Nothing uploaded
MLA citation generator
Build Works Cited entries and in-text citations in MLA style, 9th edition: core elements in the right order, title case, containers in italics and the dates written day month year.
Citation style
Your citation
The reference appears here as you type.
Titles follow the style’s capitals. Check that names in a title still start with a capital letter.
In-text citation
- Parenthetical
- Narrative
Your bibliography
No sources yet
In your own order. Sort A–Z puts it back in the style’s order.
Fill in the form and press Add to bibliography to start your list.
Your list stays in this browser on this device. Download it to keep a copy.
What you type stays on this device. Nothing is uploaded.
Did this save you time? DigiTools is free, with no ads and no sign-up. Leave a tip (opens in a new tab) to help keep it that way.
Tell others what you think: review DigiTools on Trustpilot (opens in a new tab).
How MLA 9 Works Cited entries work
MLA builds every entry from the same core elements: Author. Title of source. Title of container, other contributors, version, number, publisher, publication date, location. Leave out what a source doesn’t have; the punctuation between elements stays the same.
The container is the larger work that holds what you read: the journal around an article, the website around a page, the book around a chapter. Containers are in italics, and a source that sits inside one has its title in quotation marks. All titles are in title case.
In the text, give the author’s last name and the page with nothing between them: (Smith 45). With no author, use a shortened title instead, in quotes or italics as in the entry.
Examples
- Book
-
Smith, Zadie. Swing Time. Penguin Press, 2016.
In the text: (Smith) Smith
- Journal article
-
Keng, Shao-Hsun, et al. “Expanding College Access in Taiwan, 1978–2014: Effects on Graduate Quality and Income Inequality.” Journal of Human Capital, vol. 11, no. 1, 2017, pp. 1-34, https://doi.org/10.1086/690235.
In the text: (Keng et al.) Keng et al.
- Web page
-
Yale University. About Yale: Yale Facts. www.yale.edu/about-yale/yale-facts. Accessed 1 May 2017.
In the text: (Yale University) Yale University
How to make an MLA citation
- Choose the kind of source and type its details. For a web page, add the date you accessed it if the page shows no date of its own.
- Check the entry: the title of the source, then its container in italics, then the publisher, date and location.
- Paste the entry into your Works Cited page and cite the author and page in your text, such as (Gleick 45).
Questions
What changed in MLA 9?
MLA 9 keeps the core elements of the 8th edition (author, title, container, contributors, version, number, publisher, date and location) and adds more guidance and examples. It recommends DOIs written as https://doi.org/ links, while ordinary URLs are given without http:// or https://.
Do I need URLs and access dates?
MLA recommends a URL (or better, a DOI) for anything you read online. The access date is optional; it’s most useful when the page shows no date of its own, which is why “Accessed” appears only when you fill in that date.
How does MLA list several authors?
One author is written last name first. Two authors: the first reversed, then “and” and the second in normal order. Three or more: only the first, followed by et al. In the text it’s the same: (Gillespie and Lerner 12) or (Wysocki et al. 30).
Why does my Works Cited show three hyphens?
When two or more entries have exactly the same author, MLA gives the name only in the first and replaces it with three hyphens and a full stop in the next ones. The list is sorted by title within that author, so the hyphens always follow the named entry.
How do I cite a page number in MLA?
Put the page straight after the author with no comma and no “p.”: (Morrison 112), or (Morrison 112-14) for a range. Type the page in the box under the in-text citation and it’s added for you.