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MLA Style Quick Reference Guide

MLA 9th Edition formatting at a glance

Color-Coded Legend

Author= Blue
Title= Green
Date= Orange
Publisher= Purple
URL= Indigo

Source Types

Website Citation

Website

Format Pattern

Last Name, First Name. "Title of Page." Site Name, Day Month Year, www.example.com. Accessed Day Month Year.

Example

Smith, John. "How to Cite Websites in MLA Format." Citation Guide, 15 Mar. 2023, www.citationguide.com/mla-websites. Accessed 20 Nov. 2024.

Notes

  • Article titles in quotation marks
  • Website name in italics
  • Access date required for web sources
  • Omit http:// or https:// from URLs

Book Citation

Book

Format Pattern

Last Name, First Name. Title of Book. Publisher, Year.

Example

Brown, Thomas. Academic Writing Essentials. Oxford UP, 2022.

Notes

  • Book titles are italicized
  • Use abbreviated publisher names (e.g., "UP" for "University Press")
  • Include edition if not the first

Journal Article Citation

Journal Article

Format Pattern

Last Name, First Name. "Title of Article." Journal Name, vol. Volume, no. Issue, Year, pp. pages.

Example

Johnson, Maria. "The Impact of Citation Management on Research Productivity." Journal of Academic Research, vol. 15, no. 3, 2023, pp. 234-250.

Notes

  • Article title in quotation marks
  • Journal name in italics
  • Use "vol." and "no." abbreviations
  • Include DOI or URL if accessed online

Video Citation

Video

Format Pattern

"Title of Video." Uploaded by Channel Name, Day Month Year, www.example.com.

Example

"The Power of Effective Communication." Uploaded by TED, 10 Jan. 2023, www.youtube.com/watch?v=example.

Notes

  • Video title in quotation marks
  • Include "Uploaded by" for online videos
  • Platform name can be included after URL

Image Citation

Image

Format Pattern

Creator Last Name, First Name. Title of Image. Year, Source, www.example.com.

Example

Smith, Peter. Mountain Landscape. 2022, Unsplash, unsplash.com/photos/example.

Notes

  • Image title in italics
  • Include medium if relevant (Photograph, Painting, etc.)
  • For museum works, include location

Report Citation

Report

Format Pattern

Author Name. Title of Report. Publisher, Year.

Example

National Institute of Health. Annual Health Statistics Report. U.S. Department of Health, 2023.

Notes

  • Report title in italics
  • Include report number if available
  • Government agencies often serve as both author and publisher

Conference Paper Citation

Conference Paper

Format Pattern

Last Name, First Name. "Title of Paper." Conference Name, Day Month Year, Location.

Example

Lee, Karen. "Advances in Citation Technology." International Conference on Academic Writing, 15-17 June 2023, Boston.

Notes

  • Paper title in quotation marks
  • Conference name in italics
  • Include full date range if applicable

Newspaper Article Citation

Newspaper

Format Pattern

Last Name, First Name. "Title of Article." Newspaper Name, Day Month Year, pp. pages.

Example

Williams, Sarah. "New Study Reveals Importance of Proper Citations." The New York Times, 20 Feb. 2023, pp. A1+.

Notes

  • Article title in quotation marks
  • Newspaper name in italics
  • Include page numbers for print articles
  • Use "+" if article continues on non-consecutive pages

Common MLA Mistakes to Avoid

❌ Incorrect Name Format

Wrong: J. Smith

Correct: Smith, John

❌ Wrong Container Format

Wrong: "Journal of Research" (in quotes)

Correct: Journal of Research (in italics)

❌ Incorrect Date Format

Wrong: March 15, 2023

Correct: 15 Mar. 2023 (day-month-year, abbreviated month)

❌ Including URL Protocols

Wrong: https://www.example.com

Correct: www.example.com

❌ Wrong Punctuation

Wrong: Smith, John, "Title." Journal. 2023

Correct: Smith, John. "Title." Journal, 2023.

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