How to Cite Sources in MLA Format (Quick Reference Guide)

TL;DR

• MLA 9th edition uses a core elements system — every source type follows the same basic template
• In-text citations are simple: (Author's Last Name page number) — no comma, no "p."
• Works Cited goes on a separate page at the end, alphabetical by author's last name, with hanging indents
• When in doubt: Author. "Title." Container, Contributors, Version, Number, Publisher, Date, Location.

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MLA format is one of those things that seems way more complicated than it actually is. You spend 45 minutes trying to figure out if the period goes inside or outside the quotation marks (inside, always inside) and whether you need a URL for that journal article (yes, if you accessed it online) when you could've been, you know, actually writing your paper.

This guide is designed to be a quick reference you can come back to whenever you need to cite something. Bookmark it. You'll use it more than you think.

MLA 9th Edition: The Basics

MLA (Modern Language Association) format is the standard for English, humanities, and liberal arts courses. The 9th edition simplified things by creating a universal template that works for any source type.

The Core Elements Template

Every MLA citation follows this structure:

Author. "Title of Source." Title of Container, Other Contributors, Version, Number, Publisher, Publication Date, Location.

Not every source will have every element. Skip what's not relevant and move on to the next element.

Let's break each one down.

The Core Elements Explained

1. Author

• Last name, First name.
• Two authors: Last, First, and First Last.
• Three or more: Last, First, et al.
• No author? Start with the title.

Examples:

• Smith, John.
• Smith, John, and Jane Doe.
• Smith, John, et al.

2. Title of Source

• Article, chapter, short work: "In Quotation Marks."
• Book, website, journal: In Italics.
• Capitalize all major words (not articles, prepositions, or conjunctions unless they're the first word)

Examples:

• "The Rise of AI in Education."
• To Kill a Mockingbird.

3. Title of Container

The larger work that contains your source. A journal contains an article. A website contains a webpage. A book contains a chapter.

• Always italicized
• A source can have multiple containers (e.g., an article in a journal accessed through a database)

Examples:

• The New York Times
• Journal of Modern Literature
• JSTOR (when it's the database you accessed the article through)

4. Other Contributors

Editors, translators, directors, performers — anyone who played a significant role.

• Use descriptions: edited by, translated by, directed by, performed by

Example:

• Edited by Sarah Johnson.

5. Version

Edition numbers, revised editions, director's cuts.

Example:

• 3rd ed.

6. Number

Volume and issue numbers for journals.

Example:

• vol. 12, no. 3

7. Publisher

The organization responsible for publishing the source. Don't include publishers for periodicals (journals, newspapers, magazines), websites where the publisher is the same as the website name, or self-published works.

Example:

• Oxford UP. (abbreviate "University Press" as "UP")

8. Publication Date

Use whatever date is available. Day Month Year for specific dates, or just the year.

Examples:

• 2024.
• 15 Mar. 2024. (abbreviate months longer than four letters)

9. Location

Page numbers (pp. 45-67), URLs, or DOIs.

Examples:

• pp. 112-128.
• https://www.example.com/article.
• doi:10.xxxx/xxxxx

In-Text Citations

MLA in-text citations go inside parentheses at the end of the sentence (or clause) where you use the source. The period goes AFTER the parenthetical citation.

Basic Format

(Author's Last Name page number)

No comma between the name and page number. No "p." or "pg." before the number.

Example: The study found that students who slept more performed better academically (Walker 45).

Author Named in the Sentence

If you already mentioned the author, just put the page number in parentheses:

Walker found that students who slept more performed better academically (45).

No Page Number

Some sources (websites, films, etc.) don't have page numbers. Just use the author's name:

Recent studies have challenged this assumption (Martinez).

No Author

Use a shortened version of the title:

The crisis has worsened in recent years ("Student Debt" 12).

Two Authors

Include both names:

(Smith and Johnson 78)

Three or More Authors

Use the first author's name followed by "et al.":

(Smith et al. 34)

Multiple Sources in One Citation

Separate with semicolons:

Several studies support this claim (Smith 45; Johnson 112; Lee 78).

Indirect Source (Quoting Someone Who Was Quoted)

Use "qtd. in":

Einstein once said, "Imagination is more important than knowledge" (qtd. in Isaacson 241).

Block Quotes

For quotes longer than 4 lines of prose:

• Start on a new line
• Indent the whole block 0.5 inches from the left margin
• Don't use quotation marks
• Period goes BEFORE the parenthetical citation (this is the one exception)

Example:

At the end of your normal text, introduce the quote with a colon:

Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit. Sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam, quis nostrud exercitation ullamco laboris. (Smith 42)

Works Cited Page: The Templates You Need

Here's how to cite the most common source types. Copy these templates and swap in your information.

Book (Single Author)

Last Name, First Name. Title of Book. Publisher, Year.

Orwell, George. 1984. Harcourt, 1949.

Book (Two Authors)

Last Name, First Name, and First Name Last Name. Title. Publisher, Year.

Strunk, William, and E. B. White. The Elements of Style. Pearson, 2019.

Book (Three+ Authors)

Last Name, First Name, et al. Title. Publisher, Year.

Barrett, Lisa Feldman, et al. The Science of Emotion. MIT Press, 2022.

