LibGuides: MLA Citation & Formatting: Works Cited Examples

The Works Cited List

The Works Cited list contains full citations for any sources you quoted or paraphrased in your writing:

The list is arranged in alphabetical order by the surname of the first named author of a work; the first word of a corporate author name; or the first word of the title of a work when no author is named.
Information that should be included in a Works Cited entry is listed in the MLA template of core elements.
You can find definitions, formats, and guidelines for describing each element accurately and consistently in the MLA Handbook, 9th edition, Chapter 5, "The List of Works Cited."

Sample Citations

Print Book - One Author

Author. Title of Source. Publisher, Publication Date.
Watts, Cedric Thomas. Conrad’s Heart of Darkness: A Critical and Contextual Discussion. Rodopi, 2012.

eBook from a Database

Author. Title of Source. Publisher, Publication Date. Title of Container, Location.
Watts, Cedric. Conrad’s Heart of Darkness: A Critical and Contextual Discussion. Rodopi, 2012. EBSCOhost, search-ebscohost-com.svproxy.svcc.edu/login.aspx?direct=true&db=e900xww&AN=469429&site=ehost-live.

The database is a secondary container, so its title is capitalized and displayed in italic font. The stable URL at the end functions as a location.

Online Scholarly Article - Two Authors - With DOI

Authors. "Title of Source." Title of Container, version, number, Publication Date, Location.
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.

There are two pieces of location information: the inclusive page range of the article and the DOI.
The https:// is not removed from the URL, because this is how DOI's are formatted.

Scholarly Article from a Database - Three or More Authors - No DOI

Authors, "Title of Source." Title of Container, version, number, Publication Date, Location. Title of Container, Location.
Czernichowski, Konrad, et al. “Polish African Studies at a Crossroads: Past, Present and Future.” Africa Spectrum, vol. 47, no. 2/3, 2012, pp. 167–185. JSTOR, www.jstor.org/stable/23350457.

Web Page on a Website

Author. "Title of Source." Title of Container, Publication Date, Location.
Attridge, John. “How Conrad’s Imperial Horror Story ‘Heart of Darkness’ Resonates with our Globalised Times.” The Conversation, 22 May 2018,
www.theconversation.com/how-conrads-imperial-horror-story-heart-of-darkness-resonates-with-our-globalised-times-94723.

The source is an article posted on a website so the website is considered a container.

Self-Contained Web Page - No Author

Title of Source. Publisher, Publication Date, Location. Supplemental Information.
Postcolonial Literature Introduction. Schmoop University, 2021, www.shmoop.com/study-guides/literary-movements/postcolonial-literature. Accessed 5 Oct. 2021.

Schmoop is both author and publisher of this source, but there's no need to duplicate this information, so it is placed in the publisher location in this citation.
The term Inc. has been removed from the publisher name per MLA rules.
Access date is not required, but in the absence of a more precise publication date it has been added for clarification.

YouTube Video - Uploader/No Author

"Title of Source." Title of Container, Supplemental Information, Publication Date, Location.
“Heart of Darkness - Thug Notes Summary and Analysis.” YouTube, uploaded by Wisecrack, 5 Nov. 2013, youtu.be/dmKEltYUy6k.

If author and uploader are the same, choose where to place it in the citation. In this case, no author name is provided, but an uploader name is.
For publication date use the upload date.

This Works Cited List contains the sample citations previously referenced.

MLA Citation & Formatting: Works Cited Examples

The Works Cited List

Sample Citations

Help for Works Cited