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MLA newspaper article citation
The MLA 9th edition format for a newspaper article, a finished example, and a generator below that fills it in for you.
Author Last, First. “Title of Article.” Newspaper Name, Day Mon. Year, URL or p. X.
Woodward, Bob, and Carl Bernstein. “GOP Security Aide among Five Arrested in Bugging Affair.” Washington Post, 19 June 1972, p. A1.
Parenthetical: (Woodward and Bernstein)
Watch out: Leave out an initial “The” in the newspaper name (Washington Post) and abbreviate months longer than four letters.
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Formatting runs in your browser. Auto-fill uses Crossref (DOI), Open Library and Google Books (ISBN) and the page’s own metadata (URL). Always check against the source.
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Tips for citing a newspaper article
- Use the full date: APA writes (1972, June 19); MLA writes 19 June 1972; Chicago writes June 19, 1972.
- APA 7 treats a news website without a print edition (like BBC News) as a web page, with the site name in plain text.
- For a print article, give the page number instead of the URL: p. A1 in MLA and Harvard; APA 7 adds the page only for print-only articles.
- MLA drops an initial “The” from a newspaper name (Washington Post); APA keeps the name as printed.
See this source in all four styles side by side: how to cite a newspaper article. For the rest of the paper, read the MLA format guide.
MLA newspaper article citation questions
What is the MLA format for a newspaper article?
Author Last, First. “Title of Article.” Newspaper Name, Day Mon. Year, URL or p. X.
What do students most often get wrong?
Leave out an initial “The” in the newspaper name (Washington Post) and abbreviate months longer than four letters.
What if a news article has no author?
Start with the headline. In APA the in-text citation uses a shortened headline in quotation marks with the year.
Should I cite the print or online version?
Cite the one you read. Online versions often have a different headline or date from the print edition.
Is a magazine article cited the same way?
Almost. Magazines often have volume and issue numbers; add them like a journal article, and use the month for monthly titles.