How to Make an MLA-Style Citation
The Modern Language Association (MLA) has created a set of widely used guidelines for citing sources used in reference papers. MLA-style citations are often used for college papers, master's theses and professional research documents, located in the Works Cited list at the end of the document. MLA citations have a basic order that can be applied to all sources, but different types of sources require additional information and special punctuation.
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Instructions
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Basics
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1
Type the citation flush with the left margin, with all remaining lines indented 5 to 7 spaces. This creates a hanging indent.
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2
Use proper title capitalization on all book, journal, website and media titles. Do not capitalize articles, prepositions or conjunctions unless they are the first or last word in the title.
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3
Underline titles of books and journals when citing hard-copy submissions. For online or file submissions, use italics.
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4
Alphabetize the list of citations by the authors' last names or the first word of the title when names are unavailable.
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5
Cite page numbers without preceding abbreviations.
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6
Shorten the publisher's name in the citation, and separate multiple publishers with a semicolon. For single publishers with multiple locations, use only the first location in the citation.
Book Citations
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7
Use author, title, city, publisher and year for single-author works, in the following format:
Author Last Name, First Name. Book Title. City: Publisher, Date. -
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Use three dashes and a period for the author's name for any other works of his in the list.
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9
Connect two or three authors with the word "and," not an ampersand. The first author's name is written with the surname first, but the second and third authors' names are written out as normal.
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10
Use "et al." after the first author's name when there are four or more authors.
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To cite corporate authors, begin with the name of the corporation. Omit any leading articles from the corporation's name for the purpose of alphabetization.
Government documents are cited similarly to corporate authors. Abbreviate long organization names.
Article Citations
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12
Begin all journal, magazine, newspaper and book articles with the article's author and title, followed by the information of the publication containing the article. Omit any leading articles in the journal title, and use the following formats.
Author Last Name, First Name. "Article Title." Journal Title Volume.Issue (Year): Pages. -
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Follow Steps 1 to 5 under Book Citations for formatting multiple and corporate authors in a journal citation.
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14
Include editor and publisher information in book article citations.
Audiovisual Citations
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15
Use the following format for film citations:
Film Title. Director's Full Name. Original Theatrical Release Date. Format. Distributor, Year. -
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Use the following format for audio citations:
Artist. Album Title. Publisher, Year. -
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Place the specific song title before the album title to cite songs:
Artist. "Song Title." Publisher, Year.
Online Citations
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To cite online information, add the date you accessed the material and the web address of the online source.
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Begin citations for online encyclopedias and journals as you would for a print source. Add the date and URL.
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Give the title of the document or web page for professional or university sites, the name of the organization that runs the website and access information. Dates for the material may not always be available.
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Tips & Warnings
Purchase a copy of the latest editions of the MLA Handbook and MLA Style Manual for the most thorough information on properly citing works in a research paper. Online resources such the Encyclopaedia Britannica will often list the MLA-formatted citation for each entry at the end of the page. Check for errors, then cut and paste the citation into your Works Cited list.
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