mla research paper citation generator

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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.

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BibGuru MLA Citation Generator

Cite websites, books, articles, ...

Your Works Cited page in MLA

• A closer look at MLA's core elements

In-text citations in MLA

Formatting your paper in mla, helpful resources on mla style, the ultimate guide to citing in mla.

The MLA citation style was developed by the Modern Language Association of America, an association of scholars and teachers of language and literature.

The MLA publishes several academic journals, and the MLA Handbook , a citation guide for high school and undergrad students. The MLA Handbook provides guidelines for writing and documenting research, as well as tips for the use of the English language in your writing.

MLA is a very popular citation style. However, if you are unsure which citation style to use in your paper, ask your instructor. There are many different citation styles and using the style your instructor or institution has established correctly can have a positive impact on your grade.

This guide is based on the 9th edition of the MLA Handbook and aims at helping you cite correctly in MLA. The MLA Handbook provides guidelines for a large variety of sources and uses a two-part documentation system for citing sources:

• in-text parenthetical citations (author, page)
• a reference list at the end of paper with all literature used in text.

Each source that was cited in the text or notes of your paper should appear in a list at the end of the paper. MLA calls the reference list a "Works Cited" page.

I want to cite a ...

Your Works Cited list identifies the sources you cite in the body of your research project. Works that you consult during your research, but don't use and cite in your paper, are not included. Your Works Cited list is ordered alphabetically by the part of the author's name that comes first in each entry.

Entries in the list of works cited are made up of core elements given in a specific order, and there are optional elements that may be included. The core elements in your works cited list are the following, given in the order in which they should appear, followed by the correct punctuation mark. The final element in an MLA reference should end with a period:

• Title of source.
• Title of container,
• Contributor,
• Publication date,

To use this template of core elements, first evaluate what you are citing to see which elements apply to the source. Then list each element relevant to your source in the order given on the template. For a work containing another work (e.g. an article published in a journal and contained in a database), you can repeat the process by filling out the template again from Title of container to Location , listing all elements that apply to the container.

Step-by-step guide to create a Works Cited entry

Let's try this with a journal article. If you wanted to cite the article , “What Should We Do with a Doctor Here?”: Medical Authority in Austen’s Sanditon ," from the journal, Nineteenth-Century Contexts , the process would look like this:

• First, you would determine the author. In this case, that's Amy Mallory-Kani. so the first part of your reference would be: Mallory-Kani, Amy.
• Next, you'd want to include the title of the source in quotation marks, followed by a period: “What Should We Do with a Doctor Here?”: Medical Authority in Austen’s Sanditon."
• After the title of the source, you need to list the container. In this case, it's the journal's name, Nineteenth-Century Contexts , italicized and followed by a comma.
• For journal articles, the title of the container needs to be followed by version, or the volume number of the journal, separated by a comma from the issue number: vol. 39, no. 4,
• Since there is not typically a publisher listed for journal articles, the next step is to include the date, followed by a comma: 2017,
• Finally, you'll end your reference by adding the page numbers for the article, followed by an ending period: pp. 313-26.

If we put this all together, the full reference will look like this:

EXAMPLE Journal article

Mallory-Kani, Amy. “'What Should We Do with a Doctor Here?': Medical Authority in Austen’s Sanditon ”. Nineteenth-Century Contexts , vol. 39, no. 4, 2017, pp. 313-26.

MLA has a specific rule about how to structure page numbers in a works cited entry. Use pp. and then list the number. If the page range is within ten or one hundred digits, you don't need to repeat the first digit. For example, you would write pp. 51-8 or pp. 313-26.

The following section takes a deeper look at the core elements of an MLA works cited entry to help you get your citation right.

A closer look at MLA's core elements

When formatting the author element, make sure to follow these guidelines:

• When a work is published without an author's name, do not list it as Anonymous . Skip the author element instead and begin with the Title of source .
• Begin the entry with the last name of the author, so it can be alphabetized under this name. Follow the last name with a comma and the rest of the name as presented by the work.
• When a source has two authors, include them in the order in which they are presented in the work. Reverse the first of the names as described above.
• When a source has three or more authors, reverse the first of the names as described above and follow it with a comma and the abbreviation, et al.

EXAMPLE Source with two authors

Gabrielle, Matthew, and David M. Perry. The Bright Ages: A New History of Medieval Europe . Harper, 2021.

In the Title of Source element, you list the title of the work you are citing:

EXAMPLE Title of Source element

Cox, Taylor.  Creating the Multicultural Organization: A Strategy for Capturing the Power of Diversity . Jossey-Bass, 2001.

In general, titles in your Works Cited list are given in full exactly as they are found in the source, except that capitalization, punctuation between the main title and a subtitle, and the styling of titles that normally appear in italic typeface are standardized. The Title of Source element is followed by a period unless the title ends in a question mark or exclamation point.

A container in the context of the MLA template is a work that contains another work. An example of a container can be:

• A periodical, such as a journal, magazine or newspaper is the container of an article published there.
• A website or database can be the container of a post, a review, a song, a film, or other media.
• An art exhibit is the container of an artwork featured in it.

In the example below, the Journal of Postsecondary Education and Disability is the container of the article “Vocabulary Knowledge of Deaf and Hearing Postsecondary Students”: 

EXAMPLE Title of Container

Sarchet, Thomastine, et al. “Vocabulary Knowledge of Deaf and Hearing Postsecondary Students.”  Journal of Postsecondary Education and Disability , vol. 27, no. 2, Summer 2014, pp. 161–178.

Importantly, a website or a database is not always automatically the container of a work that can be found there. If you click on a Facebook link that takes you to a New York Times article, Facebook is not the container of the article, but the New York Times website is. Be careful to make the distinction here.

The title of Container is normally italicized and followed by a comma.

People, groups, and organizations can be contributors to a work without being its primary creator. There can be a primary author, but a work can also be created by a group of people. Key contributors should always be listed in your entry. Other contributors can be listed on a case-by-case basis. Whenever you list a contributor, include a label describing the role. These kinds of contributors should always be listed in your entry:

• translators
• editors responsible for scholarly editions and anthologies
• editors responsible for edited collections of works by various primary authors from which you cite an individual contribution

EXAMPLE Translator of a work with a primary author

Chartier, Roger. The Order of Books: Readers, Authors, and Libraries in Europe between the Fourteenth and Eighteenth Centuries. Translated by Lydia G. Cochrane, Stanford UP, 1994.

It may be necessary to include other types of contributors if they shaped the overall presentation of the work. Use labels (in lowercase) to describe the contributor's role, such as:

• translated by

EXAMPLE Creator of a television show

"Strike Up the Band." The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel , created by Amy Sherman-Palladino, season 3, episode 1, Amazon Studios, 2019.

When a source has three or more contributors in the same role, list the first contributor, followed by et al.

EXAMPLE Three or more contributors

Balibar, Étienne. Politics and the Other Scene . Translated by Christine Jones et al., Verso, 2002.

If a source is a version of a work released in more than one form, you need to identify the version in your entry. For example, books are commonly issued in versions called editions .

When citing versions in your Works Cited list, write original numbers with arabic numerals and no superscript. Abbreviate revised (rev.) and edition (ed.) .

EXAMPLE Edition of a work

Black, Joseph, et al., editors. The Broadview Anthology of British Literature: The Victorian Era . 3rd ed., Broadview, 2021.

The source you are documenting may be part of a sequence, like a volume, issue, or episode. Include that number in your entry:

EXAMPLE Work with a number

Warren, R., et al. “The Projected Effect on Insects, Vertebrates, and Plants of Limiting Global Warming to 1.5°C Rather than 2°C.”  Science (New York, N.Y.) , vol. 360, no. 6390, 2018, pp. 791–795, doi:10.1126/science.aar3646.

Always use arabic numerals in the Number element. If necessary, convert roman numerals or spelled out numerals to arabic numerals.

The publisher is the entity primarily responsible for making the work available to the public. The publisher element may include the following:

• book publisher
• studio, network, company, or distributor that produced or broadcast a television show
• institution responsible for creating website content
• agency that produced government publication

A publisher's name may be omitted when there is none, or when it doesn't need to be given, for example in:

• some periodicals (when publication is ongoing)
• works published by their authors or editors (self-published)
• websites not involved in producing the content they make available (e.g. Youtube)

This element tells your reader when the version of the book you are citing was published. In the example below, the book was published in 2018:

EXAMPLE Publication date

Lavelle, Christophe, editor.  Molecular Motors: Methods and Protocols. 2nd ed., Humana Press, 2018, doi:10.1007/978-1-4939-8556-2.

