how to mla format quotes in an essay

MLA In-text Citations and Sample Essay 9th Edition

Listing your sources at the end of your essay in the Works Cited is only the first step in complete and effective documentation. Proper citation of sources is a two-part process . You must also cite, in the body of your essay, the source your paraphrased information or where directly quoted material came from. These citations within the essay are called in-text citations . You must cite all quoted, paraphrased, or summarized words, ideas, and facts from sources. Without in-text citations, you are in danger of plagiarism , even if you have listed your sources at the end of the essay. In-text citations point the reader to the sources’ information in the works cited page, so the in-text citation should be the first item listed in the source’s citation on the works cited page, which is usually the author’s last name (or the title if there is no author) and the page number, if provided.

Two Ways to Cite Your Sources In-text

Parenthetical citation.

Cite your source in parentheses at the end of quoted or paraphrased material.

Example with a page number: In regards to paraphrasing, "It is important to remember to use in-text citations for your paraphrased information, as well as your directly quoted material" (Habib 7).

Example without a page number : Paraphrasing is "often the best choice because direct quotes should be reserved for source material that is especially well-written in style and/or clarity" (Ruiz).

Signal Phrase

Within the sentence, through the use of a "signal phrase" which signals to the reader the specific source the idea or quote came from. Include the page number(s) in parentheses at the end of the sentence, if provided.

Example with a page number: According to Habib, "It is important to remember to use in-text citations for your paraphrased information, as well as your directly quoted material" (7).

Example without a page number: According to Ruiz, paraphrasing is "often the best choice because direct quotes should be reserved for source material that is especially well-written in style and/or clarity."

*See our handout "Signal Phrases" for more examples and information on effective ways to use signal phrases for in-text citations.

Do you need to include a page number in your in-text citation?

Printed materials such as books, magazines, journals, or internet and digital sources with PDF files that show an actual printed page number need to have a page number in the citation.

Internet and digital sources with a continuously scrolling page without a page number do not need a page number in the citation.

Commonly used in-text citations in parentheses

Notes on Quotes

Block quotation format.

When using long quotations that are over four lines of prose or over three lines of poetry in length, you will need to use block quotation format. Block format is indented one inch from the margin (you can hit the "tab" button twice to move it one inch). Additionally, block quotes do not use quotation marks, and the parenthetical citation comes after the period of the last sentence. Please see the following sample essay for an example block quote.

Signal Phrase Examples and Ideas

Please see the following sample essay for different kinds of signal phrases and parenthetical in-text citations, which correspond with the sample Works Cited page at the end. The Writing Center also has a handout on signal phrases with many different verb options.

Learn more about the MLA Works Cited page by reviewing this handout .

For information on STLCC's academic integrity policy, check out this website .

In-Text Citations: An Overview

In-text citations are brief, unobtrusive references that direct readers to the works-cited-list entries for the sources you consulted and, where relevant, to the location in the source being cited.

An in-text citation begins with the shortest piece of information that di­rects your reader to the entry in the works-cited list. Thus, it begins with what ever comes first in the entry: the author’s name or the title (or descrip­tion) of the work. The citation can appear in your prose or in parentheses.

Citation in prose  Naomi Baron broke new ground on the subject. Parenthetical citation At least one researcher has broken new ground on the subject (Baron). Work cited Baron, Naomi S. “Redefining Reading: The Impact of Digital Communication Media.” PMLA , vol. 128, no. 1, Jan. 2013, pp. 193–200. 

When relevant, an in-text citation also has a second component: if a specific part of a work is quoted or paraphrased and the work includes a page number, line number, time stamp, or other way to point readers to the place in the work where the information can be found, that location marker must be included in parentheses.

Parenthetical citation According to Naomi Baron, reading is “just half of literacy. The other half is writing” (194).

The author or title can also appear alongside the page number or other loca­tion marker in parentheses.

Parenthetical citation Reading is “just half of literacy. The other half is writing” (Baron 194).

All in-text references should be concise. Avoid, for instance, providing the author’s name or title of a work in both your prose and parentheses.

Citation (incorrect) According to Naomi Baron, reading is “just half of literacy. The other half is writing” (Baron 194). Citation (correct) According to Naomi Baron, reading is “just half of literacy. The other half is writing” (194).

For more on what to include in an in-text citation and how to style it, see sections 6.3–6.30 of the ninth edition of the MLA Handbook ).

57 Comments

Brandi unruh 10 april 2021 at 11:04 am.

Hello! I am a high school English teacher trying to answer a question that came up during our research unit. I can’t seem to find a definitive answer online. When using a shortened title in an in-text citation, does an ellipsis need to be included? For example, if the title was “The Problem of Poverty in America: A Historical and Cultural Analysis”, would the in-text citation be (“The Problem of Poverty in America...”) or (“The Problem of Poverty in America”)? Thank you for your time and expertise!

Your e-mail address will not be published

Laura Kiernan 12 April 2021 AT 11:04 AM

No, an ellipsis would not be used in an in-text citation. We provide extensive guidance on shortening titles in 6.10 of the new ninth edition of the MLA Handbook .

angel 10 May 2021 AT 02:05 PM

hii How to write an in text citation of an entry from encyclopedia which has an editor but no separate authors for each entry ?

William Feeler 11 May 2021 AT 01:05 PM

I see no mention of paragraph numbers for unpaginated prose or sections/lines for drama. are these practices gone?

Laura Kiernan 18 May 2021 AT 01:05 PM

This post provides a general overview of our approach to in-text citations. The complete guidelines appear in sections 6.1–6.30 of the ninth edition of the MLA Handbook .

Vonceil Park 11 May 2021 AT 01:05 PM

Dear MLA Staff, A professor at my College demands students to provide paragraph number in the in-text citation for online articles that have no page number nor paragraph number. Do we just count the paragraph number and put them in the parenthesis, for example: (para. 3)?

Laura Kiernan 18 May 2021 AT 12:05 PM

Thank you for your question. Your approach to modifying our style in accordance with your professor's instructions works, but we would suggest confirming that styling with your professor.

Arathi Babu 17 May 2021 AT 08:05 AM

How to write an in text citation of an unsigned entry from a reference work?

Laura Kiernan 08 June 2021 AT 11:06 AM

If the entry was in a print work, the in-text citation would include the entry’s title or a shortened version of the entry’s title and the page number of the quotation. If the entry was in a reference work without page numbers, the in-text citation should just contain the title or shortened title of the entry.

Sethu 17 May 2021 AT 02:05 PM

For example: Can I give an in-text citation like the following: Shakespeare, in his work Hamlet, quotes: "To be or not to be" (7).

For citing commonly studied verse works, see 6.22 in the ninth edition of the MLA Handbook .

Trinity Klein 21 May 2021 AT 11:05 AM

Can you please help with proper in-text citation placement for an embedded quotation? Does the citation come immediately after the quotation or at the very end of the sentence? For example, is this correct: He asks her to take him home “in the voice of a child afraid of the dark” which comes as a shock to Scout because he has so long held a bold and rebellious reputation (372). Or should the (372) come immediately after ...dark"...? Thank you!

For more information about the placement of a parenthetical citations, see 6.43 in the ninth edition of the MLA Handbook .

Karima 30 May 2021 AT 05:05 PM

Dear MLA staff, 1) In case i am quoting from multiple sources by the same author, am i required to introduce again the source i am quoting from in the beginning of my sentence? (Quotes are used in multiple paragraphs)

For guidance on citing multiple sources by the same author, see 6.8 in the ninth edition of the MLA Handbook .

Yves 23 June 2021 AT 06:06 PM

Hello, is there a specific rule about how to format a range of page numbers in the parenthetical citation? For example, could (Eden 44-45) be written as (Eden 44-5), or is only one example correct?

Laura Kiernan 24 September 2021 AT 02:09 PM

For information about styling number ranges, see section 2.139 of the ninth edition of the MLA Handbook .

Faliravo 11 August 2021 AT 05:08 AM

Good morning MLA team, My professor insists that I include the year of publication for in-text citations. Is it going to be okay if I insert the year between the author and the page number?

Thank you very much for your consideration.

Laura Kiernan 24 September 2021 AT 01:09 PM

Your approach to modifying our style in accordance with your professor’s instructions works, but we would suggest confirming that styling with your professor.

Pauline 14 September 2021 AT 11:09 PM

How do I cite an entire work. For example, if I want to say Toni Morrison's the "Bluest Eye" has been used as a textbook for many English literature classes, I suppose I shouldn't put any page number in the parenthetical citation. But I can't find any MLA references on this.

See section 4.14 of the ninth edition of the MLA Handbook .

myron glassenberg 04 February 2022 AT 01:02 PM

if source is the whole book, how do I cite in text and in works cited pages. e.g. freud (no page number) Freud , ( 1892) The Pleasure Principle.

Rita Rozzi 20 September 2023 AT 07:09 PM

There is no section 4.14 in the ninth edition. Do you have any updated information? Thank you.

Laura Kiernan 21 September 2023 AT 03:09 PM

Section 4.14, which is titled "Passing Mentions," can be found in chapter 4 of the ninth edition of the handbook.

Lauren McFall 13 October 2021 AT 02:10 PM

Students often refer to the same source consecutively across more than one sentence. I'm having a hard time finding information about the preferred approach according to the MLA. As a parallel, APA makes a specific recommendation - "cite the source in the first sentence in which it is relevant and do not repeat the citation in subsequent sentences as long as the source remains clear and unchanged" https://apastyle.apa.org/style-grammar-guidelines/citations/appropriate-citation

Laura Kiernan 20 October 2021 AT 04:10 PM

See 6.45 of the ninth edition of the MLA Handbook .

