how to do mla format on websites

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MLA Style (9th Edition) Citation Guide: Websites

• Introduction to MLA Style
• Journal Articles
• Magazine/Newspaper Articles
• Books & Ebooks
• Government & Legal Documents
• Biblical Sources
• Secondary Sources
• Videos/DVDs/TV Shows
• How to Cite: Other
• 9th Edition Updates
• Additional Help

Table of Contents

Entire website - no separate pages or sections, page or section from a website.

Note: For your Works Cited list, all citations should be double spaced and have a hanging indent.

A "hanging indent" means that each subsequent line after the first line of your citation should be indented by 0.5 inches.

It can sometimes be difficult to find out who the author of a website is. Remember that an author can be a corporation or group, not only a specific person. Author information can sometimes be found under an "About" section on a website.

If there is no known author, start the citation with the title of the website instead.

The best date to use for a website is the date that the content was last updated. Otherwise look for a copyright or original publication date. Unfortunately this information may not be provided or may be hard to find. Often date information is put on the bottom of the pages of a website.

If you do not know the complete date, put as much information as you can find. For example you may have a year but no month or day. If the source does not include a copyright/last modified date, then omit the date and include an access date in your citation instead.

Access Date

Date of access is optional in MLA 8th/9th edition; it is recommended for pages that may change frequently or that do not have a copyright/publication date.

In your works cited list, abbreviate months as follows: 

January = Jan. February = Feb. March = Mar. April = Apr. May = May June = June July = July August = Aug. September = Sept. October = Oct. November = Nov. December = Dec.

Spell out months fully in the body of your paper. 

Author, or compiler name (if available).  Title of Website,  Name of Organization Affiliated with the Website, Date of copyright or date last modified/updated, URL. Accessed access date.

Works Cited List Example:

Mabillard, Amanda.  Shakespeare Online,  29 Dec. 2011, www.shakespeare-online.com. Accessed 6 July 2016.

In-Text Citation Example:

(Author's Last Name)

(Mabillard)

Note: In this example, the name of the organization affiliated with the website is omitted since it is the same as the website title.

Created by an Unknown Author, or the Author is the same as the Website Title/Publisher

 "Title of Section."  Title of Website,  Publisher or Sponsoring Organization, Date of publication or last modified date, URL. Accessed Date Month (abbreviated) Year.

Note: The publisher or sponsoring organization can often be found in a copyright notice at the bottom of the home page or on a page that gives information about the site . If the website publisher is the same as the author and title of the web site , then include only the title of the web site. 

“ Athlete's Foot - Topic Overview.”  WebMD, 25 Sept. 2014, www.webmd.com/skin-problems-and-treatments/tc/athletes-foot-topic-overview.

("Title of Section")

(“Athlete's Foot - Topic Overview”)

Created by a Known Author

Author's Last Name, First Name. "Title of Page or Document."  Title of Website,  Publisher or Sponsoring Organization, Date of copyright or date last modified/updated, URL. Accessed Date Month (abbreviated) Year.

Morin, Amy. "How to Prevent the Media From Damaging Your Teen's Body Image."  Verywell Family,  About Inc., 6 Oct. 2019, www.verywellfamily.com/media-and-teens-body-image-2611245. Accessed 1 Nov. 2019.

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• Skill Guides
• Subject Guides

MLA Citation Guide (MLA 9th Edition): Websites

• Understanding Core Elements
• Formatting Appendices and Works Cited List
• Writing an Annotated Bibliography
• Academic Honesty and Citation
• In-Text Citation
• Charts, Graphs, Images, and Tables
• Class Notes and Presentations
• Encyclopedias and Dictionaries
• Generative AI
• In Digital Assignments
• Interviews and Emails
• Journal and Magazine Articles
• Newspaper Articles
• Social Media
• Special Collections
• Videos and DVDs
• When Information Is Missing
• Citation Software

General Guidelines

The basic guideline for citing a website is:

Author's Last Name, First Name. Title of Website,  Name of Organization Affiliated with the Website, Date of copyright or date last modified/updated, URL. Accessed access date (optional).

Mabillard, Amanda.  Shakespeare Online,  29 Dec. 2011,  www.shakespeare-online.com . Accessed 6 July 2016.

An author can be a corporation or group, not only a specific person. Author information can sometimes be found under an "About" section on a website. It can be difficult to find out who the author is and sometimes one is not listed. If there is no known author, use the title of the website in place of an author's name.

The best date to use for a website is the date that the content was last updated. Otherwise look for a copyright or original publication date. Unfortunately this information may not be provided or may be hard to find. Often date information is put on the bottom of the pages of a website.

If you do not know the complete date, put as much information as you can find. For example you may have a year but no month or day.

Specific Page or Document on Website

Author's Last Name, First Name. "Title of Page or Document." Title of Website,  Name of Organization Affiliated with the Website, Date of copyright or date last modified/updated, URL.

(Author's Last Name).

Poncelet, Barbara. "Mom Am I Fat?: Helping Your Teen Have a Positive Body Image."  Verywell.com,  About Inc., 20 Apr. 2016, www.verywell.com/mom-am-i-fat-3200843.

Unknown Author

When there is no known author, begin with the title of the page, document or website.

"Title of Page or Document." Title of Website,  Name of Organization Affiliated with the Website, Date of copyright or date last modified/updated, URL. 

("Title of Page or Document")

"How to Teach Yourself Guitar." eHow,  Demand Media, www.ehow.com/how_5298173_teach-yourself-guitar.html.

(" How to Teach Yourself Guitar ")

Website Created by a Corporation, Institution, or Group

Name of Corporation/Group/Organization. "Title of Section." Title of Website,  Publisher or Sponsoring Organization, Date of publication or last modified date, URL. Accessed access date.

"Audit and Assurance."  Chartered Professional Accountants Canada , 2016, www.cpacanada.ca/en/business-and-accounting-resources/audit-and-assurance. Accessed 6 July 2016.

 Note : The publisher or sponsoring organization can often be found in a copyright notice at the bottom of the home page or on a page that gives information about the site.  When the page is authored and published by the same corporation/group/organization, begin your citation with the section title.

 Note : The publisher may be omitted from the citation if the website title is essentially the same as the publisher name.

Looking for Something Else?

For information about Wikipedia, see the Encyclopedia and Dictionary page. 

For information about social media, see the Social Media page.

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• Next: When Information Is Missing >>

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MLA Website Citation

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How to cite a website in a bibliography using MLA

The most basic entry for a website consists of the author name(s), webpage title, website title, *sponsoring institution/publisher, publication date, and DOI or URL.

Author Last Name, First Name. “Webpage Title.” Website Title , *Sponsoring Institution/Publisher, Publication Date, DOI or URL.

Owoseje, Toyin. “Britney Spears Apologizes to Fans for ‘Pretending’ to be OK in her Conservatorship.” CNN , 25 June 2021, cnn.com/2021/06/25/entertainment/britney-spears-conservatorship-instagram-intl-scli/index.html.

*If the sponsoring institution or publisher’s name is the same as the website title, do not include it. MLA prefers to avoid duplicating information in citations.

The first author’s name should be reversed, with a comma after the last name, followed by a period after the first name (or any middle name). The name should not be abbreviated and should be written exactly as it appears on the website. Titles and affiliations associated with the author should generally be omitted. A suffix, such as a roman numeral or Jr./Sr. should appear after the author’s given name, preceded by a comma.

For a page with two or more authors, list them in the order they appear on the website. Only the first author’s name should be reversed, while the others are written in normal order. Separate author names by a comma, and place the word “and” before the last author’s name.

Sanchez, Ray, and Eric Levenson. “Derek Chauvin Sentenced to 22.5 Years in Death of George Floyd.” CNN , 25 June 2021, cnn.com/2021/06/25/us/derek-chauvin-sentencing-george-floyd/index.html.

For pages with three or more authors, reverse the first author’s name as described above and follow it with a comma and the abbreviation “et al.” Do not italicize “et al.” in parenthetical citations or works-cited list entries.

Rebaza, Claudia, et al. “John McAfee Was Not Suicidal, Says Widow of Antivirus Software Magnate.” CNN , 25 June 2021, cnn.com/2021/06/25/tech/john-mcafee-wife-janice-intl/index.html.

If the article was written by a news service or organization, include the name in the author position and remove any introductory articles (e.g.,  A, An, The) from the name.

Associated Press. “Obama Inaugurated as President.” CNN , 21 Jan. 2009, cnn.com/2009/01/21/politics/obama-inaugurated-as-president/index.html.

If no author is available, begin the citation with the webpage title.

“Obama Inaugurated as President.” CNN , 21 Jan. 2009, cnn.com/2009/01/21/politics/obama-inaugurated-as-president/index.html.

The webpage title should be placed within quotation marks. Place a period after the webpage title within the quotation marks. The webpage title is followed by the name of the larger website container in italics, and it’s usually followed by a comma and any additional information such as version, number, publisher, publication date, or URL. The punctuation before the version element varies depending on whether the webpage is part of a larger work or “container.” When it is part of a larger work, use a comma followed by the version. When it is a work that stands alone, use a period followed by the version.