If roman numerals are used, convert them to arabic numerals. Use the day-month-year style to minimize commas in your entry and use the most specific date you can find in your source. Include day, month, and year if your source does:

EXAMPLE Specific Publication date

Merrill, Stephen. "Teaching through a Pandemic: A Mindset for This Moment." Edutopia , 19 Mar. 2020, www.edutopia.org/article/teaching-through-pandemic-mindset-moment.

When time is given and helps define and locate the work, include it.

For paginated print or similar formats (e.g. PDFs), the location is the page range. In other cases, additional information may need to be included with the page numbers so that the work can be found. In this overview, you can see examples for locations:

As mentioned above, Works Cited list entries in MLA style are based on the template of core elements. In some cases, you may need or want to give additional information relevant to the work you are documenting. You can do so by adding supplements to the template. There are two sections where you can add supplements, either:

• after the Title of Source, or
• at the end of the entry.

A period should be placed after a supplemental element. Three pieces of information are the most likely to be placed after the Title of Source:

• A contributor other than the author
• The original publication date (for a work contained in another work)
• Generically labeled sections (if any part or section of the work has a unique title as well as generic label)

For example, inserting the contributors' roles and names after the Title of Source element tells the reader that Leila El Khalidi and Christopher Tingley translated only The Singing of the Stars , not all the other works in Short Arabic Plays :

EXAMPLE Supplemental elements

Fagih, Ahmed Ibrahim al-. The Singing of the Stars . Translated by Leila El Khalidi and Christopher Tingley. Short Arabic Plays: An Anthology , edited by Salma Khadra Jayyusi, Interlink Books, 2003, pp. 140-57.

If you need to clarify something about the entry as a whole, you can do it at the end of the entry , like:

• Date of access
• Medium of publication (when more than one version of a source is accessible on the same landing page and you are citing a version that is not the default version)
• Dissertations and theses
• Publication history
• Book series
• Columns, sections, and other recurring titled features
• Multivolume works
• Government documents

EXAMPLE Government documents

United States, Congress, House. Improving Broadband Access for Veterans Act of 2016. Congress.gov , www.congress.gov/bill/114th-congress/house-bill/6394/text. 114th Congress, 2nd session, House Resolution 6394, passed 6 Dec. 2016.

How to use Bibguru for MLA citations

In-text citations aim at directing the reader to the entry in your Works Cited list for the source. while creating the least possible interruption in the text. An in-text citation usually contains the author's name (or other first element in the entry in the works cited list) and a page number. The page number usually goes in a parenthesis, placed where there is a natural pause in the text.

A parenthetical citation that directly follows a quotation is placed after the closing quotation mark. No punctuation is used between the author's name (or the title) and a page number:

EXAMPLE Parenthetical citation

“It's silly not to hope. It's a sin he thought.” (Hemingway 96)

The author's name can appear in the text itself or before the page number in the parenthesis:

Cox names five strategies to implement Diversity Management in companies (50).

Here are some additional examples of in-text citations and their corresponding Works Cited entries:

EXAMPLE Citation in prose using author's name

Smith argues that Jane Eyre is a "feminist Künstlerroman " that narrativizes a woman's struggle to write herself into being (86).

Jane Eyre is a "feminist Künstlerroman " that narrativizes a woman's struggle to write herself into being (Smith 86).

EXAMPLE Works cited

Smith, Jane. Feminist Self-Definition in the Nineteenth-Century Novel . Cambridge UP, 2001.

How to correctly style your in-text citations

• If you are citing an author in your paper, give the full name at first mention and the last name alone thereafter.
• If you are citing a work with two authors, include both first and last names the first time you mention them in your paper. Then, in a following parenthetical citation, connect the two last names with and .
• If the source has three or more authors, you may list all the names or provide the name of the first collaborator followed by "and others" or "and colleagues". In a parenthetical citation, list the last name of the first author and et al .

Ditch the frustrations for stress-free citations

The MLA Handbook also provides guidelines on how to present your paper in a clear and consistent way. These are the general guidelines to format your paper correctly , according to MLA. For more details, refer to the MLA Handbook :

• Use a legible font (e.g. Times New Roman). Font size should be 12 pt.
• Set the margins of your document to 1 inch on all sides.
• Double-space the entire text of your paper.
• Leave only one space after periods or other punctuation marks.
• Indent every new paragraph one half-inch from the left margin. You can use your tab bar for this.
• Create a header that numbers all pages consecutively in the upper right-hand corner, one half-inch from the top and flush with the right margin.
• Use italics for the titles of longer works.
• Do not make a title page for your paper unless specifically required.
• On the first page, make sure that the text is left-aligned. Then, list your name, the name of your teacher or professor, the course name and the date in separate lines.
• Center align your heading. Do not italicize, bold, or underline your title. Also, do not use a period after the title.

The MLA Handbook gives guidance for a multitude of different sources, like websites, television series, songs, articles, comic books, etc., and considers various types of contributors to these sources. BibGuru's MLA citation generator helps you create the fastest and most accurate MLA citations possible. If you want to learn more about MLA citations, check out our detailed MLA citation guides .

From our blog

More Bibguru MLA guides

Resources based on the 9th edition of the MLA Handbook

• Purdue University Online Writing Lab (OWL)
• California State University, Northridge Library MLA Style Guide
• Columbia College Library MLA Style Guide
• McMaster University Library MLA Style Guide
• Spartanburg Community College Library MLA Style Guide
• Madison College Libraries MLA Style Guide
• California State University, Dominguez Hills Library MLA Style Guide
• University of Wisconsin-Parkside Library MLA Style Guide

The following resources are based on the 8th edition of the MLA Handbook , but still offer relevant insights on MLA style

• University of Washington Libraries MLA Style Guide
• University of North Texas Libraries MLA Style Guide
• Valencia College Library MLA Style Guide
• College of Southern Nevada Libraries MLA Style Guide
• University of Nevada, Reno Libraries MLA Style Guide
• Montana State University Library MLA Style Guide
• University of Michigan Library MLA Style Guide
• University of Vermont Libraries MLA Style Guide
• University of Illinois Library MLA Style Guide
• Hillsborough Community College Libraries MLA Style Guide
• Southern Connecticut State University Library MLA Style Guide
• Arizona State University Library MLA Style Guide

An in-text citation usually contains the author's name (or other first element in the entry in the works cited list) and a page number. The page number usually goes in a parenthesis, placed where there is a natural pause in the text.

In MLA style, audio-visual material uses the specific time of the audio/video for in-text citations. You need to cite the author's last name and the time or a short version of the title and the time within parentheses, e.g.:

The following scene exemplifies the performer's physical abilities (Thurman 00:15:43-00:20:07).

Anyone can use MLA style given its versatility. However, this format is often used by writers and students working in the arts and humanities, such as linguistics, literature, and history.

Yes, the BibGuru MLA citation generator is completely free and ready to use by students and writers adopting MLA guidelines.

The most recent version of the MLA guidelines is the 9th edition of the MLA Handbook, released in 2021. It is still very new so you should check with your instructor or institution to make sure you're using the right version.

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Copy the information below in your paper according to the Guide on the right. Use your own page numbers.

APA 7 In-text citation guide

In-text citations are required when you use someone else's ideas, theories or research in your paper.

Quick Guide

Examples: (choose depending if author and/or date is mentioned in text)

Quotation :

• "The bones were very fragile" (Cole, 2019, p. 13).
• Cole (2019) found that "The bones were very fragile" (p. 33).
• In 2019, Cole found that "The bones were very fragile" (p. 33).

Paraphrase :

• The bones broke easily because they were porous (Cole, 2011).
• Cole (2011) discovered that the bones broke easily.
• In 2011, Cole found that the bones were easily broken (p. 33).

Note: APA style encourages the inclusion of page numbers for paraphrases, but it is not mandatory. Include page or paragraph numbers if it will help reader find the information.

No authors : Use the title in place of author. Shorten title if needed. Use double quotation marks for title of an article, a chapter, or a web page. Use italics for title of a periodical, a book, a brochure or a report.