Ruth Schafer 01 December 2022 AT 07:12 PM

6.45 out of the MLA Handbook's ninth edition does not provide an example of how to cite a multi-sentence paraphrase when using an unpaginated source. Can you give an example of how to cite a multi-sentence paraphrase where the source does not have published page numbering?

Should I introduce the source in my prose and then again at the end of the multi-sentence paraphrase in parentheses when I have finished citing the paraphrase? Example: John Smith from Smith Architecture explains that crawl space foundations are...blah blah blah. These foundations are most commonly used in midwestern constructions where the frost line is...blah, blah, blah. Keep writing the paraphrase and then at the end of the final sentence instead of a page citation write the author's last name (Smith). This way if you switch to a different source, at least the reader knows that you have finished with the Smith source and have moved on to your own commentary or another source's information. Usually, I'd use a page citation at the end of the paraphrase, but when dealing with a source that does not have page numbering, I'm unsure what to do.

Lizzie 18 October 2021 AT 10:10 PM

If I only use textual evidence from the novel I'm examining, do I need to include the authors name with each in text citation? There are no other works cited, so it seems redundant/clutter-y to me

Kayden 29 October 2021 AT 05:10 PM

If I'm trying to cite multiple paragraphs from the same source would it be correct to say (par. 3 and 13) or should it be (par. 3, 13) and is it different if they are next to each other too like (par. 6-7) or (par. 6 and 7).

Laura Kiernan 04 November 2021 AT 11:11 AM

See sections 6.18–6.20 of the ninth edition of the MLA Handbook .

Rachel 17 November 2021 AT 01:11 PM

When citing from an online source without pagination, if you include the author's name in the introduction to the quote, do you need to include anything in parentheses like the article title?

Laura Kiernan 22 November 2021 AT 12:11 PM

See section 6.26 of the ninth edition of the MLA Handbook .

July 25 November 2021 AT 05:11 PM

When quoting an online source (e.g. a website), do I have to indicate the fact that it's an online source in the in-text-citations as in (Name [online]) or is the author's name enough?

Thank you in advance for your answer.

Laura Kiernan 29 November 2021 AT 10:11 AM

According to MLA style, an in-text citation for an online work should not note that the work is online.

Pinkie 19 March 2022 AT 08:03 PM

If I'm writing a response paper, and I need to summarize the whole article to introduce it, then should I use in-text citation?

Laura Kiernan 25 March 2022 AT 01:03 PM

For guidance on paraphrasing, see sections 4.5–4.8 of the ninth edition of the MLA Handbook .

Kay 09 April 2022 AT 06:04 PM

Hi, am I supposed to include the DOI when one is available in the citation? If I cite the print version of a journal article that has a DOI, still include the DOI in the citation? Thank you!

Laura Kiernan 11 April 2022 AT 11:04 AM

Thank you for your questions. For guidance on including a DOI in your works-cited-list entry, see sections 5.84 and 5.93 in the ninth edition of the MLA Handbook .

Mike 16 April 2022 AT 05:04 PM

Website in-text Citation...

When I'm writing an in-text citation for a website, I'm seeing all manner of different things to include. Do I need to add the author name and year of publishing for the article?\ Do I just need the website name? I'm not really understanding what I need to add or obtain for such a citation within the text I'm writing.

I'm writing a book on my life, and I'm quoting a particular webpage to show one particular angle of an argument I'm making, and, of course, it's not common knowledge, so I want to make sure that I follow all the rules for this kind of thing, so I don't get in trouble with the author(s) of the sources I have quoted from...

Laura Kiernan 18 April 2022 AT 02:04 PM

Thank you for your questions about MLA style. For guidance on in-text citations for web pages, see section 6.26 of the ninth edition of the MLA Handbook .

Cynthia 21 May 2022 AT 10:05 PM

When you're doing an In-text citations do you put the quotations over the chapter title and then quotations over what you get from the text or do you italicize the title?

Laura Kiernan 25 May 2022 AT 03:05 PM

Thank you for your question. For guidance on how to style chapter titles, see 2.109 of the ninth edition of the MLA Handbook .

Napatsi 15 August 2022 AT 07:08 PM

I'm trying to find how to put in the in-text citation for a UN declaration article but can only find the "Resolutions of International Governing Bodies" on page 446 of the 9th edition but not how to out it in without an author.

Kim 27 September 2022 AT 12:09 PM

I'm quoting a passage from an unpublished manuscript, and it is not the only work I'm citing by the author, but the only one without a year. So using "Smith 1995, 82" is not possible. What would an in-text citation for this case look like?

Jen 17 November 2022 AT 08:11 PM

How do I cite a news cast for in-text citation like ABC News?

Samantha 04 December 2022 AT 05:12 PM

Hi, For MLA format, should a quote where you need to de-capitalize the first letter be written as "you want" or "(y)ou want". Thanks!

Laura Kiernan 07 December 2022 AT 01:12 PM

Thank you for your question. For guidance on how to indicate that you have lowercased the first letter of a quotation, see 6.56 of the ninth edition of the MLA Handbook .

Maria Albeti 07 February 2023 AT 01:02 PM

Stewart, David W. Focus groups. In: Frey, B.B. (ed.) The SAGE Encyclopedia of Educational Research, Measurement, and Evaluation, vol. 2, pp. 687–692. Thousand Oaks: Sage Publications 2018 In this case, how is the correct form to write, because the article is IN the the book?

Eros Karadzhov 15 February 2023 AT 02:02 PM

If we have a sentence that is a statement, but at the end we quote a question, which punctuation mark do we keep, the question mark or the period; maybe both? Example: (1) The author ends his poem with the following question on purpose: "Or does it explode?" (Hughes 11). (2) The author ends his poem with the following question on purpose: "Or does it explode" (Hughes 11)?

Which would be correct, or maybe both are wrong?

Thank you in advance!

Laura Kiernan 16 February 2023 AT 03:02 PM

Thank you for your question. For guidance on quotations ending in a question mark, see section 6.53 of the ninth edition of the MLA Handbook .

Anonymous 08 March 2023 AT 05:03 PM

What about online articles with no known author or multiple authors? What should the in-text citation look like?

Maria 25 March 2023 AT 04:03 PM

Please settle a dispute with my colleagues. I encourage composition students to avoid listing the title of journal articles within the essay unless it is especially relevant because it clutters their arguments. I came to this conclusion from my interpretation of this statement from MLA: "All in-text references should be concise. Avoid, for instance, providing the author’s name or title of a work in both your prose and parentheses." Could someone please provide an answer or further clarification?

Erika Suffern 30 March 2023 AT 04:03 PM

You are right to identify a principle of concision in our guidelines. That said, it is not wrong to mention a title in prose, but it should be done, as you note, when relevant–not as a de rigeur practice or for “filler.” As Eric Hayot notes in The Elements of Academic Style: Writing for the Humanities (Columbia UP, 2014), “giving the title” in prose “suggests fuller forthcoming treatment” (159). Another reason for including the title in prose might be to call attention to something about it. Many writers who do mention a title in prose fear having an incomplete citation and are tempted also to include the title in a parenthetical reference, which is unnecessary.

Jay 29 April 2023 AT 12:04 AM

How do I in-text cite a direct quote from the introduction of an ebook with no page numbers? Would I write (Author "Introduction") or just write (Author)?

Kiara 11 February 2024 AT 03:02 PM

Hello! I am a university student who is currently creating works cited entries and in-text citations for a reflection essay. How do I properly cite professor and peer comments?

Therese Willis 30 July 2024 AT 10:07 PM

What is the proper way to write MLA in-text citattion from a website for this: According to an article titled “Caitlin Clark: Changing the Game” (McCord, 2024), Clark put women’s basketball on the map and taught millions what it meant to love the sport. She has shown off her iconic logo shot and her ability to control the court when needed, all while maintaining a professional image.

layla 18 September 2024 AT 03:09 PM

how do you cite a quote in a podcast? for example: In the podcast Smith states " . . . " (narrators name minute)

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Home / Guides / Citation Guides / MLA Format / How to Cite an Essay in MLA

How to Cite an Essay in MLA

The guidelines for citing an essay in MLA format are similar to those for citing a chapter in a book. Include the author of the essay, the title of the essay, the name of the collection if the essay belongs to one, the editor of the collection or other contributors, the publication information, and the page number(s).

Citing an Essay

Mla essay citation structure.

Last, First M. “Essay Title.” Collection Title, edited by First M. Last, Publisher, year published, page numbers. Website Title , URL (if applicable).

MLA Essay Citation Example

Gupta, Sanjay. “Balancing and Checking.” Essays on Modern Democracy, edited by Bob Towsky, Brook Stone Publishers, 1996, pp. 36-48. Essay Database, www . databaseforessays.org/modern/modern-democracy.

MLA Essay In-text Citation Structure

(Last Name Page #)

MLA Essay In-text Citation Example

Click here to cite an essay via an EasyBib citation form.

MLA Formatting Guide

MLA Formatting

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• et al Usage
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• View MLA Guide

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• View all MLA Examples

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To cite your sources in an essay in MLA style, you need to have basic information including the author’s name(s), chapter title, book title, editor(s), publication year, publisher, and page numbers. The templates for in-text citations and a works-cited-list entry for essay sources and some examples are given below:

In-text citation template and example:

For citations in prose, use the first name and surname of the author on the first occurrence. For subsequent citations, use only the surname(s). In parenthetical citations, always use only the surname of the author(s).

Citation in prose:

First mention: Annette Wheeler Cafarelli

Subsequent occurrences: Wheeler Cafarelli

Parenthetical:

….(Wheeler Cafarelli).

Works-cited-list entry template and example:

The title of the chapter is enclosed in double quotation marks and uses title case. The book or collection title is given in italics and uses title case.

Surname, First Name. “Title of the Chapter.” Title of the Book , edited by Editor(s) Name, Publisher, Publication Year, page range.

