help them access that source. For example, for a journal article, in addition to basic details like author name, title, journal name, etc., the MLA Works Cited page also provides the volume and issue numbers, page numbers, publisher, etc. A Works Cited page gives credibility to the research paper, proving that the information published is accurate and backed by evidence. 

This article describes the template of an MLA Works Cited page along with examples and suggests steps to ensure accurate formatting of all entries. 

Table of Contents

• What is a Works Cited Page? 
• Basic Rules for an MLA Works Cited Page 
• Online journal article with DOI or URL 
• Online newspaper article 
• E-book 
• Specific type of e-book (Kindle, Nook) 
• Print book 
• Chapter in edited book 
• Web page with an author 
• Web page with no author 
• Web page with no author or organization 
• Blog post 
• Video 
• YouTube video 
• Image 
• Conference paper presentation 
• Dissertation from a database 
• Twitter (now X) posts 
• Format of an MLA Works Cited Page 
• Formatting Headings and Citation Titles on an MLA Works Cited Page 
• Single author 
• Two authors 
• Three or more authors 
• General rules 
• Key Takeaways 
• Frequently Asked Questions 

What is a Works Cited Page?

The MLA Works Cited page 1 lists all the sources used while writing research papers. This page is always the last one after the main content. A Works Cited page uses the official MLA format and has similar content as reference lists used by other styles such as the Chicago Manual of Style (Chicago style), the American Psychological Association (APA), and the American Medical Association (AMA). Each style uses a different format, emphasizing different elements. 

The Works Cited page helps avoid plagiarism by crediting the sources and allows readers to quickly locate the sources. Papers in MLA format should always have a Works Cited page and each entry on this page should be cited in the text at the corresponding location. 

Basic Rules for an MLA Works Cited Page

Here are some basic rules for writing the MLA Works Cited page: 2  

• Start your Works Cited list on a fresh page at the end of your paper, with the same formatting as other sections, such as one-inch margins, last name, page number, and header. 
• Align the title, “Works Cited,” at the top center. Don’t use italicization, boldfacing, quotation marks, or all-caps to highlight the title. 
• Left align the citations and arrange them alphabetically by authors’ last names. If author names are unavailable, arrange by the first letter in the title (other than A, An, or The). 
• Do not use serial numbering or bullets to list the entries. 
• Double space all citations. 
• Indent the second and subsequent lines of citations by 0.5 inches to create a hanging indent (Figure 1). 

• List page numbers of the sources correctly. If only one page of a print source is used, use the abbreviation “p.” before the page number (e.g., p. 232). If a page range is used, use “pp.” (e.g., pp. 232-38). 
• For online sources, include a location, like a URL or a digital object identifier (DOI). Delete “http://” from URLs. The DOI or URL is usually the last element in a citation. 
• End all entries with a period. 

Citing Sources in MLA

A citation in an MLA Works Cited page requires the following core elements. These elements should be written in the order given below, followed by the punctuation mark shown unless the particular element is the final element of the entry, in which case, it should end with a period. 4,5  

• Author’s name
• Title of source
• Title of the container, (a container is the larger publication in which the text is published. For example, if citing an article from a journal, the journal is the container) 
• Other editors, translators, contributors
• Publication date
• Location (page numbers in print versions; DOI or URL in online versions) 

A few optional elements can be included, if available: 

• Date of access (the date you last accessed the online source) 
• Date of original publication 
• Format of media source 

All style guides have their own specific formats for writing different sources in a reference list—journal articles, printed and digital books, videos, websites, etc. The MLA-style format for different types of sources is listed below: 4

Online journal article with DOI or URL

Author’s last name, First name. “Title of Article.” Title of Journal , vol., no. (issue), date of publication, pp. (if available). Database Name , DOI or URL. 

Online newspaper article

Author’s last name, First name. “Title of Article.” Name of Newspaper , Publication Date, p. (if available), URL. Access date. 

Author’s last name, First name. Title of Book . E-book, publisher, publication year, DOI or URL (if available). 

Specific type of e-book (Kindle, Nook)

Author’s last name, First name. Title of Book , editor or translator (if necessary), (Kindle/Nook) ed., publisher, year. 

Author’s last name, First name. Title of Book . City*, Publisher, Publication Date. 

*City is cited only if the book is published before 1900 or if the publisher has multiple offices worldwide. 

Chapter in edited book

Author’s last name, First name. Title of Book . Edited by FirstName LastName, publisher, year, page range of chapter. 

Web page with an author

Author’s last name, First name. “Title of Webpage.” Title of Website , URL. Access date. 

Web page with no author

“Title of Article.” Title of Website , date of publication, URL. Access date. 

Web page with no author or organization

“Title of Webpage.” Title of Website (if different), publication year, URL. Access date. 

Author’s last name, First Name (or, in some cases, screen name, editor, etc.). “Title of Post.” Name of Website , version or date of post, name of organization (if different), URL. Access date. 

Title of Motion Picture/Film . Directed by First Name Last Name, performances by First Name Last Name, Studio Name, Year. Access date, Media format. 

