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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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