Cafarelli, Annette Wheeler. “Rousseau and British Romanticism: Women and British Romanticism.” Cultural Interactions in the Romantic Age: Critical Essays in Comparative Literature , edited by Gregory Maertz. State U of New York P, 1998, pp. 125–56.

To cite an essay in MLA style, you need to have basic information including the author(s), the essay title, the book title, editor(s), publication year, publisher, and page numbers. The templates for citations in prose, parenthetical citations, and works-cited-list entries for an essay by multiple authors, and some examples, are given below:

For citations in prose, use the first name and surname of the author (e.g., Mary Strine).

For sources with two authors, use both full author names in prose (e.g., Mary Strine and Beth Radick).

For sources with three or more authors, use the first name and surname of the first author followed by “and others” or “and colleagues” (e.g., Mary Strine and others). In subsequent citations, use only the surname of the first author followed by “and others” or “and colleagues” (e.g., Strine and others).

In parenthetical citations, use only the author’s surname. For sources with two authors, use two surnames (e.g., Strine and Radick). For sources with three or more author names, use the first author’s surname followed by “et al.”

First mention: Mary Strine…

Subsequent mention: Strine…

First mention: Mary Strine and Beth Radick…

Subsequent mention: Strine and Radick…

First mention: Mary Strine and colleagues …. or Mary Strine and others

Subsequent occurrences: Strine and colleagues …. or Strine and others

…. (Strine).

….(Strine and Radick).

….(Strine et al.).

The title of the essay is enclosed in double quotation marks and uses title case. The book or collection title is given in italics and uses title case.

Surname, First Name, et al. “Title of the Essay.” Title of the Book , edited by Editor(s) Name, Publisher, Publication Year, page range.

Strine, Mary M., et al. “Research in Interpretation and Performance Studies: Trends, Issues, Priorities.” Speech Communication: Essays to Commemorate the 75th Anniversary of the Speech Communication Association , edited by Gerald M. Phillips and Julia T. Wood, Southern Illinois UP, 1990, pp. 181–204.

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Integrating Quotations in MLA Style

Integrating Quotations (MLA)

A reader may be able to make sense of a quotation dropped into a piece of writing, but introducing or integrating quotations into the flow of your sentence is the way to use them most effectively—to be sure that your reader knows what you mean. You have three options: 

• Introduce the quotation with a statement that puts it in context. A colon follows a formal statement or independent clause.
• Lynn Quitman Troyka warns us of the particular challenges of using quotations in research papers: “The greatest risk you take when you use quotations is that you will end up with choppy, incoherent sentences” (184). 
• Use a signal phrase followed by a comma or a signal verb followed by that to announce a quotation.
• According to Lynn Quitman Troyka, “. . ..”
• The narrator suggests that “. . ..”
• As Jake Barnes says, “. . . . . ..”
• Frye rejects this notion when he argues, “. . ..”
• Integrate the quotation fully into your sentence. The quotation and your words must add up to a complete sentence.
• We know the boy has learned a painful lesson when he says that his eyes “burned with anguish and anger” (Joyce 481). 
• Leaders are inspirational; they are concerned with “providing meaning or purpose in work for employees and creating meaning in the product for customers” (Ivancevich, Lorenzi, and Skinner 341).  
• Researchers found that firms with a strong corporate culture “based on a foundation of shared values” outperformed the other firms by a large margin (Quigley 42).

Quotations within Quotations:

Use single quotation marks to enclose a quotation within a quotation.

• Miller states, “Religions are examples of ‘noble lies’ aimed at uplifting human stature” (18).

Adding Material within Quotations:

Use square brackets to enclose material that you add to or change within a quotation to allow it to fit grammatically into a sentence. 

• Balko (2015) argues, “If they [policymakers] want to fight obesity, they’ll halt the creeping 

socialization of medicine” (p. 142).

• “Today, the [saturated fat] warnings remain a cornerstone of the government’s dietary guidelines,” O’Connor (2016) states, “though in recent years the American Heart Association has also begun to warn that too much added sugar may increase cardiovascular disease risk” (p.92). 

Block Quotations:

Indent longer quotations (more than four lines) ten spaces from the margin. Notice that quotation marks are not used to enclose material that is set off from the text and that the parenthetical reference is placed after the punctuation following the quotation. 

A socially responsible vision can make an organization more attractive to customers, potential employees, and investors.  As consultant Robert Rosen puts it,  

The best companies are values-based and performance-driven.  Their community involvement supports the mission of the business.  Modern employees want to work for companies who make a difference, their customers want to do business with them because they have solid reputations as good corporate citizens, and shareholders enjoy the value such companies represent over the long term. (9)

Shortening Quotations:

Use an ellipsis of three dots to shorten longer quotations by removing non-essential words and ideas from the middle of the quote.  The quotation must fit grammatically into the sentence even with the ellipsis.   It must also retain enough of the quotation so that it still makes sense in your essay and you do not distort its meaning.   You do not need to provide ellipses at the beginning or the end of the quoted material. 

Foer states, “My grandmother survived World War II barefoot, scavenging Eastern Europe for other people’s inedibles . . . So she never cared if I colored outside the lines, as long as I cut coupons along the dashes” (159). 

Complete quote: “My grandmother survived World War II barefoot, scavenging Eastern Europe for other people’s inedibles: rotting potatoes, discarded scraps of meat, skins and the bits that clung to bones and pits. So she never cared if I colored outside the lines, as long as I cut coupons along the dashes.” 

Quick tip about citing sources in MLA style

What’s a thesis, sample mla essays.

• Student Life
• Career Success
• Champlain College Online
• About Champlain College
• Centers of Experience
• Media Inquiries
• Contact Champlain
• Maps & Directions
• Consumer Information

• MLA Papers - Guidelines & Templates
• Works Cited List
• In-Text Citations
• Annotated Bibliographies
• NoodleTools

Sample Works Cited

• Sample Works Cited Page - PDF
• Sample Works Cited Page - Word
• Why Cite Your Sources?
• Database-Generated Citations
• Key Terms to Know
• Hanging Indents

1. Help readers identify and locate the source you used.

Readers may want to locate the source you have cited, to verify the information or to learn more about the topic. A proper citation includes all of the information for readers to locate the source.

2. Provide evidence that your position is well-researched.

Scholarly writing is grounded in research. Citations strengthen your argument by demonstrating that your position is thoroughly researched.

3. Give credit to the author of ideas which are not your own, and thereby avoid plagiarism.

Giving proper credit to those whose ideas, words, and thoughts you use is not only respectful to those authors, but also helps you avoid plagiarism. 

Pre-Generated Citations

Nearly all of the UCC Library databases will provide you with instant citations in MLA and APA format for articles, books, and videos. This can be quite helpful, but oftentimes they are incorrect. Always be sure to review them for accuracy instead of assuming they are correct.

Selected Bibliography

A technique for properly attributing information to the appropriate author or source.

Citation style

A prescribed set of stylistic and formatting conventions for citing sources in a consistent manner within a given discipline. 

Intellectual property

Refers to property created through the use of the mind (i.e. intellect), encompassing a wide variety of original creations, including manuscripts, recordings, artwork, inventions, an designs.

Intentional plagiarism

Deliberate stealing of another's ideas or representing such as your own.

Paraphrasing

A means of incorporating text into your paper using roughly the same amount of words as the original but restating the information without quoting it.

Inadvertent or purposeful stealing of intellectual property by failing to properly acknowledge the owner.

A means of incorporating text into your paper using the exact wording and formatting of the original.

Summarizing

A means of incorporating text into your paper by condensing original source materials to present main ideas in a narrower, more focused way.

Unintentional plagiarism

A type of plagiarism committed accidentally and resulting from such factors as a lack of knowledge of proper source use, a misunderstanding of the rules of citation, or careless note taking. 

McAdoo M. L. (2015).  The student's survival guide to research . Neal-Schuman.

What are Hanging Indents?

A hanging indent is the indentation of all lines other than the first within a paragraph. These are typically only used in bibliographies, as they allow for easy differentiation between sources. APA and MLA require the use of hanging indents in reference lists. 

APA:  For information on hanging indents in the Publication Manual of the American Psychological Association  see section 2.12, "Reference List."

MLA:  For information on hanging indents in  The MLA Handbook  see section 1.6, "Placement of the List of Works Cited."

• Crear sangrías colgantes en Microsoft Word Vea éste vídeo en español.

What are Footnotes?

Footnotes are short numbered notes that are placed at the bottom of the page in an essay or article. They are used for a variety of reasons including, citing materials, providing notes on a source or topic, and to acknowledge copyright status.

Although you will find footnotes in many journal articles, they are not typically required in APA or MLA formatted essays. 

• Cómo incorporar notas al calce en Microsoft Word Mira este video en español.

Types of Citations

• Social Media
• Visual Media

Citing Articles in MLA Format

Use this format for citing periodicals, magazines, newspapers, blog posts, and other similar sources.

Basic format for periodicals ​

Lastname, Firstname. "Title of Article: Subtitle of Article." Title of Periodical , vol. #, issue no. #, Publication Date, pages.  Database Name* , DOI/URL. Date of Access**.

*Only put the name of the database that an article was found in if it was found in a database. If it was found in print or on the web omit this section.

**You only need to put a date of access if there is not a publication date.

From an academic/scholarly journal ​

Overton, Tiffany L., et al. “Distracted Driving: Prevalence, Problems, and Prevention.”  International Journal of Injury Control & Safety Promotion , vol. 22, no. 3, Sept. 2015, pp. 187–192.  Academic Search Complete , doi:10.1080/17457300.2013.879482.

Smith, Gary, and Margaret Hwang Smith. "Like Mother, Like Daughter? An Economic Comparison of Immigrant Mothers and Their Daughters." International Migration, vol. 51, no. 2, 2013, pp. 181-190.