• the observations found ("Arctic Voyage," 2014)
• the book Vitamin Discoveries (2013)

Two authors : Within the text use the word  and .  If the authors' names are within parentheses use the  &  symbol.

• Cole and Dough (1998) argued ...
• ...if they were left to their own devices.(Cole & Dough, 1998)

Three or more authors:   Include only the last name of the first author followed by "et al."

(Wasserstein et al., 2017)

Spell out the name in full the first time and abbreviate subsequent times only if abbreviation is well known.

• First time: American Psychological Association (2020) explained...
• Second time: APA (2020) proved ...

When quoting always provide author, year and specific page citation or paragraph number for nonpaginated material.

If the quotation is less than 40 words incorporate it into the text and enclose the quotation with quotation marks. Cite the source immediately after the close of the quotation marks.

If the authors are named in the text, they do not have to be used in the citation.

In fact, "a neurosis is characterized by anxiety" (Kristen & Warb, 2012, p. 157).

"A neurosis is characterized by anxiety," according to Kristen and Warb's (2012, p. 157) longitudinal study.

If the quotation is over 40 words, you must indent the entire quotation and start the quotation on a new line. No quotation marks are required. Cite the quoted source after the final punctuation mark.

Alberta is occasionally divided into two regions, Northern Alberta and Southern Alberta. The majority of Alberta's population is located in large urban cities, mostly located in the South. Alberta is Canada's most populous province of all three Canadian Prairie provinces. Edmonton is the Capital of Alberta. (Hern, 1996, p. 22)

Paraphrasing

APA style encourages the inclusion of page numbers, but it is not mandatory. Include page or paragraph numbers if it will help reader find the information.

• (Reiton, 2003, para. 3)

If the document does not contain page numbers, include paragraph numbers.

• (Reiton, 2003, para. 3).   

If neither is available omit page and paragraph numbers.  Do not count paragraph numbers.  

When paraphrasing from multiple sources, include all authors name in parentheses in alphabetical order.

• (Cole, 2006; Mann & Arthur, 2011; Zigmung, 2000).

APA In-Text Citation Guide

• "The bones were very fragile" (Cole, 2011, p. 13).
• Cole (2011) found that "The bones were very fragile" (p. 33).
• In 2011, Cole found that "The bones were very fragile" (p. 33).

Note: APA style encourages the inclusion of page numbers for paraphrases, but it is not mandatory. Include page or paragraph numbers if it will help reader find the information.)

Two or more authors : Within the text use the word  and .  If the authors' names are within parentheses use the  &  symbol.

Three to five authors : Include all authors' last names the first time the citation is used.  If you use the same citation again within the same paragraph, use only the first last name followed by 'et al'.  If you used the citation again omit the year. 

• First time:   Cole, Dough and Ferris (1998) explained...
• Second time:  Cole et al. (1998) proved ...
• Third time:  Cole et al. demonstrated...

Six or more authors:   Include only the last name of the first author followed by "et al."

(Wasserstein et al., 2010)

• First time: American Psychological Association (1998) explained...
• Second time: APA (1998) proved ...

Alberta is occasionally divided into two regions, Northern Alberta and Southern Alberta. The majority of Alberta's population is located in large urban cities, mostly located in the South. Alberta is Canada's most populous Province of all three Canadian prairie provinces. Edmonton is the Capital of Alberta. (Hern, 1996, p. 22)

In-Text Citations Parenthetical Citations

In-text citations are called parenthetical references in MLA. This involves placing information about the source in parentheses after a quote or a paraphrase. The information in the parenthetical references must match the corresponding information in the list of works cited.

The purpose of parenthetical references is to indicate to readers not only what works you used, but what you used from each source and where in the source you found the material. This can be done by inserting a parenthetical reference in your text at the spot where you have used the source's ideas or words.

You should keep parenthetical references as brief and as few as clarity and accuracy permit.

General Guidelines

• The Soviets were surrounded by enemies (Waters 119).
• Waters argues that the Soviets were surrounded by enemies (119).

Authors – Identification of source

• (Natl. Research Council 15)
• Do not use abbreviations such as ed. or trans.
• ("The evolving internet")
• (Black and Mondoux 123)
• (Eddison, Zhu, and Lalonde)
• (Becker et al. 13)
• (Becker, Lafontaine, Robins, Given, and Rush 13)
• (Feder, The Birth of a Nation 124)

Location of passage within source

• give relevant page number if available
• give volume and page number in a multivolume work
• if citing entire work omit page numbers
• (Louis par. 20)
• film, television, broadcasts cannot be cited by numbers

Placement of parenthetical reference in text

• Cole found that "The bones were very fragile" (33-34).

Alberta is occasionally divided into two regions, Northern Alberta and Southern Alberta. The majority of Alberta's population is located in large urban cities, mostly located in the South. Alberta is Canada's most populous Province of all three Canadian prairie provinces. Edmonton is the Capital of Alberta. (Herick 22)

• In Chicago style, footnotes or endnotes are used to reference pieces of work in the text.
• To cite from a source a superscript number is placed after a quote or a paraphrase.
• Citation numbers should appear in sequential order.
• Each number then corresponds to a citation, a footnote or to an endnote.
• Endnotes must appear on an endnotes page. The page should be titled Notes (centered at top). This page should appear immediately before the bibliography page.
• Footnotes must appear at the bottom of the page that they are referred to.  

Example:   Cole found that "The bones were very fragile" (33-34). 1

Each superscript then refers to a numbered citation in the footnotes or endnotes.

Footnotes/endnotes:

The first time the in-text reference is cited you must include, author's first name, author's last name, title, place of publication, publisher name, year and referenced pages. e.g.

1. James Smith, The first and last war , (New York, Hamilton, 2003), 2.

If the citation has already been cited it may be shortened to author's last name, shortened title, and page referenced number. e.g.

2. Smith, The first , 220-221.

If the citation has been referenced immediately prior, the note may be shortened even further to ibid with the page number. e.g.

3. Ibid., 786.

For each author-date citation in the text, there must be a corresponding entry in the reference list under the same name and date.

An author-date citation in running text or at the end of a block quotation consists of the last (family) name of the author, followed by the year of publication of the work in question. In this context, author may refer not only to one or more authors or an institution but also to one or more editors, translators, or compilers. No punctuation appears between author and date. Abbreviations such as ed. or trans. are omitted.

(Woodward 1987)

(Schuman and Scott 1987)

When a specific page, section, equation, or other division of the work is cited, it follows the date, preceded by a comma. When a volume as a whole is referred to, without a page number, vol. is used. For volume plus page, only a colon is needed. The n in the Fischer and Siple example below indicates "note" (see 14.164 ). The last example shows how one might cite a section of a work that contains no page or section numbers or other numerical signposts—the case for some electronic documents (see 15.8 ).

(Piaget 1980, 74)

(LaFree 2010, 413, 417–18)

(Johnson 1979, sec. 24)

Fowler and Hoyle 1965, eq. 87)

(García 1987, vol. 2)

(García 1987, 2:345)

(Barnes 1998, 2:354–55, 3:29)

(Fischer and Siple 1990, 212n3)

(Hellman 1998, under "The Battleground")

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Cite a Website in MLA

Cite a Book in MLA

Cite a Journal Article in MLA

Cite a YouTube Video in MLA

The MLA Style Manual, published by the Modern Language Association, is used in the humanities, such as English studies. Read more on Wikipedia.

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MLA Citation Generator

- powered by chegg, all of our writing tools, none of the ads, consider your source's credibility. ask these questions:, contributor/author.

• Has the author written several articles on the topic, and do they have the credentials to be an expert in their field?
• Can you contact them? Do they have social media profiles?
• Have other credible individuals referenced this source or author?
• Book: What have reviews said about it?
• What do you know about the publisher/sponsor? Are they well-respected?
• Do they take responsibility for the content? Are they selective about what they publish?
• Take a look at their other content. Do these other articles generally appear credible?
• Does the author or the organization have a bias? Does bias make sense in relation to your argument?
• Is the purpose of the content to inform, entertain, or to spread an agenda? Is there commercial intent?
• Are there ads?
• When was the source published or updated? Is there a date shown?
• Does the publication date make sense in relation to the information presented to your argument?
• Does the source even have a date?
• Was it reproduced? If so, from where?
• If it was reproduced, was it done so with permission? Copyright/disclaimer included?

