sample mla research paper with works cited

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MLA Sample Works Cited Page

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MLA (Modern Language Association) style is most commonly used to write papers and cite sources within the liberal arts and humanities. This resource, updated to reflect the MLA Handbook (9 th ed.), offers examples for the general format of MLA research papers, in-text citations, endnotes/footnotes, and the Works Cited page.

Note: We have chosen to include the date of access for the online sources below. The latest MLA guidelines specify that this is optional, but strongly recommended for sources whose date of publication is unavailable.

Note also: The citation for  An Inconvenient Truth  below assumes the film has been cited by its title in the text. If it had been cited by the name of its director, the citation would need to begin with Guggenheim's surname. MLA guidelines specify that both styles are acceptable (see, e.g., this  "Ask the MLA" page ).

Works Cited

Dean, Cornelia. "Executive on a Mission: Saving the Planet." The New York Times , 22 May 2007, www.nytimes.com/2007/05/22/science/earth/22ander.html?_r=0. Accessed 29 May 2019.

Ebert, Roger. Review of  An Inconvenient Truth , directed by Davis Guggenheim.  Ebert Digital LLC , 1 June 2006, www.rogerebert.com/reviews/an-inconvenient-truth-2006. Accessed 15 June 2019.

Gowdy, John. "Avoiding Self-Organized Extinction: Toward a Co-Evolutionary Economics of Sustainability." International Journal of Sustainable Development and World Ecology, vol. 14, no. 1, 2007, pp. 27-36.

Harris, Rob, and Andrew C. Revkin. “Clinton on Climate Change.”  The New York Times , 17 May 2007, www.nytimes.com/video/world/americas/1194817109438/clinton-on-climate-change.html. Accessed 29 July 2016.

An Inconvenient Truth . Directed by Davis Guggenheim, Paramount, 2006.

Leroux, Marcel. Global Warming: Myth or Reality?: The Erring Ways of Climatology . Springer, 2005.

Milken, Michael, et al. "On Global Warming and Financial Imbalances." New Perspectives Quarterly , vol. 23, no. 4, 2006, p. 63.

Nordhaus, William D. "After Kyoto: Alternative Mechanisms to Control Global Warming." American Economic Review , vol. 96, no. 2, 2006, pp. 31-34.

---. "Global Warming Economics." Science, vol. 294, no. 5545, 9 Nov. 2001, pp. 1283-84, DOI: 10.1126/science.1065007.

Regas, Diane. “Three Key Energy Policies That Can Help Us Turn the Corner on Climate.” Environmental Defense Fund , 1 June 2016, www.edf.org/blog/2016/06/01/3-key-energy-policies-can-help-us-turn-corner-climate. Accessed 19 July 2016.

Revkin, Andrew C. “Clinton on Climate Change.” The New York Times , 17 May 2007, www.nytimes.com/video/world/americas/1194817109438/clinton-on-climate-change.html. Accessed 29 July 2016.

Shulte, Bret. "Putting a Price on Pollution." US News & World Report , vol. 142, no. 17, 14 May 2007, p. 37. Ebsco, Access no: 24984616.

Uzawa, Hirofumi. Economic Theory and Global Warming . Cambridge UP, 2003.

MLA Citation Guide (9th edition) : Works Cited and Sample Papers

• Getting Started
• How do I Cite?
• In-Text Citations
• Works Cited and Sample Papers
• Additional Resources

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Quick Rules for an MLA Works Cited List

Your research paper ends with a list of all the sources cited in your paper. Here are some quick rules for this Works Cited list:

• Begin the works cited list on a new page after the text.
• Name it "Works Cited," and center the section label in bold at the top of the page.
• Order the reference list alphabetically by author's last name.
• Double-space the entire list (both within and between entries).
• Apply a hanging indent of 0.5 in. to each entry. This means that the first line of the reference is flush left and subsequent lines are indented 0.5 in. from the left margin.

Sample Paper with Works Cited List

The Modern Language Association (MLA) has compiled  several sample papers  that include explanations of the elements and formatting in MLA 9th edition. 

MLA Title Pages

MLA Title Page: Format and Template   This resource discusses the correct format for title pages in MLA style and includes examples.

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Home / MLA Sample Paper

MLA Sample Paper

Mla sample paper #1.

If you’ve been wondering how to produce a research paper that is strong in both formatting and writing, you’ve come to the right place.

Check out our first sample paper below. It is a helpful and clearly labeled visual aid to refer to. Note that while these sample papers do not include MLA abstracts , you should check with your instructor to see if an abstract should be included.

Visual Sample Paper

The example research paper below is one that was written in college for a course on the Inklings. The Inklings were a group of writers in England before WWII, including C.S. Lewis and J.R.R. Tolkien.

The abbreviated MLA paper below (linked here without annotations) is about J.R.R. Tolkien’s Lord of the Rings and how the author used myth, story, and song to link all of his works together. Tolkien is famous for creating a fantasy universe called Middle-earth, which readers can’t truly understand until they read all of the books about Middle-earth ( The Silmarillian, The Hobbit, and The Lord of the Rings ).

Since we’re here to learn how to format an essay, we’ve pointed out some important things about the paper to help you write a correctly formatted essay.

For starters, the essay is in MLA format. That means it follows the style manual of the Modern Language Association, which tells you how to format the paper itself and every source you cite. You’ll also see notes like how long a paragraph should be, how to use commas properly, and how to correctly punctuate a title. Some of these guidelines are different from those in APA format , so be sure to confirm you are using the correct style in your paper.