From a newspaper ​

Healy, Melissa. "Opioid Addiction can be Overcome with Mindfulness, Study Suggests."  Los Angeles Times , 17 Oct. 2019,  www.latimes.com/science/story/2019-10-17/addiction-to-opioids-can-be-overcome-with-mindfulness .

Martin, Naomi. "New Hampshire's Opioid Crisis Looms Over Marijuana Legalization Debate."  Boston Globe , 5 Feb. 2019 . ProQuest , login.ezproxyness.helmlib.org/login?url=https://www-proquest-com.ezproxyness.helmlib.org/docview/2176030699?accountid=37958 .

Max, Arthur. “Blair Begins Mission as Mideast Envoy.”  The Boston Globe,  24 July 2007, p. A3.

From a popular magazine ​

Ford, Anne. "It's Not Such a Small World After All: Introducing Older Adults to Virtual Reality."  American Libraries , vol. 50, no. 3/4, Mar./Apr. 2019, pp. 22-23.

Gugliotta, Guy. “The Maya: Glory and Ruin.”  National Geographic , vol. 212, no. 2, Aug. 2007, pp. 68‐73.

Toensmeier, Eric, and Dennis Garrity. “The Biomass Bottleneck.”  Scientific American , vol. 323, no. 2, Aug. 2020, pp. 64-71.  Academic Search Complete , search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=aph&AN=144469972&site=ehost-live&scope=site .

Citing Books in MLA Format

Use this format for citing physical and digital books including citing individual chapters from books and/or works in anthologies.

Basic format for a book

Lastname, Firstname**. Title of Book: Subtitle of Book. Publisher, Year Published.  

Everly, George S., Jr., and Jeffrey M. Lating. The Johns Hopkins Guide to Psychological First Aid . Johns Hopkins University Press, 2017.

Pollan, Michael. The Omnivore's Dilemma: A Natural History of Four Meals. Penguin Press, 2006.

Siebert, Lee, et al. Volcanoes of the World . Smithsonian Institution, 2010. 

Basic format for an eBook

Author or Editor (if given). Title of Book : Subtitle of Book . e-book ed., Publisher, Publication date.  Provider/Database/Container , URL (if available).  

Bleeker, Maaike, editor.   Anatomy Live: Performance and the Operating Theater . e-book ed., Amsterdam University Press, 2008.  Ebook Central , ebookcentral.proquest.com/lib/necc-ebooks/detail.action?docID=456860 .

Basic format for a book chapter or work in an anthology

Author of chapter. "Title of Chapter: Subtitle of Chapter."  Title of Book: Subtitle of Book , edited by Firstname Lastname, Publisher, Publication date, pp. x-xx.  

Vicioso, Sherezada. “The Caribbean, or the Feminine Face of Multiculturalism.”  Daring to Write: Contemporary Narratives by Dominican Women , edited by Erika M. Martinez, University of Georgia Press, 2016, pp. 159-163.

*If there are 2 authors use this format: Lastname 1, Firstname 1, and Firstname 2 Lastname 2 (such as in the Everly example above).

**If there are three or more authors only put the primary author's name and follow it with "et al." (such as in the Siebert example above).

Citing Websites in MLA Format

Use this format for citing webpages, websites, and other online sources. Do not use this for citing scholarly/academic articles accessed via the web.

Many web sources do not always provide all of the above information (such as an individual author, or a publication date), use the information you can find to create your citations.

Basic format for web sources

Author or Editor (if given). "Title of Webpage."  Name of Website. Publisher or Sponsor of the website* , Date published or updated,  URL/DOI/permalink. Accessed date**.  

Central Intelligence Agency. “Central America: Haiti.” The World Factbook , 19 Mar. 2020, www.cia.gov/library/publications/resources/ the-world-factbook/geos/aa.html .

“The Most Haunted Places in Boston.” Ghosts & Gravestones , www.ghostsandgravestones.com/boston/haunted-places.php . Accessed 8 Apr. 2020

Teitell, Beth. "Why We Turn into Different People When We Fly." Boston Globe , 9 July 2019, www.bostonglobe.com/metro/2019/07/09/   why-turn-into-different-people-when-ly/sxf7XYIHGpm0FkfVct L26M/story.html .

* If the Publisher is the same as the name of the website, omit it. See the Teitell example above

** You do not need to put a date of access if there is a date of publication on the webpage. If there is not a date of publication or date last updated, do not use the copyright date of the website . Use the date you accessed the webpage/website and place it at the end of your citation after the URL/DOI/Permalink. See "The Most Haunted" example above.

Citing Social Media in MLA Format

Use this format for citing social media posts in MLA format.

X (Twitter)

@Twitter handle. "Insert the entire tweet here."  Twitter , DD Mon. YYYY, Time of the post*, URL of tweet.  *to find the time of posting hover over the date of the posting itself. 

@BostonGlobe. "Not all potholes are created equal. Some have cost the City of Boston thousands of dollars in payments. bos.gl/MgY2nvG."  Twitter , 2 Apr. 2018, 4:59 a.m., twitter.com/BostonGlobe/status/980776643068399616. 

Author Last Name, First Name or Account Name. Description of Post*. Facebook , DD Mon. YYYY, Time of Post, URL. *as Facebook posts can be lengthy, simply write your own short description of the post.

The Boston Globe. Eversource talks about ways to cut down on power outages.  Facebook , 1 Apr. 2018, 10:15 p.m., www.facebook.com/globe/.

Citing Videos in MLA Format

Use this format for citing physical and digital videos including videos on platforms such as YouTube and Vimeo.

Lastname, Firstname of presenter. Title of Webinar*. Publisher or organization responsible for the webinar , Date of Webinar,  URL (only necessary if watching a recorded webinar). Webinar**.  

Gibson, Angela. MLA Style 101. Modern Language Association, 22 Aug. 2017. Webinar.

Gibson, Angela. MLA Style 101. Modern Language Association, 30 Aug. 2017, outreach.mla.org/mla-style .

*Note that the title of the webinar is styled without quotation marks or italics.

**It is optional to add the word "Webinar" after the date of a live webinar, or the URL of a pre-recorded webinar.

PowerPoint presentations

Lastname, Firstname.  Title of Presentation .  Name of Learning Management System , uploaded by Firstname Lastname*, Date uploaded, URL of the Learning Management System.  PowerPoint  presentation*.  

Carson, Sandy. Introduction to Digital Humanities . Blackboard , uploaded by Carson, 20 Oct. 2019, blackboard.ucla.edu/ . PowerPoint presentation.

*It is optional to add the words " PowerPoint  presentation" after the URL of the Learning Management System. 

Works of art

Artist or username. Title. Date the image was created. Medium. Museum, City. Database name or title of site,  URL. Date of access.

On a website

Chagall, Marc.  Village Street. 1930s. Oil on canvas. Museum of Fine Arts, Boston.  Museum of Fine Arts,   www.mfa.org/collections/object/village-street-34267 . Accessed 1 Oct. 2014.  

In a Database

Chagall, Marc. The Yellow Room.  1911. Oil on canvas. Private collection.  Artstor,  library.artstor.org/library/secure/ViewImages?id=%2FThWdC8hIywtPygxFTx5RngtU3IqeFo%3D&userId=hzZAfDkg&zoomparams= . Accessed 21 Sept. 2016.

Title of the video . Directed by Name Lastname, Distributor, Year.

Feature Films

Demolition Man . Directed by Marco Brambilla, Warner Bros. Pictures, 1993.

From YouTube

McGonigal, Jane. “Gaming and Productivity.”  YouTube , uploaded by Big Think, 3 July 2012, www.youtube.com/watch?v=mkdzy9bWW3E .

 "Kingston's Warning to the Jericho Appreciation Society is Heard Loud & Clear. AEW Dynamite, 4/27/22."  YouTube , uploaded by All Elite Wrestling, 28 April 2022,  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C1YsiX7j8XU

 From a streaming service (television episode)

"Eighteen Years Lost".  Making a Murderer , season 1, episode 1, Synthesis Films, 2015.  Netflix ,  https://www.netflix.com/title/80000770

Guidelines for Building an MLA Citation

• Title of Source & Container
• Contributors, Version, Number
• Publisher, Publication Date, Location

Basics for Creating MLA Citations

Each entry in your  Works Cited  should contain the relevant "core elements" for that source.  In order for the system to remain flexible, it is less about choosing the right citation based on the format (e.g. book, website) and more about creating a citation based on the information elements available for the source. According to MLA, the core elements are:

• Title of source.
• Title of container,
• Contributors,
• Publication date,

MLA also mentions several supplemental elements, including original date of publication and date of access. If you think your citation should include one of these supplemental elements please consult the  MLA Handbook, 9th edition , available at the library, or Ask Us!

Once you have identified and filled in each of the relevant core elements for your source, an entry on your Works Cited page for a  book  will be formatted to look similar to this:

Author Information

Cite the author’s name with the surname first, followed by the rest of the name as it appears in the source.  In some cases, the author will not be a person but an organization of some type instead, such as a government agency.

Jacobs, Alan.  The Pleasures of Reading in an Age of Distraction . Oxford UP, 2011.

United Nations.  Consequences of Rapid Population Growth in Developing Countries . Taylor and Francis, 1991.

If the Works Cited list includes two or more entries by the same author(s), give the author(s) name(s) in the first entry only. In subsequent entries, use three hyphens in place of the names, followed by a period and the title. Arrange the works in alphabetical order by title.

Borroff, Marie.  Language and the Poet: Verbal Artistry in Frost, Stevens, and Moore . U of Chicago P, 1979.

---. "Sound Symbolism as Drama in the Poetry of Robert Frost."  PMLA , vol. 107, no. 1, Jan. 1992, pp. 131-44.  JSTOR , www.jstor.org/stable/462806.