Last Name, First Name, director/writer/producer. Title of Motion Picture/Film . Studio, Year. Access date, Media format. 

YouTube video

If author is different from the uploader: 

Author Last Name, First Name. “Title of Video.” YouTube , uploaded by [Screen name], date, URL. Access date, Media format. 

If author and uploader are the same OR if there is no clear author: 

“Title of Video.” YouTube , uploaded by [Screen name], date, URL. Access date, Media format. 

Artist’s Last Name, First Name. Title of Image , date of creation, institution, city. Name of web site , URL. 

Title of Piece . Date of creation. Name of Website , URL. 

Conference paper presentation

Author’s Last Name, First Name. “Conference Paper Title.” Conference Title that Includes Date and Location , edited by Conference Editor(s). Publisher. Date of Publication. 

Dissertation from a database

Author’s Last Name, First Name. Title of Dissertation (Doctoral dissertation) . Database name, date of publication, URL (if available). 

Twitter (now X) posts

Twitter Handle (First Name Last Name if Known). “The entire tweet word-for-word.”  Twitter , Day Month Year of Tweet, Time of Tweet, URL. 

Format of an MLA Works Cited Page

Here’s a list of steps for formatting the MLA Works Cited page:

• Place one-inch margins around the entire document except for the “running head.” In the page setup settings, you can view and modify the margin size. 
• Double space the entire page using the “Line spacing” or “Paragraph spacing” options in your word processing program. 
• Organize the Works Cited entries in either alphabetical (by author name or title) or non-alphabetical order. 1,2

Example: 

Benjamin, Chloe. The Immortalists . Penguin, 2018. 

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

Egan, Jennifer. Manhattan Beach . Scribner, 2017. 

Formatting Headings and Citation Titles on an MLA Works Cited Page

The following points outline the basic format for headings and titles used on a Works Cited page. 1 The running head is at the top right corner of every page of the document. It displays the last name of the author and the page number (e.g., Letterman 6). 

• The running head should be placed half an inch from the top of the page and along the right side’s one-inch margin. 
• The page title (Work/Works Cited) should be written below the running head.  
• No center alignment 
• No boldfacing, italicization, or underlining 
• Same font size (12 point) and type as the entire document 
• Separated by a double space from the first citation on the page 

Consider the following rules while formatting source titles: 1,5,7,8  

• List the full title as the original source and use title case (capitalize all principal words, except articles [a, an, the], prepositions, or coordinating conjunctions [and, for, but, or, so, nor, yet] when in the middle of the title). 

Examples:  

The Code of the Exiled, Wizard of Oz, Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire  

Cheyfitz, Eric. The Poetics of Imperialism: Translation and Colonization from The Tempest to Tarzan. Expanded ed., U of Pennsylvania P, 1997. 

• Separate the subtitle from the title with a colon and space. 

Goldman, Anne. “Questions of Transport: Reading Primo Levi Reading Dante.” The Georgia Review , vol. 64, no. 1, 2010, pp. 69-88. 

• Italicize titles if the source is self-contained and independent, e.g., titles of books, plays, films, periodicals, journals, magazines, databases, and websites. 

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

• Enclose titles in quotation marks if the source is part of a larger work, e.g., articles, essays, chapters, poems, short stories, webpages, songs, television episodes, and speeches. 
• Titles beginning with numbers are placed in the reference list as if the title was written out alphabetically. 

Formatting Author Names on an MLA Work Cited Page

Few important rules to consider when formatting author names: 1,2  

Single author

• List author names alphabetically by the author’s last name (or, for entire edited collections, editor names). The format for writing author names is as follows: 

Last name, first name, middle name or middle initial  

Said, Edward W. Culture and Imperialism . Knopf, 1994. 

• To cite more than one work by the same author, order the entries alphabetically by title, and use three hyphens in place of the author’s name for every entry after the first. 

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

—. Little Women . Bantam Classics, 1983. 

—. Rose in Bloom . CreateSpace, 2018. 

Two authors

The first listed author’s name on the source is the first author in the reference.  

Last name, First name of author 1, and First name Last name of author 2 

Pavear, Richard, and Larissa Volokhonsky, translators. Crime and Punishment . By Feodor Dostoevsky, Vintage eBooks, 1993. 

Three or more authors

Include only the first listed author’s last name, followed by a comma and their first name, followed by another comma and then “et al.”  

Example:  

Baron, Sabrina Alcorn, et al., editors. Agent of Change: Print Culture Studies after Elizabeth L. Eisenstein. U of Massachusetts P / Center for the Book, Library of Congress, 2007. 

General rules

• Do not list titles (Dr., Sir, etc.) or degrees (PhD, MA, MD, etc.) with names but include suffixes like “Jr.” or “II.”  

King, Martin Luther, Jr. 

• Alphabetize works with no known author by their title; use a shortened version of the title in the parenthetical citations in your paper. 

Baudrillard, Jean. Simulacra and Simulations . […] 

Boring Postcards USA […] 

• To cite works by authors using a pseudonym or stage-name, cite the better-known name if the person is well known. For example, Lewis Carroll is the pseudonym of Charles Dodgson, and is the better-known name so only the pseudonym should be used. If the pseudonym is less well known, cite the real name in square brackets after the pseudonym.  

