MLA 9th edition citation uses short in-text citations with the author's surname and page number, such as (Morrison 64), and a Works Cited list at the end. It is the standard style in English, literature, languages and much of the humanities.
The 9th edition, published in 2021, keeps the flexible core elements and containers of MLA 8 and adds fuller guidance. This page explains the framework and gives examples you can follow.
MLA 9 in Four Rules
- Cite in the text by author and page, with no comma and no "p.": (Morrison 64).
- Build each Works Cited entry from the nine core elements, in order.
- Italicize containers; put titles of shorter works in quotation marks.
- Alphabetize the Works Cited list, double-space it and use a hanging indent.
The Nine Core Elements
Instead of separate templates for every source type, MLA gives one ordered list. Include the elements that exist for your source, with the punctuation shown, and skip the rest.
| Element | Punctuation after it | Example |
|---|---|---|
| 1. Author | Full stop | Chen, Li. |
| 2. Title of source | Full stop | "Memory and Form in the Postwar Novel." |
| 3. Title of container | Comma | Modern Fiction Studies, |
| 4. Other contributors | Comma | edited by Rana Patel, |
| 5. Version | Comma | 2nd ed., |
| 6. Number | Comma | vol. 67, no. 2, |
| 7. Publisher | Comma | Penguin, |
| 8. Publication date | Comma | 2021, |
| 9. Location | Full stop | pp. 15-34. |
The entry ends with a full stop. Once you see an entry as these slots filled in order, formatting becomes mechanical.
Understanding Containers
A container is the larger whole that holds your source: a journal for an article, a website for a web page, an anthology for a short story, a streaming service for an episode. Containers are italic; the source title takes quotation marks.
Some sources sit in two containers, such as a journal article found in a database. Complete the elements for the first container, then add the second container's title and location.
Chen, Li. "Memory and Form in the Postwar Novel." Modern Fiction Studies, vol. 67, no. 2, 2021, pp. 15-34. JSTOR, https://doi.org/10.xxxx/mfs.2021.0002.
In-Text Citations
Give the author's surname and page in brackets. If you name the author in your sentence, give only the page.
The narrator's unreliability builds slowly (Ishiguro 211), a technique critics link to post-war anxiety (Chen 18). Morrison describes the house as "spiteful" (3).
| Situation | In-text form |
|---|---|
| Two authors | (Smith and Okafor 45) |
| Three or more authors | (Smith et al. 45) |
| No author | Shortened title: ("Reading a Poem" 12) |
| No page numbers | Author alone: (Smith) |
| Two works by one author | (Morrison, Beloved 64) |
| Numbered paragraphs | (Smith, par. 4) |
Never invent page numbers or cite the page of a printout. If a source has no pages or numbered sections, the author's name alone is enough.
The Works Cited List
- Start on a new page headed Works Cited, centered and not bold.
- Alphabetize by the first element, usually the author's surname, or the title if there is no author.
- Use a hanging indent of half an inch and double-space throughout.
- Give author names as written in the source, first author reversed: Smith, Ada, and Ben Okafor.
- For three or more authors, give the first author followed by "et al.".
- Include only works you cite.
Works Cited Examples
Book
Morrison, Toni. Beloved. Vintage, 2004.
Work in an Anthology
Carter, Angela. "The Bloody Chamber." The Bloody Chamber and Other Stories, Penguin, 1979, pp. 7-41.
Book with Two Authors
Smith, Ada, and Ben Okafor. Reading Poetry Closely. Routledge, 2020.
Web Page
Smith, Ada. "How to Read a Poem." Poetry Foundation, 12 Mar. 2023, www.poetryfoundation.org/articles/how-to-read.
Film
Parasite. Directed by Bong Joon-ho, CJ Entertainment, 2019.
Write dates day, month, year with abbreviated months (12 Mar. 2023). Drop "http://" and "https://" from URLs, but give DOIs in full with "https://doi.org/". An access date is optional, useful for pages likely to change. Examples use illustrative details.
Quoting and Formatting the Paper
Short quotations, up to four lines of prose or three lines of verse, run into your sentence in double quotation marks, with the citation after the closing quote and before the full stop.
Longer quotations become block quotations: indented half an inch from the left margin, with no quotation marks, and the citation after the final full stop.
| Feature | MLA 9 convention |
|---|---|
| Heading | Your name, instructor, course and date, top left, double-spaced |
| Title | Centered, no bold or underline |
| Running header | Surname and page number, top right |
| Spacing and margins | Double-spaced, one-inch margins |
| Title page | Not needed unless your tutor asks for one |
Common MLA Mistakes
- Putting a comma or "p." in the in-text citation: write (Morrison 64).
- Using the year instead of the page in the text.
- Forgetting quotation marks for article, chapter or web page titles.
- Leaving out "et al." for three or more authors.
- Writing dates month first or with full month names.
- Bold or underlined Works Cited heading.
- No hanging indent.
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Frequently Asked Questions
The 9th edition, published in 2021.
Use the author's name alone, or a paragraph or section number if the source provides one. Never invent page numbers.
With three or more authors, give the first author followed by "et al." in both the text and the Works Cited list.
It is optional. Add one for web pages that may change or lack a publication date.
Yes, with a hanging indent and entries in alphabetical order.
The core framework stayed the same. MLA 9 adds fuller guidance on topics such as inclusive language, formatting and more source types.