Pay special attention to the MLA format works cited. We only used one type of source (books), but both citations are correct according to the 9th edition of MLA, published in 2021. When you’re writing your own paper, you need to make sure you always use the most recent edition of the style manual. You’ll also want to check with your instructor to see if you need to include an MLA annotated bibliography with your paper, which contains additional information summarizing and evaluating each source after the regular citation.

Whether you need MLA, APA citations , or Chicago style notes, look up the latest edition before turning in a paper.

MLA Sample Paper #2

See below for an example paper or click below to download it as a Word Document.

The MLA header should be one inch from the top and left margins. The heading and the entire paper should be double spaced.

Eli YaffarabeProfessor Rapheor

28 August 2018

Privatization of Prisons in Texas

              The privatization of governmental services has increased dramatically in the past decade as local, state, and federal agencies have searched for ways to cut costs while still meeting their mandated responsibility to provide various public services. This privatizing trend has particularly affected the criminal justice system. Since the early 1990s, privatized correctional facilities have increased significantly, nationally and statewide. This policy has far-ranging consequences not only within the criminal justice system, but as an instructive example for government officials when considering the costs and benefits of privatization as a public policy option. By 2001, thirty states, the District of Columbia, and Puerto Rico had privately-operated correctional facilities (Austin and Coventry 4). This movement has incited considerable debate and controversy, mainly because prison privatization calls for giving the private sector direct control over the lives of a captive human population.

Surprisingly, there has been little objective and concrete analysis of the privatization of prisons in the United States. This is probably for two reasons: first, ideological arguments on the matter have pushed out substantive research, and second, because this trend has only recently accelerated in the U.S. and mainly on a state level. However, case studies and statistics at the state level are more accessible. With capacity for over 30,000 prisoners in 43 facilities, the state of Texas has privatized more of its prison system than any state in the nation (McDonald and Patten Jr. iv).

Yaffarabe 2

              Public policy concerning the criminal justice system has become more daunting and important in the last decade. The problems in the system are twofold: an overcrowding prison population, mainly due to “three strikes” legislation and reducing early parole; and the costs of operating prisons with this growing population (Austin and Coventry). According to the most recent U.S. Department of Justice survey, slightly over 2.2 million people were incarcerated in correctional facilities in this country in 2003. In comparison, in 1993, 1.37 million people were imprisoned in this country (Beck and Harrison 1).

At the same time, the growth of privately operated correctional facilities has increased significantly in this country. Private prisons now hold 95,522 inmates in this country, which is 6.5 percent of total prisoners (Beck and Harrison 5). In Texas, 16,570 inmates (10 percent of its prison population) are held in private facilities, about 10,000 more than the next highest state. Furthermore, six states had at least 25 percent of their prison population housed in private prisons, led by New Mexico (44%), Alaska (31%), and Montana (29%). These current statistics show that while state governments have been forced to manage and operate overcrowded and over-capacity prisons at considerable costs, many have turned to the private sector to operate prisons (McDonald and Patten Jr.). According to the General Accounting Office, prison operating costs have grown steadily since 1980, increasing almost 550 percent since 1980 based on inflation-adjusted dollars (Austin and Coventry 1).

Prison privatization started in the early 1980s, ostensibly to ease the burden on taxpayers by offering financial relief to private companies to run state prisons. Thomas Beasley founded Corrections Corporation of America in 1983, “the nation’s leader in the construction and management of private prisons” (Darling). That year, Corrections Corporation of America set up the first privately-operated prison in Tennessee. Since then, the number of private

Yaffarabe 3

correctional facility firms has grown to 14 (Austin and Coventry 3). The privatization of prisons occurs in two ways. First, state government can contract out (or outsource) specific services in a correctional facility to a private company after a bidding process. Second, and more radically, private companies build their own privately-managed prisons and contract with state governments to house their inmates. This latter approach, giving private correctional facility firms wide latitude over inmates, is taken in the Texas criminal justice system. In fact, many of these privately operated facilities “have no relationship at all with the state governments in these states, other than an obligation to pay corporate income taxes” (McDonald and Patten Jr. v).

(Due to its length, the remainder of this sample paper is omitted).

Yaffarabe 4

Works Cited Page

Austin, James, and Garry Coventry. Emerging Issues on Privatized Prisons . Bureau of Justice Assistance, Feb. 2001, www.ncjrs.gov/pdffiles1/bja/181249.pdf.

Beck, Allen J., and Paige Harrison. Prisoners in 2003 . Bureau of Justice Statistics, Nov. 2004, www.bjs.gov/content/pub/pdf/p03.pdf.

McDonald, Douglas, and Carl Patten Jr. Governments’ Management of Private Prisons . Abt Associates, 15 Sept. 2003, www.ncjrs.gov/pdffiles1/nij/grants/203968.pdf.

Darling, Michael. “Pitt News: University of Pittsburgh Shouldn’t Lend Its Name to Prison Privatization.” CorpWatch , 15 Nov. 2004, corpwatch.org/article/pitt-news-univeristy-pittsburgh-shouldnt-lend-its-name-prison-privatization.