To cite a source with two authors, give their names in the same order as listed in the source. Reverse only the name of the first author, add a comma, and give the other name in normal form. Place a period after the last name. To cite a source with three or more authors, name only the first author followed by  et al .

Dorris, Michael, and Louise Erdrich.  The Crown of Columbus . HarperCollins Publishers, 1999.

Burdick, Anne, et al.  Digital_Humanities . MIT P, 2012.

If there is no author, begin the entry with the title.

In a reference to an edited book, insert the editor's name in place of the author's name, followed by a comma and the word "editor" (without the quotation marks).

Title Information

Titles should appear exactly as they appear in the source, other than capitalization. Capitalize the first, the last, and all principal words in a title and subtitle. Italicize the title of larger, self-contained works such as books and periodicals.

For the titles of works contained within larger works, such as articles within a periodical, chapters within a book, etc., use quotation marks.

Goldman, Anne. "Questions of Transport: Reading Primo Levi Reading Dante."  The Georgia Review , vol. 64, no. 1, 2010, pp. 69-88.

Source (Container) Information

When a source is part of a larger work, MLA refers to the larger work as the source's "container." A container could be a book that is a collection of shorter works, a journal or magazine, a TV series, or a website. Italicize the title of the container and follow it with a comma.

Bazin, Patrick. "Toward Metareading."  The Future of the Book , edited by Geoffrey Nunberg, U of California P, 1996, pp. 153-68.

Sources can have more than one container.  For instance, a journal article may be found within a database, or a TV series may be viewed on a platform like  Hulu  or  Netflix . MLA recommends documenting all of the containers relevant to your source (pp. 31-36).

Goldman, Anne. "Questions of Transport: Reading Primo Levi Reading Dante."  The Georgia Review , vol. 64, no. 1, 2010, pp. 69-88.  JSTOR , www.jstor.org/stable/41403188.

"Under the Gun."  Pretty Little Liars , season 4, episode 6, ABC Family, 16 July 2013.  Hulu,  www.hulu.com/watch/511318.

Contributor Information

People other than the author may have contributed to the creation of a source. Include the names of any such people after a description of their role (such as edited by or adapted by).

Chartier, Roger.  The Order of Books: Readers, Authors, and Libraries in Europe between the Fourteenth and Eighteenth Centuries . Translated by Lydia G. Cochrane, Stanford UP, 1994.

Version Information

For an edition other than the first, identify the edition of your source by number (e.g. 2nd ed.), by name (e.g. Revised ed.), or by year (e.g. 2008 ed.) - whichever the source indicates.

Newcomb, Horace, editor.  Television: The Critical View . 7th ed., Oxford UP, 2007.

Number Information

For books that are part of a multi-volume set, include the volume number. For journals, include both the volume and issue number, if available.

Baron, Naomi S. "Redefining Reading: The Impact of Digital Communication Media."  PMLA , vol. 128, no. 1, Jan. 2013, pp. 193-200.

Rampersad, Arnold.  The Life of Langston Hughes . 2nd ed., vol. 2, Oxford UP, 2002.

Publisher Information

For books, list the publisher’s name as it appears on the title page or copyright page.  For websites, check the copyright notice at the bottom of the home page or an "About" page.

Clancy, Kate. "Defensive Scholarly Writing and Science Communication."  Context and Variation , Scientific American Blogs, 24 Apr. 2013, blogs.scientificamerican.com/context-and-variation/2013/04/24/defensive-scholarly-writing-and-science-communication/.

Publication Date

List the publication date as fully as you find it in the source. If there is more than one publication date, list the date of the version you are looking at or the edition you have used.

Belton, John. "Painting by the Numbers: The Digital Intermediate."  Film Quarterly , vol. 61, no. 3, Spring 2008, pp. 58-65.

Ellison, Ralph.  Invisible Man . Vintage Books, 1995.

Hollmichael, 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/.

Location Information

For print sources, use a page number or page number range to identify the location of a source within its container. For online works use the DOI (preferred) or URL -- be sure to  remove  the  https:// from your citation.

Baron, Naomi S. "Redefining Reading: The Impact of Digital Communication Media."  PMLA , vol. 128, no 1., Jan. 2013, pp. 193-200.

Chan, Evans. "Postmodernism and Hong Kong Cinema,"  Postmodern Culture , vol. 10, no. 3, May 2000.  Project Muse , doi:10.1353/pmc.2000.0021

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Suggested Ways to Introduce Quotations

When you quote another writer's words, it's best to introduce or contextualize the quote. 

How To Quote In An Essay?

To introduce a quote in an essay , don't forget to include author's last name and page number (MLA) or author, date, and page number (APA) in your citation. Shown below are some possible ways to introduce quotations. The examples use MLA format.

Use A Full Sentence Followed by A Colon To Introduce A Quotation

• The setting emphasizes deception: "Nothing is as it appears" (Smith 1).
• Piercy ends the poem on an ironic note: "To every woman a happy ending" (25).

Begin A Sentence with Your Own Words, Then Complete It with Quoted Words

Note that in the second example below, a slash with a space on either side ( / ) marks a line break in the original poem.

• Hamlet's task is to avenge a "foul and most unnatural murder" (Shakespeare 925).
• The speaker is mystified by her sleeping baby, whose "moth-breath / flickers among the flat pink roses" (Plath 17).

Use An Introductory Phrase Naming The Source, Followed By A Comma to Quote A Critic or Researcher

Note that the first letter after the quotation marks should be upper case. According to MLA guidelines, if you change the case of a letter from the original, you must indicate this with brackets. APA format doesn't require brackets.

• According to Smith, "[W]riting is fun" (215).
• In Smith's words, " . . .
• In Smith's view, " . . .

Use A Descriptive Verb, Followed by A Comma To Introduce A Critic's Words

Avoid using says unless the words were originally spoken aloud, for instance, during an interview.

• Smith states, "This book is terrific" (102).
• Smith remarks, " . . .
• Smith writes, " . . .
• Smith notes, " . . .
• Smith comments, " . . .
• Smith observes, " . . .
• Smith concludes, " . . .
• Smith reports, " . . .
• Smith maintains, " . . .
• Smith adds, " . . .

Don't Follow It with A Comma If Your Lead into The Quotation Ends in That or As

The first letter of the quotation should be lower case.

• Smith points out that "millions of students would like to burn this book" (53).
• Smith emphasizes that " . . .
• Smith interprets the hand washing in MacBeth as "an attempt at absolution" (106).
• Smith describes the novel as "a celebration of human experience" (233).

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How to Quote and Cite a Play in an Essay Using MLA Format

Last Updated: October 12, 2023

This article was co-authored by Christopher Taylor, PhD . Christopher Taylor is an Adjunct Assistant Professor of English at Austin Community College in Texas. He received his PhD in English Literature and Medieval Studies from the University of Texas at Austin in 2014. This article has been viewed 394,104 times.

MLA (Modern Language Association) format is a popular citation style for papers and essays. You may be unsure how to quote and cite play using MLA format in your essay for a class. Start by following the correct formatting for a quote from one speaker or from multiple speakers in the play. Then, use the correct citation style for a prose play or a verse play.

Template and Examples

Quoting Dialogue from One Speaker

• For example, if you were quoting a character from the play Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf?, you would write, In Edward Albee's Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf? , the character Honey says...

• For example, if you are quoting the character George from the play Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf? by Edward Albee, you would write, “George says,…” or “George states,…”.

• For example, if you are quoting from Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf? , you would write: Martha notes, "Truth or illusion, George; you don’t know the difference."

• For example, if you were quoting from Shakespeare’s Measure for Measure , you would write: Claudio states “the miserable have no other medicine / But only hope.”

Quoting Dialogue from Multiple Speakers

• You do not need to use quotation marks when you are quoting dialogue by multiple speakers from a play. The blank space will act as a marker, rather than quotation marks.

• MARTHA. Truth or illusion, George; you don’t know the difference.
• GEORGE. No, but we must carry on as though we did.
• MARTHA. Amen.

• Verse dialogue is indented 1 ¼ inch (3.17cm) from the left margin.

• RUTH. Eat your eggs, Walter.
• WALTER. (Slams the table and jumps up) --DAMN MY EGGS--DAMN ALL THE EGGS THAT EVER WAS!
• RUTH. Then go to work.
• WALTER. (Looking up at her) See--I’m trying to talk to you ‘bout myself--(Shaking his head with the repetition)--and all you can say is eat them eggs and go to work.

Citing a Quote from a Prose Play

• If you are quoting dialogue from one speaker, place the citation at the end of the quoted dialogue, in the text.
• If you are quoting dialogue from multiple speakers, place the citation at the end of the block quote.

• For example, you may write: “(Albee…)” or “(Hansberry…)”

• For example, you may write, “(Albee, Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf? ...).”
• If you have mentioned the title of the play once already in an earlier citation in your essay, you do not need to mention it again in the citations for the play moving forward.

• For example, you may write, “(Albee 10; act 1).
• If you are including the title of the play, you may write: “(Albee, Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf? 10; act 1).”

Citing a Quote from a Verse Play

• For example, if the quote appears in act 4, scene 4 of the play, you will write, “(4.4…)”.

• For example, if the quote appears on lines 33 to 35, you will write, “(33-35).”
• The completed citation would look like: “(4.4.33-35)”.

