When you research a paper, you gather information sources including articles, books and websites.
An MLA Works Cited Page gives credit to those information sources.
To create an MLA Works Cited Page, first construct an MLA citation for each information source used in preparing your paper. Then list those citations in alphabetical order by the lead author's last name on a page titled "Works Cited."
The format of an MLA citation will always follow the list of "Core Elements" (found in the box on the right). It is helpful to use the "MLA Practice Template" to gather the information you will need to complete each citation.
Some examples are provided below. Consult with your librarians or the MLA Style Guides for more complex information sources and situations.
Basic format
Author Last, Author First, Middle Initial. Title of Work. Publisher, Year.
Example
Otto, Rudolf. The Idea of the Holy. Oxford U.P., 1958.
Basic format with two authors
Author Last, Author First, and Author First Author Last. "Title of Article." Title of Journal, vol., no., Year, pp.
Example
Paprocki, Joe, and D. Todd Williamson. "The Cross of Christ: Symbol of Victory." RTJ: The Magazine for Catechist Formation, vol. 40, no. 2, Spring 2006, pp 7-9.
MLA Article Citaton from a Database
Author Last, Author First, and Author First Author Last. "Title of the Article." Title of the Journal, vol., no., Year, pp. Database Name, doi or permanent URL if no doi.
Paprocki, Joe, and D. Todd Williamson. "The Cross of Christ: Symbol of Victory." RTJ: The Magazine for Catechist Formation, vol. 40, no. 2, Spring 2006, pp 7-9. MLA Interntational Bibliography, doi:10.1002/tox.20155.
Paprocki, Joe, and D. Todd Williamson. "The Cross of Christ: Symbol of Victory." RTJ: The Magazine for Catechist Formation, vol. 40, no. 2, Spring 2006, pp 7-9. MLA Interntational Bibliography, https://felician.idm.oclc.org/login?url=://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=vah&AN=CPLI0000426831&site=eds-live&scope=site
Basic format
Author Last, Author First. "Title of Article." Website Title, Date of Release, Web Address.
Example
Hollmichel, Stefanie. "The Reading Brain: Differences between Digital and Print." So Many Books, 25 Apr. 2013, somanybooksblog.com/2013/04/25/the-reading-brain-differences-between-digital-and-print/.
For more details on formatting all citations, see the MLA Guides or consult a librarian.
The Core Elements of the revised style and their punctuation are as shown below. Each core element is followed by the punctuation mark shown. The final element should end with a period. A practice template is available below for download.
Author.
Title of the source.
Title of the container,
Other contributors,
Version,
Numbers,
Publisher,
Publication date,
Location.