MLA Formatting Guide

MLA Formatting

• Annotated Bibliography
• Bibliography
• Block Quotes
• et al Usage
• In-text Citations
• Paraphrasing
• Page Numbers
• Sample Paper
• Works Cited
• MLA 8 Updates
• MLA 9 Updates
• View MLA Guide

Citation Examples

• Book Chapter
• Journal Article
• Magazine Article
• Newspaper Article
• Website (no author)
• View all MLA Examples

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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 a source with one author is given below:

Doug Barry explains the status of the UK.

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 status of the UK is explained (Barry).

Examples of in-text citations

Here are a few examples of in-text citations for works with various numbers and types of authors:

Use both the first name and surname of the author if you are mentioning the author for the first time in the prose. In subsequent occurrences, use only the author’s surname. Always use only the author’s surname in parenthetical citations.

Citation in prose:

First mention: Stephen George asserts …. (17).

Subsequent occurrences: George argues …. (17).

Parenthetical:

…. (George 17).

Two authors

Use the first name and surname of both authors if you are mentioning the work for the first time in the prose. In subsequent occurrences, use only the surnames of the two authors. Always use only the authors’ surnames in parenthetical citations. Use “and” to separate the two authors in parenthetical citations.

First mention: Kane Williams and Clark Ronald ….

Subsequent occurrences: Williams and Ronald ….

…. (Williams and Ronald).

Three or more authors

For citations in prose, use the first name and surname of the first author followed by “and others” or “and colleagues.” For parenthetical citations, use only the surname of the first author followed by “et al.”

Krishnan Sethu and colleagues…. or Krishnan Sethu and others ….

…. (Sethu et al.).

Corporate author

For citations in prose, treat the corporate author like you would treat the author’s name. For parenthetical citations, shorten the organization name to the shortest noun phrase. For example, shorten the Modern Language Association of America to Modern Language Association.

The Language Literary Association of Canada….

…. (Language Literary Association).

If there is no author for the source, use the source’s title in place of the author’s name for both citations in prose and parenthetical citations.

When you add such in-text citations, italicize the text of the title. If the source title is longer than a noun phrase, use a shortened version of the title. For example, shorten the title Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them to Fantastic Beasts .

Endgame explains …. (121).

…. ( Endgame 121).

In MLA style, two types of citations are used to cite a source: a short citation used within the text (called the in-text citation) and a full citation (called the works cited list entry) within the works cited list, which appears at the end of a paper.

The works cited list entry provides the complete details of a source. An in-text citation is a short citation that is placed next to the text being cited. The in-text citation lets the reader know that the information is derived from the cited source, and helps the reader find the full citation within the works cited list.

In order to properly cite a source in MLA style, you must have both citation types in your paper. Every in-text citation has a works cited list entry. Every works cited list entry has at least one (maybe more) corresponding in-text citation.

In-text citations

The basic element needed for an in-text citation is the author’s surname . 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.

First mention: Sian Anderson studies ….

Subsequent occurrences: Anderson analyzes ….

….(Anderson)

or if quoting directly:

…(Anderson 9)

First mention: Paul Fin and Anna Gabriel ….

Subsequent occurrences: Fin and Gabriel ….

….(Fin and Gabriel)

…(Fin and Gabriel 27)

Paul Hill and colleagues…. or Paul Hill and others ….

….(Hill et al.)

…(Hill et al. 138)

Examples of works cited list entries

Below are a few examples of different types of works cited list entries. The examples given are for one author.

Steinman, Louise. The Knowing Body: Elements of Contemporary Performance and Dance . Shambhala Publications, 1986.

Journal article                                      

Barad, K. “Nature’s Queer Performativity.” Qui Parle , vol. 19, no. 2, 2011, pp. 121–58.

Webpage of a website

Midgelow, Vida L. “Experiences and Perceptions of the Artistic Doctorate: A Survey Report.” Artistic Doctorates in Europe,  5 Feb. 2018, www.artisticdoctorates.com/2017/12/28/experiences-and-perceptions-of-the-artistic-doctorate-survey-report/ .

YouTube video

“Behind the Scenes Chili’s Baby Back Ribs Spot.” YouTube , uploaded by Alvin Chea, 11 Sept. 2017, www.youtube.com/watch?v=gTDLh7gNRYA .

MLA Citation Examples

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MLA Citation Guide (MLA 8th Edition): Works Cited List & Sample Paper

• Advertisements
• Books, eBooks & Pamphlets
• Business Reports from Library Databases
• Class Notes & Presentations
• Encyclopedias & Dictionaries
• Government Documents
• Images, Charts, Graphs, Maps & Tables
• Interviews and Emails (Personal Communications)
• Journal Articles
• Legal Resources
• Magazine Articles
• Newspaper Articles
• Religious Texts
• Social Media
• Videos & DVDs
• When Creating Digital Assignments
• When Information Is Missing
• Works Quoted in Another Source
• In-Text Citation
• Works Cited List & Sample Paper
• Annotated Bibliography
• Citation Software

Please Note : all links on this page will take you to Seneca College Libraries  LibGuide  pages. All content in this guide is courtesy of Seneca College Libraries.  This guide is used/adapted with the permission of Seneca College Libraries. For information please contact  [email protected] .

Sample Paper w/ Works Cited page

Sample MLA paper , including Works Cited page (via Purdue Owl Online Writing Lab: MLA Style Guide )

This sample paper can be used as a template to set up your assignment and your Works Cited page in MLA format.

• End-of-Paper Checklist

Finished your assignment? Use this checklist to be sure you haven't missed any information needed for MLA style.

