10.2 Review: MLA Formatting Essentials

MLA Core Elements

The core elements for a citation in a Works Cited list are given below in the order in which they usually appear. Punctuation is also provided. For each source you use in your research paper, you will gather the core elements directly from the item or from the online record. If an element does not occur in a source, you can skip it and go on to the next available element.

For more comprehensive rules that cover multiple authors, editors, anthologies or other elements of citation, see Module 5. For a quick guide to MLA citation, with examples, see the Cabrillo Library MLA Guide Links to an external site..

AUTHOR. Invert the first author’s name. Example: Smith, John M.

TITLE OF SOURCE. Enclose journal articles or Web page titles in quotation marks

TITLE OF CONTAINER, Italicize journal or book titles and Web sites

OTHER CONTRIBUTORS, Use if provided. Example: editor

VERSION, Use if provided. Example: 2nd ed.

NUMBER, Include volume & issue when citing a journal. Example: vol. 2, no. 5

PUBLISHER, Organization or institution. For Web sites, omit if the publisher is the same as the Web site title. 

PUBLICATION DATE, Format as, Day Month Year, as fully as it appears on the source. 

LOCATION. In print sources, the page number(s). In online sources, the URL, DOI, or permalink.

Works Cited List Formatting

Once you have constructed your citations according to MLA rules, it is just a few short steps to complete the Works Cited list.

  • Center the words, Works Cited, at the top of the page.
  • Alphabetize the citations.
  • Make sure all lines are double-spaced.
  • Apply “hanging” indents - which means the first line of the citation is not indented. All subsequent lines are indented 0.5 inches.