MLA Citations: MLA Works Cited Citations

MLA citations appear in full on the Works Cited list at the end of a research paper. These full citations are built on the idea of containers, using the following format:

• Elements are separated by commas, except for periods after the author, source title, and the end of each container.
• If an element like the author or publication date is missing, leave it out and continue to the next element.

Author

• Begin with the first author's last name, followed by the first name and initials.
• For two authors, put a comma after the first author's name, add "and" and write the second author's name in normal order.
• For three or more authors, put a comma after the first author's name, followed by the words "et al." in non-italicized font. Do not list the names of any authors beyond the first one.
• For usernames, people who go by a single name, those whose names are written surname first, etc., write out the name in normal order.
• If a government document doesn't list a name, use the source (e.g. U.S. Department of Education, or United States, Congress, House).
• If the creators are not authors, use a comma followed by a label (e.g. Author, First, editor.)

Title

• Capitalize the first word and all other major words in the title. 
• The titles of larger works like books and films are italicized, while shorter works like essays, articles, and poems are in quotes.
• If the name of another work appears in the title, either italicize it or use quotes, depending on its format as mentioned above. If both the main title and the other work use quotes, put the main title in double quotes and the other work in single quotes. If both would normally be italicized, italicize the main title and use non-italicized standard case for the name of the work within

Container

• A container is essentially a work that contains another work. For example, a book or journal is a container for a chapter or article. A website may be a container for a webpage.
• A second container is listed when a work is found somewhere other than its original format, such as an article that is reprinted or posted on a database or on a website. If you get an article from a database, you will need to include information on the journal where it came from (container 1) as well as the database where you found it (container 2).

Contributors

• These are people who are not the original creators, such as translators, editors, illustrators, directors, performers, etc.
• To highlight a key contributor, put them in the author spot. For example, when citing an entire book with an editor, such as anthology, that editor goes in the author spot. If citing a specific chapter or article in that same anthology, however, the author of the chapter goes in the author spot and the editor is listed as a contributor.
• If the source has no container, start a new section for the contributor, capitalizing the beginning of the section (e.g. Edited by...). If the source has a container such as an anthology, separate the title of the container from the contributor section with a comma and do not capitalize it. (e.g. Anthology, edited by ...)

Version

• This includes editions, which should be abbreviated "2nd ed." or "Expanded ed."

Number

• Format using arabic numerals (1, 3, 25), even if volumes and numbers are written out as words or roman numerals.
• Abbreviate volume as "vol." and issue numbers as "no.", separated by commas.
• When citing episodes of a television series, write out labels such as "season 15, episode 18."

Publisher

• Write out the publisher, company, or institution that created the work in full, including spelling out "&" as "and."
  • "University Press," however, should be abbreviated as "UP."
  • Government agencies can be truncated, such as "U.S. Dept. of ____."
• Do not repeat the publisher name if it is the same name as the author, journal, website, etc.
• For websites that host user-created content, check the copyright notice for the publisher or production company. Don't list YouTube as a publisher of a video unless the video was made specifically by YouTube staff. 

Publication Date

• Include as much specificity in dates as is available, written as "Day Month Year," abbreviating the month when appropriate. (e.g. Oct 2015, 8 Sept. 1954 or 15 June 2021).
• If a website lists only a copyright date, leave it off. Sometimes websites automatically update the copyright date each year, so it does not necessarily indicate the publication date.
• If only a season is given, usually in the case of periodicals, include that instead. Do not capitalize it. If it spans several seasons, use a hyphen (e.g. spring-summer 2015).

Location

• If there is a page range, indicate it with "pp." If the item is only one page long, use "p."
• If the work is not printed on consecutive pages, include the first page number and a plus sign (e.g. pp. 17+.)
• If the work appears in a second container, such as a database or streaming service, start a new section. Italicize the database name, followed by a comma and the DOI, permalink, or URL.
• If there is a digital object identifier (DOI), use that instead of a URL. Turn it into a link by placing "https://doi.org" in front of the DOI number.
• If there is no DOI for an online resource, use the URL. You do not need to include the "https://" that appears at the front of the URL unless you want to create a hyperlink.
• Use a permalink (permanent URL) whenever possible. In databases, this is usually an option on the toolbar found on an item record, and not the URL at the top of the browser.
• If the URL is longer than 3 lines, try to truncate it in such a way as to preserve the host or main website page. Never break the URL by adding a space or line, even if it looks better.
• If using a website or other source that does not have a publication date or is subject to change without warning, include an accession date at the end: "Accessed Day Mon. Year."
• If using something that has not been formally published, you may want to include the medium of publication, such as "Lecture" or "Cerro Coso, dissertation" at the very end.

When in doubt, consult your instructor or librarian for assistance!

How to Cite MLA Format (website, book, article, etc.) video [12:47]: