MLA (Modern Language Association) Works Cited
Online Article:
1. Author : Smith, George
2. Article title: “America the Beautiful”
3. Title of container: National Geographic (italicized)
4. Publication date: 20 Nov. 2020
5. URL (website):
6. Access date: 13 Jan. 2021
Book:
1. Author: McGraw, Eloise Jarvis.
2. Title of book: The Golden Goblet
3. Publisher: Penguin Group
4. Publication Date: 2006
*If the author is unknown, start with the title of article/book.
*Hanging indent = Indent every line after the first (line) 5 spaces, (line(s) 2, 3, 4, etc. )
*Works Cited page is its own page at the end of your essay. Be sure to center “Works Cited” at the top
of the page, exactly as pictured below.
*Be sure to alphabetize your sources
*Be sure to put a ? or ! after the article title if it is used by the author in his/her title. If there is no
punctuation, always default to a period, even if the author did not include it in the title.
Works Cited
McGraw, Eloise Jarvis. The Golden Goblet. Penguin Group, 2006.
Olson, Andrew, Ph.D., and Rowland, Teisha, Ph.D. “What Makes Ice Melt the Fastest?” Science Buddies,
20 Nov. 2020, https://www.sciencebuddies.org/science-fair-projects/projectideas/Chem_p049/chemistry/what-makes-ice-melt-fastest. Accessed 13 Jan. 2021.
Smith, Andrew, et al. “The Majestic Polar Bear.” Reader’s Digest, 13 Sept. 1997, http://www.
thepolarbearanditsmajesty.com. Accessed 6 June 2020.
-If there are more than two authors, put the last name, first name of ONLY the first
author who is listed on the article and replace the rest of the authors with “et al”.
DO NOT HIGHLITE THE Works Cited Page on your final draft!
In-Text Citations (Parenthetical Citations)
If quoting directly from the source:
“Life is to be lived, not controlled; and humanity is won by continuing to play in face of certain defeat”
(Ellison 22).
-Inside the parenthetical citation: Author’s last name followed by page the passage is found on
-Periods, commas, and semi-colons appear after parenthetical citation
*Ex: “…..” (Ellison 22).
-Put question marks and exclamation marks inside quotation marks, exactly as it is written in the
text. If you use a ? or ! inside the quotes, do not put a period after parenthetical citations
* Ex: “…..?” (Ellison 22)
Many times a source will have multiple authors. Here is how you create a parenthetical citation for an
article that has more than one author:
-
Two authors: “…………” (Olson and Rowland 3).
-
Three or more authors: “………” (Johnson et al. 327).
* In this, you only put the last name of the first author listed, and exclude the rest of the
authors, replacing them with “et al.”
If paraphrasing someone else’s work in your paper, say something like, “According to Ellison, humanity
cannot be controlled and must press on despite defeat” (22).
- Be sure you include the author’s last name in some capacity, and the page number it was
found on.
- If two authors: “According to Olson and Rowland…..” (22).
- If more than two authors: “According to Olson et. al., ……” (22).