How to Format a Works Cited Page in MLA Style

One of the best things about MLA style is that the format and guidelines for citing resource materials are all kept as neat in appearance as possible. This makes the layout of your Works Cited page at the end of your document easy to navigate and simple to understand. While different types of sources do have slightly different citation formats, there are some basic requirements that apply to the page as a whole, and unless your professor states otherwise, you must follow these requirements in order to keep your paper in compliance with MLA style.

Instructions

Difficulty: Easy

Things You’ll Need:

• All the citations for your entire research paper

1. Center the words "Works Cited" at the top of the page. The words should both be capitalized.
2. Single space each entry, but place an additional space in between each reference. The notes for each source can be as many single-spaced lines as necessary, but each source should be separated by a space.
3. Alphabetize the sources by author if possible. If a source does not have an author, then use the first main word in the title for alphabetizing purposes.
4. Indent any additional lines that a source uses. You can use the formatting tabs at the top of the page to create a hanging indent of 5 spaces.
5. Include a page number header on each page of your Works Cited page. The header should be consistent in numbering and format with the rest of the paper. For example, if the last page of your paper has the header "Smith 47," then your Works Cited page will begin on "Smith 48."

Tips & Warnings

• MLA format should be as consistent as possible, so make sure that you react to discrepancies in formatting the same way each time. For example, never include an author's middle name, even if you know it. Instead, leave that item out or just use an initial.