MLA style uses two types of citations to include a source. One is given in the prose and the other is listed in the works-cited list at the end of the paper. The one added in the text is called the in-text citation, which cites the author’s name to inform the reader that a particular source is referred to for the topic discussed in the prose. The other one in the works-cited list is the full citation, which shares all necessary information of the source so that the source can be easily accessed.
To cite a source in MLA style, you should add both in-text citation and works-cited-list entry in your work. All in-text citations will have their complete entries in the works-cited list. Similarly, all works-cited-list entries will have one or more in-text citations.
The entry in the works-cited list is important, as it helps the reader in locating the source for further research or study. Therefore, it is important to add all necessary information in the works-cited-list entry.
Add the works-cited list at the end of the paper. If you add any endnotes, the works-cited-list page starts after the endnotes.
Set 1 inch for all margins (left, right, top, and bottom).
Write the running head at 0.5 inches from the top of the page on the right side. The running head should be of the form “Surname Page #.”
Use a clear font. Times New Roman is recommended by MLA. Set the font size to 12 points.
Double-space the entries. For any entry running over a line, give 0.5 inches indentation to the second and subsequent lines.
Align the title to the center. The title takes no formatting. The title should read “Works Cited.” If there is only one entry in the list, use “Work Cited” as the title.
The entries in the works-cited list are arranged according to alphabetical order.
The below table shows templates and examples of different types of works-cited-list entries. All examples shown are for a single author.
Template:
Surname, First name. Middle initial. Title of the Book. Publisher, Publication Date. Page range.
Example:
Jackson, Shannon. Social Works: Performing Art, Supporting Publics. Routledge, 2011.
Template:
Surname, First name. “Title of the Article.” Journal Title, Volume, Issue, Publication Date, Page range.
Example:
Gray, James. “Trail Mix: A Sojourn on the Muddy Divide Between Nature and Culture.” Text and Performance Quarterly, vol. 30, 2010, pp. 201–19.
Template:
Author or Organization Name. “Title of the Webpage.” Website Name. Publication Date, URL.
Example:
Keyton, David. “Tanzanian Writer Abdulrazak Gurnah Awarded 2021 Nobel Prize for Literature,” The Globe and Mail. 8 Oct. 2017, www.theglobeandmail.com/arts/books/article-tanzanian-writer-abdulrazak-gurnah-awarded-2021-nobel-prize-for/.
Template:
“Title of the Video.” YouTube, uploaded by Uploader’s Name, Day Month Year, URL.
Example:
“What Is Psychoanalytic Theory?” YouTube, uploaded by Todd Grande, 4 Mar 2018, www.youtube.com/watch?v=XZQA6JVNZAo.
The following table shows how entries with different numbers of authors are cited in the list. All examples are given are journal references.
Template:
Surname, First name. “Title of the Article.” Journal Title, Volume, Issue, Publication Date, Page range.
Example:
Harman, Gerald. “Technology, Objects and Things in Heidegger.” Cambridge Journal of Economics, vol. 34, 2010, pp. 17–25.
Template:
Author Surname, First name. Middle initial., and First Name Surname. “Title of the Article.” Journal Title, Volume, Issue, Publication Date, Page range.
Example:
Lyons, Dana, and Jennifer Casey. “It’s a Material World: The Critical and Ongoing Value of Ethnoarchaeology in Understanding Variation, Change, and Materiality.” World Archaeology, vol. 48, 2016, pp. 609–27.
Template:
Author Surname, First name, et al. “Title of the Article.” Journal Title, Volume, Issue, Publication Date, Page range.
Example:
Sanson, Mevagh, et al. “Trigger Warnings Are Trivially Helpful at Reducing Negative Affect, Intrusive Thoughts, and Avoidance.” Clinical Psychological Science, vol. 7, 2019, pp. 778–93.
The below guidelines will help you arrange the entries in alphabetical order in the works-cited list:
Arrange the entries alphabetically according to the first author’s surname.
Consider the title if a work has no author for alphabetical arrangement. Remember, only the main word of the title is taken for alphabetical arrangement (e.g., ignore the articles “A,” “An,” and “The” while considering the title for arrangement).
Accented characters, if any, must be considered as normal characters (e.g., “é” should be considered as a normal letter “e.” Note that “ä” is treated as “ae”).
Ignore any space between words during alphabetical sorting.
Works by one author
Multiple entries with the same author are arranged differently. The name of the author is retained only for the first entry. Em dashes are used in the second and the following entries.
Spatz, Ben. “Massimiliano Balduzzi: Research in Physical Training for Performers.” Theatre, Dance and Performance Training, vol. 5, no. 3, 2014, pp. 270–90.
———. What a Body Can Do: Technique as Knowledge, Practice as Research. Routledge, 2015.
Works by two authors
Two or more works having the same first author but different second authors are arranged by the surname of the second author.
Fienup-Riordan, Ann, and Melia Knecht. “Irr’inarqellriit /Amazing Things: Quinhagak Elders Reflect on Their Past.” Alaskan Journal of Anthropology, vol. 13, no. 2, 2015, pp. 36–39.
Fienup-Riordan, Ann, and Alice Rearden. Ellavut, Our Yup’ik World & Weather: Continuity and Change on the Bering Sea Coast. Washington UP, 2012.
Multiple entries with the same two authors are arranged differently. The names of the authors are retained only for the first entry. Em dashes are used in the second and the following entries.
Works by different numbers of authors with the same first author
If there are entries with different numbers of authors—some by a single author and others by the same