MLA Works Cited list entries are built upon the core elements that are listed and defined below.
Each core element covers a range of situations, and some elements may not apply to every citation. The MLA Interactive Practice Template can help you organize your citations by allowing you to enter relevant information from your sources and displaying the results.
The author is the primary creator of the work you are citing. An author can be an individual, a group, or organization.
Title of source refers to the work you are citing. Examples include books, articles, essays, stories, poems, images, songs, and social media posts.
In general: list the full title as it is found in the source and end the element with a period (unless the title ends in other punctuation).
For a work that is part of a whole: enclose the title in quotation marks, capitalize all important words, and place a colon and a space between the main title and the subtitle (if there is a subtitle).
For a self-contained work: place the title in italic font, capitalize all important words, and place a colon and a space between the main title and the subtitle (if there is a subtitle).
We refer to a container when we use a work that is contained within another work. Examples include periodicals, anthologies, websites, social media platforms, databases, and music albums or CD's.
When the source you are citing is part of a larger whole, the larger whole is considered the container of the source.
List the full title in italic font and capitalize all important words. Normally the title of a container is followed by a comma, because publication information will follow.
A contributor helps in some way to create a work, but is a not primary author. Examples include translators, editors, film directors, and performers.
Indicate the type of contribution followed by the name(s) of the contributor(s). End with a comma if more publication information will follow this element.
This element is used for a work that is released in more than one form. Examples include revised editions, second editions, e-book editions, and director's cuts.
Use arabic numerals for ordinal numbers (2nd, 8th, etc.). Abbreviate the words revised and edition (Rev. ed.). Descriptive terms such as expanded are generally written in lower case unless they directly follow a period. Common abbreviations for works-cited entries can be found in appendix 1 of the MLA Handbook, 9th ed. End with a comma if more publication will follow.
This element refers to the source's place in a sequence. Examples include volume, issue, episode, and season.
If the source is part of a numbered sequence, include that number preceded by an abbreviation (see appendix 1) or term that identifies the type of sequence. Use Arabic numerals, converting roman numerals and spelled out numbers. End with a comma if more publication information will follow.
The publisher is the entity that produced the work. Examples include book publishers, film studios, website organizations, and government agencies.
List publisher information as it is found on the source. Standardize capitalization according to MLA guidelines for capitalization. Separate co-publishers with a forward slash (/).Truncate government agencies. Abbreviate University Press and foreign language equivalents (UP). Change an ampersand (&) to and. City of publication is generally omitted unless publisher is multinational or the book was published prior to 1900. End with a comma.
For this element, refer to the version you are citing: date of publication, revision or upload; or date when the source was viewed.
In general: provide the most specific date you can find in the source. Use day-month-year format if all of this information is available. Display year in arabic numerals; use lowercase for seasons of the year; capitalize months, and abbreviate month names longer than four letters. End with a comma if location information follows, otherwise end with a period.
What might be considered the location depends on the format of the work. Examples include page range for print; digital object identifier or DOI (preferred), stable URL, or browser URL for online sources.
For paginated works that are contained in another work (articles, book chapters, etc.) provide the entire page range of the work. Precede a page range with pp. or a single page with p. (pp. 25-36, p. 32) Use the same numbering system as the source (arabic or roman). If the work is printed on nonconsecutive pages, use the first page number with a plus sign (pp. 25+) If a DOI (digital object identifier) is included on the work, provide the DOI formatted as a URL (https://doi.org/#####). If no DOI is provided, use a stable URL if possible, or a URL copied from your browser without https://. End with a period.
Scholarly article example:
Pittner, Fruzsina, and Iain Donald. "Gaming the Heart of Darkness." Arts, vol. 7, no. 3, 2018, pp. 1-13, https://doi.org/10.3390/arts7030046.
This refers to additional information about a work that may be inserted in one of three places:
1. After Title of Source: if it doesn't pertain to the entry as a whole
2. At the end of the entry: to clarify something about the entry as a whole
3. Between containers: placed after the container it pertains to
Examples and more details about Supplemental Elements can be found in Chapter 5 (sections 105-119) of the MLA Handbook, 9th edition.
