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MLA Citation Guide (9th Edition): Welcome

What is MLA?

MLA style was created by the Modern Language Association of America. It is a set of rules for publications, including research papers.

There are two parts to MLA: In-text citations and the Works Cited list.

In MLA, you must "cite" sources that you have paraphrased, quoted or otherwise used to write your research paper. Cite your sources in two places:

  1. In the body of your paper where you add a brief in-text citation.
  2. In the Works Cited list at the end of your paper where you give more complete information for the source.

Core Elements of an MLA Citation

MLA 9th edition provides 9 core elements to complete any works cited entry. It is your job to try to fill in these core elements with the information you have about a source. If any element is missing or not applicable, you can skip that element.

The 9 Core Elements

(1) Author.
(2) “Title of Source.”
(3) Title of Container,
(4) Other contributors,
(5) Version, 
(6) Number, 
(7) Publisher,
(8) Publication date,
(9) Location.

Notes:

For sources that are part of a larger work, you include core element (2) “Title of Source.”
​        ( e.g. journal articles from a journal, essays or chapters from a book, webpages from a website)

For sources that are self-contained, you skip core element (2).
        (e.g. books, websites, or journals)

Other contributors includes people such as editors, translators, or directors.

 

Example 1. A source found within a larger work (a journal article)

Puspadewi, Natalia. "Defining Undergraduate Medical Students' Physician Identity: Learning from Indonesian Experience." Asia Pacific Scholar, vol. 9, no. 2, 2024, pp. 18-27. Academic Search Ultimate, https://doi.org/10.29060/TAPS.2024-9-2/OA3098.

(1) Puspadewi, Natalia.
(2) "Defining Undergraduate Medical Students' Physician Identity: Learning from Indonesian Experience."
(3) Asia Pacific Scholar,
(4)
(5)
(6) vol. 9, no. 2,
(7)
(8) 2024,
(9) pp. 18-27.

Example 2. A self-contained source (a book)

The Squamish Nation. Tiná7 Cht Ti Temíxw: We Come From This Land: A Walk Through the History of the Squamish People. Page Two, 2024.

(1) The Squamish Nation.
(2)
(3) Tiná7 Cht Ti Temíxw: We Come From This Land: A Walk Through the History of the Squamish People.
(4)
(5) 
(6)
(7) Page Two,
(8) 2024. 
(9)

Note on Publisher Information: 

According to p. 165 of the MLA Handbook, you don’t need to include publisher information for:

  • periodicals (journals, magazines, newspapers)
  • works published by an author or editor
  • web sites whose title is the same as the name of the publisher
  • a web site not involved in producing the work it makes (e.g. user-generated content sites like YouTube)

Commonly Used Terms

Access Date: The date you last looked at a source. Do not provide an access date for sources from library databases. Access dates should be added to the end of citations for online sources that lack a publication date, or if a publication has been removed or appears to have been altered.

Citation: The details about one source you are citing.

Citing: The process of acknowledging the sources of your information and ideas.

In-Text Citation: A brief note in your paper or essay at the point where you use information from a source to indicate where the information came from. An in-text citation should always match more detailed information that is available in the Works Cited List.

Paraphrasing: Taking information that you have read and putting it into your own words.

Plagiarism: Taking the ideas or words of another person and using them as your own.

Quoting: Copying words of text originally published elsewhere. Direct quotations generally appear in quotation marks and end with a citation.

Works Cited List: Contains details on ALL the sources cited in a text or essay, and supports your research and/or premise.

MLA Citation Guide QR Code

Use this QR code to quickly access this guide on your phone.

What Kind of Source Is This?

Sample Paper & Works Cited List

This sample paper includes a sample assignment page with an example of how to include your student information and a Works Cited list in MLA format.

It can be used as a template to set up your assignment.

MLA Interactive Practice Template

Do You Need Citation Help?

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Note

This citation guide is based on the MLA Handbook (9th ed.). The contents are accurate to the best of our knowledge.

Seneca College Libraries

This guide is used/adapted with the permission of Seneca College Libraries. For information please contact lcc@senecacollege.ca.

Note: When copying this guide, please retain this box.