Smith, John. “Obama Inaugurated as President.” CNN , Version 12.1.1., 21 Jan. 2009, cnn.com/2009/01/21/politics/obama-inaugurated-as-president/index.html.

Include the sponsoring institution or publisher with a comma after the website title (or version number, if available). The sponsoring institution/publisher can usually be found at the bottom of the website in the footer. You may omit the publisher’s name when there is no publisher or when the publisher name isn’t required (for example, when the publisher title matches the website title or the website doesn’t list the publisher responsible for producing the work).

Smith, John. “Obama Inaugurated as President.” CNN , 21 Jan. 2009, cnn.com/2009/01/21/politics/obama-inaugurated-as-president/index.html.

Next, state the publication date of the webpage.  In works-cited list entries, use only the day-month-year style. Month names should be abbreviated, except for May, June, and July, and followed by a period. In some cases, a specific date might not be available, and the date published may only be specific to a month or even year. Provide whatever date information is available. When using seasons in the date, lowercase the season (spring 2021 not Spring 2021). If there is no date available, you may omit the publication date element from your citation. However, you may wish to include an access date in the supplemental element slot after the URL.

Smith, John. “Obama Inaugurated as President.” CNN , cnn.com/2009/01/21/politics/obama-inaugurated-as-president/index.html.

Smith, John. “Obama Inaugurated as President.” CNN , cnn.com/2009/01/21/politics/obama-inaugurated-as-president/index.html. Accessed 21 Jan. 2021.

According to MLA’s 9th edition, updated in 2021, you may usually leave out http:// or https:// from URLs unless you want to hyperlink them or unless instructed otherwise. When in doubt, ask your instructor. If a DOI is available, use that instead of the URL. For DOIs, use http:// or https:// before the DOI: https://doi.org/xx.xxxx/xxx.xxxx.xxxx. Use a period after the DOI and the URL.

Smith, John. “Obama Inaugurated as President.” CNN , 21 Jan. 2009, https://doi.org/12.3456/789.1011.1213.

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For an online news source with more than two authors (3+), use “ et al ” after the first author to indicate “ and others ” in your works cited entry. With this format, you do not have to write all the authors’ names since you are indicating the same using “et al.”

Last Name, First Name1, et al. “Title of the article.” Title of the newspaper , Date of publication, URL.

Kamelion, North, et al. “How do Zebras stay awake in the forest amidst a scavenger hunt?” Taj Road Journal , 9 Aug. 2020, www.tajroadjournal.com/posts/253839.

If you have the same author as the first author in more than one entry, then distinguish these entries by listing two authors in the entries and using “et al” for the other authors.

If there is no author given for an online news source, then the in-text citation should include the first main word or words of the article title within the quotation marks. For example:

In a works-cited entry, you will include the article title, newspaper name, publication date, and URL. See below for the format and example.

“Article Title.” Newspaper , Date, URL.

“High Winds Blow Michigan Anglers, Ice Shanty about a Mile across Saginaw Bay.” Detroit Free Press , 2022 March 7, https://www.freep.com/story/news/local/michigan/2022/03/07/saginaw-bay-ice-shanty-winds/9411709002/.

Home / Guides / Citation Guides / MLA Format / MLA Citation Examples

MLA Citation Examples

Welcome to the EasyBib MLA Citation Guide! If you’ve landed on this page, you’re probably wondering what MLA citing is, or perhaps you need help creating an MLA citation or two. This page is fully stocked with the information you need to be an MLA citing machine.

While EasyBib isn’t officially affiliated with the Modern Language Association, we’ve included page numbers throughout this guide to demonstrate that the information on this page reflects the content from the official Handbook . Click here to learn more about the 9th edition of the handbook.

If you’re wondering, “What is MLA?” and are in need of some background information on the organization, take a peek at the Modern Language Association ’s site. You’ll find tons of handy information related to referencing and writing mechanics. 

Here’s a run-through of everything this page includes:

What’s an MLA citation?

• 3 or more authors

Organization authors

Using the EasyBib MLA Citation Generator

• Edited book
• Chapter in an edited book
• E-book from the Internet
• Online journal article
• Print journal article
• Online magazine
• Print magazine
• Online newspaper
• Print newspaper
• Online image
• Print image
• Images viewed in real life
• Online video
• Streamed show
• Streamed music
• Sheet music
• Social media examples

Any time a piece of information from another source is added into your MLA style paper, you must create two citations, or references, to show the reader where the information originated. One reference is placed in the written text of the paper, and the other is placed at the end of the project.

The reference that is placed in the written text of the paper, called an in-text citation , comes immediately next to any borrowed information. It provides a glimpse for the reader to see who the original author is and where the information was found. When creating in-text citations, it’s also important to know how to format page numbers in MLA .

Here’s an MLA example:

Lark knows how to handle life on the river: “I try to count the seconds before I hear the thunder, so I know how far the storm is, but I’m too rattled” (Wingate 12).

Check out the full EasyBib MLA in-text & parenthetical citations guide to learn more about styling these types of references.

The other type of reference, which we’ll call a full reference , is placed at the end of the project. It includes enough information about the source so the reader can locate the source themselves, if they choose to do so, whether online or at their library.

Here’s the full reference, which corresponds to the in-text citation above:

Wingate, Lisa. Before We Were Yours . Random House, 2017.

Notice that the beginning of the reference in the text, Wingate, corresponds with the first word in the full reference. This is very important! It allows for the reader to find the full reference on the MLA works cited page.

Wondering if you can create MLA footnotes instead? You sure can! However, in this style, it’s more common to use references in the text of your paper.

If it’s help with an APA in-text citation or APA parenthetical citation you’re after, you’re in luck! Our comprehensive guides are here for you!

Various types of styles

There are many different ways to style references, and following MLA’s guidelines are just one way to do so. Two other well-known and popular styles to structure references include APA and Chicago.

Your teacher probably told you which style to create your references in. If you were told to use a different style, such as APA or Chicago, here are some links to help you get started.

The EasyBib APA citations guide has everything you need to learn how to create references in this style. Or, if you’re looking for help with structuring the paper itself (spacing, font, margins, etc.), check out the EasyBib APA format page. If you need help with more styles , EasyBib always has your back, with thousands of styles available!

A Standard Formula

The great thing about MLA citations is that full references follow one standard formula. So, it doesn’t matter if you’re attempting to reference a book, newspaper article, or Facebook post, as almost every source type is structured the same way, following an MLA template.

Here’s a step-by-step guide that gives you the key to the secret sauce:

1. Who created the source?

Is your source written or created by an individual? If yes, place their name in reverse order, with a period at the end, like this:

Jackson, Michael.

If there are multiple individuals responsible for the work, place them in the order they’re shown on the source

Two Authors

Last Name, First Name, and First Name Last Name.

Owens, Michael, and Scott Abrahams.

Three or More Authors

According to page 112 of the Handbook , only include the first listed author’s name, in reverse order, followed by a comma, and omit all other names. Replace the additional names with the Latin phrase, et al.

Last Name, First Name, et al.

Preston, Rebekah, et al.

If an organization is responsible for the work, you may include the organization’s name. However, in many cases, an organization is listed as BOTH the author and publisher. When this is the case, you can leave the author out, start the citation with the source’s title, and include the organization name only as the publisher.

Dinosaur Facts . American Museum of Natural History, www.amnh.org/dinosaurs/dinosaur-facts.

2. What’s the title?

Sometimes there are two titles related to your source, and sometimes there’s only one.

If the source you’re referencing has two title parts, place the smaller part in quotation marks, followed by a period, and the larger part in italics, followed by a comma.

Think about the song, “Beat It,” by Michael Jackson. “Beat It” is the title of the song, but there’s another title too. The title of the album! The title of the album is Thriller.

Here’s how the two titles would be structured:

“Beat It.” Thriller ,

The album, Thriller , serves as the “container” for the song itself.

The term “ container ” is used extensively throughout the official guide. In addition to songs and albums, other types of titles and their containers can include:

• “Web Page Articles.” Websites ,
• “Book Chapters.” Titles of Books ,
• “Journal Articles.” Titles of Journals ,

…plus many more!

To make things even more interesting, there are times when there’s more than one container! Think about an episode of a television show. The television series is the first container, but if you watched it on a streaming site, the streaming site would be the second container.

If there are two containers , the second one is added at the end of the reference.

“The Miseducation of Lisa Simpson.” Performances by John Legend, Chrissy Teigen, and Zach Woods. The Simpsons , season 31, episode 12, Fox Broadcasting, 16 Feb. 2020. Hulu , www.hulu.com/simpsons/miseducation.

Let’s break that down:

• Container 2 : Hulu

There are times when two titles aren’t included in a reference. If, instead of referencing the song “Beat It,” you’re referencing the entire album, exclude the quotation marks. Only include the one title and place it in italics, without quotation marks.

Here’s how you would reference the entire album, rather than one song on the album:

Jackson, Michael. Thriller . Produced by Quincy Jones, Westlake Recording Studios, 1982.

For more on titles and containers, head to pages 134-145 of the official Handbook .

If you decide to use EasyBibs citation generator MLA creator, we’ll help you structure the titles and containers in just a few clicks!