Quick Rules for an MLA Works Cited page

Your research paper ends with a list of all the sources cited in the text of the paper. This is called a Works Cited page.

Here are eight quick rules for this list:

• Start a new page for your Works Cited list (e.g., if your paper is 4 pages long, start your Works Cited list on page 5).
• Center the title, Works Cited, at the top of the page and do not bold or underline it.
• Double-space the list.
• Start the first line of each citation at the left margin. For every line after the first line, use a "hanging indent". Instructions for setting up a hanging indent in Word can be found here . 
• Put your list in alphabetical order. Alphabetize the list by the first word in the citation. In most cases, the first word will be the author’s last name. Where the author is unknown, alphabetize by the first word in the title, ignoring the following words: a, an, the.
• For each author, give the last name followed by a comma and the first name followed by a period.
• Italicize the titles of full works: books, journal titles, audiovisual material, websites.
• Do not italicize titles of parts of works, such as: articles from newspapers, magazines, or journals / essays, poems, short stories or chapter titles from a book / chapters or sections of an Internet document. Instead, use quotation marks.
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MLA Citation Guide (MLA 8th Edition): Works Cited List & Sample Paper

• Introduction
• Advertisements
• Books, eBooks & Pamphlets
• Business Reports from Library Databases
• Class Notes & Presentations
• Encyclopedias & Dictionaries
• Court & Government Documents
• Images, Charts, Graphs, Maps & Tables
• Interviews and Emails (Personal Communications)
• Journal Articles
• Legal Resources
• Magazine Articles
• Newspaper Articles
• Religious Texts
• Social Media
• Videos & DVDs
• Websites (Blogs, Wikipedia, Facebook)
• When Creating Digital Assignments
• Missing Information (No author, date, page numbers,database name)
• Works Quoted in Another Source
• In-Text Citation
• Works Cited List & Sample Paper
• Annotated Bibliography
• Citation Software

Sample Paper & Works Cited List

• MLA Sample Paper Template

This sample paper includes a sample assignment page with example of how to include your student information and a Works Cited list in MLA format.

It can be used as a template to set up your assignment.

If you are adding an appendix to your paper there are a few rules to follow that comply with MLA guidelines:

• The Appendix appears before the Works Cited list
• If you have more than one appendix you would name the first appendix Appendix A, the second Appendix B, etc.
• The appendices should appear in the order that the information is mentioned in your essay
• Each appendix begins on a new page
• MLA Sample Paper - with Appendix (Purdue OWL example) Note that while this example shows the correct way to format your Appendix, the individual MLA citations are incorrect as they are formatted according to the 7th (not 8th) edition of MLA.

Quick Rules for an MLA Works Cited List

Your research paper ends with a list of all the sources cited in the text of the paper. This is called a Works Cited list.

See an example in the "Sample Paper & Works Cited List" box on this page.

Here are eight quick rules for this list:

• Start a new page for your Works Cited list (e.g., if your paper is 4 pages long, start your Works Cited list on page 5).
• Centre the title, Works Cited, at the top of the page and do not bold or underline it.
• Double-space the list.
• Start the first line of each citation at the left margin; indent each subsequent line five spaces (also known as a "hanging indent").
• Put your list in alphabetical order. Alphabetize the list by the first word in the citation. In most cases, the first word will be the author’s last name. Where the author is unknown, alphabetize by the first word in the title, ignoring the words a, an, the.
• For each author, give the last name followed by a comma and the first name followed by a period.
• Italicize the titles of full works: books, audiovisual material,websites.
• Do not italicize titles of parts of works, such as: articles from newspapers, magazines, or journals / essays, poems, short stories or chapter titles from a book / chapters or sections of an Internet document. Instead, use quotation marks.
• End-of-Paper Checklist

Finished your assignment? Use this checklist to be sure you haven't missed any information needed for MLA style.

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• Next: Annotated Bibliography >>
• Last Updated: Nov 28, 2023 7:45 PM
• URL: https://libraryguides.malone.edu/MLA

MLA Citation Guide (MLA 9th edition) CGS

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• Creative Commons Licensed Works.
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• Images, Charts, Graphs, Maps & Tables
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• Journal Articles
• Magazine Articles
• Newspaper Articles
• Religious Texts
• Social Media
• Videos & DVDs
• When Information Is Missing
• Works Cited in Another Source
• Annotated Bibliography

Quick Rules for an MLA Works Cited List

Sample mla paper, end-of-paper checklist.

• Citation Help

Your research paper ends with a list of all the sources cited in the text of the paper. This is called a Works Cited list. See an example in the "Sample Paper & Works Cited List" box on this page.

Here are eight quick rules for this list:

• Start a new page for your Works Cited list (e.g., if your paper is 4 pages long, start your Works Cited list on page 5).
• Center the title, Works Cited, at the top of the page and do not bold or underline it.
• Double-space the list.
• Start the first line of each citation at the left margin; indent each subsequent line five spaces (also known as a "hanging indent").
• Put your list in alphabetical order. Alphabetize the list by the first word in the citation. In most cases, the first word will be the author’s last name. Where the author is unknown, alphabetize by the first word in the title, ignoring the words a, an, the.
• For each author, give the last name followed by a comma and the first name followed by a period.
• Italicize the titles of full works: books, audiovisual material, websites.
• Do not italicize titles of parts of works, such as: articles from newspapers, magazines, or journals / essays, poems, short stories or chapter titles from a book / chapters or sections of an Internet document. Instead, use quotation marks.
• Formatting Your Research Project - MLA Style Center This free book chapter offers explanations and examples of MLA formatting such as margins, title, page numbers and works cited lists. Click on the name of the book chapters (to the left of the free button) to learn more about each topic.

The MLA Sample Paper Template may be used to set up your assignment. The template includes:

• A sample assignment page;
• and a Works CIted list in MLA format.
• MLA 9 Sample Paper

Finished your assignment? Use this checklist to be sure you haven't missed any information needed for MLA style.

• End of Paper Checklist
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• Next: Citation Help >>
• Last Updated: Sep 1, 2023 11:29 AM
• URL: https://guides.library.uwm.edu/c.php?g=1207476

Generate accurate MLA citations for free

• Knowledge Base
• MLA format for academic papers and essays

MLA Format | Complete Guidelines & Free Template

Published on December 11, 2019 by Raimo Streefkerk . Revised on March 5, 2024 by Jack Caulfield.

The MLA Handbook provides guidelines for creating MLA citations and formatting academic papers. This quick guide will help you set up your MLA format paper in no time.

Start by applying these MLA format guidelines to your document:

• Times New Roman 12
• 1″ page margins
• Double line spacing
• ½” indent for new paragraphs
• Title case capitalization for headings

For accurate citations, you can use our free MLA Citation Generator .

Download Word template Open Google Docs template

(To use the Google Docs template, copy the file to your Drive by clicking on ‘file’ > ‘Make a copy’)

Table of contents

How to set up mla format in google docs, header and title, running head, works cited page, creating mla style citations, headings and subheadings, tables and figures, frequently asked questions about mla format.

The header in MLA format is left-aligned on the first page of your paper. It includes

• Your full name
• Your instructor’s or supervisor’s name
• The course name or number
• The due date of the assignment

After the MLA header, press ENTER once and type your paper title. Center the title and don’t forget to apply title-case capitalization. Read our article on writing strong titles that are informative, striking and appropriate.

For a paper with multiple authors, it’s better to use a separate title page instead.

At the top of every page, including the first page, you need to include your last name and the page number. This is called the “running head.” Follow these steps to set up the MLA running head in your Word or Google Docs document:

• Double-click at the top of a page
• Type your last name
• Insert automatic page numbering
• Align the content to the right

The running head should look like this:

The Works Cited list is included on a separate page at the end of your paper. You list all the sources you referenced in your paper in alphabetical order. Don’t include sources that weren’t cited in the paper, except potentially in an MLA annotated bibliography assignment.

Place the title “Works Cited” in the center at the top of the page. After the title, press ENTER once and insert your MLA references.

If a reference entry is longer than one line, each line after the first should be indented ½ inch (called a hanging indent ). All entries are double spaced, just like the rest of the text.

Generate accurate MLA citations with Scribbr

Prefer to cite your sources manually? Use the interactive example below to see what the Works Cited entry and MLA in-text citation look like for different source types.

Headings and subheadings are not mandatory, but they can help you organize and structure your paper, especially in longer assignments.

MLA has only a few formatting requirements for headings. They should

• Be written in title case
• Be left-aligned
• Not end in a period

We recommend keeping the font and size the same as the body text and applying title case capitalization. In general, boldface indicates greater prominence, while italics are appropriate for subordinate headings.

Chapter Title

Section Heading

Tip: Both Google Docs and Microsoft Word allow you to create heading levels that help you to keep your headings consistent.

Tables and other illustrations (referred to as “figures”) should be placed as close to the relevant part of text as possible. MLA also provides guidelines for presenting them.

MLA format for tables

Tables are labeled and numbered, along with a descriptive title. The label and title are placed above the table on separate lines; the label and number appear in bold.

A caption providing information about the source appears below the table; you don’t need one if the table is your own work.

Below this, any explanatory notes appear, marked on the relevant part of the table with a superscript letter. The first line of each note is indented; your word processor should apply this formatting automatically.

Just like in the rest of the paper, the text is double spaced and you should use title case capitalization for the title (but not for the caption or notes).

MLA format for figures

Figures (any image included in your paper that isn’t a table) are also labeled and numbered, but here, this is integrated into the caption below the image. The caption in this case is also centered.

The label “Figure” is abbreviated to “Fig.” and followed by the figure number and a period. The rest of the caption gives either full source information, or (as in the example here) just basic descriptive information about the image (author, title, publication year).

Source information in table and figure captions

If the caption of your table or figure includes full source information and that source is not otherwise cited in the text, you don’t need to include it in your Works Cited list.

Give full source information in a caption in the same format as you would in the Works Cited list, but without inverting the author name (i.e. John Smith, not Smith, John).

MLA recommends using 12-point Times New Roman , since it’s easy to read and installed on every computer. Other standard fonts such as Arial or Georgia are also acceptable. If in doubt, check with your supervisor which font you should be using.

The main guidelines for formatting a paper in MLA style are as follows:

• Use an easily readable font like 12 pt Times New Roman
• Set 1 inch page margins
• Apply double line spacing
• Include a four-line MLA heading on the first page
• Center the paper’s title
• Indent every new paragraph ½ inch
• Use title case capitalization for headings
• Cite your sources with MLA in-text citations
• List all sources cited on a Works Cited page at the end

The fastest and most accurate way to create MLA citations is by using Scribbr’s MLA Citation Generator .

Search by book title, page URL, or journal DOI to automatically generate flawless citations, or cite manually using the simple citation forms.

The MLA Handbook is currently in its 9th edition , published in 2021.

This quick guide to MLA style  explains the latest guidelines for citing sources and formatting papers according to MLA.

Usually, no title page is needed in an MLA paper . A header is generally included at the top of the first page instead. The exceptions are when:

• Your instructor requires one, or
• Your paper is a group project

In those cases, you should use a title page instead of a header, listing the same information but on a separate page.

Cite this Scribbr article

If you want to cite this source, you can copy and paste the citation or click the “Cite this Scribbr article” button to automatically add the citation to our free Citation Generator.

Streefkerk, R. (2024, March 05). MLA Format | Complete Guidelines & Free Template. Scribbr. Retrieved April 7, 2024, from https://www.scribbr.com/mla/formatting/

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MLA Citation Guide (MLA 9th Edition): Works Cited & Paper Format

• Source Types
• Evaluating Sources
• Quoting vs. Paraphrasing
• Advertisements
• Audio Materials
• Books, eBooks & Course Packs
• Creative Commons Licensed Works
• Encyclopedias & Dictionaries
• Games & Objects
• Government Documents
• Images, Infographics, Maps, Charts, & Tables
• Indigenous Elders and Knowledge Keepers (Oral Communication)
• Journal Articles
• Magazine Articles
• Newspaper Articles
• Personal Communications (including emails and interviews)
• Religious Works
• Social Media
• Websites (including documents/PDFs posted on websites)
• When Information Is Missing
• Works Quoted in Another Source
• Works Cited & Paper Format
• Plagiarism & Academic Integrity
• End of Paper Checklist

Setting Up Your Paper

Check out these quick tips for formatting your MLA Style paper:

Margins : Add 1 inch margins on all sides.

Header (Individual papers) : Starting with your first page, add your last name followed by page number (e.g., Chen 2) at the top right corner of the page. 

Title Page & Header (Group project) : Include a title page if several students have written the paper. (See sample paper for example) Starting with your second page, add the students' last names followed by the page number at the top right corner of the page. If all last names do not fit in a single line in the header, you may just include the page number.

Line Spacing : Double-space your text.

Paragraph Alignment & Indentation : Indent the first line of each paragraph by 0.5 inch. Align your paragraphs to the left margin.

Font:  Unless specified by your instructor, MLA recommends choosing an easy to read typeface set to 11 pt, 12 pt, or 13 pt. This includes:

• Times New Roman

"MLA Works Cited: References and Formatting."  Video, 4:13. Posted by Scribbr, 2021. Accessed April 24, 2021.  YouTube.  YouTube, 2021.https://youtu.be/ypWxhhpGeyM

Sample Paper & Works Cited List

MLA Sample Paper (Purdue OWL example)

MLA Sample Works Cited Page

Quick Rules for an MLA Works Cited List

Your research paper ends with a list of all the sources cited in the text of the paper. This is called a Works Cited list.

See examples in the "Sample Paper & Works Cited List" box on this page.

Here are eight quick rules for this list:

• Start a new page for your Works Cited list (e.g., if your paper is 4 pages long, start your Works Cited list on page 5).
• Center the title, Works Cited, at the top of the page and do not bold or underline it.
• Double-space the list.
• Start the first line of each citation at the left margin; indent each subsequent line 0.5 inches (also known as a "hanging indent").
• Put your list in alphabetical order. Alphabetize the list by the first word in the citation. In most cases, the first word will be the author’s last name. Where the author is unknown, alphabetize by the first word in the title, ignoring the words a, an, the.
• For each author, give the last name followed by a comma and the first name followed by a period.
• Italicize the titles of full works: books, audiovisual material, websites.
• Do not italicize titles of parts of works, such as: articles from newspapers, magazines, or journals / essays, poems, short stories or chapter titles from a book / chapters or sections of an Internet document. Instead, use quotation marks.

End-of-Paper Checklist

• End of Paper Checklist Finished your paper? Use this checklist to make sure you haven't missed any information necessary for MLA style.
• << Previous: Works Quoted in Another Source
• Next: Plagiarism & Academic Integrity >>
• Last Updated: Mar 13, 2024 8:51 AM
• URL: https://columbiabasin.libguides.com/MLA

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MLA Citation Guide (8th Edition): Works Cited & Paper Format

• Advertisements
• Books, Ebooks, & Pamphlets
• Business Reports from Library Databases
• Class Notes & Presentations
• Wikipedia, Encyclopedias, & Dictionaries
• Government and Legal Documents
• Images, Charts, Graphs, & Tables
• Interviews and Emails (Personal Communications)
• Journal Articles
• Magazine Articles
• Newspaper Articles
• Religious Texts
• Social Media
• Videos & DVDs
• When Creating Digital Assignments
• When Information Is Missing
• When a Work Is Quoted in Another Source
• In-Text Citation
• Works Cited & Paper Format
• Annotated Bibliography
• Permalinks, URLs, & DOIs!
• Conscious Language
• Citation Tools
• EndNote Basic
• Informal Citations

Quick Rules for an MLA Works Cited List

Your research paper ends with a list of all the sources cited in the text of the paper. This is called a Works Cited list.

See examples in the "Sample Paper & Works Cited List" box on this page.

Here are eight quick rules for this list:

• Start a new page for your Works Cited list (e.g., if your paper is 4 pages long, start your Works Cited list on page 5).
• Center the title, Works Cited, at the top of the page and do not bold or underline it.
• Double-space the list.
• Start the first line of each citation at the left margin; indent each subsequent line 0.5 inches (also known as a "hanging indent").
• Put your list in alphabetical order. Alphabetize the list by the first word in the citation. In most cases, the first word will be the author’s last name. Where the author is unknown, alphabetize by the first word in the title, ignoring the words a, an, the.
• For each author, give the last name followed by a comma and the first name followed by a period.
• Italicize the titles of full works: books, audiovisual material, websites.
• Do not italicize titles of parts of works, such as: articles from newspapers, magazines, or journals / essays, poems, short stories or chapter titles from a book / chapters or sections of an Internet document. Instead, use quotation marks.
• End-of-Paper Checklist

Finished your assignment? Use this checklist to be sure you haven't missed any information needed for MLA style.

Sample Paper & Works Cited List

• MLA Sample Paper Template

This sample paper includes a sample assignment page with example of how to include your student information and a Works Cited list in MLA format.

It can be used as a template to set up your assignment.

• MLA Sample Paper (Purdue OWL example)
• MLA Sample Works Cited Page OWL Purdue gives a detailed example of how your Works Cited page should look.

If you are adding an appendix to your paper there are a few rules to follow that comply with MLA guidelines:

• The Appendix appears before the Works Cited list
• If you have more than one appendix you would name the first appendix Appendix A, the second Appendix B, etc.
• The appendices should appear in the order that the information is mentioned in your essay
• Each appendix begins on a new page
• MLA Sample Paper Template - with Appendix
• << Previous: In-Text Citation
• Next: Annotated Bibliography >>
• Last Updated: Jan 8, 2024 10:24 AM
• URL: https://libguides.salemstate.edu/mla

How do you cite a working paper in MLA style?

Note: This post relates to content in the eighth edition of the MLA Handbook . For up-to-date guidance, see the ninth edition of the MLA Handbook .

A working paper is a draft or an early version of a piece of writing, usually one that either has been or will be submitted for publication. Working papers submitted for publication can also be called prepublication or preprint versions, or by the term gray literature . You should either indicate that the source is a working paper in your prose or use the optional-element slot at the end of the entry to do so. The following sentence and works-cited-list entry provide an example of how to cite a working paper that is available in an online archive:

In a working paper published in  CORE , an open-access repository for humanities research, Erin Rose Glass and Micah Vandegrift argue that “[c]onnecting to the public is a key part of the mission of higher education.” Work Cited Glass, Erin Rose, and Micah Vandegrift. “Public Scholarship in Practice and Philosophy.”  CORE , 2018, dx.doi.org/10.17613/g64d-gd16. PDF download.

The following provides an example of how you would use the optional-element slot at the end of the entry to indicate that the source is a working paper (if, say, you did not mention it in your prose):  

Work Cited Conover, Kellam. “Rereading the Death of Turnus: Ritual, Time and Poetics in the Aeneid .” Princeton/Stanford Working Papers in Classics ,  www.princeton.edu/~pswpc/papers/authorAL/conover/conover.hml. Working paper.

MLA Citation Guide (9th Edition): Works Cited & Paper Format

• Advertisements
• Audio Materials
• Books, Ebooks, & Book Chapters
• ChatGPT or Other Generative AI
• Class Materials (Notes, Slides, & Recordings)
• Creative Commons Works
• Encyclopedias, & Dictionaries
• Images, Charts, Graphs, & Tables
• Journal Articles
• Magazine Articles
• Newspaper Articles
• Personal Communications (Interviews, Emails, etc.)
• Religious Works
• Social Media
• Unpublished Manuscript or Paper
• Websites (includes documents/PDFs posted online)
• When Information Is Missing
• When a Work Is Quoted in Another Source
• Works in Another Language / Translations
• Permalinks, URLs, & DOIs!
• Quoting vs. Paraphrasing
• Works Cited & Paper Format
• Citation Tools

Setting Up Your Paper

Check out these quick tips for formatting your MLA Style paper

Margins : Add 1 inch margins on all sides.

Header (Individual papers) : Starting with your first page, add your last name followed by page number (e.g., Chen 2) at the top right corner of the page. 

Title Page & Header (Group project) : Include a title page if several students have written the paper. (See sample paper for example) Starting with your second page, add the students' last names followed by the page number at the top right corner of the page. If all last names do not fit in a single line in the header, you may just include the page number.

Line Spacing : Double-space your text.

Paragraph Alignment & Indentation : Indent the first line of each paragraph by 0.5 inch. Align your paragraphs to the left margin.

Font:  Unless specified by your instructor, MLA recommends choosing an easy to read typeface set to 11 pt, 12 pt, or 13 pt. This includes:

• Times New Roman

Sample Paper & Works Cited List

• MLA Sample Paper (Purdue OWL example)
• MLA Sample Works Cited Page

Quick Rules for an MLA Works Cited List

Your research paper ends with a list of all the sources cited in the text of the paper. This is called a Works Cited list.

See examples in the "Sample Paper & Works Cited List" box on this page.

Here are eight quick rules for this list:

• Start a new page for your Works Cited list (e.g., if your paper is 4 pages long, start your Works Cited list on page 5).
• Center the title, Works Cited, at the top of the page and do not bold or underline it.
• Double-space the list.
• Start the first line of each citation at the left margin; indent each subsequent line 0.5 inches (also known as a "hanging indent").
• Put your list in alphabetical order. Alphabetize the list by the first word in the citation. In most cases, the first word will be the author’s last name. Where the author is unknown, alphabetize by the first word in the title, ignoring the words a, an, the.
• For each author, give the last name followed by a comma and the first name followed by a period.
• Italicize the titles of full works: books, audiovisual material, websites.
• Do not italicize titles of parts of works, such as: articles from newspapers, magazines, or journals / essays, poems, short stories or chapter titles from a book / chapters or sections of an Internet document. Instead, use quotation marks.
• End-of-Paper Checklist

Finished your assignment? Use this checklist to be sure you haven't missed any information needed for MLA style.

• << Previous: Quoting vs. Paraphrasing
• Next: Citation Tools >>
• Last Updated: Mar 19, 2024 10:41 AM
• URL: https://owhlguides.andover.edu/mla

• Free Tools for Students
• 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.

NOTICE: ProQuest e-book platforms will be down for planned maintenance on Saturday, August 12, from 12:00 pm to 3:00 pm CST.

ENG 110 - Schaaf: MLA Citations

• Scholarly Articles
• MLA Citations

This guide is based on the 8th edition (2016) of the MLA Handbook .

MLA  (Modern Language Association) uses the author/page number method for in-text citation . Include in parentheses the author's last name and the appropriate page number after all direct quotations and paraphrased content in your paper: Example: (Pollan 42). For more information, including other methods of incorporating quotes and paraphrased content in your paper, see the "Avoiding Plagiarism" tab and the Recommended Guides section of the "Basics" tab.

For the Works Cited list, MLA  requires the use of hanging indents .

Watch these:

Author: Use the full name as given in the source

Author: If one or two authors, give the full names of both

Author: If three or more authors, give the first author and indicate: et al.

Article title: Use " " (not italics or underline)

Journal/Book title: Use italics

URL: omit http:// or https://

URL: Use a DOI if one is available.  If not, use a permalink/ persistent/ stable link if one is available.

Samples of Modern Language Association (8th, 2016) Basic Format for the Works Cited list

- Capitalize all significant title and s ubtitle words. - Place of publication is normally not included.

Lastname, Firstname M. and Firstname2 Lastname2.  Title of Book: Subtitle of Book .  

     Publisher, Year of Publication.  

Lastname, Firstname M., et al., editors.  Title of Book: Subtitle of Book .  

      Publisher, Year of Publication.

Article in a Periodical

Lastname, Firstname. "Title of Article." Title of Journal,

     vol. nn, no. nn, date of issue, pp. nn-nn.  

Article in a Periodical, Retrieved from a Library Database

- Give the inclusive page numbers when given.

Lastname, Firstname. “Title of Article.” Title of Journal,      vol. nn, no. nn, date of issue, pp. nn-nn.  Database name,      DOIorPersistentURL.  

Article in an Online Periodical (not from a library database)

Lastname, Firstname. “Title of Article.” Title of Journal,      vol. nn, no. nn, date of issue, pp. nn-nn.  Website name ,      URL.

Web Document/Page/Report, Web Video, Web Images

 - If citing a whole web site, omit "Title of Work".  - The Accessed date (including the word, Accessed) is generally optional, but it is  required if there is no publication date .   Lastname, Firstname. “Title of Work.” Website name,

     Day published Month published Year published,

     URL. Accessed Day Month Year.

Citing Digital Content in MLA (7th, 2009)

Taken from Lafayette College's Archives and Special Collections website. You can access it directly here .

Digital Collections Note: MLA no longer requires the use of URLs in MLA citations. For instructors who still wish to require the use of URLs, MLA suggest that the URL appear within angle brackets after the date of access. The URL is given in the samples below.

Magazine Article : Shaw, Diane Windham. “Lafayette and Slavery.” Lafayette Alumni News. Winter 2007. Digital. 13 Jan. 2015. <http://digital.lafayette.edu/collections/magazine/lafalummag- 20070100>.

Newspaper Article : Kelley, Michael. “Damaged Futures. Research Finds Student Athletes are at Greater Risk for Long-Term Health.” The Lafayette. 9 May 2014. Digital. 13 Jan. 2015. <http://digital.lafayette.edu/collections/newspaper/20140509>.

Photograph : “Students Disrupt ROTC Parade on Fisher Field.” 4 May 1969. Historical Photograph Collection. Digital. 13 Jan. 2015. <http://digital.lafayette.edu/collections/historicalphotos/hpc-0269>. 

MLA Style Format

Recommended Guides

These are comprehensive citation guides recommended by librarians.

• APA  (7th, 2020)
• MLA   (8th, 2016)
• Chicago  (17th, 2017)  
• APA Formatting and Style Guide  (7th, 2020)
• MLA Formatting and Style Guide (9th, 2021)
• Chicago Formatting and Style Guide (17th, 2017)  
• APA Format and Style Guide  (7th, 2020)
• MLA Formatting and Style Guide  (9th, 2021)
• Chicago Formatting and Style Guide  (17th, 2017)
• << Previous: Websites
• Last Updated: Apr 2, 2024 3:14 PM
• URL: https://libguides.uwlax.edu/ENG110-Schaaf