MLA 9 Works Cited

The following information is an abridged version of the style and formatting guidelines found in the Publication Manual of the MLA Handbook, 9th ed. (2021). This sheet is to serve as a ready reference; more in-depth descriptions can be found in the handbook.

General Format

  • Place the Works Cited at the end of your paper in continuous pagination.
  • Arrange entries alphabetically by the first word of each entry.
  • Center the title “Works Cited.”
  • Double-space the entire page, including the entries and the title.
  • Align the first line of a citation flush with the left margin; subsequent lines are indented one-half inch.

A book with one author

  • Author’s last name, Author’s first name. Title. Publisher, Publication Year.
  • Example: Hayles, Katherine. My Mother Was a Computer: Digital Subjects and Literary Texts. U of Chicago, 2005.

A book with two authors

  • Author 1’s last name, Author 1’s first name and Author 2’s first name Author 2’s last name. Title. Publisher, Publication Year.
  • Example: Cole, George, and Christopher Smith. Criminal Justice in America. Wadsworth, 1996.

A book with three or more authors

  • Author, et al. Title. Publisher, Publication Year.
  • Example: Wysocki, Anne Frances, et al. Writing New Media: Theory and Applications for Expanding the Teaching of Composition. Utah State UP, 2004.

A work in an anthology

  • Author, “Article Title.” Title of Anthology, edited by Editor, Edition, Publisher, Publication Year, Page Number(s).
  • Example: Hurt, James, and Brian Wilkie. “Volume 1: The Ancient World Through the Renaissance.” Literature of the Western World, edited by Leah Jewell, 5th ed., Prentice-Hall, 2001, pp. 24-29.

An article in a scholarly journal

  • Author. “Article Title.” Journal Title. Volume number, Issue Number, Publication Year, Page Number(s).
  • Example: Goldsmith, Meredith. “White Skin, White Mask: Passing, Posing, and Performing in The Great Gatsby.” MFS Modern Fiction Studies, vol. 49, no. 3, 2003, pp. 443-68.

A print copy of a newspaper article

  • Author. “Article Title.” Newspaper Title. Day Month Year of Publication, Section and Page Number(s).
  • Example: Norris, Floyd. “Are 20 Years of Market Joy About to End?” The New York Times, 27 Nov. 1994, p. F1. 

A print copy of a magazine article

  • Author. “Article Title.” Magazine Title. Day Month Year of Publication, Section and Page Number(s).
  • Example: Ezzell, Carol. “The Business of the Human Genome.” Scientific American, 4 July 2000, pp. 48-49.   

A government publication

  • Author or government agency (can be skipped if the author and publisher are the same). Title of Document. Edition (if given and not first), Publisher, Publication date, (URL).
  • Example: U.S. Government Publishing Office. Public Papers of the Presidents of the United States: Barack Obama, Office of the Federal Register National Archives and Records Administration, 13 Dec. 2018, https://www.govinfo.gov/content/pkg/PPP-2016-book2/pdf/PPP-2016-book2.pdf.

A website

  • Author or creator (if available). “Title of Page.” Website Title, Name of Institution Associated with Site, Publication Date (if available), URL.
  • Example: “Martin Luther King Jr.” Nobel Prize, The Nobel Foundation, 10 July 2003, www.nobelprize.org/nobel_prizes/peace/laureates/1964/king-bio.html.

An article on a website

  • Author. “Article Title.” Website Title, Publisher, Publication Date, URL.
  • Example: Masline Nir, Sarah. “How Two of the Rarest Horses on Earth Got Lost.” The New York Times, The New York Times Company, 23 Oct. 2024, https://www.nytimes.com/2024/10/23/nyregion/rare-horses-przewalski.html.

An article in an online database

  • Author. “Article Title.” Journal Title,Volume number, Issue number, Publication Date, Page number(s). Name of Database, URL.
  • Example: Chan, Evans. “Postmodernism and Hong Kong Cinema.” Postmodern Culture, vol. 10, no. 3, 2000, pp. 17-18. Project Muse, muse.jhu.edu/article/37463.

A digital file

  • Adhere to the citation style of the original source and end the entry with the name of the digital format
  • Example: Whitehead, Colson. The Underground Railroad. Vintage Books, 2016. pdf.

A YouTube video

  • If the author is known:
    • Author. “Video Title.” Website Title, Name of Uploader, Publication Date, URL
    • Example: Shimabukuro, Jake. “Ukulele Weeps by Jake Shimabukuro.” YouTube, uploaded by cromulantman, 22 Apr. 2006, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=puSkP3uym5k.
  • If the author is unknown
    • “Video Title.” Website Title, Name of Uploader, Publication Date, URL