3. Any other contributors?

If there are any other people, besides the author, who had a significant role, and you feel it would be helpful to include their name in the reference, this information is added after the title. Include their role and name in standard order, followed by a comma.

Produced by Quincy Jones,

For other types of sources, there may be other roles and individuals to highlight. Here are a few examples:

• Performance by Sid Caesar,
• Translated by Sarah Martin,
• Narrated by Rita Williams-Garcia,

4. Are you referencing a specific version?

Perhaps there is a specific edition of a book, song version, or movie cut. Include this information next, followed by a comma.

Google Play Exclusive Edition,

Other examples could include:

• Director’s cut,
• Unedited ed.,
• Instrumental version,

5. Got numbers?

Any numbers associated with the source, such as a volume and issue number, or episode number, are added next, followed by a comma.

For example, many journal articles have volume and issue numbers. Use vol. before the volume number and no. before the issue number.

vol. 2, no. 3,

Wondering what to exclude from your citations MLA paper? ISBN numbers! They’re never added into references.

6. Who published the source?

This information is added next in the reference, followed by a comma. Since the publisher listed is usually the formal name of a company or organization, use title case.

Random House,

Marvel Studios,

7. When was it published?

The date the source was published comes next, followed by a comma.

In the official Handbook , the references are displayed as Day Month Year. If the month is longer than 4 letters, abbreviate it.

4 Nov. 2019,

28 July 2015,

If you can’t find the source date, simply leave it out. Note: Some teachers want students to make a source with “no date” as “n.d.” If you’re unsure what your teacher wants, check in with them.

8. Where can you find the source?

The final component of the formula is the location.

• If the source was found online, this should be a website address. Make sure to omit https:// from the front of the string.
• It can be an actual location too, if the source is something you saw in a museum or elsewhere in real life.
• Or, it can also be a page number or page range.
• Always close out the reference with a period.

Now, let’s put all of the pieces together. Here’s what we come up with for our MLA citation example:

Jackson, Michael. “Beat It.” Thriller , produced by Quincy Jones, Google Play Exclusive Edition, Epic, 1982, play.google.com/store/music/album/Thriller?id=Bzs3hkvcyvinz5tkilucmmoqjhi&hl=en_US.

Example breakdown:

Some things to keep in mind:

1. It’s not necessary to include every piece to the puzzle. Only include the information that the reader would need in order to successfully locate the source themselves.

For example, in the Thriller example above, you’ll see there aren’t any specific numbers (besides the publication date) in the reference. Why? There aren’t any numbers associated with the source.

2. If you’re looking for help, the EasyBib MLA citation creator helps you develop your references. Give it a whirl! It’s free and easy to use! Nervous to try it out? Here’s a quick rundown on how to use it.

Reserve the precious time you have for researching and writing, rather than wrapping your head around MLA guidelines, rules, and structures. The EasyBib citing tool is here to help you easily create citations for all your papers and turn you into a citing, MLA machine!

Follow these steps:

• Find your source. We have over 50 types of sources to choose from.
• Our automatic generator (shown below) creates references using source data already available on the Internet. Simply type in a few key pieces of information about the source and click “Search.”
• Our manual form creates your references based on the information you enter. Fill out the form and click “Complete Citation.”
• The easy-to-follow directions guide you through the remainder of the process. Follow the steps on the screen and watch the magic happen in a few clicks and keystrokes!
• Copy and paste your completed reference into your project or export it to your document.

The EasyBib MLA format generator isn’t all that’s available. There are also tons of other nifty features, all available on our homepage, including an MLA title page maker and an innovative plagiarism checker ! That’s not all, there are many other thorough guides to help you with your referencing needs. Check out the EasyBib APA reference page , plus many more!

MLA citing is easier when you have visuals and examples to take a peek at. That’s why we’ve put together a list of the most common source types that students and scholars reference. If you’re trying to reference a book, newspaper article, website, or tweet, you’ll find the structures you need to get on the right track.

Pro tip: Don’t leave your references for the last minute! In your MLA outline or notes, keep track of the sources you use. This will help make the entire process easier for you! Some instructors may even have you complete an MLA annotated bibliography before writing your paper so that you can cite, organize, and become familiar with your sources in advance.

Below are examples for these sources:

If, instead, you need help with referencing an APA book citation , the linked guide walks you through the process!

EDITED BOOK

This information is located on page 112-113 of the official Handbook .

CHAPTER IN AN EDITED BOOK

E-BOOK FROM THE INTERNET

If you’re attempting to reference an e-book from an e-reader, such as a Nook or Kindle, use the EasyBib MLA citation generator. We’ll help you structure your e-book references in no time!

If you need more information on how to cite websites in MLA , check out the full-length EasyBib guide! Or, take the guesswork out of forming your references and try the EasyBib automatic MLA citation machine!

Need an APA citation website or help with another popular referencing style? EasyBib Plus may be exactly what you need.

ONLINE JOURNAL ARTICLE

To see an online journal example in action, check out the EasyBib MLA sample paper, which is discussed at the bottom of this guide. Also, don’t forget about the easy-to-use, EasyBib automatic generator. Stop typing into Google “citation maker MLA” and go to EasyBib.com instead!

PRINT JOURNAL ARTICLE

If it’s referencing an APA journal you’re after, click on the link for the informative EasyBib guide on the topic.

If you’re looking for an MLA citation maker to help you build your bibliography, try out the EasyBib MLA generator. Type in a few key pieces of information about your source and watch the magic happen!

ONLINE MAGAZINE

*In the above example, Natarajan’s article only sits on one page, so it’s unnecessary to include the page number in the reference in the text.

PRINT MAGAZINE

Print magazines are always fun to read, but know what else is a party? Brushing up on your grammar skills! Check out the thorough EasyBib grammar guides on adverb , determiner , and preposition pages!

ONLINE NEWSPAPER

*You do not need to include the city name in your citation if the city name is in the name of the newspaper or if it is a national or international newspaper.

**Since the above article is only on one page, it’s not necessary to include the page number in the text reference of your MLA style citation.

Need help? Use the EasyBib MLA citation machine, which guides you through the process of making newspaper references! Quit searching on Google for “how to MLA citation” and visit  EasyBib.com today!

PRINT NEWSPAPER

If your periodical article falls on nonconsecutive page numbers, add a plus sign after the first page number and omit the additional pages from any full references. Example: pp. B1+ (This information is located on page 193 in the official Handbook ). Don’t forget, the EasyBib citation machine MLA creator can help you structure all your citation information!

ONLINE IMAGE

If you’re still confused about referencing online images, give the EasyBib MLA format generator a whirl. In just a few clicks, you’ll have well-structured MLA citations!

PRINT IMAGE

If you’re looking to reference an image seen in a print book, use the structure below. Or, use the “Cartoon,” “Photo,” “Painting,” or “Map” forms found on the EasyBib MLA generator for citations.

In need of a citation machine MLA maker to help save some of your precious time? Try EasyBib’s generator. Head to the EasyBib homepage and start developing your references today!

IMAGE VIEWED IN REAL LIFE

If you viewed an image in real life, whether at a museum, on display in a building, or even on a billboard, this EasyBib MLA citation guide example includes the most common way to reference it.

ONLINE VIDEO

For the majority of online video references, the reference should start with the title of the video. The information about the account that uploaded the video should be included in the “Other Contributors” space.

For more on learning how to cite MLA timestamps, turn to page 250 in the official Handbook .

It’s common to see online videos featured in an annotated bibliography . Have a look at the useful guide to learn how to create one from scratch!

STREAMED SHOW

Streamed shows (sometimes called online or streamed “television shows”) are watched using a service such as Netflix, Hulu, Disney+, or another subscription streaming site.

If you accessed a streamed show through an app, the name of the app can be displayed at the end of the citation as “[ Name of Service ] app” instead of including the URL.

After you’re through binging on your favorite shows, give yourself some brain fuel by taking a glance at the EasyBib grammar guides. Take your writing up a notch with the guides on interjection , conjunction , and verb pages!

STREAMED MUSIC

*If you accessed a streamed song through an app, the name of the app can be displayed at the end of the citation as “[ Name of Service ] app” instead of including the URL.

Streamed music can be tricky to reference, especially with the wide variety of streaming services available on the web and through apps. Don’t worry, the EasyBib MLA citation maker can come in and save the day for you. Try it out now! To make it even easier, bookmark the EasyBib citation machine MLA maker for quick access!

SHEET MUSIC

*You can include the original composition date as supplemental information between the title and publisher. It may be helpful to include this information if the piece was composed much earlier than the sheet music you are citing or if the arrangement has significantly changed from the original.

SOCIAL MEDIA EXAMPLES

Notable individuals consistently share pictures, videos, and ideas on social media, which is why social media is often referenced in today’s research papers . If you’re looking to add a reference for Twitter, Facebook, Reddit, or Instagram in your MLA paper, check out the structures and examples below.

*When the account name and username are similar, the username can be excluded from the citation. For example, if the account’s username was @FirstNameLastName or @OrganizationName.

If the tweet is composed of just an image or video, create a description for it and do not place it in quotation marks. For example:

DJ Snake. Video of studio controls with music playing. Twitter , 11 Feb. 2020, twitter.com/djsnake/status/1227267455095123968.

