# MLA citation: a student guide to Works Cited, with examples

> MLA citation with examples: author and page in the text, Works Cited entries for books, articles and websites, and how MLA differs from APA.

![MLA citation: a student guide to Works Cited, with examples](https://tiswa.app/assets/blog/mla-citation/mla-citation-cover-en.webp)

## The core idea: short citations in the text, a full list at the end

MLA is issued by the MLA Style Center, and its biggest difference from APA is what goes inside the brackets. MLA uses the author and the page number, not the year. If you are used to APA, check this before you write your first reference.

## In-text citations

- One author: write the surname and the page number in brackets, with no comma, such as (Kurlansky 10).
- Two authors: write both surnames joined by and, such as (Jacobson and Kysar 25).
- No author: write a short form of the title in double quotation marks, such as (“Athlete’s Foot - Topic Overview”).
- No page numbers, as is common for websites: write the author or the title alone, such as (Morin).

## Building the Works Cited list

1. **New page**: Start the Works Cited list on a new page after the last page of your paper, with the heading at the top.
2. **Alphabetical order**: Sort entries by the first author’s surname. If there is no author, sort by the title of the source.
3. **Inverted name**: Write the first author’s surname first, followed by a comma and the given name, such as Kurlansky, Mark. Write the second author in normal order, joined by and.
4. **Italics or quotes**: Book titles are italicised. Article titles and webpage titles go in double quotation marks.
5. **Short publisher names**: Shorten University Press to UP, and drop words such as Inc., Co. and Publishers.

![5-step flow: New page / Alphabetical order / Inverted name / Italics or quotes / Short publisher names](https://tiswa.app/assets/blog/mla-citation/mla-citation-inline-1-en.webp)


## Worked examples: books, articles and websites

These examples are taken from MLA guides published by university libraries. Titles appear as plain text here because a table cannot show italics:

| Source type | Works Cited entry | In-text citation |
|---|---|---|
| Book, one author | Kurlansky, Mark. Salt: A World History. Walker, 2002. | (Kurlansky 10) |
| Book, two authors | Jacobson, Diane L., and Robert Kysar. A Beginner’s Guide to the Books of the Bible. Augsburg, 1991. | (Jacobson and Kysar 25) |
| Journal article from a database, with a DOI | Cardanay, Audrey. “Illustrating Motion, Music, and Story.” General Music Today, vol. 29, no. 3, 2016, pp. 25-29. Academic Search Premier, https://doi.org/10.1177/1048371315626498. | (Cardanay 25) |
| Webpage, no author | “Athlete’s Foot - Topic Overview.” WebMD, 25 Sept. 2014, www.webmd.com/skin-problems-and-treatments/tc/athletes-foot-topic-overview. | (“Athlete’s Foot - Topic Overview”) |

![Comparison card of the guide table](https://tiswa.app/assets/blog/mla-citation/mla-citation-inline-2-en.webp)


> **Tip**: When a website has no author, start the entry with the page title in quotation marks, and use that same short title in the brackets in your text.

## Publishers, cities and DOIs

- The city of publication is not normally included. It is added only in specific cases, such as books published before 1900, publishers with offices in more than one country, or publishers unknown in North America.
- Write a DOI in full as https://doi.org/ followed by the code. Do not put the word DOI in front of it.
- For a journal article from a database, name the database at the end of the entry, as the example above shows.
- If a source has no DOI and no stable link, give the address as it appears on the site, without https://.

## MLA and APA: do not mix them

Mixing the two styles is one of the most common student mistakes. APA puts the year in the brackets and calls its list References. MLA puts the page number in the brackets and calls its list Works Cited. If your course requires APA, follow the APA guide, and compare the two with [APA citation format](https://tiswa.app/en/blog/apa-citation/).

Check one MLA entry without inventing details:

```
Check this entry against MLA 9. Put the elements in order, shorten the publisher, italicise a book title and put an article title in quotation marks. Do not add any detail that is not in the text I send. If something is missing, only tell me what is missing: 
```

## AI tools and your references

AI tools can format a reference quickly, but they sometimes invent a title, a page number or a publisher. Open each source yourself and check every element. Then confirm that every in-text citation has an entry in the list, and that every entry is cited in the text.

Related guides: [Harvard referencing](https://tiswa.app/en/blog/harvard-citation/), [IEEE citation](https://tiswa.app/en/blog/ieee-citation/) and [paraphrasing without plagiarism](https://tiswa.app/en/blog/paraphrasing-without-plagiarism/).

Writing your paper on a laptop or an iPad? tiswa lists student deals on devices and study software. [See the study deals](https://tiswa.app/en/deals/). [Join tiswa](https://tiswa.app/en/join/)

## What to read next

Once your references are in order, read the whole paper from the start, then follow [how to write a research paper](https://tiswa.app/en/blog/how-to-write-a-research-paper/) to check the structure. If you are presenting it to a panel, read [presentation tips](https://tiswa.app/en/blog/presentation-tips/). Every writing guide is in the [writing and presentations section](https://tiswa.app/en/blog/c/writing/).

## The nine core elements

The official MLA guide does not ask you to memorise a different format for every source type. It gives you a fixed list of elements: take whichever ones your source has, in the same order. Once you know the list, you can cite almost anything, including source types you have never seen.

| Order | Element | Example |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Author | Smith, John. |
| 2 | Title of source | The article, chapter or book title |
| 3 | Title of container | The journal, website or book that holds it |
| 4 | Other contributors | Editor or translator |
| 5 | Version | For example, 2nd ed. |
| 6 | Number | Volume and issue |
| 7 | Publisher | The publishing house or organisation |
| 8 | Publication date | Year or full date |
| 9 | Location | Page range, DOI or URL |

## Formatting the Works Cited page

Put the list on its own page at the end, titled Works Cited and centred. Order entries alphabetically by the first author's surname. Use double spacing and a hanging indent, so the first line of each entry starts at the margin and the following lines are indented. Every entry must be cited in the text at least once.

## Questions

### What is the difference between MLA and APA in-text citations?

MLA uses the author and a page number, such as (Kurlansky 10). APA uses the author and the year, such as (Kurlansky, 2002).

### Do I include the city of publication in Works Cited?

Usually not. MLA 9 asks for it only in specific cases, such as books published before 1900, or publishers with offices in more than one country.

### What is the list called in MLA?

It is called Works Cited. References is the name APA uses, so do not use both names in one paper.

### How do I cite a webpage with no author?

Start the entry with the page title in quotation marks, then the website name, then the date and the link. In the text, use the same short title in brackets.

### Is a DOI always required?

No. If a journal article has a DOI, write it as https://doi.org/ followed by the code. If it has no DOI, give the stable URL as it appears in the database or on the site.

### Can I cite ChatGPT in MLA?

Check your course policy first. If you are asked to cite it, follow the current MLA Style Center guidance, because the formats change between editions.


## Sources

[^1]: style.mla.org, https://style.mla.org/works-cited-a-quick-guide/
[^2]: libguides.up.edu, https://libguides.up.edu/mla/common/books_and_ebooks
[^3]: libguides.up.edu, https://libguides.up.edu/mla/common/journal_articles
[^4]: libguides.up.edu, https://libguides.up.edu/mla/common/websites