What You Need to Know About MLA Formatting

Writing a paper soon? If your assignment requires the use of Modern Language Association (MLA) style, then you're in luck! EasyBib® has tools to help you create citations for over 50 source types in this style, as well as a guide to show you how an MLA paper should be formatted. Review the guide to learn how to format a paper's title page, paragraphs, margins, quotations, abbreviations, numbers, tables, and more! There are even tips on editing, as well as on the type of paper you choose to print your paper on—yes, it's that comprehensive!

A Handy Guide for Using APA Format

Ever wonder how to cite a book with no author in APA style? Do you know how graphics should be formatted in a paper? Thanks to our EasyBib® guide on citing and formatting in American Psychological Association (APA) style, you don't have to guess anymore! We break down the guidelines for you into separate, digestible chunks of information that range from the ways to present headers, to use of abbreviations, to how to format titles for citations. There are also several helpful citation examples for you to review. Read up and start learning today!

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Jump start your knowledge of the Chicago Manual of Style (or Turabian style) with our structured EasyBib® guides. Each one will teach you the structure of a Chicago-style citation, followed by a real-life citation example for you to examine. Begin with our "“"Quick Guide" on citing common source types (books, magazines, newspapers, and websites). Then, discover why we have footnotes and how they work, or choose a "How to Cite" guide based on the source type you're using (e.g. photo, film, tweet, journal, blog, video on YouTube, conference paper, etc.). You're in charge of your own learning path!

Student & Teacher Blog for Better Papers

Keep your citing skills current and your writing skills fresh by reading our weekly EasyBib® Blog. You'll find articles about citing interesting source types (know how to cite a meme?), the latest updates to our tools and services, writing tips and tricks, and more! Aside from content that students (or any writer) could benefit from, we also feature posts written by educators, for educators! They discuss writing and information literacy pedagogy, present resource recommendation lists, and generally share their experience and knowledge.

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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 May 6, 2024 by Jack Caulfield.

The MLA Handbook provides guidelines for creating MLA citations and formatting academic papers. This includes advice on structuring parenthetical citations, the Works Cited page, and tables and figures. This quick guide will help you set up your MLA format paper in no time.

Cite your MLA source

Start by applying these MLA format guidelines to your document:

• Use an easily readable font like 12 pt Times New Roman
• Set 1 inch page margins
• Use double line spacing
• Include a ½” indent for new paragraphs
• Include a four-line MLA heading on the first page
• Center the paper’s title
• 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

Alternatively, you can automatically apply the formatting with our MLA docx or Google Docs template.

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:

• Apply double line spacing
• Indent every new paragraph ½ inch

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, May 06). MLA Format | Complete Guidelines & Free Template. Scribbr. Retrieved September 2, 2024, from https://www.scribbr.com/mla/formatting/

Is this article helpful?

Raimo Streefkerk

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Purdue Online Writing Lab Purdue OWL® College of Liberal Arts

MLA Formatting and Style Guide

Welcome to the Purdue OWL

This page is brought to you by the OWL at Purdue University. When printing this page, you must include the entire legal notice.

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.

The following overview should help you better understand how to cite sources using MLA  9 th edition, including how to format the Works Cited page and in-text citations.

Please use the example at the bottom of this page to cite the Purdue OWL in MLA. See also our MLA vidcast series on the Purdue OWL YouTube Channel .

Creating a Works Cited list using the ninth edition

MLA is a style of documentation that may be applied to many different types of writing. Since texts have become increasingly digital, and the same document may often be found in several different sources, following a set of rigid rules no longer suffices.

Thus, the current system is based on a few guiding principles, rather than an extensive list of specific rules. While the handbook still describes how to cite sources, it is organized according to the process of documentation, rather than by the sources themselves. This gives writers a flexible method that is near-universally applicable.

Once you are familiar with the method, you can use it to document any type of source, for any type of paper, in any field.

Here is an overview of the process:

When deciding how to cite your source, start by consulting the list of core elements. These are the general pieces of information that MLA suggests including in each Works Cited entry. In your citation, the elements should be listed in the following order:

• Title of source.
• Title of container,
• Other contributors,
• Publication date,

Each element should be followed by the corresponding punctuation mark shown above. Earlier editions of the handbook included the place of publication and required different punctuation (such as journal editions in parentheses and colons after issue numbers) depending on the type of source. In the current version, punctuation is simpler (only commas and periods separate the elements), and information about the source is kept to the basics.

Begin the entry with the author’s last name, followed by a comma and the rest of the name, as presented in the work. End this element with a period.

Bhabha, Homi K. The Location of Culture. Routledge, 1994.

Title of source

The title of the source should follow the author’s name. Depending upon the type of source, it should be listed in italics or quotation marks.

A book should be in italics:

Henley, Patricia. The Hummingbird House . MacMurray, 1999.

An individual webpage should be in quotation marks. The name of the parent website, which MLA treats as a "container," should follow in italics:

Lundman, Susan. "How to Make Vegetarian Chili." eHow, www.ehow.com/how_10727_make-vegetarian-chili.html.*

A periodical (journal, magazine, newspaper) article should be in quotation marks:

Bagchi, Alaknanda. "Conflicting Nationalisms: The Voice of the Subaltern in Mahasweta Devi's Bashai Tudu." Tulsa Studies in Women's Literature , vol. 15, no. 1, 1996, pp. 41-50.

A song or piece of music on an album should be in quotation marks. The name of the album should then follow in italics:

Beyoncé. "Pray You Catch Me." Lemonade, Parkwood Entertainment, 2016, www.beyonce.com/album/lemonade-visual-album/.

*The MLA handbook recommends including URLs when citing online sources. For more information, see the “Optional Elements” section below.

Title of container

The eighth edition of the MLA handbook introduced what are referred to as "containers," which are the larger wholes in which the source is located. For example, if you want to cite a poem that is listed in a collection of poems, the individual poem is the source, while the larger collection is the container. The title of the container is usually italicized and followed by a comma, since the information that follows next describes the container.

Kincaid, Jamaica. "Girl." The Vintage Book of Contemporary American Short Stories, edited by Tobias Wolff, Vintage, 1994, pp. 306-07.

The container may also be a television series, which is made up of episodes.

“94 Meetings.” Parks and Recreation, created by Greg Daniels and Michael Schur, performance by Amy Poehler, season 2, episode 21, Deedle-Dee Productions and Universal Media Studios, 2010.

The container may also be a website, which contains articles, postings, and other works.

Wise, DeWanda. “Why TV Shows Make Me Feel Less Alone.”  NAMI,  31 May 2019,  www.nami.org/Blogs/NAMI-Blog/May-2019/How-TV-Shows-Make-Me-Feel-Less-Alone . Accessed 3 June 2019.

In some cases, a container might be within a larger container. You might have read a book of short stories on Google Books , or watched a television series on Netflix . You might have found the electronic version of a journal on JSTOR. It is important to cite these containers within containers so that your readers can find the exact source that you used.

“94 Meetings.” Parks and Recreation , season 2, episode 21, NBC , 29 Apr. 2010. Netflix, www.netflix.com/watch/70152031?trackId=200256157&tctx=0%2C20%2C0974d361-27cd-44de-9c2a-2d9d868b9f64-12120962.

Langhamer, Claire. “Love and Courtship in Mid-Twentieth-Century England.” Historical Journal , vol. 50, no. 1, 2007, pp. 173-96. ProQuest, doi:10.1017/S0018246X06005966. Accessed 27 May 2009.

Other contributors

In addition to the author, there may be other contributors to the source who should be credited, such as editors, illustrators, translators, etc. If their contributions are relevant to your research, or necessary to identify the source, include their names in your documentation.

Foucault, Michel. Madness and Civilization: A History of Insanity in the Age of Reason. Translated by Richard Howard , Vintage-Random House, 1988.

Woolf, Virginia. Jacob’s Room . Annotated and with an introduction by Vara Neverow, Harcourt, Inc., 2008.

If a source is listed as an edition or version of a work, include it in your citation.

The Bible . Authorized King James Version, Oxford UP, 1998.

Crowley, Sharon, and Debra Hawhee. Ancient Rhetorics for Contemporary Students. 3rd ed., Pearson, 2004.