Odds are, you could spend hours scrolling through Twitter to catch up on the latest news and gossip. Why not spend some time scrolling through the EasyBib grammar guides instead? Check out these informative noun and adjective guides to help keep your writing in check!

Looking for other types of sources, such as government and archival documents? Here’s more info .

Now that you’ve figured out how to style your references, the next step is structuring your written work according to this style’s guidelines. The thorough EasyBib MLA format guide provides you with the information you need to structure the font, MLA title page (or MLA cover page), paper margins, spacing, plus more! There’s even a sample MLA paper, too!

MLA Handbook . 9th ed., Modern Language Association of America, 2021.

Published April 9, 2020. Updated July 25, 2021.

Written by Michele Kirschenbaum. Michele Kirschenbaum is a school library media specialist and is the in-house librarian at EasyBib.com.

MLA Formatting Guide

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It’s 100% free to create MLA citations. The EasyBib Citation Generator also supports 7,000+ other citation styles. These other styles—including APA, Chicago, and Harvard—are accessible for anyone with an EasyBib Plus subscription.

No matter what citation style you’re using (APA, MLA, Chicago, etc.) the EasyBib Citation Generator can help you create the right bibliography quickly.

Yes, there’s an option to download source citations as a Word Doc or a Google Doc. You may also copy citations from the EasyBib Citation Generator and paste them into your paper.

Creating an account is not a requirement for generating MLA citations. However, registering for an EasyBib account is free and an account is how you can save all the citation you create. This can help make it easier to manage your citations and bibliographies.

Yes! Whether you’d like to learn how to construct citations on your own, our Autocite tool isn’t able to gather the metadata you need, or anything in between, manual citations are always an option. Click here for directions on using creating manual citations.

If any important information is missing (e.g., author’s name, title, publishing date, URL, etc.), first see if you can find it in the source yourself. If you cannot, leave the information blank and continue creating your citation.

It supports MLA, APA, Chicago, Harvard, and over 7,000 total citation styles.

An in-text citation is a short citation that is placed next to the text being cited. The basic element needed for an in-text citation is the author’s name . The publication year is not required in in-text citations. Sometimes, page numbers or line numbers are also included, especially when text is quoted from the source being cited. In-text citations are mentioned in the text in two ways: as a citation in prose or a parenthetical citation.

Citation in prose

Citations in prose are incorporated into the text and act as a part of the sentence. Usually, citations in prose use the author’s full name when cited the first time in the text. Thereafter, only the surname is used. Avoid including the middle initial even if it is present in the works-cited-list entry. An example of the first citation in prose for one author is given below:

Carol Fitzerald explains the picture of the area.

Parenthetical

Parenthetical citations add only the author’s surname at the end of the sentence in parentheses. An example of a parenthetical citation is given below:

The picture of the area is explained (Fitzgerald).

When are other components included?

When you quote a specific line from the source, you can include a page number or a line number in in-text citations. Examples of both a citation in prose and a parenthetical citation are given below. Do not add “p.” or “pp.” before the page number(s).

Swan says, “Postglacial viability and colonization in North America is to be studied” (47).

Though some researchers claim that “Postglacial viability and colonization in North America is to be studied” (Swan 47).

In-text citations should be concise. Do not repeat author names in parentheses if the name is mentioned in the text (the citation in prose).

To cite a periodical such as a journal, magazine, or newspaper, in the text, the basic element needed is the author’s name . The publication year is not required for in-text citations. Sometimes, page numbers or line numbers are also included, especially when text is quoted from the source being cited. In-text citations are mentioned in the text in two ways: as a citation in prose or a parenthetical citation. The example below shows how to cite a periodical in the text.

Citations in prose use the author’s full name when citing for the first time. Thereafter, only use the surname. Avoid including the middle initial even if it is present in the works-cited-list entry. An example of a citation in prose for a periodical with one author is below:

First time: Kathy Goldstein explains the picture of the area.

Subsequent occurrences: Goldstein explains the picture of the area.

Parenthetical citations add only the author’s surname at the end of the sentence in parentheses. An example of a parenthetical citation is below:

The picture of the area is explained (Goldstein).

An MLA citation generator is a tool that can help you easily create MLA formatted citations and works cited entries. You can try the EasyBib MLA citation generator at https://www.easybib.com/mla/source .

For some source types, only a single piece of information is needed in order to generate a citation. For example, the ISBN of a book, the DOI of a journal article, or the URL of a website. For other source types, a form will indicate what information is needed for the citation, and then automatically formats the citation.

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How to Cite a Website Using MLA Format

Last Updated: February 14, 2023 Fact Checked

This article was co-authored by Christopher Taylor, PhD . Christopher Taylor is an Adjunct Assistant Professor of English at Austin Community College in Texas. He received his PhD in English Literature and Medieval Studies from the University of Texas at Austin in 2014. There are 8 references cited in this article, which can be found at the bottom of the page. This article has been fact-checked, ensuring the accuracy of any cited facts and confirming the authority of its sources. This article has been viewed 275,709 times.

The Modern Language Association (MLA) citation style is used for journals and research papers in the humanities. When making a citation, you must include a full citation on your works cited page, as well as a shorter in-text citation where you reference information from the website. The 8th edition of the MLA Handbook focuses on you providing as much information as you can based on a set of 8 core elements: the author, the title of the source, the title of the container, other contributors, the version, the number, the publisher, the publication date, and the location; less emphasis is put on formatting than on consistency. However, you will not be able to find all this information when you're making a citation for a website, so you only put in what you can find.

Citing an Entire Website

• When listing the name, put the last name first, followed by a comma and the first and middle names (if available).
• It should look like the following name: Roberts, Rebeca Jean.
• Put a period after the name.
• In the case of authors, you're now allowed to use a handle (such as a Twitter handle) rather than the author's name if you can't find a name, such as @felinesforthewin.

• The name of the website should be in italics.
• It should look like the following citation: Roberts, Rebeca. Cats Who Sleep,
• Use a comma after the website title.

• Add contributors in using the following method: Roberts, Rebeca Jean. Cats Who Sleep, edited by John Jacobs and Joseph George,
• Put a comma after the contributors.
• If the website doesn't have other contributors, leave this part out.

Warning! Remember to indent the second line. Without an indent, it is incorrect. This is called a hanging indentation.

• The publisher will follow the comma after the other contributors: Roberts, Rebeca Jean. Cats Who Sleep, edited by John Jacobs and Joseph George, The Cat Institute,
• If there are no other contributors, follow the website title with the publisher: Roberts, Rebeca Jean. Cats Who Sleep, The Cat Institute,
• Follow it with a comma.

• Don't use the "http://" or "https://" before the website. Instead, begin with "www."
• Add the website after the publisher: Roberts, Rebeca Jean. Cats Who Sleep, edited by John Jacobs and Joseph George, The Cat Institute, www.thewebsiteforsleepingcats.com.

• You can add the date you viewed the page if you wish, but you aren't required to include it. The date goes before the location.

Citing a Page From a Website

• Start with the last name first, followed by the first and middle names, if applicable: Fitzgerald, Rosa.
• Use a period after the name.
• If you can't find the author's name, you can use a handle in place of the name.

• Put the page title in quotation marks: Fitzgerald, Rosa. "The Sleeping Habits of Elderly Felines."
• Use a period before the final quotation mark.

• Put the website name in italics: Fitzgerald, Rosa. "The Sleeping Habits of Elderly Felines." Cats Who Sleep,
• Use a comma after the website name.

• The contributors come after the website name: Fitzgerald, Rosa. "The Sleeping Habits of Elderly Felines." Cats Who Sleep, edited by John Jacobs,
• Put a comma after the contributor.
• If you don't have other contributors, leave this part out.

• Add the publisher after the contributors. If there are no other contributors, add it after the website name: Fitzgerald, Rosa. "The Sleeping Habits of Elderly Felines." Cats Who Sleep, edited by John Jacobs, The Cat Institute,
• Use a comma afterwards.

• Place the website's URL after the publisher: Fitzgerald, Rosa. "The Sleeping Habits of Elderly Felines." Cats Who Sleep, edited by John Jacobs, The Cat Institute, www.thewebsiteforsleepingcats.com/sleeping-habits-of-elderly-felines.

Creating an In-Text Citation

• If you use information from other sources without citing it, it's considered plagiarism, with the exception of factual, common knowledge.
• Citing your sources is also a courtesy to your readers. It lets them know where they can find more information on the topic.

• You can also add a citation directly after the citation, preferably before a comma or other punctuation mark, if you're citing more than one source in a sentence.

Tip : There is no need to recite the publisher's name if you already mentioned it when introducing the quote. So, if you said "According to Purdue...", there isn't a need to re-add the author's name at the end. You can just finish the citation/quote without adding (Purdue...).

• Therefore a citation would look like the following in a sentence: Cats enjoy sleeping for many hours a day (Fitzgerald).
• You only use the last name when using the author's name.
• Use a shortened form of the title. Try to stick to 3 or 4 words that will lead the reader directly to the citation at the end. If you are using the page title (because the author's name is not available), it would look like the following sentence: Cats enjoy sleeping for many hours a day ("Sleeping Habits of Felines").

