MLA stopped having a template per source type, and that is the thing to understand first
Since MLA 8, entries are built from a single list of elements applied to any source, rather than from a different template for each kind. Once the container idea makes sense, formatting a source MLA has never heard of stops being a problem.
The nine elements
Every MLA 9 works cited entry is assembled from the same ordered list. You include the elements that apply and skip those that do not, with the punctuation shown.
- Author.
- Title of source.
- Title of container,
- Other contributors,
- Version,
- Number,
- Publisher,
- Publication date,
- Location.
A journal article in a database, two containers
Okafor, Amara B. "Reading Load and Examination Performance." Journal of Nursing Education, vol. 60, no. 4, 2021, pp. 212 to 219. JSTOR, https://doi.org/10.xxxx/xxxxx.
The article is the source. The journal is the first container. The database is the second, added at the end with its own location. Once you see that, sources with no obvious template stop being difficult: identify what the thing is, then identify what it sits inside.
Common entries
Book
Okafor, Amara B. Title of the Book. 3rd ed., Publisher Name, 2021.
Chapter in an edited collection
Okafor, Amara B. "Title of the Chapter." Title of the Collection, edited by Chidi Raine, Publisher Name, 2021, pp. 101 to 128.
Web page
Okafor, Amara B. "Title of the Page." Site Name, 14 Mar. 2021, www.example-site.org/page.
Note two MLA conventions that differ from APA. Titles are in title case rather than sentence case. And authors’ names are given in full rather than as initials.
In-text citations
Author and page, with no comma between them and no abbreviation before the number.
Parenthetical
Candidates consistently misidentify the cause of a failed attempt (Okafor 14).
Author named in the sentence
Okafor argues that candidates consistently misidentify the cause (14).
No page numbers available
Candidates consistently misidentify the cause (Okafor).
For two authors, use both surnames joined by “and”. For three or more, use the first surname followed by et al.
Page layout
Double spaced throughout, in a readable 11 to 13 point font, with one-inch margins. First line of each paragraph indented half an inch. Header in the top right carrying your surname and the page number.
The first page carries no separate title page unless your instructor asks for one. Instead, in the top left, on separate double-spaced lines: your name, your instructor’s name, the course, and the date. Then the title, centered, in title case, with no bold, italics or underlining.
Works cited page
Starts on a new page. The words Works Cited are centered at the top, not bold. Entries are alphabetical by first element, double spaced, with a hanging indent of half an inch.
Only works you actually cited appear. MLA does not use a bibliography of everything consulted unless your instructor specifically asks for one, in which case it is usually titled Works Consulted.
MLA against APA, at a glance
| MLA 9 | APA 7 | |
|---|---|---|
| In-text | (Okafor 14) | (Okafor, 2021, p. 14) |
| List title | Works Cited | References |
| Author names | Full first names | Initials |
| Source titles | Title Case | Sentence case |
| Title page | Usually none | Required |
| Header | Surname and page | Page number only |
The underlying difference is that MLA foregrounds the page, because humanities work returns to specific passages in a text. APA foregrounds the date, because empirical fields care how current a finding is.
Frequently Asked Questions
MLA uses author and page in text, with a works cited list, and is standard in literature, languages and some humanities. APA uses author and date, with a reference list, and is standard in psychology, education, nursing and the social sciences. The date placement reflects a real difference: APA fields care when research was done.
The larger work holding the source you are citing. An article sits in a journal, which is the container. A journal on a database has a second container. The system lets you describe any source by naming its containers rather than hunting for a matching template.
Usually not. Standard MLA puts your name, instructor, course and date in the top left of the first page, followed by the centered title. A separate title page is used only if your instructor asks for one.
Author's surname and page number with no comma and no p., as in (Okafor 14). If the author is named in the sentence, only the page number goes in brackets. Sources without pages, such as most web pages, take the author alone.
Your surname and the page number in the top right of every page, half an inch from the top. This is different from APA student papers, which carry the page number alone.
Alphabetically by the first element of each entry, which is usually the author's surname and is the title where there is no author. Entries take a hanging indent, the same as APA.
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