If a source is part of a numbered sequence, such as a multi-volume book or journal with both volume and issue numbers, those numbers must be listed in your citation.

Dolby, Nadine. “Research in Youth Culture and Policy: Current Conditions and Future Directions.” Social Work and Society: The International Online-Only Journal, vol. 6, no. 2, 2008, www.socwork.net/sws/article/view/60/362. Accessed 20 May 2009.

Quintilian. Institutio Oratoria. Translated by H. E. Butler, vol. 2, Loeb-Harvard UP, 1980.

The publisher produces or distributes the source to the public. If there is more than one publisher, and they are all are relevant to your research, list them in your citation, separated by a forward slash (/).

Klee, Paul. Twittering Machine. 1922. Museum of Modern Art, New York. The Artchive, www.artchive.com/artchive/K/klee/twittering_machine.jpg.html. Accessed May 2006.

Women's Health: Problems of the Digestive System . American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists, 2006.

Daniels, Greg and Michael Schur, creators. Parks and Recreation . Deedle-Dee Productions and Universal Media Studios, 2015.

Note : The publisher’s name need not be included in the following sources: periodicals, works published by their author or editor, websites whose titles are the same name as their publisher, websites that make works available but do not actually publish them (such as  YouTube ,  WordPress , or  JSTOR ).

Publication date

The same source may have been published on more than one date, such as an online version of an original source. For example, a television series might have aired on a broadcast network on one date, but released on  Netflix  on a different date. When the source has more than one date, it is sufficient to use the date that is most relevant to your writing. If you’re unsure about which date to use, go with the date of the source’s original publication.

In the following example, Mutant Enemy is the primary production company, and “Hush” was released in 1999. Below is a general citation for this television episode:

“Hush.” Buffy the Vampire Slayer , created by Joss Whedon, performance by Sarah Michelle Gellar, season 4, Mutant Enemy, 1999 .

However, if you are discussing, for example, the historical context in which the episode originally aired, you should cite the full date. Because you are specifying the date of airing, you would then use WB Television Network (rather than Mutant Enemy), because it was the network (rather than the production company) that aired the episode on the date you’re citing.

“Hush.” Buffy the Vampire Slayer, created by Joss Whedon, performance by Sarah Michelle Gellar, season 4, episode 10, WB Television Network, 14 Dec. 1999 .

You should be as specific as possible in identifying a work’s location.

An essay in a book or an article in a journal should include page numbers.

Adiche, Chimamanda Ngozi. “On Monday of Last Week.” The Thing around Your Neck, Alfred A. Knopf, 2009, pp. 74-94 .

The location of an online work should include a URL.  Remove any "http://" or "https://" tag from the beginning of the URL.

Wheelis, Mark. "Investigating Disease Outbreaks Under a Protocol to the Biological and Toxin Weapons Convention." Emerging Infectious Diseases , vol. 6, no. 6, 2000, pp. 595-600, wwwnc.cdc.gov/eid/article/6/6/00-0607_article. Accessed 8 Feb. 2009.

When citing a physical object that you experienced firsthand, identify the place of location.

Matisse, Henri. The Swimming Pool. 1952, Museum of Modern Art, New York .

Optional elements

The ninth edition is designed to be as streamlined as possible. The author should include any information that helps readers easily identify the source, without including unnecessary information that may be distracting. The following is a list of optional elements that can be included in a documented source at the writer’s discretion.

Date of original publication:

If a source has been published on more than one date, the writer may want to include both dates if it will provide the reader with necessary or helpful information.

Erdrich, Louise. Love Medicine. 1984. Perennial-Harper, 1993.

City of publication:

The seventh edition handbook required the city in which a publisher is located, but the eighth edition states that this is only necessary in particular instances, such as in a work published before 1900. Since pre-1900 works were usually associated with the city in which they were published, your documentation may substitute the city name for the publisher’s name.

Thoreau, Henry David. Excursions . Boston, 1863.

Date of access:

When you cite an online source, the MLA Handbook recommends including a date of access on which you accessed the material, since an online work may change or move at any time.

Bernstein, Mark. "10 Tips on Writing the Living Web." A List Apart: For People Who Make Websites, 16 Aug. 2002, alistapart.com/article/writeliving. Accessed 4 May 2009.

As mentioned above, while the MLA handbook recommends including URLs when you cite online sources, you should always check with your instructor or editor and include URLs at their discretion.

A DOI, or digital object identifier, is a series of digits and letters that leads to the location of an online source. Articles in journals are often assigned DOIs to ensure that the source is locatable, even if the URL changes. If your source is listed with a DOI, use that instead of a URL.

Alonso, Alvaro, and Julio A. Camargo. "Toxicity of Nitrite to Three Species of Freshwater Invertebrates." Environmental Toxicology , vol. 21, no. 1, 3 Feb. 2006, pp. 90-94. Wiley Online Library, doi: 10.1002/tox.20155.

Creating in-text citations using the previous (eighth) edition

Although the MLA handbook is currently in its ninth edition, some information about citing in the text using the older (eighth) edition is being retained. The in-text citation is a brief reference within your text that indicates the source you consulted. It should properly attribute any ideas, paraphrases, or direct quotations to your source, and should direct readers to the entry in the Works Cited list. For the most part, an in-text citation is the  author’s name and the page number (or just the page number, if the author is named in the sentence) in parentheses :

When creating in-text citations for media that has a runtime, such as a movie or podcast, include the range of hours, minutes and seconds you plan to reference. For example: (00:02:15-00:02:35).

Again, your goal is to attribute your source and provide a reference without interrupting your text. Your readers should be able to follow the flow of your argument without becoming distracted by extra information.

How to Cite the Purdue OWL in MLA

Entire Website

The Purdue OWL . Purdue U Writing Lab, 2019.

Individual Resources

Contributors' names. "Title of Resource." The Purdue OWL , Purdue U Writing Lab, Last edited date.

The new OWL no longer lists most pages' authors or publication dates. Thus, in most cases, citations will begin with the title of the resource, rather than the developer's name.

"MLA Formatting and Style Guide." The Purdue OWL, Purdue U Writing Lab. Accessed 18 Jun. 2018.

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Our Complete Guide to Citing in MLA 9 Format

In academia, citations help you avoid plagiarism and demonstrate your credibility as a researcher. The MLA format is widely used for this purpose, particularly for writing papers in literature and humanities.

Our comprehensive MLA guide will walk you through the process of citing various types of sources in MLA, as well as formatting your Works Cited list. With plenty of specific examples and step-by-step instructions, you'll be able to master the art of MLA citation in no time.

Get ready to master the art of MLA citations!

Discover More Bibcitation Guides

Mla format overview.

The Modern Language Association (MLA) citation format is a widely used citation style for academic papers in the humanities and liberal arts. Designed to provide a clear and consistent method of citing sources, the MLA format helps writers avoid plagiarism and give proper credit to their sources. This citation style uses two main components: in-text citations and the Works Cited page.

In-text citations appear within the body of the paper, providing a brief reference to the source, usually including the author's last name and the page number where the information was found. In-text citations correspond to the full citation found on the Works Cited page, which is organized alphabetically by the author's last name.

The Works Cited page in the MLA citation format provides a comprehensive list of all sources used in the paper, offering detailed information about each source to help readers locate them. The format varies slightly based on the type of source, such as a book, journal article, or website. The MLA citation style prioritizes clarity and simplicity, making it easy for both writers and readers to understand and navigate the sources used in a paper.

Insert MLA In-text Citations

In the MLA citation format, in-text citations are brief references within the body of a paper that guide readers to the full citation in the Works Cited page. They typically include the author's last name and the page number where the information was found. Here you can find detailed examples of in-text citations in the MLA format:

Basic in-text citation: The most common in-text citation includes the author's last name and the page number(s) in parentheses, placed at the end of the sentence before the period. For example: (Smith 42) .

Multiple authors: If a source has two authors, include both last names in the citation, separated by "and." For example: (Smith and Johnson 58) . If a source has three or more authors, include the first author's last name followed by "et al." For example: (Smith et al. 22) .

Multiple works by the same author: If citing multiple works by the same author, include a shortened version of the title to differentiate between the sources. For example: (Smith, "A Journey into the Universe" 12) and (Queen, Rose Water 35) .