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

Key Takeaways

To summarize, an MLA Works Cited page should have the following format: 

• Starts on a new page at the end. 
• Centered page title without any highlights. 
• Double-spaced citations, preferably in Times New Roman 12-pt font. 
• Left-justified entries with a hanging indent of 0.5 inches. 
• Source titles in title case. 
• Entries ordered by the first word, typically author name or the first word in the title (except articles a, an, the). If the title begins with a year or a number, alphabetize it as if the number/year is spelled out. 

Frequently Asked Questions

A1. The Works Cited page and references have a similar purpose; both include sources that have been specifically cited or paraphrased in the paper and whose data have been directly used. A bibliography includes a list of sources related to the content in a research paper, that is, sources that you may have consulted while writing your research paper, but may not have actually used, cited, or paraphrased from. 1   

A2. Yes, there are a few other styles for citing references, such as the Chicago Style, AMA Manual of Style, APA Manual of Style, and the IEEE style. All of these have different referencing formats. In addition, organizations may create their own referencing styles, commonly called a house style. 

A3. No, the Works Cited page should include only those sources that you have cited or whose data you have used in your research paper. Sources that you have only consulted while conducting research should be included in a bibliography. 

A4. Per MLA format, ignore symbols, such as hashtags when alphabetizing. Use the first letter in the entry to alphabetize. 9   Example:  @AP. “It’s been four years since the #MeToo movement took over social media. . . .” X, 15 Oct. 2021, https://twitter.com/AP/status/1449019990741590025.  “#MeToo Poll: Many in US More Willing to Call Out Misconduct.” Associated Press , 15 Oct. 2021, https://apnews.com/article/sexual-misconduct-metoo-79688da3a0c3519d2a76b5b6e6b23ba7.  “#MeToo Protest in Amsterdam after Allegations at TV Show.” Associated Press , 29 Jan. 2022, https://apnews.com/article/entertainment-business-arts-and-entertainment-netherlands-amsterdam-4bb589aae061e534b1a47ac453e9d85f . 

A5. Here is one way of adding a hanging indent in MS Word: 10   1. Highlight the text that you want to format.   2. Click the Home tab at the top of the page; in the “Paragraph” section click the small arrow in the lower-right corner to open a window with different paragraph setting options.   3. In that settings window, look for a section, “Indentation,” which has an option, “Special.” Click the drop-down menu beneath Special and select Hanging.   4. MS Word will mostly have the default spacing of the hanging indent set to 0.5 inches. To adjust the spacing, change the number in the By section.  5. Click OK to save and apply the hanging indent to your highlighted text. 

To summarize, an MLA Works Cited page is an essential part of a manuscript written using the MLA style and includes all sources used by the author to write the research paper. As described in the article, the Works Cited page and its entries have a specific format that should be strictly followed, and all the core elements included in the individual entries.  

We hope this article has provided a deeper understanding of the MLA style and will help you apply this format to all your Works Cited pages. 

References  

• What is a works cited page? EasyBib website. Accessed May 14, 2024. https://www.easybib.com/guides/citation-guides/mla-format/how-to-format-a-mla-works-cited-list/  
• MLA Works Cited page: Basic format. Purdue Online Writing Lab. Accessed May 14, 2024. https://owl.purdue.edu/owl/research_and_citation/mla_style/mla_formatting_and_style_guide/mla_works_cited_page_basic_format.html  
• MLA Citation: Works Cited Example. Press Books @ MSL website. Accessed May 16, 2024. https://pressbooks.ulib.csuohio.edu/csu-fyw-rhetoric/chapter/12-4-mla-works-cited-examples/  
• MLA Works Cited Page. The University of Arizona Global Campus Writing Center. Accessed May 17, 2024. https://writingcenter.uagc.edu/mla-works-cited-page  
• Section 5. List of Works Cited. MLA Handbook eighth edition. 
• Sample MLA Works Cited Page. College of San Mateo library website. Accessed May 17, 2024. https://www.collegeofsanmateo.edu/library/docs/MLAWorksCited7.pdf  
• MLA Style Guide, 8 th & 9 th Editions: Title of Source. Accessed May 18, 2024. https://irsc.libguides.com/c.php?g=483085&p=3303403#:~:text=Italicize%20titles%20if%20the%20source,are%20placed%20in%20quotation%20marks . 
• Frequently Asked Questions about Citing Sources in MLA Format. Harvard Guide to Using Sources. Accessed May 20, 2024. https://usingsources.fas.harvard.edu/frequently-asked-questions-about-citing-sources-mla-format  
• How do I alphabetize a works-cited-list entry that begins with a hashtag or another symbol? MLA Style Center. Accessed May 21, 2024. https://style.mla.org/alphabetizing-hashtags-and-other-symbols/  
• Hanging Indents and Microsoft Word. MLA Style Center. Accessed May 21, 2024. https://style.mla.org/hanging-indents/  

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