MLA (9th ed.) Citation Style: Paper Format/Guidelines

This is a list of all the sources you have used to research your paper.

1. The list of works cited appears on a separate page at the end of the essay. It is titled (centred, no quotation marks, no underline, no bolding):

   Works Cited

2. The list is arranged alphabetically by the part of the name, title, or description beginning the entry; ignore initial articles (A, An, The, et cetera) (MLA Handbook 219).

3. After the first line each entry is indented ½ inch or 5 spaces from the left margin. This is called a hanging indent.  

4. Each entry presents information in a specific order: the author’s name, the title, the publication information.

5. Double-space the entire list, both between and within entries.

6. If a book does not give the publisher or the date of publication, then give what information you might know in square brackets [ ].

7. Each citation in a works cited list ends with a period.

8. Citations that appear in the Works Cited list must have a matching in-text citation in your assignment. 

9. With a few exceptions, the punctuation for citations in the Works Cited list is limited to commas and periods. Periods are used after the author, after the title of the source, at the end of the information for each container, and at the end of each entry. Commas are used in the author's name and between elements within each container.

1. Core Elements

Similar to the 8th edition, the 9th edition offers a simplified approach as one citation format can be used for all source types.  The 9th edition identifies and focuses on the nine core elements common to most sources:

1. Author.
2. Title of Source.
3. Title of Container,
4. Contributor,
5. Version,
6. Number,
7. Publisher,
8. Publication Date, 
9. Location.

It is very flexible and offers guidelines on how to reference each of them. "Omit any element that does not apply except the Title of the Source. If no title is given, use your own description of the work as the title" (MLA Handbook 105).

Abbreviations

• The 9th edition provides a short list of recommended common academic abbreviations (MLA Handbook 294-295).

Authors

• When a source has three or more authors, et al. is used after the first author (MLA Handbook 112).
• If a name is listed on the resource with the surname first (common in some languages, including Chinese, Japanese, and Korean), do not reverse the name in the works-cited list and do not use a comma (MLA Handbook 113).

Books and Other Printed Works

• In the Works Cited list, page numbers are preceded by p. (single page) or pp. (multiple pages) (MLA Handbook 193).
• The place of publication is no longer given for books except in special circumstances, such as books published before 1900 or books that may have different versions depending on where they were published (e.g.: British version compared to American version) (MLA Handbook 173).
• Provide the publishers full name but:
  • Omit business words such as Company (Co.), Corporation (Corp.), Incorporated (Inc.) and Limited (Ltd.). 
  • Omit initial articles (e.g. The)
  • Replace University Press with UP (MLA Handbook 172)

Journals

• Volume and issue numbers of scholarly journals are labeled as vol. and no. (MLA Handbook 39-40).
• Cite the DOI (digital object identifier) if one is available (preceded by http://doi.org/ or https://doi.org/)  (MLA Handbook 194).

Inclusive Language

• choose gender-neutral and non-judgmental terms whenever possible, minimize pronouns that exclude. (MLA Handbook 89-93).

Online Works

• When including a URL, copy it in full from your browser. Omit a query string when possible (MLA Handbook 195).
• The date a webpage was accessed is now optional  should...be provided if the work lacks a publication date" or if the work is likely to be revised or deleted (MLA Handbook 211).

Punctuation

• Conclude each element with the punctuation mark shown above (period or comma) (MLA Handbook 105).
• End every entry with a period (MLA Handbook 105).