No author: If the source has no author, use a shortened version of the title in quotation marks for articles or in italics for longer works, such as books or websites. For example: ("Article Title" 5) or ( Book Title 32) .

Citing multiple sources in one sentence: If referencing multiple sources in one sentence, separate each citation with a semicolon. For example: (Smith 42; Bart 78) .

Indirect citations (quotations within a source): If citing a quotation from a source that is itself quoting another source, use the abbreviation "qtd. in" before the indirect source. For example: (qtd. in Smith 15) .

Electronic sources without page numbers: When citing electronic sources without page numbers, use the author's last name only or a shortened version of the title if no author is available. For example: (Smith) or ("Article Title") .

Audiovisual sources: If citing a film, television show, or other audiovisual source, use the title (italicized) and a timestamp (hours, minutes, and seconds) instead of a page number. For example: ( Citizen Kane 01:22:15) .

For long quotations, use a block quote format. Indent the entire quotation one inch from the left margin and do not use quotation marks. Place the in-text citation after the closing punctuation.

Smith emphasizes the importance of proper citation:

Citing sources correctly is essential for maintaining academic integrity and avoiding plagiarism. By giving credit to the original authors, you demonstrate respect for their work and allow readers to locate the sources you used. (25)

Format Your MLA Works Cited

A Works Cited page is an essential part of any research paper or academic work using the MLA citation format. It provides a comprehensive list of all sources cited in the paper, allowing readers to locate and verify the sources used.

Here are detailed instructions on how to format a Works Cited page in MLA format:

• Choose placement and title: The Works Cited page should begin on a separate page at the end of your paper. Center the title "Works Cited" (without quotation marks) at the top of the page. Do not bold, italicize, or underline the title.
• Use correct spacing and margins: Use double-spacing throughout the Works Cited page. Maintain 1-inch margins on all sides of the page. The first line of each citation should be flush with the left margin. Indent any additional lines by 0.5 inches (a hanging indent).
• Organize citations: Sort the list of sources in alphabetical order by the author's last name. If a source does not have an author, use the title to alphabetize the entry. Ignore articles ("a," "an," "the") when alphabetizing by title.
• Format entries correctly: Follow the general format for each source type (e.g., books, articles, websites) as specified in the MLA Handbook. Include the author's name, the title of the work, the container (if applicable), and other relevant information such as the publisher, publication date, and location.
• Don't forget about punctuation and capitalization: Use title case for titles, capitalizing the first word, the last word, and all other major words. Use punctuation marks consistently, following the guidelines in the MLA Handbook.
• Check for accuracy: Be sure to check each reference for accuracy, including spelling and punctuation, as well as proper capitalization and italics.

Remember to consult the MLA Handbook for specific guidelines and examples for various source types. As you add sources to your Works Cited page, be sure to double-check the formatting to ensure consistency and accuracy.

Cite Books in MLA

To cite a book in your Works Cited list, follow this format:

For example:

If the book is an edited volume, use the word "editor" or "editors" after the editor's name, depending on whether it is a single or multiple editors.

Citing an edited book:

For books with multiple editions, specify the edition after the title, using ordinal numbers (e.g., "2nd ed.").

Citing a book with multiple editions:

If a book is part of a series or multivolume set, include the volume number after the title, preceded by "vol." In cases where a book has no author, the citation should begin with the title.

When citing a book that has been translated, include the translator's name after the title, preceded by the word "Translated by."

Citing a translated book:

When citing a specific chapter or essay within an edited book or anthology, start with the author's name, followed by the title of the chapter or essay in quotation marks, then the title of the book, the editor's name, and the page numbers of the cited section.

Citing a specific portion of a book:

These examples cover various scenarios and exceptions for citing books in MLA format. Remember to consult the MLA Handbook for more information and specific guidelines when formatting your citations.

Cite Journal Articles in MLA

When citing a journal article in MLA format, follow this template:

For the journal articles that you accessed online, from JSTOR or a different online database, make sure to include the DOI or the URL if the DOI is unavailable.

Citing a journal article accessed online:

If an article has two authors, include both authors' names separated by "and."

Citing an article with two authors:

If an article has three or more authors, list only the first author, followed by "et al."

Citing an article with three authors:

In some cases, the journal article may not have an official author or some other elements, like the volume or issue number. In this situation, the title of the article is used in place of the author's name, while the volume and issue are omitted.

Citing an article without an author, volume or issue number:

Cite Websites in MLA

Citing a webpage on your MLA Works Cited page? Use the following format:

However, web pages may often not have an identified author. In this situation, the title of the article is used in place of the author's name. For example:

Citing a web page without an author:

When citing a website with an organization as the author, you can use the organization's name as both the author and the website name if they are the same.

Citing a website with an organization as the author:

If no publication date is available, use the abbreviation "n.d." (no date).

Moreover, for online sources without a publication date or for sources that can be updated or changed without notice (like web pages), it is recommended to include the "Accessed" date. This provides a clearer timeline of when the researcher viewed the material and ensures accuracy, as the content might have been updated or removed since that date. Using the "Accessed" date is especially useful for materials that are subject to change or when a source's stability cannot be guaranteed.

Cite Book Chapters in MLA

Citing a book chapter in MLA format requires you to include the chapter author and the book editor(s). The format is:

If the book is a translation, include the translator's name after the editor's name (if any), preceded by the phrase "translated by."

Citing a chapter in a translated book:

If the chapter has a unique title within a larger work, such as a play within an anthology or a collection of works by different authors, include the title of the larger work in italics, followed by the editor's name (if any) and the page numbers of the cited section.

Citing a chapter from a collection of works:

If the book is a multivolume set, include the volume number after the book title and edition (if available), preceded by "vol."

For chapters with supplementary materials or appendices, include the relevant page numbers or identifiers in the citation.

Cite Ebooks in MLA

Citing an ebook in MLA format follows similar guidelines to citing a printed book, but with a few additional details. The basic format for citing an ebook is as follows:

If the ebook has a DOI (Digital Object Identifier), the citation should include it at the end of the reference.

Citing an ebook with a DOI:

If your ebook was only available on a tablet, e-reader, or a reading app such as Kindle, all you need to do is to include the words "E-book ed."after the title.

Citing an ebook from a personal device:

In some scenarios, additional elements need to be included in the citation. If the ebook is part of a series, provide the series name and volume number after the publisher and before the publication date.

If the ebook is a translation, include the translator's name after the editor's name (if available), preceded by the phrase "translated by." For ebooks with supplementary materials, include the relevant page numbers or identifiers in the citation.

Cite Magazine Articles in MLA

To cite a magazine article in your MLA Works Cited page, use the following format:

If the magazine article is found online, you should also provide the URL or DOI at the end of the citation.

If the magazine is published seasonally (e.g., Winter, Spring, Summer, or Fall) rather than monthly, include the season and year as the publication date (e.g., Winter 2021).

Cite Newspaper Articles in MLA

For newspaper articles, the MLA citation format is similar to magazine articles:

If the article is found online, include the URL or the DOI (Digital Object Identifier) if available, but do not include the page numbers.

If the newspaper isn't widely recognized or is a local paper, include the name of the city in parentheses following the newspaper's title.

If the article is available in both print and digital formats, the citation should be identical for both, but for digital articles, you should also include a DOI or a URL at the end of the citation.

Cite Conference Papers in MLA

To cite published conference proceedings in MLA, use the following format:

After the author's name, make sure to include the title of the paper in quotation marks, followed by the title of the conference (italicized), the date and location of the conference, and any relevant publication information (for instance, whether the paper has been published).

When a conference paper is part of a published conference proceedings, include the editor's name (if available) preceded by "edited by," the title of the proceedings (italicized), the publisher, and the publication date.

For online conference papers, provide the URL or DOI (if available) at the end of the citation.

Citing an edited conference paper available online:

Remember that each specific conference paper may require additional information or variations in the citation format.

Cite Audio & Visual Media in MLA

For audiovisual materials like films, television series, and YouTube videos, include the contributor(s) most relevant to your source, such as the director, or if not available, then producer, or writer. The MLA citation format for films materials is:

However, there are some exceptions to this format. When citing a TV-show episode, make sure to include the show title, as well as the season and episode numbers.

Citing a TV-show episode:

If you’re looking to cite a song, your citation should include the song title, as well as the name of the album and format (if applicable), or URL or DOI (if available).