Community Q&A

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• ↑ https://owl.purdue.edu/owl/research_and_citation/mla_style/mla_formatting_and_style_guide/mla_works_cited_electronic_sources.html
• ↑ https://guides.library.unr.edu/mlacitation
• ↑ https://libguides.up.edu/mla/common/websites
• ↑ https://owl.purdue.edu/owl/research_and_citation/mla_style/mla_formatting_and_style_guide/mla_in_text_citations_the_basics.html

About This Article

To cite a website in your bibliography using Modern Language Association format, start by writing the author’s surname then first name. If the author’s name isn’t listed on the page, you might be able to find it in an about page. If you’re referencing a specific page from a website, put this next in quotation marks. Follow with the website name in italics. If the website has a separate publisher, include this next. Then, put the full URL at the end. Always start with WWW. instead of HTTP. For more tips from our Teaching co-author, including how to include multiple authors or editors in a website citation, read on! Did this summary help you? Yes No

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In-Text Citations: An Overview

In-text citations are brief, unobtrusive references that direct readers to the works-cited-list entries for the sources you consulted and, where relevant, to the location in the source being cited.

An in-text citation begins with the shortest piece of information that di­rects your reader to the entry in the works-cited list. Thus, it begins with what ever comes first in the entry: the author’s name or the title (or descrip­tion) of the work. The citation can appear in your prose or in parentheses.

Citation in prose  Naomi Baron broke new ground on the subject. Parenthetical citation At least one researcher has broken new ground on the subject (Baron). Work cited Baron, Naomi S. “Redefining Reading: The Impact of Digital Communication Media.” PMLA , vol. 128, no. 1, Jan. 2013, pp. 193–200. 

When relevant, an in-text citation also has a second component: if a specific part of a work is quoted or paraphrased and the work includes a page number, line number, time stamp, or other way to point readers to the place in the work where the information can be found, that location marker must be included in parentheses.

Parenthetical citation According to Naomi Baron, reading is “just half of literacy. The other half is writing” (194).

The author or title can also appear alongside the page number or other loca­tion marker in parentheses.

Parenthetical citation Reading is “just half of literacy. The other half is writing” (Baron 194).

All in-text references should be concise. Avoid, for instance, providing the author’s name or title of a work in both your prose and parentheses.

Citation (incorrect) According to Naomi Baron, reading is “just half of literacy. The other half is writing” (Baron 194). Citation (correct) According to Naomi Baron, reading is “just half of literacy. The other half is writing” (194).

For more on what to include in an in-text citation and how to style it, see sections 6.3–6.30 of the ninth edition of the MLA Handbook ).

55 Comments

Brandi unruh 10 april 2021 at 11:04 am.

Hello! I am a high school English teacher trying to answer a question that came up during our research unit. I can’t seem to find a definitive answer online. When using a shortened title in an in-text citation, does an ellipsis need to be included? For example, if the title was “The Problem of Poverty in America: A Historical and Cultural Analysis”, would the in-text citation be (“The Problem of Poverty in America...”) or (“The Problem of Poverty in America”)? Thank you for your time and expertise!

Your e-mail address will not be published

Laura Kiernan 12 April 2021 AT 11:04 AM

No, an ellipsis would not be used in an in-text citation. We provide extensive guidance on shortening titles in 6.10 of the new ninth edition of the MLA Handbook .

angel 10 May 2021 AT 02:05 PM

hii How to write an in text citation of an entry from encyclopedia which has an editor but no separate authors for each entry ?

William Feeler 11 May 2021 AT 01:05 PM

I see no mention of paragraph numbers for unpaginated prose or sections/lines for drama. are these practices gone?

Laura Kiernan 18 May 2021 AT 01:05 PM

This post provides a general overview of our approach to in-text citations. The complete guidelines appear in sections 6.1–6.30 of the ninth edition of the MLA Handbook .

Vonceil Park 11 May 2021 AT 01:05 PM

Dear MLA Staff, A professor at my College demands students to provide paragraph number in the in-text citation for online articles that have no page number nor paragraph number. Do we just count the paragraph number and put them in the parenthesis, for example: (para. 3)?

Laura Kiernan 18 May 2021 AT 12:05 PM

Thank you for your question. Your approach to modifying our style in accordance with your professor's instructions works, but we would suggest confirming that styling with your professor.

Arathi Babu 17 May 2021 AT 08:05 AM

How to write an in text citation of an unsigned entry from a reference work?

Laura Kiernan 08 June 2021 AT 11:06 AM

If the entry was in a print work, the in-text citation would include the entry’s title or a shortened version of the entry’s title and the page number of the quotation. If the entry was in a reference work without page numbers, the in-text citation should just contain the title or shortened title of the entry.

Sethu 17 May 2021 AT 02:05 PM

For example: Can I give an in-text citation like the following: Shakespeare, in his work Hamlet, quotes: "To be or not to be" (7).

For citing commonly studied verse works, see 6.22 in the ninth edition of the MLA Handbook .

Trinity Klein 21 May 2021 AT 11:05 AM

Can you please help with proper in-text citation placement for an embedded quotation? Does the citation come immediately after the quotation or at the very end of the sentence? For example, is this correct: He asks her to take him home “in the voice of a child afraid of the dark” which comes as a shock to Scout because he has so long held a bold and rebellious reputation (372). Or should the (372) come immediately after ...dark"...? Thank you!

For more information about the placement of a parenthetical citations, see 6.43 in the ninth edition of the MLA Handbook .

Karima 30 May 2021 AT 05:05 PM

Dear MLA staff, 1) In case i am quoting from multiple sources by the same author, am i required to introduce again the source i am quoting from in the beginning of my sentence? (Quotes are used in multiple paragraphs)

For guidance on citing multiple sources by the same author, see 6.8 in the ninth edition of the MLA Handbook .

Yves 23 June 2021 AT 06:06 PM

Hello, is there a specific rule about how to format a range of page numbers in the parenthetical citation? For example, could (Eden 44-45) be written as (Eden 44-5), or is only one example correct?

Laura Kiernan 24 September 2021 AT 02:09 PM

For information about styling number ranges, see section 2.139 of the ninth edition of the MLA Handbook .

Faliravo 11 August 2021 AT 05:08 AM

Good morning MLA team, My professor insists that I include the year of publication for in-text citations. Is it going to be okay if I insert the year between the author and the page number?

Thank you very much for your consideration.

Laura Kiernan 24 September 2021 AT 01:09 PM

Your approach to modifying our style in accordance with your professor’s instructions works, but we would suggest confirming that styling with your professor.

Pauline 14 September 2021 AT 11:09 PM

How do I cite an entire work. For example, if I want to say Toni Morrison's the "Bluest Eye" has been used as a textbook for many English literature classes, I suppose I shouldn't put any page number in the parenthetical citation. But I can't find any MLA references on this.

See section 4.14 of the ninth edition of the MLA Handbook .

myron glassenberg 04 February 2022 AT 01:02 PM

if source is the whole book, how do I cite in text and in works cited pages. e.g. freud (no page number) Freud , ( 1892) The Pleasure Principle.

Rita Rozzi 20 September 2023 AT 07:09 PM

There is no section 4.14 in the ninth edition. Do you have any updated information? Thank you.

Laura Kiernan 21 September 2023 AT 03:09 PM

Section 4.14, which is titled "Passing Mentions," can be found in chapter 4 of the ninth edition of the handbook.

Lauren McFall 13 October 2021 AT 02:10 PM

Students often refer to the same source consecutively across more than one sentence. I'm having a hard time finding information about the preferred approach according to the MLA. As a parallel, APA makes a specific recommendation - "cite the source in the first sentence in which it is relevant and do not repeat the citation in subsequent sentences as long as the source remains clear and unchanged" https://apastyle.apa.org/style-grammar-guidelines/citations/appropriate-citation

Laura Kiernan 20 October 2021 AT 04:10 PM

See 6.45 of the ninth edition of the MLA Handbook .

Ruth Schafer 01 December 2022 AT 07:12 PM

6.45 out of the MLA Handbook's ninth edition does not provide an example of how to cite a multi-sentence paraphrase when using an unpaginated source. Can you give an example of how to cite a multi-sentence paraphrase where the source does not have published page numbering?

Should I introduce the source in my prose and then again at the end of the multi-sentence paraphrase in parentheses when I have finished citing the paraphrase? Example: John Smith from Smith Architecture explains that crawl space foundations are...blah blah blah. These foundations are most commonly used in midwestern constructions where the frost line is...blah, blah, blah. Keep writing the paraphrase and then at the end of the final sentence instead of a page citation write the author's last name (Smith). This way if you switch to a different source, at least the reader knows that you have finished with the Smith source and have moved on to your own commentary or another source's information. Usually, I'd use a page citation at the end of the paraphrase, but when dealing with a source that does not have page numbering, I'm unsure what to do.

Lizzie 18 October 2021 AT 10:10 PM

If I only use textual evidence from the novel I'm examining, do I need to include the authors name with each in text citation? There are no other works cited, so it seems redundant/clutter-y to me

Kayden 29 October 2021 AT 05:10 PM

If I'm trying to cite multiple paragraphs from the same source would it be correct to say (par. 3 and 13) or should it be (par. 3, 13) and is it different if they are next to each other too like (par. 6-7) or (par. 6 and 7).