Book Chapter or Anthology Selection

Last Name, First Name. "Chapter Title." Book Title, edited by Editor Name, Publisher, Year, pp. x-x.

Morrison, Toni. "Recitatif." The Norton Anthology of American Literature, edited by Robert Levine, W. W. Norton, 2017, pp. 2103-2117.

Journal Article (Print)

Last Name, First Name. "Article Title." Journal Name, vol. x, no. x, Year, pp. x-x.

Smith, Rebecca. "AI Literacy in Higher Education." Journal of Educational Technology, vol. 45, no. 2, 2025, pp. 112-134.

Journal Article (Online / Database)

Last Name, First Name. "Article Title." Journal Name, vol. x, no. x, Year, pp. x-x. Database Name, URL or DOI.

Smith, Rebecca. "AI Literacy in Higher Education." Journal of Educational Technology, vol. 45, no. 2, 2025, pp. 112-134. JSTOR, https://www.jstor.org/stable/example.

Website Article (With Author)

Last Name, First Name. "Article Title." Website Name, Date, URL.

Garcia, Maria. "The Student Sleep Crisis." The Atlantic, 15 Jan. 2025, www.theatlantic.com/education/student-sleep-crisis.

Website Article (No Author)

"Article Title." Website Name, Date, URL.

"Tips for First-Year College Students." College Board, 2025, www.collegeboard.org/tips-first-year.

Newspaper Article

Last Name, First Name. "Article Title." Newspaper Name, Date, p(p). x.

Goldstein, Dana. "Schools Grapple with AI Writing Tools." The New York Times, 5 Feb. 2025, p. A1.

YouTube Video

Author/Creator. "Title of Video." YouTube, uploaded by Channel Name, Date, URL.

Khan, Sal. "Introduction to Calculus." YouTube, uploaded by Khan Academy, 12 Sept. 2023, www.youtube.com/watch?v=example.

Social Media Post

Author. "Text of post (up to first 20 words)..." Platform Name, Date, URL.

Obama, Barack. "Today we honor the teachers who shape our future..." Twitter, 5 May 2025, twitter.com/BarackObama/status/example.

Government Document

Government Agency. Title. Publisher, Year.

United States, Department of Education. Trends in High School Dropout and Completion Rates. National Center for Education Statistics, 2024.

Interview

Last Name, First Name. Personal interview. Date.

Martinez, Professor Ana. Personal interview. 10 Feb. 2026.

Formatting the Works Cited Page

Your Works Cited page needs:

• Separate page at the end of your paper
• "Works Cited" centered at the top (not bold, not bigger font)
• Alphabetical order by authors' last names
• Hanging indent — first line flush left, subsequent lines indented 0.5 inch
• Double-spaced throughout
• Same font as the rest of your paper (12pt Times New Roman)

How to Set Up Hanging Indents in Google Docs

1. Highlight all your citations
2. Go to Format → Align & indent → Indentation options
3. Under "Special indent," select "Hanging" and set to 0.5 inches

How to Set Up in Microsoft Word

1. Highlight all your citations
2. Go to Home → Paragraph settings (click the small arrow)
3. Under "Special," select "Hanging" and set to 0.5 inches

Paper Formatting Checklist

Besides citations, your MLA paper should have:

• Header: Your last name and page number in the upper right corner of every page
• First page info block (no separate title page unless requested):
  • Your name
  • Professor's name
  • Course name and number
  • Date (Day Month Year format)
• Title: Centered, not bold, not underlined, not in a bigger font
• Font: 12pt Times New Roman
• Spacing: Double-spaced everything (no extra space between paragraphs)
• Margins: 1 inch on all sides
• Indentation: First line of each paragraph indented 0.5 inches

Common MLA Mistakes That Cost Points

1. Putting a comma between author and page number in in-text citations. It's (Smith 42), NOT (Smith, 42). This is the #1 MLA error.

2. Using "p." or "pg." before page numbers. Just the number: (42), not (p. 42). The "p." thing is APA, not MLA.

3. Forgetting hanging indents on Works Cited. This is pure formatting, but professors notice.

4. Not italicizing container titles. Journal names, book titles, website names — all italicized.

5. Including the URL for print sources. If you read a physical book, you don't need a URL. Only include URLs for sources you accessed online.

6. Listing the database for a journal article without the journal info. You need BOTH: the journal (first container) AND the database (second container).

7. Creating a separate title page. MLA doesn't use title pages (unless your professor specifically asks for one). Use the info block on the first page.

8. Using "Works Cited" only when you have one source. It's always "Works Cited" (plural), even with one source. Don't change it to "Work Cited."

When You're Stuck

Citations are one of those things where you just need to see examples to get it right. If you're dealing with a weird source type — a TikTok, a podcast episode, a government report, an interview — and you can't find a template above, the universal approach is:

1. Identify the core elements that apply
2. Follow the template in order
3. Skip elements that don't apply
4. When in doubt, give MORE information rather than less

Gradily can also help you work through citation questions if you're stuck on a tricky source — just describe the source and ask for MLA format guidance.

The goal isn't memorizing every rule. It's knowing the core template well enough that you can figure out any citation with a quick reference check. And now you have that reference. Use it.