Citation Styles: MLA Style (9th Edition)

The MLA published the ninth edition of the MLA Handbook in 2021.

The latest edition of the MLA Handbook by the Modern Language Association was published in 2021 and included clarifications on how to use MLA format. MLA continues to use a list of core elements arranged in a particular order. The type of source you use will dictate which core elements you use. MLA-style research papers typically use parenthetical in-text citations and always have a cross-referenced Works Cited list on its own page at the end. 

This page provides a short video to introduce researchers to MLA, an overview of the core elements, and several examples of in-text and Works Cited citations. If you need assistance with citing in MLA, please use our Ask A Librarian services. 

“Introduction to Citation Styles: MLA 9th Ed.” YouTube, uploaded by CSUDH [California State University Dominguez Hills]  Library, 9 July 2020, youtu.be/o7MyM_V8-EA?si=4apXuaLcpCvBWn6Y.

These are the nine core elements of a Works Cited entry listed in the order they should appear with the punctuation that follows, except the final element always ends with a period. Elements that are not relevant are simply omitted from the citation. For example, the author is omitted if unknown, and the citation begins with the title. Similarly, the location is omitted for books written after 1900 unless the publisher is unknown in North America--in this case, the period would come after the publication date. For specific citation examples, please see below. 

General Format for Any Citation

Your Works Cited page should include the full resource details for any in-text citation you inserted and, conversely, should not include any resource that does not have an in-text citation. The list should be in alpha-numeric order by the first character of the first element included for each entry and should be created using a hanging indent.

For in-text citations, note that if you include the author(s) name in a sentence you are citing, you do not repeat their name, but the page number or timestamp remains. 

The location of an item refers to where it was published if it’s a book written before 1900, the pages it’s located on in a journal or anthology, or where it can be found online, such as a Digital Object Identifier (DOI) or permanent/stable URL. Please see the examples below and refer to the MLA Style Manual or the MLA Formatting and Style Guidelines from the Purdue OWL linked on this page for further information.

Examples for Specific Sources

Book, one author 
In-Text: (Bennett 275)
Works Cited, Physical Book: Bennett, Brit. The Vanishing Half. Riverhead Books, 2020. 
Works Cited, Ebook: Bennett, Brit. The Vanishing Half. Ebook, Riverhead Books, 2020.

Book, two authors
In-Text, when authors' names are mentioned in preceding sentence: (27)
In-Text, when authors' names aren't mentioned (Gillespie and Lerner 27)
Works Cited: Gillespie, Paula, and Neal Lerner. The Allyn and Bacon Guide to Peer Tutoring. Allyn and Bacon, 2000.

Book, three or more authors
In-Text: (Robbins et al. 172)
Works Cited; Robbins, Chandler S., et al. Birds of North America: A Guide to Field Identification. Golden, 1966.

Book, with translator or other contributors
In-Text: (Vargas Llosa 275)
Works Cited: Vargas Llosa, Mario. The Feast of the Goat. Translated by Edith Grossman, Farrar, Straus and Giroux, 2001.

A work (e.g. essay, short story) in an anthology or compilation
In-Text: (Seale 223)
Works Cited: Seale, Maura. "Information Literacy Standards and the Politics of Knowledge Production." Critical Library Instruction: Theories and Methods, edited by Emily Drabinski, Alana Kumbier, and Maria Accardi, Library Juice Press, 2010, pp.221-235.

Article in an online journal that also appears in print (i.e. has a page range)

In-Text: (Miller et al. 499)
Works Cited: Miller, Matthew J., et al. "College Students' Social Justice Interest and Commitment: A Social-Cognitive Perspective." Journal of Counseling Psychology, vol. 56, no. 4, 2009, pp. 495-507, doi:10.1037/a0017220.

Article in a print journal
In-Text: (Hannah 83)
Works Cited: Hannah, Daniel K. "The Private Life, the Public Stage: Henry James in Recent Fiction." Journal of Modern Literature, vol.30, no.3, 2007, pp. 70-94.

Article (webpage) on a website
In-Text: (Farkas)
Works Cited: Farkas, Meredith. "Tips for Being a Great Blogger (and a Good Person)." Information Wants to Be Free, 19 July 2011, meredith.wolfwater.com/wordpress/2011/07/19/tips-for-being-a-great-blogger-and-good-person/. 

Website (whole site)
In-Text: (Farkas)
Works Cited: Farkas, Meredith. Information Wants to Be Free. June 2015, meredith.wolfwater.com.

YouTube video
In-Text: (Seburn 0:35–1:23)
Works Cited: Seburn, Chelsea. “How to Choose a Good Research Topic: Research Papers for Beginners.” YouTube, uploaded by Smart Student, 28 Feb. 2022, youtu.be/zxMsZsNw47U?si=545xUJ68fAkgQO0u.