Laura Kiernan 04 November 2021 AT 11:11 AM

See sections 6.18–6.20 of the ninth edition of the MLA Handbook .

Rachel 17 November 2021 AT 01:11 PM

When citing from an online source without pagination, if you include the author's name in the introduction to the quote, do you need to include anything in parentheses like the article title?

Laura Kiernan 22 November 2021 AT 12:11 PM

See section 6.26 of the ninth edition of the MLA Handbook .

July 25 November 2021 AT 05:11 PM

When quoting an online source (e.g. a website), do I have to indicate the fact that it's an online source in the in-text-citations as in (Name [online]) or is the author's name enough?

Thank you in advance for your answer.

Laura Kiernan 29 November 2021 AT 10:11 AM

According to MLA style, an in-text citation for an online work should not note that the work is online.

Pinkie 19 March 2022 AT 08:03 PM

If I'm writing a response paper, and I need to summarize the whole article to introduce it, then should I use in-text citation?

Laura Kiernan 25 March 2022 AT 01:03 PM

For guidance on paraphrasing, see sections 4.5–4.8 of the ninth edition of the MLA Handbook .

Kay 09 April 2022 AT 06:04 PM

Hi, am I supposed to include the DOI when one is available in the citation? If I cite the print version of a journal article that has a DOI, still include the DOI in the citation? Thank you!

Laura Kiernan 11 April 2022 AT 11:04 AM

Thank you for your questions. For guidance on including a DOI in your works-cited-list entry, see sections 5.84 and 5.93 in the ninth edition of the MLA Handbook .

Mike 16 April 2022 AT 05:04 PM

Website in-text Citation...

When I'm writing an in-text citation for a website, I'm seeing all manner of different things to include. Do I need to add the author name and year of publishing for the article?\ Do I just need the website name? I'm not really understanding what I need to add or obtain for such a citation within the text I'm writing.

I'm writing a book on my life, and I'm quoting a particular webpage to show one particular angle of an argument I'm making, and, of course, it's not common knowledge, so I want to make sure that I follow all the rules for this kind of thing, so I don't get in trouble with the author(s) of the sources I have quoted from...

Laura Kiernan 18 April 2022 AT 02:04 PM

Thank you for your questions about MLA style. For guidance on in-text citations for web pages, see section 6.26 of the ninth edition of the MLA Handbook .

Cynthia 21 May 2022 AT 10:05 PM

When you're doing an In-text citations do you put the quotations over the chapter title and then quotations over what you get from the text or do you italicize the title?

Laura Kiernan 25 May 2022 AT 03:05 PM

Thank you for your question. For guidance on how to style chapter titles, see 2.109 of the ninth edition of the MLA Handbook .

Napatsi 15 August 2022 AT 07:08 PM

I'm trying to find how to put in the in-text citation for a UN declaration article but can only find the "Resolutions of International Governing Bodies" on page 446 of the 9th edition but not how to out it in without an author.

Kim 27 September 2022 AT 12:09 PM

I'm quoting a passage from an unpublished manuscript, and it is not the only work I'm citing by the author, but the only one without a year. So using "Smith 1995, 82" is not possible. What would an in-text citation for this case look like?

Jen 17 November 2022 AT 08:11 PM

How do I cite a news cast for in-text citation like ABC News?

Samantha 04 December 2022 AT 05:12 PM

Hi, For MLA format, should a quote where you need to de-capitalize the first letter be written as "you want" or "(y)ou want". Thanks!

Laura Kiernan 07 December 2022 AT 01:12 PM

Thank you for your question. For guidance on how to indicate that you have lowercased the first letter of a quotation, see 6.56 of the ninth edition of the MLA Handbook .

Maria Albeti 07 February 2023 AT 01:02 PM

Stewart, David W. Focus groups. In: Frey, B.B. (ed.) The SAGE Encyclopedia of Educational Research, Measurement, and Evaluation, vol. 2, pp. 687–692. Thousand Oaks: Sage Publications 2018 In this case, how is the correct form to write, because the article is IN the the book?

Eros Karadzhov 15 February 2023 AT 02:02 PM

If we have a sentence that is a statement, but at the end we quote a question, which punctuation mark do we keep, the question mark or the period; maybe both? Example: (1) The author ends his poem with the following question on purpose: "Or does it explode?" (Hughes 11). (2) The author ends his poem with the following question on purpose: "Or does it explode" (Hughes 11)?

Which would be correct, or maybe both are wrong?

Thank you in advance!

Laura Kiernan 16 February 2023 AT 03:02 PM

Thank you for your question. For guidance on quotations ending in a question mark, see section 6.53 of the ninth edition of the MLA Handbook .

Anonymous 08 March 2023 AT 05:03 PM

What about online articles with no known author or multiple authors? What should the in-text citation look like?

Maria 25 March 2023 AT 04:03 PM

Please settle a dispute with my colleagues. I encourage composition students to avoid listing the title of journal articles within the essay unless it is especially relevant because it clutters their arguments. I came to this conclusion from my interpretation of this statement from MLA: "All in-text references should be concise. Avoid, for instance, providing the author’s name or title of a work in both your prose and parentheses." Could someone please provide an answer or further clarification?

Erika Suffern 30 March 2023 AT 04:03 PM

You are right to identify a principle of concision in our guidelines. That said, it is not wrong to mention a title in prose, but it should be done, as you note, when relevant–not as a de rigeur practice or for “filler.” As Eric Hayot notes in The Elements of Academic Style: Writing for the Humanities (Columbia UP, 2014), “giving the title” in prose “suggests fuller forthcoming treatment” (159). Another reason for including the title in prose might be to call attention to something about it. Many writers who do mention a title in prose fear having an incomplete citation and are tempted also to include the title in a parenthetical reference, which is unnecessary.

Jay 29 April 2023 AT 12:04 AM

How do I in-text cite a direct quote from the introduction of an ebook with no page numbers? Would I write (Author "Introduction") or just write (Author)?

Kiara 11 February 2024 AT 03:02 PM

Hello! I am a university student who is currently creating works cited entries and in-text citations for a reflection essay. How do I properly cite professor and peer comments?

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• MLA Citation Generator

Free MLA Citation Generator

Generate accurate citations in MLA format automatically, with MyBib!

😕 What is an MLA Citation Generator?

An MLA citation generator is a software tool designed to automatically create academic citations in the Modern Language Association (MLA) citation format. The generator will take information such as document titles, author, and URLs as in input, and output fully formatted citations that can be inserted into the Works Cited page of an MLA-compliant academic paper.

The citations on a Works Cited page show the external sources that were used to write the main body of the academic paper, either directly as references and quotes, or indirectly as ideas.

👩‍🎓 Who uses an MLA Citation Generator?

MLA style is most often used by middle school and high school students in preparation for transition to college and further education. Ironically, MLA style is not actually used all that often beyond middle and high school, with APA (American Psychological Association) style being the favored style at colleges across the country.

It is also important at this level to learn why it's critical to cite sources, not just how to cite them.

🙌 Why should I use a Citation Generator?

Writing citations manually is time consuming and error prone. Automating this process with a citation generator is easy, straightforward, and gives accurate results. It's also easier to keep citations organized and in the correct order.

The Works Cited page contributes to the overall grade of a paper, so it is important to produce accurately formatted citations that follow the guidelines in the official MLA Handbook .

⚙️ How do I use MyBib's MLA Citation Generator?

It's super easy to create MLA style citations with our MLA Citation Generator. Scroll back up to the generator at the top of the page and select the type of source you're citing. Books, journal articles, and webpages are all examples of the types of sources our generator can cite automatically. Then either search for the source, or enter the details manually in the citation form.

The generator will produce a formatted MLA citation that can be copied and pasted directly into your document, or saved to MyBib as part of your overall Works Cited page (which can be downloaded fully later!).

MyBib supports the following for MLA style:

Daniel is a qualified librarian, former teacher, and citation expert. He has been contributing to MyBib since 2018.

June 15, 2024

How to do MLA format in Google Docs

Need to create a document using MLA format? We’ll explain this format’s specifications and how to create your paper using MLA in Google Docs.

Are you required to compose your school essay or assignment using MLA format? We’ll explain the requirements for this format, show how to use a built-in template, and walk through formatting the document yourself using an example.

We’ll also explain how to use Plus AI in Google Docs to make adjustments to your content when you’re struggling with it.

Requirements for the MLA format

MLA format has certain requirements including page setup, font style and size, and paragraph spacing. It’s important to follow these when writing an essay or paper using MLA format.

• Use 8.5 by 11 inches paper size.
• Set one-inch margins on all sides.
• Use a 12-point font.
• Choose a standard, legible font style such as Times New Roman.
• Double-space the document.
• Enter only one space after a period.
• Indent the first line of each paragraph one half-inch (using the Tab key.)
• Use quotation marks or italics for titles such as books and movies.
• Insert a header placing the page numbers in the top right-hand corner aligned to the right margin.

First-page formatting

You should also format the first page of the document a particular way.

• Do not include a title page unless requested.
• Include your name, instructor’s name, course, and date on the upper left side of the page.
• Double-space and center the title beneath.
• Double-space and enter the first paragraph below the title.