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About This Article

To quote and cite a play in your essay using MLA format, start by referencing the author and title of the play in the main body of your essay. Then, name the speaker of the quote so it’s clear who’s talking. For example, write, “In Edward Albee’s Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf? the character Honey says…” After introducing the quote, frame the dialogue with quotation marks to make it clear that it’s a direct quote from a text. If your dialogue is written in verse, use forward slashes to indicate each line break. For more tips from our English co-author, including how to quote dialogue between multiple speakers in your essay, read on! Did this summary help you? Yes No

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How to Properly Cite a Short Story in APA and MLA Formats

Updated 20 Sep 2024

The Importance of Citing a Short Story Correctly in APA, MLA, and Other Formats

Properly citing a short story is essential for academic integrity and respect for intellectual property. Using the correct citation format—whether APA, MLA, or another style—ensures that your work is credible and allows readers to locate your sources easily. Different styles have specific rules for citing elements such as author names, story titles, and publication details. Adhering to these guidelines not only strengthens your arguments but also avoids plagiarism and maintains scholarly standards in your writing.

The Main Rules: Learning to Quote and Cite a Short Story in MLA

Citing a short story in MLA format involves following specific guidelines to ensure proper attribution and formatting. When you cite a short story, you need to include the author’s last name and first name, the title of the story in quotation marks, and the source where the story was published, such as a book, online magazine , or online platform. The title of the book or periodical should be italicized, and you must also include the editor’s name, publisher, year, and page numbers.

Here are some key rules for citing a short story in MLA:

• Author’s Last Name, First Name.
• “Title of the Short Story” in quotation marks.
• Title of the Source (book, magazine, etc.) in italics.
• Editor’s full name (if applicable).
• Publisher name.
• Year of publication.
• Page number(s).

For example, when citing a short story from an edited anthology, the citation would look like this:

In-text citations should include the author’s last name and the page number of the story:

Citing a Short Story in a Book

When citing a short story from a book or an anthology, include the author's name, story title in quotation marks, the book title in italics, the editor's name, publisher, year, and page numbers:

For in-text citations, include the author's last name and the page number(s) where the story appears:

Citing a Short Story Found Online

For short stories accessed online, include the author's name, story title in quotation marks, website name in italics, date of publication, and the URL:

In-text citation should include the author's last name, but page numbers are not required if not available:

Citing a Short Story in a Newspaper or Magazine

For stories found in newspapers or magazines, include the author's name, story title in quotation marks, the publication name in italics, date of publication, and page range:

In-text citation should include the author's last name and page number(s):

How to Cite a Short Story Discovered in a Book

When citing a short story found in an edited collection or anthology, it is important to provide complete details about both the story and the book. This includes the author of the short story, the title of the story in quotation marks, the title of the book in italics, the editor's name, publisher, year of publication, and the page range where the story appears.

Here’s how to format your citation in MLA style:

For in-text citations, include the author’s last name and the page number where the story appears:

If the short story is from a collection by the same author and the editor’s name is not available, you can skip the editor’s details in your citation.

The Main Rules: Learning to Quote and Cite a Short Story in APA

Citing a short story in APA format requires following specific guidelines to ensure proper attribution and clarity. You must include the author’s name, year of publication, title of the short story, and the source. The title of the short story should be in sentence case, and the source title should be in italics.

Here are the basic elements you need for an APA citation of a short story:

• Author's Last Name, First Initial.
• (Year of Publication).
• Title of the short story.
• In Editor's Initials and Last Name (Ed.),
• Title of the Source (pp. Page Range).

When citing a short story found online in APA format, you need to include the author’s name, publication date, title of the story, the source name, and the URL. Follow the example below:

To cite a short story found in an edited book in APA format, include the author’s name, year of publication, title of the story, editor’s name, book title, and page range. Here’s the proper format:

How to Cite a Short Story Mentioned in a Textbook

Citing a short story from a textbook in APA requires the author’s name, year, story title, editor’s name, and textbook details, including the edition and page range. Use the format below:

Citing a Short Story from a Newspaper or Magazine

When citing a short story published in a newspaper or magazine, include the author’s name, year, story title, publication name, date, and page range:

Conclusion: Master the Art of Citing Short Stories

Correctly citing short stories in APA or MLA format not only enhances the credibility of your academic work but also ensures you respect the original authors’ contributions. Whether it’s a story found in a book, online, or in a magazine, following the appropriate citation guidelines is essential. Understanding these rules will make your research more authoritative and professional.

Ready to perfect your citations? If you need further assistance or have any questions, explore our resources or reach out for personalized support to ensure your citations are flawless and accurate!

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Written by Mary O. Spears

Mary O. Spears is a dedicated writer specializing in crafting insightful guides on essay and paper writing. With a profound understanding of academic standards and a talent for demystifying complex topics, Mary offers invaluable guidance to students aiming for academic excellence. Outside of her professional work, Mary is passionate about cooking and eating healthy, bringing creativity and balance to both her culinary and writing endeavors.

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Home > Blog > How To Cite a PDF in MLA Formatting

How To Cite a PDF in MLA Formatting

• Smodin Editorial Team
• Updated: September 24, 2024
• Student Guide for Writing

When you write a paper, you often need to cite sources. This is essential because it gives credit to the original authors and allows your readers to trace where the information came from.

Apart from gathering books from the library to do your research, you may also seek out other sources online. Hence, sometimes, the information you include in your essays originates from a source in a Portable Document Format (PDF). Books, journal articles, reports, or even web pages are saved as PDFs online.

But how do you cite a PDF in MLA format? Citing PDFs can be a bit tricky because they can be any type of document.

This guide will break down step by step how to cite a PDF in MLA style and give you some examples of using the MLA format with different documents.

The MLA format is a set of rules for writing and formatting papers to ensure consistency and clarity. MLA stands for Modern Language Association, an organization that sets standards for scholarly writing.

This format is widely used in humanities subjects like English, Literature, History, and the Arts.

The MLA Handbook provides detailed guidelines on how to cite various types of sources, including books, articles, and digital media, ensuring writers can properly credit their sources and avoid plagiarism.

Among these guidelines are specific rules for citing PDFs, which can be especially useful given the diverse nature of documents available in PDF format online.

How To Cite a PDF in MLA: The Basic Format

To cite a PDF in MLA, you need to know what type of document it is. A PDF file can be a book, an article, a report, or something else. Here is a basic formula to start with:

“Author’s Last Name, First Name. “Title of Document.” Website Name, Day Month Year of Publication, URL, or DOI.”

If the PDF is a scan of a print source, you add “PDF Download” at the end. For example, if you have a PDF of a book:

‘Author’s Last Name, First Name. Book Title. Publisher, Year of Publication. Website Name, URL, or DOI. PDF Download.’

Additionally, summarizing PDFs using AI can streamline the process of extracting key information from lengthy documents, making it easier to accurately cite sources in MLA format.

In-Text Citations

An in-text citation , or a narrative citation, are brief references in the body of your paper that show where you got your information. They guide your readers to the full citation in your “Works Cited” list. This makes it easy for them to find the source.

In MLA format, these citations typically include the author’s last name and the page number where the information can be found. This information comes in the form of a parenthetical citation. For example:

This format lets your readers know that the information on that part of your paper comes from page 23. The format also shows that you have cited work by an author named Smith.

If the PDF you are citing does not have page numbers, you should still include the author’s last name. In this case, leaving out the page number would be acceptable. Your in-text citation would look like this:

Using in-text citations correctly helps maintain the flow of your writing while giving credit to your sources. It also shows your readers that you have researched your topic thoroughly and are presenting information from credible sources. By including in-text citations, you make your paper more trustworthy and easier to verify.

Citation Style

Citation style refers to the rules for formatting citations. MLA is one type of citation style. Other styles include APA and Chicago. The MLA format has specific guidelines for citing PDFs, which are covered below.

Cite a PDF in MLA Format: 5 Most Common Examples

Take a look at the following examples to help you cite different types of PDFs in MLA format.

1. PDF of a Book

If you have a PDF of a book, use this format:

Author’s Last Name, First Name. Book Title. Publisher, Year of Publication. Website Name, URL, or DOI. PDF Download.

Doe, Jane. The Art of Writing. Writing Press, 2020. Writing World, www.writingworld.com/artofwriting.pdf. PDF Download.

2. PDF of a Journal Article

For a journal article in PDF format, include the article title, journal name, volume, issue, and page numbers:

Author’s Last Name, First Name. “Article Title.” Journal Name, vol. #, no. #, Date of Publication, pp. #-#. Website Name, URL, or DOI. PDF Download.

Smith, John. “The Importance of Reading.” Journal of Education, vol. 10, no. 2, 2021, pp. 100-110. Education World, www.educationworld.com/importanceofreading.pdf. PDF Download.

3. PDF of a Newspaper or Magazine Article

For newspaper or magazine articles, include the publication title and date:

Author’s Last Name, First Name. “Article Title.” Newspaper or Magazine Name, Day Month Year, pp. #-#. Website Name, URL, or DOI. PDF Download.

Brown, Emily. “The Future of Technology.” Tech Times, 5 May 2022, pp. 20-22. Tech World, www.techworld.com/futureoftechnology.pdf. PDF Download.

4. PDF With No Author

If there is no author, start with the title:

“Title of Document.” Website Name, Day Month Year of Publication, URL or DOI. PDF Download.

“Climate Change Report.” Green Earth, 15 Mar. 2021, www.greenearth.com/climatechangereport.pdf. PDF Download.

5. PDF With No Date

If there is no date, use the date you accessed the PDF:

Author’s Last Name, First Name. “Title of Document.” Website Name, URL, or DOI. PDF Download. Accessed Day/ Month/ Year.

Doe, John. “Guide to Healthy Eating.” Health World, www.healthworld.com/healthy-eating.pdf. PDF Download. Accessed 2 July 2024.

Frequently Asked Questions

What is mla format.

MLA format, established by the Modern Language Association, is a set of rules for writing and formatting papers, particularly in subjects like Humanities. It includes detailed guidelines for citing various sources such as books, articles, and PDFs.

Why do I need to cite sources?

Citing sources is essential because it gives credit to the original authors and helps you avoid plagiarism . Additionally, citations provide a pathway for readers to locate the sources you used, thereby enhancing the credibility and traceability of your work.

