Skip to Main Content

Citation Help and Plagiarism Awareness: MLA Quick Guide

About the Quick Guide

MLA Handbook coverThis page provides a quick introduction to citing sources in MLA 9th edition style, with examples of commonly cited sources and tips on creating your Works Cited. Use this page in conjunction with the other citation resources listed in this research guide.

MLA 9th Edition Citation Examples

Below are examples of citations from an MLA formatted Works Cited page, including their corresponding parenthetical in-text citation to highlight various situations, such as multiple authors, sources without authors, and sources without page numbers.

MLA in-text citations follow the author-page format. For more examples and guidance on in-text citations, please visit the Purdue O.W.L.

Book

Rosenberg, Ian. The Fight for Free Speech: Ten Cases That Define Our First Amendment Freedoms. New York UP, 2021.
In-Text Citation: (Rosenberg 35).


EBook

Tierney, William G., and Suneal Kolluri. Relational Sociology and Research on Schools, Colleges, and Universities. SUNY Press, 2020. EbscoHost eBook Collection, search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=e000xna&AN=2478366&site=ehost-live&scope=site.
In-Text Citation: (Tierney and Kolluri 255).


Journal Article

Banse, Holland W., et al. "Teaching Moves and Preschoolers' Arithmetical Accuracy." Journal of Educational Research, vol. 113, no. 6, 2020, pp. 418-30. Academic Search Complete, https://doi.org/10.1080/00220671.2020.1846484.
In-Text Citation: (Banse et al. 421).


Magazine Article in Opposing Viewpoints (Database)

Horowitz, Anthony. "Open Book: If You Want Children to Love Reading, Don't Tell Them What to Read." Spectator, vol. 342, no. 9993, 7 Mar. 2020, p. 21. Gale In Context: Opposing Viewpoints, link.gale.com/apps/doc/A622149705/OVIC?u=cclc_clovis&sid=bookmark-OVIC&xid=4e398185.
In-Text Citation: (Horowitz 21).


Newspaper Article (Website)

Senior, Jennifer. "Teen Fiction and the Perils of Cancel Culture." The New York Times, 8 Mar. 2019, www.nytimes.com/2019/03/08/opinion/. Accessed 12 Aug. 2021.
In-Text Citation: (Senior).


Article on Website

"Fighter Aircraft Will Soon Get AI Pilots." The Economist, 21 Nov. 2020, www.economist.com/science-and-technology/2020/11/19/fighter-aircraft-will-soon-get-ai-pilots. Accessed 12 Aug. 2021.
In-Text Citation: (“Fighter Aircraft”).


Entire Website

Clovis Community College. 2021, www.cloviscollege.edu/index.html. Accessed 8 Aug. 2022.
In-Text Citation: (Clovis Community).


Film from a Database

“American Oz.” Films On Demand, 2021, fod.infobase.com/PortalPlaylists.aspx?wID=275588&xtid=240904.
In-Text Citation: (“American Oz”).


YouTube Video

“Molly Wright: How Every Child Can Thrive by Five.” YouTube, uploaded by TED, 9 Aug. 2021, www.youtube.com/watch?v=aISXCw0Pi94.
In-Text Citation: (“Molly Wright”).

MLA 9th Edition Core Elements

Below are the nine core elements—the most common attributes of sources used for research—of an MLA citation, with examples on how they are presented in a citation. These elements are then put together, in order, to form a complete citation.

1. Author: authors and/or editors, organization, company name, etc.

  • One author: Last name, First name.
    • Coelho, Paulo.
  • Two authors: Last name, First name, and First name and Last name.
    • King, Stephen, and Owen King.
  • Three or more authors: Last name, First name, et al.
    • Newmark, Amy, et al.

2. Title of Source: title of the chapter, essay, webpage or article title

  • Title of Source should be inside quotations
    • “22 Tips for First-Year College Students.”

3. Title of Container: book title or title of the journal, magazine, newspaper, website, etc., where the source can be found

  • Title of Container should be in italics:
    • Romeo and Juliet,
    • The American Journal of Medicine,
    • The New York Times,

4. Other Contributors, editors, narrators, translators, etc.

  • edited by Jeffrey Yang,
  • Translated by Jane Marie Todd,

5. Version, edition 

  • 10th ed.,
  • 3rd ed.,

6. Number, volume, and Issue Numbers

  • vol. 30, no. 1,

7. Publisher: publishers, organizations, government, companies

  • Oxford University Press,
  • Little, Brown and Company,

8. Publication date (includes day, month, year, and/or season)

  • 2020,
  • 24 Nov. 2012,
  • Apr. 2010,
  • spring 2011,

9. Location (include page number(s) (if applicable), database name (if applicable), and/or web URL address, DOI, etc.)

  • p. 19,
  • pp. 185-186
  • www.cloviscollege.edu/student-services/library/index.html.
  • https://doi: 10.1177/0192513X04272439.

MLA Works Cited General Guidelines

  • The Works Cited begins on a separate page at the end of your essay
  • Its heading (Works Cited) is centered at the top without underlining, bold, italicizing or quotation marks
  • Alphabetize sources by author’s last name; for works without an author, alphabetize by title
  • Italicize titles of books and journals
  • Lines after the first line of each source should be indented 0.5” (hanging indent)
  • The date of access for electronic resources is optional, but recommended when the source provides no date of publication
  • Note that URLs do not have any additional formatting; they are not underlined, hyperlinked, or in another text color
  • Citations on your references page will have a hanging indent; the first line of a source will be positioned on the left side margin of a page, and the remaining lines of the paragraph will be a half an inch to the right of that margin.
    • Microsoft Word/Office365 Word: Highlight all sources in your Works Cited page and right click on your mouse. In the selections, choose Paragraph. Under Indentation, select the Special drop down menu, and select Hanging. Then, click OK.
    • Google Docs: Highlight your sources in your Works Cited page and select Format from the top menu. Select Align & Indent and choose Indentation Options. Under Special Indent, use the drop down menu for Hanging and enter ".5" for a half-inch indent.