For additional MLA format instructions such as citations, lists, abbreviations, or tables, check out Purdue Online Writing Lab on the web page for assistance.

Method 1: Use an AI tool

To save time creating content for an MLA format page, you can use Plus AI for Google Docs . For example, you can instruct Plus AI to add a page with a list of your references.

• With your Google Doc open, select Extensions > Plus AI > Write with Plus AI .
• Go to the Generate tab in the sidebar and enter your instructions in the What do you want to write? box. 

As an example, we instruct Plus AI to create an MLA works cited page with our list of book titles.

• Click Generate and you’ll see your Works Cited page in MLA format with all of the necessary book details including author, year, and publisher.

Not only does Plus AI provide you with a reference page, but it can also help do the research for you!

Method 2: Use the Google Docs MLA template

If you need additional formatting for your document, the simplest way to create a document using MLA format is to take advantage of the Google Docs MLA template. You can obtain the template for free directly in the Google Docs Template Gallery.

• Visit Google Docs , sign in, and open the Template Gallery at the top.

• Move down to the Education section and select the MLA Report template.

• When the template opens, change the document name per your preference and then use the placeholders to insert your own details and content.

Method 3: Create a Google Doc in MLA format

If you don’t want to use the Google Docs template or already have a document with content that just needs formatting, you can do so easily. Let’s walk through how to format each of the MLA requirements above for the document you see below.

Set up the document

Selecting the page size and adjusting the margins is the best place to begin. When you access these settings, you may already have these options selected, so simply confirm.

• Go to File > Page setup in the menu.
• In the Apply to drop-down menu, choose Whole document .
• Below Orientation , mark Portrait .
• For Paper size , pick Letter (8.5” x 11”) .
• Keep white as the page color unless specified otherwise.
• In the four margin locations on the right, enter the number 1 for each.
• Your settings should match the screenshot below. Select OK when you finish.

Adjust the font and spacing

Next, you can set the font style and size as well as double-space the document. If you already have text in your document, be sure to select it so that the changes apply to the existing content.

• Select the Font drop-down menu in the top toolbar and choose Times New Roman .

• In the Font size box to the right, enter or choose 12 .

• Use the Line & paragraph spacing drop-down menu in the toolbar or Format > Line & paragraph spacing in the menu to choose Double .

Insert the document header and page numbers

Finally, insert a header and add the page numbers. If requested by your instructor, you can include your last name in front of the page number as explained below.

• Go to Insert > Headers & Footers in the menu and pick Header .

• When the header appears, open the Align drop-down menu in the top toolbar and pick Right align . This moves your cursor to the right margin where you’ll insert the page number.

• Select Options and choose Page numbers .

• In the Page Numbers pop-up window, choose Header for the Position, check the box for Show on first page , and confirm that Start At is set to 1 .

• Click Apply and you’ll see your page numbers in the header of each page.

If you need to add your last name to the header, place your cursor in front of (to the left) of the page number and type your name with a space after. Your last name then appears in the header along with the page numbers in the entire document.

Note that if the font style isn’t set to Times New Roman in the header, simply select the text and use the Font drop-down menu in the top toolbar to change it.

Once you have your document set to the above MLA format , you’re ready to go. But be sure to keep the other requirements in mind as you create your content including indenting paragraphs, using quotes or italics for titles, and inserting only one space after each period.

Get help with changes using Plus AI

While there are arguments on both sides for whether or not students should be allowed to use AI in school, you may be in a situation where your instructor encourages it in some circumstances.

With Plus AI, you can get the help you need. You can take your existing content and use artificial intelligence to assist with the changes you want to make. For example, you might need to adjust the tone for a different audience or translate the text you’ve written.

Using Plus AI with Google Docs, you simply select your current content and choose a preset and/or provide instructions on how to change the text.

Along with assistance in Docs, you can use Plus AI for help with Google Slides presentations and Microsoft PowerPoint slideshows . By selecting an attractive template and entering a prompt, you can instruct Plus AI to build engaging and appealing presentations .

If you’re required to create an essay or other academic paper using MLA format, it’s easy to do in Google Docs. With the list of requirements, template, and example provided, you should be well on your way to a perfectly structured MLA formatted document.

For future projects, especially slideshows, remember that Plus AI can assist not only with content but presentation appearance as well!

How do I indent the MLA format in Google Docs?

With the MLA format, you should indent the first line of each paragraph one half-inch. Normally, you can simply press your Tab key which provides the correct space for the indent.

Alternatively, place your cursor at the start of the line and move the First Line Indent indicator (blue line) in the Google Docs Ruler to 0.5 inches .

How do I do a reference page in MLA?

In Google Docs, you can use the Citations feature to create a bibliography or works cited page. Go to Tools > Citations . In the sidebar that appears, select MLA for the format, add your citations, and click Insert Works Cited when you finish.

Do I skip a line between paragraphs in MLA?

The short answer is “no.” The entire document should be double-spaced including the spacing between paragraphs. Press Enter or Return only once to begin a new paragraph.

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Purdue Online Writing Lab Purdue OWL® College of Liberal Arts

MLA Formatting Quotations

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Copyright ©1995-2018 by The Writing Lab & The OWL at Purdue and Purdue University. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, reproduced, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed without permission. Use of this site constitutes acceptance of our terms and conditions of fair use.

When you directly quote the works of others in your paper, you will format quotations differently depending on their length. Below are some basic guidelines for incorporating quotations into your paper. Please note that all pages in MLA should be double-spaced .

Short quotations

To indicate short quotations (four typed lines or fewer of prose or three lines of verse) in your text, enclose the quotation within double quotation marks. Provide the author and specific page number (in the case of verse, provide line numbers) in the in-text citation, and include a complete reference on the Works Cited page. Punctuation marks such as periods, commas, and semicolons should appear after the parenthetical citation.

Question marks and exclamation points should appear within the quotation marks if they are a part of the quoted passage, but after the parenthetical citation if they are a part of your text.

For example, when quoting short passages of prose, use the following examples:

When using short (fewer than three lines of verse) quotations from poetry, mark breaks in verse with a slash, ( / ), at the end of each line of verse (a space should precede and follow the slash). If a stanza break occurs during the quotation, use a double slash ( // ).

Long quotations

For quotations that are more than four lines of prose or three lines of verse, place quotations in a free-standing block of text and omit quotation marks. Start the quotation on a new line, with the entire quote indented 1/2   inch  from the left margin while maintaining double-spacing. Your parenthetical citation should come  after the closing punctuation mark . When quoting verse, maintain original line breaks. (You should maintain double-spacing throughout your essay.)

For example, when citing more than four lines of prose, use the following examples :

Nelly Dean treats Heathcliff poorly and dehumanizes him throughout her narration: They entirely refused to have it in bed with them, or even in their room, and I had no more sense, so, I put it on the landing of the stairs, hoping it would be gone on the morrow. By chance, or else attracted by hearing his voice, it crept to Mr. Earnshaw's door, and there he found it on quitting his chamber. Inquiries were made as to how it got there; I was obliged to confess, and in recompense for my cowardice and inhumanity was sent out of the house. (Bronte 78)

When citing long sections of poetry (four lines of verse or more), keep formatting as close to the original as possible.

In his poem "My Papa's Waltz," Theodore Roethke explores his childhood with his father:

The whiskey on your breath Could make a small boy dizzy; But I hung on like death: Such waltzing was not easy. We Romped until the pans Slid from the kitchen shelf; My mother's countenance Could not unfrown itself. (qtd. in Shrodes, Finestone, Shugrue 202)

When citing two or more paragraphs, use block quotation format, even if the passage from the paragraphs is less than four lines. If you cite more than one paragraph, the first line of the second paragraph should be indented an extra 1/4 inch to denote a new paragraph:

In "American Origins of the Writing-across-the-Curriculum Movement," David Russell argues,

Writing has been an issue in American secondary and higher education since papers and examinations came into wide use in the 1870s, eventually driving out formal recitation and oral examination. . . .

From its birth in the late nineteenth century, progressive education has wrestled with the conflict within industrial society between pressure to increase specialization of knowledge and of professional work (upholding disciplinary standards) and pressure to integrate more fully an ever-widening number of citizens into intellectually meaningful activity within mass society (promoting social equity). . . . (3)

Adding or omitting words in quotations

If you add a word or words in a quotation, you should put brackets around the words to indicate that they are not part of the original text:

If you omit a word or words from a quotation, you should indicate the deleted word or words by using ellipses, which are three periods ( . . . ) preceded and followed by a space. For example:

Please note that brackets are not needed around ellipses unless they would add clarity.

When omitting words from poetry quotations, use a standard three-period ellipses; however, when omitting one or more full lines of poetry, space several periods to about the length of a complete line in the poem:

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• Knowledge Base

Methodology

• How to Write a Literature Review | Guide, Examples, & Templates

How to Write a Literature Review | Guide, Examples, & Templates

Published on January 2, 2023 by Shona McCombes . Revised on September 11, 2023.

What is a literature review? A literature review is a survey of scholarly sources on a specific topic. It provides an overview of current knowledge, allowing you to identify relevant theories, methods, and gaps in the existing research that you can later apply to your paper, thesis, or dissertation topic .