Can I use the MLA format for all subjects?

The MLA format is primarily used for Humanities subjects like English and History. For other fields, such as Social Sciences, you might use the APA citation format. Also, the Chicago Style Guide might be preferred in other subjects.

What if my PDF does not have an author?

If your PDF lacks an author, you should start the citation with the title of the document. This helps readers identify the source even in the absence of an author’s name.

Do I need to include the date I accessed the PDF?

Include the access date only if the publication date of the PDF is not available. This indicates when you retrieved the document, which can be important for sources that might change over time.

Use Smodin for Your Citations and Enhance Your Writing Skills

Learning how to cite a PDF in MLA format is essential for academic writing. Proper citation gives credit to the original authors and lends credibility to your work. Additionally, don’t forget to use in-text citations to reference your sources within your paper.

Following these steps will help you create a well-cited, professional-looking paper. Proper citation is a skill that will serve you well throughout your academic journey and beyond. It will ensure that you respect intellectual property and contribute to the ongoing evolution of your field of study.

If you ever need help with citations or any other aspect of writing , tools like Smodin.io can be incredibly helpful. Smodin.io offers various services to assist with writing, ensuring your papers are well-organized and correctly formatted. So, keep these tips in mind and use Smodin to improve your essay writing now !

Purdue Online Writing Lab Purdue OWL® College of Liberal Arts

MLA Works Cited Page: Books

Welcome to the Purdue OWL

This page is brought to you by the OWL at Purdue University. When printing this page, you must include the entire legal notice.

Copyright ©1995-2018 by The Writing Lab & The OWL at Purdue and Purdue University. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, reproduced, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed without permission. Use of this site constitutes acceptance of our terms and conditions of fair use.

When you are gathering book sources, be sure to make note of the following bibliographic items: the author name(s), other contributors such as translators or editors, the book’s title, editions of the book, the publication date, the publisher, and the pagination.

The 8 th  edition of the MLA handbook highlights principles over prescriptive practices. Essentially, a writer will need to take note of primary elements in every source, such as author, title, etc. and then assort them in a general format. Thus, by using this methodology, a writer will be able to cite any source regardless of whether it’s included in this list.

Please note these changes in the new edition:

• Commas are used instead of periods between Publisher, Publication Date, and Pagination.
• Medium is no longer necessary.
• Containers are now a part of the MLA process. Commas should be used after container titles.
• DOIs should be used instead of URLS when available.
• Use the term “Accessed” instead of listing the date or the abbreviation, “n.d."

Below is the general format for any citation:

Author. Title. Title of container (do not list container for standalone books, e.g. novels), Other contributors (translators or editors), Version (edition), Number (vol. and/or no.), Publisher, Publication Date, Location (pages, paragraphs URL or DOI). 2 nd  container’s title, Other contributors, Version, Number, Publisher, Publication date, Location, Date of Access (if applicable).

Basic Book Format

The author’s name or a book with a single author's name appears in last name, first name format. The basic form for a book citation is:

Last Name, First Name. Title of Book . City of Publication, Publisher, Publication Date.

* Note: the City of Publication should only be used if the book was published before 1900, if the publisher has offices in more than one country, or if the publisher is unknown in North America.

Book with One Author

Gleick, James. Chaos: Making a New Science . Penguin, 1987.

Henley, Patricia. The Hummingbird House . MacMurray, 1999.

Book with More Than One Author

When a book has two authors, order the authors in the same way they are presented in the book. Start by listing the first name that appears on the book in last name, first name format; subsequent author names appear in normal order (first name last name format).

Gillespie, Paula, and Neal Lerner. The Allyn and Bacon Guide to Peer Tutoring . Allyn and Bacon, 2000.

If there are three or more authors, list only the first author followed by the phrase et al. (Latin for "and others") in place of the subsequent authors' names. (Note that there is a period after “al” in “et al.” Also note that there is never a period after the “et” in “et al.”).

Wysocki, Anne Frances, et al. Writing New Media: Theory and Applications for Expanding the Teaching of Composition . Utah State UP, 2004.

Two or More Books by the Same Author

List works alphabetically by title. (Remember to ignore articles like A, An, and The.) Provide the author’s name in last name, first name format for the first entry only. For each subsequent entry by the same author, use three hyphens and a period.

Palmer, William J. Dickens and New Historicism . St. Martin's, 1997.

---. The Films of the Eighties: A Social History . Southern Illinois UP, 1993.

Book by a Corporate Author or Organization

A corporate author may include a commission, a committee, a government agency, or a group that does not identify individual members on the title page.

List the names of corporate authors in the place where an author’s name typically appears at the beginning of the entry.

American Allergy Association. Allergies in Children . Random House, 1998.

When the author and publisher are the same, skip the author, and list the title first. Then, list the corporate author only as the publisher.

Fair Housing—Fair Lending. Aspen Law & Business, 1985.

Book with No Author

List by title of the book. Incorporate these entries alphabetically just as you would with works that include an author name. For example, the following entry might appear between entries of works written by Dean, Shaun and Forsythe, Jonathan.

Encyclopedia of Indiana . Somerset, 1993.

Remember that for an in-text (parenthetical) citation of a book with no author, you should provide the name of the work in the signal phrase and the page number in parentheses. You may also use a shortened version of the title of the book accompanied by the page number. For more information see the In-text Citations for Print Sources with No Known Author section of In-text Citations: The Basics .

A Translated Book

If you want to emphasize the work rather than the translator, cite as you would any other book. Add “translated by” and follow with the name(s) of the translator(s).

Foucault, Michel. Madness and Civilization: A History of Insanity in the Age of Reason . Translated by Richard Howard, Vintage-Random House, 1988.

If you want to focus on the translation, list the translator as the author. In place of the author’s name, the translator’s name appears. His or her name is followed by the label, “translator.” If the author of the book does not appear in the title of the book, include the name, with a “By” after the title of the book and before the publisher. Note that this type of citation is less common and should only be used for papers or writing in which translation plays a central role.

Howard, Richard, translator. Madness and Civilization: A History of Insanity in the Age of Reason . By Michel Foucault, Vintage-Random House, 1988.

Republished Book

Books may be republished due to popularity without becoming a new edition. New editions are typically revisions of the original work. For books that originally appeared at an earlier date and that have been republished at a later one, insert the original publication date before the publication information.

For books that are new editions (i.e. different from the first or other editions of the book), see An Edition of a Book below.

Butler, Judith. Gender Trouble . 1990. Routledge, 1999.

Erdrich, Louise. Love Medicine . 1984. Perennial-Harper, 1993.

An Edition of a Book

There are two types of editions in book publishing: a book that has been published more than once in different editions and a book that is prepared by someone other than the author (typically an editor).

A Subsequent Edition

Cite the book as you normally would, but add the number of the edition after the title.

Crowley, Sharon, and Debra Hawhee. Ancient Rhetorics for Contemporary Students . 3rd ed., Pearson, 2004.

A Work Prepared by an Editor

Cite the book as you normally would, but add the editor after the title with the label "edited by."

Bronte, Charlotte. Jane Eyre,  edited by Margaret Smith, Oxford UP, 1998.

Note that the format for citing sources with important contributors with editor-like roles follows the same basic template:

...adapted by John Doe...

Finally, in the event that the source features a contributor that cannot be described with a past-tense verb and the word "by" (e.g., "edited by"), you may instead use a noun followed by a comma, like so:

...guest editor, Jane Smith...

Anthology or Collection (e.g. Collection of Essays)

To cite the entire anthology or collection, list by editor(s) followed by a comma and "editor" or, for multiple editors, "editors." This sort of entry is somewhat rare. If you are citing a particular piece within an anthology or collection (more common), see A Work in an Anthology, Reference, or Collection below.

Hill, Charles A., and Marguerite Helmers, editors. Defining Visual Rhetorics . Lawrence Erlbaum Associates, 2004.

Peterson, Nancy J., editor. Toni Morrison: Critical and Theoretical Approaches . Johns Hopkins UP, 1997.

A Work in an Anthology, Reference, or Collection

Works may include an essay in an edited collection or anthology, or a chapter of a book. The basic form is for this sort of citation is as follows:

Last name, First name. "Title of Essay." Title of Collection , edited by Editor's Name(s), Publisher, Year, Page range of entry.

Some examples:

Harris, Muriel. "Talk to Me: Engaging Reluctant Writers." A Tutor's Guide: Helping Writers One to One , edited by Ben Rafoth, Heinemann, 2000, pp. 24-34.

Swanson, Gunnar. "Graphic Design Education as a Liberal Art: Design and Knowledge in the University and The 'Real World.'" The Education of a Graphic Designer , edited by Steven Heller, Allworth Press, 1998, pp. 13-24.

Note on Cross-referencing Several Items from One Anthology: If you cite more than one essay from the same edited collection, MLA indicates you may cross-reference within your works cited list in order to avoid writing out the publishing information for each separate essay. You should consider this option if you have several references from a single text. To do so, include a separate entry for the entire collection listed by the editor's name as below:

Rose, Shirley K, and Irwin Weiser, editors. The Writing Program Administrator as Researcher . Heinemann, 1999.

Then, for each individual essay from the collection, list the author's name in last name, first name format, the title of the essay, the editor's last name, and the page range:

L'Eplattenier, Barbara. "Finding Ourselves in the Past: An Argument for Historical Work on WPAs." Rose and Weiser, pp. 131-40.

Peeples, Tim. "'Seeing' the WPA With/Through Postmodern Mapping." Rose and Weiser, pp. 153-67.

Please note: When cross-referencing items in the works cited list, alphabetical order should be maintained for the entire list.

Poem or Short Story Examples :

Burns, Robert. "Red, Red Rose." 100 Best-Loved Poems, edited by Philip Smith, Dover, 1995, p. 26.