Citing a song:

Remember that different scenarios and exceptions may require you to adapt these structures. Always consult the MLA Handbook for more information and specific guidelines when formatting your citations for audio and visual materials.

Cite Podcasts in MLA

To cite a podcast episode in MLA format, use the following citation structure:

If the podcast episode does not have an episode number, omit it from the citation.

If you need to cite a specific guest on the podcast, include their name and the description "guest" after the title of the podcast.

Keep in mind that you may need to adapt your citation based on the specific information available for the podcast and the focus of your discussion.

Cite Social Media Posts in MLA

For social media posts, use the following format in your MLA Works Cited:

Citing an Instagram post:

If the account name and its corresponding handle are similar (e.g., @aliciakeys and Alicia Keys), it is generally recommended to exclude the handle when including a URL in the entry. However, if you are not providing a URL, such as when referencing a mobile version of the site, it is advisable to include the handle, as it can assist your reader in locating the specific post.

Citing a Twitter post:

Citing a Facebook post:

Moreover, if you are accessing a post on the mobile version of a social media site and the copyright date is not visible, it is recommended to include the date you accessed the post as an additional element at the end of the entry.

Cite Images & Artworks in MLA

To cite an online image or artwork in your MLA citation list, the format is:

For digital images or artwork viewed online, begin with the artist's name, the title of the artwork in italics, the date of creation (if known), the website hosting the artwork or the name of the database, and the URL or DOI (if available).

Citing an image or artwork viewed online:

In cases where the creation date or author name is unknown, you can make adjustments to the citation format to account for the missing information.

If the creation date of the artwork is unknown, you can use the abbreviation "n.d." (no date) in place of the date.

If the author of the artwork is unknown, you can start the citation with the title of the artwork in italics. If it's necessary to provide context or specify that the author is unknown, you can use the term “Unknown Artist”, “Anonymous” or “Anon.”.

Citing an artwork with an unknown author and creation date:

Remember that citation requirements may vary depending on the context and the focus of your work. Always consult the MLA Handbook for more information and specific guidelines when formatting your citations with unknown information.

Cite Theses & Dissertations in MLA

When citing a thesis or dissertation in your MLA paper, use the following format:

For a digital thesis or dissertation, begin with the author's name, the title of the work in italics, the year of completion, the institution where the work was completed, the description of the work as a thesis or dissertation, and the URL or DOI (if available).

Citing a thesis or dissertation published online:

Cite Databases & Data Sets in MLA

When citing datasets or statistical data, include the author, publication year, title of the dataset, version, publisher, and the DOI or URL in your MLA Works Cited page:

If you are citing a specific work within a database or using data from a data set, you should first cite the work or the data following the appropriate citation format for that type of source (e.g., a journal article, a book, a newspaper article), and then add the database or data set as a supplementary source at the end of the citation.

Cite Mobile Applications in MLA

Citing mobile applications in MLA format requires the author, the app's release year, the app's title, the version, and the platform in your reference list entry:

Keep in mind that you may need to modify these examples based on the specific information available for the mobile application and the focus of your discussion.

Cite Classical Works

Citing classical works in MLA format involves various scenarios, depending on factors such as the type of source (print or digital), the specific edition or translation being cited, and the availability of specific information (author, title, date, etc.).

Keep in mind that classical works often have unique citation requirements due to their historical context and the numerous editions, translations, or versions available.

Here is the general structure for citing classical works in MLA format:

N.B. When referencing classical works, the original publication year is often unknown or irrelevant; instead, provide the year of the translation or version you are using in parentheses, followed by a period.

Cite Legal Documents

For a legal document as the main focus of your MLA citation, provide the title of the document in italics, the document number or code, the name of the authority issuing the document, the publication date, and the URL or DOI (if available).

For court cases , the citation structure is a bit different:

When citing the Constitution , you can use the following format: Title of Constitution, jurisdiction or authority, publication date, URL or DOI (if available).

For more information and examples on how to cite different government documents in the MLA format, we suggest that you follow these guidelines from the MLA Style Center.

Cite Online Lectures & TED Talks

When citing online lectures, webinars, or TED Talks, include the speaker, the date, the title of the talk, and the URL in your APA reference list entry:

Cite Course Materials & Lectures in MLA

Course materials are considered unique academic sources and should be cited according to the guidelines for educational or instructional materials. Here is the general structure for citing course materials in MLA format:

Cite Personal Communications in MLA

In MLA format, personal communications, such as interviews, emails, letters, or personal conversations, are considered unpublished sources and are not typically included in the Works Cited list because they cannot be accessed by your readers.

Instead, you should provide a parenthetical citation within the text of your document, giving credit to the source.

When citing personal communications in your text, mention the source of the communication, the type of communication (e.g., email, letter, personal interview, etc.), and the date the communication took place.

Here is the general structure for citing personal communications in MLA format:

(Source's Last Name, Type of Communication, Date)

Keep in mind that you should only cite personal communications in the body of your text, as they cannot be accessed by your readers and, therefore, should not be listed in the Works Cited page.

• Personal interview: According to John Smith , the use of renewable energy has increased dramatically in the last decade (personal interview, 7 May 2023) .
• Email: Jane Doe mentioned in an email that her research findings support the use of electric vehicles to reduce greenhouse gas emissions (12 April 2023) .
• Letter: She recently expressed her concerns about the environmental impact of deforestation (Sarah Johnson, letter, 10 June 2022) .

Always ensure that you have the permission of the person you are citing to include their personal communication in your work, as this information is not publicly accessible and may involve privacy concerns.

MLA Style: Final Notes

As you can see, the MLA citation format provides a consistent and clear method for citing various types of sources in your research. By mastering the MLA citation style, you will not only make your work more professional but also help your readers easily locate the sources you have used.

We hope this comprehensive guide on MLA citation style has provided you with a solid foundation for citing sources in your research. Remember that Bibcitation is here to help you with your academic needs, offering accurate and easy-to-use tools.

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What is the Cite This For Me MLA Citation Generator?

Are you looking for an easy and reliable way to cite your sources in the MLA format? Look no further because the Cite This For Me MLA citation generator is designed to remove the hassle of citing. You can use it to save valuable time by auto-generating all of your citations.

The Cite This For Me citation machine accesses information from across the web, assembling all of the relevant material it finds into a formatted MLA works cited that clearly maps out all of the sources that have contributed to your paper. Using a generator simplifies the frustrating citing process, allowing you to focus on what’s important: completing your assignment to the best of your ability.

Have you encountered an unusual source, such as a microfiche or a handwritten manuscript, and are unsure how to accurately cite this in the MLA format? Or are you struggling with the dozens of different ways to cite a book? If you need a helping hand with creating your MLA format citations, the Cite This For Me citation generator will get you one step closer to the finishing line.

Continue reading our handy style guide to learn how to cite like a pro. Find out exactly what a citation generator is, how to implement the MLA style in your writing, and how to organize and present your work according to the guidelines.

Popular MLA Citation Examples

• Archive material 
• Book Chapter
• Dictionary entry 
• E-book or PDF 
• Image online or video
• Presentation or lecture
• Video, film, or DVD 

Why Do I Need To Cite?

Whenever you use someone else’s ideas or words in your own work, even if you have paraphrased or completely reworded the information, you must ‘give credit where credit is due’ to avoid charges of plagiarism. There are many reasons why.

First, using information from a credible source lends credibility to your own thesis or argument. Your writing will be more convincing if you can connect it to information that has been well-researched or written by a credible author. For example, you could argue that “dogs are smart“ based on your own experiences, but it would be more convincing if you could cite scientific research that tested the intelligence of dogs.

Second, you should cite sources because it demonstrates that you are capable of writing on an academic or professional level. Citations show that your writing was thoughtfully researched and composed, something that you would not find in more casual writing.

Lastly, and most importantly, citing is the ethical thing to do. Imagine that you spent months of your life on a paper: researching it, writing it, and revising it. It came out great and you received many compliments on your thesis and ideas. How would you feel if someone took those ideas (or even the whole paper) and turned them in as their own work without citations? You’d probably feel terrible.

For all of these reasons, be sure that all of the source material that has contributed to your work is cited. There are two steps:

• Acknowledge a source with an MLA in-text citation (also known as a parenthetical citation )
• Feature a full citation for the source in your works cited list

Create citations, whether manually or by using the Cite This For Me MLA citation generator, to maintain accuracy and consistency throughout your project.