There are five key steps to writing a literature review:

• Search for relevant literature
• Evaluate sources
• Identify themes, debates, and gaps
• Outline the structure
• Write your literature review

A good literature review doesn’t just summarize sources—it analyzes, synthesizes , and critically evaluates to give a clear picture of the state of knowledge on the subject.

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Table of contents

What is the purpose of a literature review, examples of literature reviews, step 1 – search for relevant literature, step 2 – evaluate and select sources, step 3 – identify themes, debates, and gaps, step 4 – outline your literature review’s structure, step 5 – write your literature review, free lecture slides, other interesting articles, frequently asked questions, introduction.

• Quick Run-through
• Step 1 & 2

When you write a thesis , dissertation , or research paper , you will likely have to conduct a literature review to situate your research within existing knowledge. The literature review gives you a chance to:

• Demonstrate your familiarity with the topic and its scholarly context
• Develop a theoretical framework and methodology for your research
• Position your work in relation to other researchers and theorists
• Show how your research addresses a gap or contributes to a debate
• Evaluate the current state of research and demonstrate your knowledge of the scholarly debates around your topic.

Writing literature reviews is a particularly important skill if you want to apply for graduate school or pursue a career in research. We’ve written a step-by-step guide that you can follow below.

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Writing literature reviews can be quite challenging! A good starting point could be to look at some examples, depending on what kind of literature review you’d like to write.

• Example literature review #1: “Why Do People Migrate? A Review of the Theoretical Literature” ( Theoretical literature review about the development of economic migration theory from the 1950s to today.)
• Example literature review #2: “Literature review as a research methodology: An overview and guidelines” ( Methodological literature review about interdisciplinary knowledge acquisition and production.)
• Example literature review #3: “The Use of Technology in English Language Learning: A Literature Review” ( Thematic literature review about the effects of technology on language acquisition.)
• Example literature review #4: “Learners’ Listening Comprehension Difficulties in English Language Learning: A Literature Review” ( Chronological literature review about how the concept of listening skills has changed over time.)

You can also check out our templates with literature review examples and sample outlines at the links below.

Download Word doc Download Google doc

Before you begin searching for literature, you need a clearly defined topic .

If you are writing the literature review section of a dissertation or research paper, you will search for literature related to your research problem and questions .

Make a list of keywords

Start by creating a list of keywords related to your research question. Include each of the key concepts or variables you’re interested in, and list any synonyms and related terms. You can add to this list as you discover new keywords in the process of your literature search.

• Social media, Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, Snapchat, TikTok
• Body image, self-perception, self-esteem, mental health
• Generation Z, teenagers, adolescents, youth

Search for relevant sources

Use your keywords to begin searching for sources. Some useful databases to search for journals and articles include:

• Your university’s library catalogue
• Google Scholar
• Project Muse (humanities and social sciences)
• Medline (life sciences and biomedicine)
• EconLit (economics)
• Inspec (physics, engineering and computer science)

You can also use boolean operators to help narrow down your search.

Make sure to read the abstract to find out whether an article is relevant to your question. When you find a useful book or article, you can check the bibliography to find other relevant sources.

You likely won’t be able to read absolutely everything that has been written on your topic, so it will be necessary to evaluate which sources are most relevant to your research question.

For each publication, ask yourself:

• What question or problem is the author addressing?
• What are the key concepts and how are they defined?
• What are the key theories, models, and methods?
• Does the research use established frameworks or take an innovative approach?
• What are the results and conclusions of the study?
• How does the publication relate to other literature in the field? Does it confirm, add to, or challenge established knowledge?
• What are the strengths and weaknesses of the research?

Make sure the sources you use are credible , and make sure you read any landmark studies and major theories in your field of research.

You can use our template to summarize and evaluate sources you’re thinking about using. Click on either button below to download.

Take notes and cite your sources

As you read, you should also begin the writing process. Take notes that you can later incorporate into the text of your literature review.

It is important to keep track of your sources with citations to avoid plagiarism . It can be helpful to make an annotated bibliography , where you compile full citation information and write a paragraph of summary and analysis for each source. This helps you remember what you read and saves time later in the process.

Prevent plagiarism. Run a free check.

To begin organizing your literature review’s argument and structure, be sure you understand the connections and relationships between the sources you’ve read. Based on your reading and notes, you can look for:

• Trends and patterns (in theory, method or results): do certain approaches become more or less popular over time?
• Themes: what questions or concepts recur across the literature?
• Debates, conflicts and contradictions: where do sources disagree?
• Pivotal publications: are there any influential theories or studies that changed the direction of the field?
• Gaps: what is missing from the literature? Are there weaknesses that need to be addressed?

This step will help you work out the structure of your literature review and (if applicable) show how your own research will contribute to existing knowledge.

• Most research has focused on young women.
• There is an increasing interest in the visual aspects of social media.
• But there is still a lack of robust research on highly visual platforms like Instagram and Snapchat—this is a gap that you could address in your own research.

There are various approaches to organizing the body of a literature review. Depending on the length of your literature review, you can combine several of these strategies (for example, your overall structure might be thematic, but each theme is discussed chronologically).

Chronological

The simplest approach is to trace the development of the topic over time. However, if you choose this strategy, be careful to avoid simply listing and summarizing sources in order.

Try to analyze patterns, turning points and key debates that have shaped the direction of the field. Give your interpretation of how and why certain developments occurred.

If you have found some recurring central themes, you can organize your literature review into subsections that address different aspects of the topic.

For example, if you are reviewing literature about inequalities in migrant health outcomes, key themes might include healthcare policy, language barriers, cultural attitudes, legal status, and economic access.

Methodological

If you draw your sources from different disciplines or fields that use a variety of research methods , you might want to compare the results and conclusions that emerge from different approaches. For example:

• Look at what results have emerged in qualitative versus quantitative research
• Discuss how the topic has been approached by empirical versus theoretical scholarship
• Divide the literature into sociological, historical, and cultural sources

Theoretical

A literature review is often the foundation for a theoretical framework . You can use it to discuss various theories, models, and definitions of key concepts.

You might argue for the relevance of a specific theoretical approach, or combine various theoretical concepts to create a framework for your research.

Like any other academic text , your literature review should have an introduction , a main body, and a conclusion . What you include in each depends on the objective of your literature review.

The introduction should clearly establish the focus and purpose of the literature review.

Depending on the length of your literature review, you might want to divide the body into subsections. You can use a subheading for each theme, time period, or methodological approach.

As you write, you can follow these tips:

• Summarize and synthesize: give an overview of the main points of each source and combine them into a coherent whole
• Analyze and interpret: don’t just paraphrase other researchers — add your own interpretations where possible, discussing the significance of findings in relation to the literature as a whole
• Critically evaluate: mention the strengths and weaknesses of your sources
• Write in well-structured paragraphs: use transition words and topic sentences to draw connections, comparisons and contrasts

In the conclusion, you should summarize the key findings you have taken from the literature and emphasize their significance.

When you’ve finished writing and revising your literature review, don’t forget to proofread thoroughly before submitting. Not a language expert? Check out Scribbr’s professional proofreading services !

This article has been adapted into lecture slides that you can use to teach your students about writing a literature review.

Scribbr slides are free to use, customize, and distribute for educational purposes.

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If you want to know more about the research process , methodology , research bias , or statistics , make sure to check out some of our other articles with explanations and examples.

• Sampling methods
• Simple random sampling
• Stratified sampling
• Cluster sampling
• Likert scales
• Reproducibility

 Statistics

• Null hypothesis
• Statistical power
• Probability distribution
• Effect size
• Poisson distribution

Research bias

• Optimism bias
• Cognitive bias
• Implicit bias
• Hawthorne effect
• Anchoring bias
• Explicit bias

A literature review is a survey of scholarly sources (such as books, journal articles, and theses) related to a specific topic or research question .

It is often written as part of a thesis, dissertation , or research paper , in order to situate your work in relation to existing knowledge.

There are several reasons to conduct a literature review at the beginning of a research project:

• To familiarize yourself with the current state of knowledge on your topic
• To ensure that you’re not just repeating what others have already done
• To identify gaps in knowledge and unresolved problems that your research can address
• To develop your theoretical framework and methodology
• To provide an overview of the key findings and debates on the topic

Writing the literature review shows your reader how your work relates to existing research and what new insights it will contribute.

The literature review usually comes near the beginning of your thesis or dissertation . After the introduction , it grounds your research in a scholarly field and leads directly to your theoretical framework or methodology .

A literature review is a survey of credible sources on a topic, often used in dissertations , theses, and research papers . Literature reviews give an overview of knowledge on a subject, helping you identify relevant theories and methods, as well as gaps in existing research. Literature reviews are set up similarly to other  academic texts , with an introduction , a main body, and a conclusion .

An  annotated bibliography is a list of  source references that has a short description (called an annotation ) for each of the sources. It is often assigned as part of the research process for a  paper .  

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McCombes, S. (2023, September 11). How to Write a Literature Review | Guide, Examples, & Templates. Scribbr. Retrieved June 24, 2024, from https://www.scribbr.com/dissertation/literature-review/

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