Abbreviation |
Book or publication part |
ch. |
chapter |
dept. |
department |
ed. |
edition |
e.g. |
for example |
et al. |
and others (used often when listing authors/contributors) |
2nd ed. |
second edition |
trans. |
translator(s) |
n.d. |
no date |
p. (pp.) |
page (pages) |
vol. |
volume (as in vol.4) |
no. |
number |
supp. |
supplement |
You must include an alphabetical list of references, titled “Works Cited,” at the end of your paper (105). Include complete details for each source mentioned in the body of the text. With some important exceptions, MLA 9th edition requires the nine elements listed in the template below, if available. A container can be a print journal, website, database, or any other media.
The example below is the citation from an electronic journal article, meant to highlight the different elements of a basic citation in MLA format. Details regarding the elements of citations for other sources (books, videos, etc.) can be found within the sections below.
A “container” is a larger unit in which the source is "contained."
Some common descriptions for this element are:
adapted by | edited by | illustrated by |
directed by | introduction by | performed by |
A DOI (digital object identifier) is an article identification number provides a permanent url for an electronic resource. You can usually find the DOI located on the first page of the electronic journal article, near the copyright notice.
Where can you find a DOI?
You can find the DOI in the search results list or the abstract page for a particular article.
Please Note: not all articles are assigned a DOI's (Digital Object Identifier), see flow chart below for info.
From the Purdue OWL, see how to cite the DOI.
The core elements of the entry -- which should generally be included, if they exist -- may be accompanied by optional elements, at the writers discretion. Some of these optional elements can be added to the end of the entry, others it would make more sense to insert it in the middle of the entry, after the core elements they relate to. (208)
Date of Original Publication, | 1983, |
City of Publication, | Houston, |
Date of Access. | February 14, 2017. |
For a print journal article with two authors, note the order of first and last names of each author. (111)
With journal articles, listing the format (e.g. “Print.”) is optional and MLA recommends doing so only for unexpected media (e.g. “Transcript”) (52).
Articles accessed using an online database should be identified with the database name (Title of Container) and URL (Location). (320)
Because it has a single author and no credited translator or editor, this book needs only the Author, Title, Publisher, and Date. The city of publication is optional (313).
This entry in an online reference work has no credited author and can begin with the title (327)
.
This example is the Handbook itself. Because the MLA both published and is the credited author of the book, the author element is skipped. Be sure to consult the Handbook for more comprehensive treatment.
Websites often have multiple publishers listed in copyright statement. List all of them, separated by a slash, in the order they appear on the website. It is not required to include the date accessed (324).