Kincaid, Jamaica. "Girl." The Vintage Book of Contemporary American Short Stories , edited by Tobias Wolff, Vintage, 1994, pp. 306-07.

If the specific literary work is part of the author's own collection (all of the works have the same author), then there will be no editor to reference:

Whitman, Walt. "I Sing the Body Electric." Selected Poems, Dover, 1991, pp. 12-19.

Carter, Angela. "The Tiger's Bride." Burning Your Boats: The Collected Stories, Penguin, 1995, pp. 154-69.

Article in a Reference Book (e.g. Encyclopedias, Dictionaries)

For entries in encyclopedias, dictionaries, and other reference works, cite the entry name as you would any other work in a collection but do not include the publisher information. Also, if the reference book is organized alphabetically, as most are, do not list the volume or the page number of the article or item.

"Ideology." The American Heritage Dictionary.  3rd ed. 1997. 

A Multivolume Work

When citing only one volume of a multivolume work, include the volume number after the work's title, or after the work's editor or translator.

Quintilian. Institutio Oratoria . Translated by H. E. Butler, vol. 2, Loeb-Harvard UP, 1980.

When citing more than one volume of a multivolume work, cite the total number of volumes in the work. Also, be sure in your in-text citation to provide both the volume number and page number(s) ( see "Citing Multivolume Works" on our in-text citations resource .)

Quintilian. Institutio Oratoria . Translated by H. E. Butler, Loeb-Harvard UP, 1980. 4 vols.

If the volume you are using has its own title, cite the book without referring to the other volumes as if it were an independent publication.

Churchill, Winston S. The Age of Revolution . Dodd, 1957.

An Introduction, Preface, Foreword, or Afterword

When citing an introduction, a preface, a foreword, or an afterword, write the name of the author(s) of the piece you are citing. Then give the name of the part being cited, which should not be italicized or enclosed in quotation marks; in italics, provide the name of the work and the name of the author of the introduction/preface/foreword/afterword. Finish the citation with the details of publication and page range.

Farrell, Thomas B. Introduction. Norms of Rhetorical Culture , by Farrell, Yale UP, 1993, pp. 1-13.

If the writer of the piece is different from the author of the complete work , then write the full name of the principal work's author after the word "By." For example, if you were to cite Hugh Dalziel Duncan’s introduction of Kenneth Burke’s book Permanence and Change, you would write the entry as follows:

Duncan, Hugh Dalziel. Introduction. Permanence and Change: An Anatomy of Purpose, by Kenneth Burke, 1935, 3rd ed., U of California P, 1984, pp. xiii-xliv.

Book Published Before 1900

Original copies of books published before 1900 are usually defined by their place of publication rather than the publisher. Unless you are using a newer edition, cite the city of publication where you would normally cite the publisher.

Thoreau, Henry David. Excursions . Boston, 1863.

Italicize “The Bible” and follow it with the version you are using. Remember that your in-text (parenthetical citation) should include the name of the specific edition of the Bible, followed by an abbreviation of the book, the chapter and verse(s). (See Citing the Bible at In-Text Citations: The Basics .)

The Bible. Authorized King James Version , Oxford UP, 1998.

The Bible. The New Oxford Annotated Version , 3rd ed., Oxford UP, 2001.

The New Jerusalem Bible. Edited by Susan Jones, Doubleday, 1985.

A Government Publication

Cite the author of the publication if the author is identified. Otherwise, start with the name of the national government, followed by the agency (including any subdivisions or agencies) that serves as the organizational author. For congressional documents, be sure to include the number of the Congress and the session when the hearing was held or resolution passed as well as the report number. US government documents are typically published by the Government Printing Office.

United States, Congress, Senate, Committee on Energy and Natural Resources. Hearing on the Geopolitics of Oil . Government Printing Office, 2007. 110th Congress, 1st session, Senate Report 111-8.

United States, Government Accountability Office. Climate Change: EPA and DOE Should Do More to Encourage Progress Under Two Voluntary Programs . Government Printing Office, 2006.

Cite the title and publication information for the pamphlet just as you would a book without an author. Pamphlets and promotional materials commonly feature corporate authors (commissions, committees, or other groups that does not provide individual group member names). If the pamphlet you are citing has no author, cite as directed below. If your pamphlet has an author or a corporate author, put the name of the author (last name, first name format) or corporate author in the place where the author name typically appears at the beginning of the entry. (See also Books by a Corporate Author or Organization above.)

Women's Health: Problems of the Digestive System . American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists, 2006.

Your Rights Under California Welfare Programs . California Department of Social Services, 2007.

Dissertations and Master's Theses

Dissertations and master's theses may be used as sources whether published or not. Unlike previous editions, MLA 8 specifies no difference in style for published/unpublished works.

The main elements of a dissertation citation are the same as those for a book: author name(s), title (italicized) , and publication date. Conclude with an indication of the document type (e.g., "PhD dissertation"). The degree-granting institution may be included before the document type (though this is not required). If the dissertation was accessed through an online repository, include it as the second container after all the other elements.

Bishop, Karen Lynn. Documenting Institutional Identity: Strategic Writing in the IUPUI Comprehensive Campaign . 2002. Purdue University, PhD dissertation.

Bile, Jeffrey. Ecology, Feminism, and a Revised Critical Rhetoric: Toward a Dialectical Partnership . 2005. Ohio University, PhD dissertation.

Mitchell, Mark. The Impact of Product Quality Reducing Events on the Value of Brand-Name Capital: Evidence from Airline Crashes and the 1982 Tylenol Poisonings.  1987. PhD dissertation.  ProQuest Dissertations and Theses.

List the names of corporate authors in the place where an author’s name typically appears at the beginning of the entry if the author and publisher are not the same.

Fair Housing—Fair Lending. Aspen Law & Business, 1985.

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• Knowledge Base
• How to cite a website in MLA

How to Cite a Website in MLA | Format & Examples

Published on July 17, 2019 by Shona McCombes . Revised on March 5, 2024.

An MLA website citation includes the author’s name , the title of the page (in quotation marks), the name of the website (in italics), the publication date , and the URL (without “https://”).

If the author is unknown, start with the title of the page instead. If the publication date is unknown, or if the content is likely to change over time, add an access date at the end instead.

Websites don’t usually have page numbers, so the in-text citation is just the author name in parentheses. If you already named the author in your sentence, you don’t need to add a parenthetical citation.

You can also use our free MLA Citation Generator to effortlessly create website citations.

Generate accurate MLA citations with Scribbr

The format differs for other types of online content, such as YouTube videos , TED Talks , and podcasts .

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Table of contents

Citing online articles, citing web pages with no author or date, citing an entire website, publishers in mla website citations, frequently asked questions about mla style.

The format for citing an article from an online newspaper , magazine, or blog is the same as a general web page citation. If the article is a PDF of a print article, the format differs slightly .

Write the article title in title case (all major words capitalized). Use the most recent publication date on the page, including the day, month, and year if available.

Note, however, that a different format is used when citing online articles from academic journals.

Learn how to cite journal articles in MLA

Prevent plagiarism. Run a free check.

If no author is credited, leave out this element, and start with the title of the page or article instead.

Use a shortened version of the title in your in-text citation. The shortened title must match the first words of your Works Cited entry.

If no publication date is available, leave out this element, and include the date on which you accessed the page at the end.

Note that a specific format exists for citing online dictionary entries .

If you cite a whole website, there is usually no named author, so the Works Cited entry begins with the name of the website in italics.

If the website has a publication or copyright date (usually found in the footer), include this; if not, add the date when you accessed the website at the end of the citation.

When should you cite a whole website?

Most of the time, you should cite the specific page or article where you found the information. However, you might have to cite the entire website if you are giving a general overview of its content, referring only to the homepage, or quoting text that appears on many different pages across the site (such as a company’s slogan).

If you cite multiple pages or articles from the same website, you should include a separate Works Cited entry for each one.

If the publisher is the same as the name of the website, you leave it out of the citation to avoid repetition.

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If a source has no author, start the MLA Works Cited entry with the source title . Use a shortened version of the title in your MLA in-text citation .

If a source has no page numbers, you can use an alternative locator (e.g. a chapter number, or a timestamp for a video or audio source) to identify the relevant passage in your in-text citation. If the source has no numbered divisions, cite only the author’s name (or the title).

If you already named the author or title in your sentence, and there is no locator available, you don’t need a parenthetical citation:

• Rajaram  argues that representations of migration are shaped by “cultural, political, and ideological interests.”
• The homepage of The Correspondent describes it as “a movement for radically different news.”

If a source has two authors, name both authors in your MLA in-text citation and Works Cited entry. If there are three or more authors, name only the first author, followed by et al.

Yes. MLA style uses title case, which means that all principal words (nouns, pronouns , verbs, adjectives , adverbs , and some conjunctions ) are capitalized.

This applies to titles of sources as well as the title of, and subheadings in, your paper. Use MLA capitalization style even when the original source title uses different capitalization .

The title of an article is not italicized in MLA style , but placed in quotation marks. This applies to articles from journals , newspapers , websites , or any other publication. Use italics for the title of the source where the article was published. For example:

Use the same formatting in the Works Cited entry and when referring to the article in the text itself.

The fastest and most accurate way to create MLA citations is by using Scribbr’s MLA Citation Generator .

Search by book title, page URL, or journal DOI to automatically generate flawless citations, or cite manually using the simple citation forms.

Cite this Scribbr article

If you want to cite this source, you can copy and paste the citation or click the “Cite this Scribbr article” button to automatically add the citation to our free Citation Generator.

McCombes, S. (2024, March 05). How to Cite a Website in MLA | Format & Examples. Scribbr. Retrieved September 23, 2024, from https://www.scribbr.com/mla/website-citation/

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