Do I Have to Cite Everything?

When writing a research paper, any information used from another source needs to be cited. The only exceptions to this rule are everyday phrases (e.g., all the world’s a stage) and common knowledge (e.g., President Kennedy was killed in 1963).

Also, your own work does not need to be cited. That includes your opinions, ideas, and visuals (e.g., graphs, photos, etc.) you created. However, you do need to cite your own work if you have previously published it or used it in another assignment. Otherwise it’s considered self plagiarism . For example, submitting a paper that you wrote and already turned in for another class is still plagiarism, even though it is your own work.

If you have any doubts about whether or not something you’ve written requires a citation, it’s always better to cite the source. While it may be a tedious process without an MLA citation machine, attributing your research is essential in validating the statements and conclusions you make in your work. What’s more, drawing on numerous sources elevates your understanding of the topic, and accurately citing these sources reflects the impressive research journey that you have embarked on.

Consequences of Not Citing

The importance of crediting your sources goes far beyond ensuring that you don’t lose points on your assignment for citing incorrectly. Plagiarism, even when done unintentionally, can be a serious offense in both the academic and professional world.

If you’re a student, possible consequences include a failing assignment or class grade, loss of scholarship, academic probation, or even expulsion. If you plagiarize while writing professionally, you may suffer legal ramifications as well, such as fines, penalties, or lawsuits.

The consequences of plagiarism extend beyond just the person who plagiarized: it can result in the spread of misinformation. When work is copied and/or improperly cited, the facts and information presented can get misinterpreted, misconstrued, and mis-paraphrased. It can also be more difficult or impossible for readers and peers to check the information and original sources, making your work less credible.

What is the MLA Format?

The MLA format was developed by the Modern Languages Association as a consistent way of documenting sources used in academic writing. In 2021, the Modern Languages Association replaced their 8th edition of guidelines with the current 9th edition. Most of these changes were made to reflect the expanding digital world and how researchers and writers cite online information resources. MLA is a concise style predominantly used in the liberal arts and humanities, first and foremost in research focused on languages, literature, and culture. You can find out more here .

It is important to present your work consistently, regardless of the style you are using. Accurately and coherently crediting your source material both demonstrates your attention to detail and enhances the credibility of your written work. The MLA format provides a uniform framework for consistency across a scholarly document, and caters to a large variety of sources. So, whether you are citing a website, an article, or even a podcast, the style guide outlines everything you need to know to correctly format all of your MLA citations.* The style also provides specific guidelines for formatting your research paper, and useful tips on the use of the English language in your writing.

The Cite This For Me style guide is based on the 9th edition of the MLA Handbook. Our generator and MLA format template for citations also use the 9th edition – allowing you to shift focus from the formatting of your citations to what’s important – how each source contributes to your work.

The MLA formatting style has been widely adopted by scholars, professors, journal publishers, and both academic and commercial presses across the world. However, many academic institutions and disciplines prefer a specific style of referencing (or have even developed their own unique format) so be sure to check which style you should be using with your professor. You can also find your college’s style by logging into your Cite This For Me account and setting your institution in ‘My Profile’. Whichever style you’re using, be consistent!

So, if you’re battling to get your citations finished in time, you’ve come to the right place. The generator above will create your citations in the MLA format by default, it can cite any source in 7,000+ styles. So, whether your discipline uses the APA citation style, or your institution requires you to cite in the Chicago style citation , simply go to Cite This For Me’s website to find generators and style guides for ASA , IEEE and many more.

*You may need to cite a source type that is not covered by the manual – for these instances we have developed additional guidance and MLA format examples, which stick as closely as possible to the spirit of the style. It is clearly indicated where examples are not covered in the official handbook, or on the MLA citation website.

How Do I Create and Format MLA In-text Citations?

The MLA format is generally simpler than other referencing styles as it was developed to emphasize brevity and clarity. The style uses a straightforward two-part documentation system for citing sources: parenthetical citations in the author-page format that are keyed to an alphabetically ordered works cited page. This means that the author’s last name and the page number(s) from which the quotation or paraphrase is taken must appear in the text as a parenthetical citation, and a complete corresponding reference should appear in your works cited list.

Keep your MLA in-text citations brief, clear and accurate by only including the information needed to identify the sources. Furthermore, each parenthetical citation should be placed close to the idea or quote being cited, where a natural pause occurs – which is usually at the end of the sentence. Essentially you should be aiming to position your parenthetical citations where they minimize interruption to the reading flow, which is particularly important in an extensive piece of written work.

Check out the examples below…

MLA Format Examples

Parenthetical citation examples:

• Page specified, author mentioned in text:

If the author’s name already appears in the sentence itself then it does not need to appear in the parentheses. Only the page number appears in the citation.

• Example for source with one author:

Sontag has theorized that collecting photographs is a way “to collect the world” (3).

• Example for source with two authors :

According to MacDougall and Sanders-Parks, “employers seldom expect you to know every aspect of a new job” (31).

For all in-text citations, you’ll need a corresponding MLA citation entry for the source in your works cited.

• Page specified, author not mentioned in text:

Include the author’s last name and the page number(s) from which the quotation or paraphrase is taken in a parenthetical citation after the quote. This way of citing foregrounds the information being cited.

“To collect photographs is to collect the world” (Sontag 3).

• Example for source with two authors:

“But employers seldom expect you to know every aspect of a new job” (MacDougall and Sanders-Parks 31).

When the author is referred to more than once in the same paragraph, you may use a single MLA in-text citation at the end of the paragraph (as long as the work cannot be confused with others cited).

If you are citing two works by the same author, you should put a comma after the author’s surname and add a shortened title to distinguish between them. If there are two authors with the same surname, be sure to include their first initial in your citation to avoid confusion.

Full citation examples:

• How to cite a website MLA:

In an MLA website citation, include elements such as the:

• page/article title
• website title
• date of publication

Rieger, Sarah. “Voter Card Mailed to Non-Canadian Citizen.” CBC News , CBC/Radio Canada, 8 Oct. 2019, www.cbc.ca/news/canada/calgary/voter-card-non-canadian-citizen-1.5314019.

Taylor, Matthew, and Jonathan Watts. “Revealed: the 20 Firms behind a Third of All Carbon Emissions.” The Guardian , 9 Oct. 2019, www.theguardian.com/environment/2019/oct/09/revealed-20-firms-third-carbon-emissions.

Sometimes, the publisher name and name of a website might be in the same. In these cases, omit the name of the publisher. For example:

“Causes of Climate Change: What Is the Most Important Cause of Climate Change?” Government of Canada , 28 Mar. 2019, www.canada.ca/en/environment-climate-change/services/climate-change/causes.html.

• How to cite books:

Basic details to include in a book MLA citation are the:

• book’s author(s)
• volume (if relevant)
• year published

MLA format example:

Franke, Damon. Modernist Heresies: British Literary History, 1883-1924 . Ohio State UP, 2008.

Myron, Vicki, and Bret Witter. Dewey: the Small-Town Library Cat Who Touched the World . Grand Central Publishing, 2010.

• How to cite journal articles:

Journal article citations include the:

• article’s author(s)
• journal title
• contributor name(s) (if applicable)
• volume number, issue number, etc.
• location (e.g., page number)
• database article came from (if applicable)
• URL or DOI number

MLA citation format examples:

Fehrenbach, Carolyn R., et al. “Dinosaurs—Back in the Classroom.” Science and Children , vol. 26, no. 4, 1989, pp. 12–14. JSTOR , www.jstor.org/stable/43167483.

Romine, Bradley M., and Charles H. Fletcher. “A Summary of Historical Shoreline Changes on Beaches of Kauai, Oahu, and Maui, Hawaii.” Journal of Coastal Research , vol. 29, no. 3, 2013, pp. 605–614. JSTOR , www.jstor.org/stable/23486343.

Works cited / MLA bibliography example:

Unlike an MLA in-text citation, you must include all of the publication information in your works cited entries. Organize entries by alphabetical order using the first piece of information in the reference; it’s usually (but not always) the author’s last name. See the section “How do I format” for more information.

Franke, Damon. Modernist Heresies: British Literary History, 1883-1924. Ohio State UP, 2008.

Luckily for you, we know where the commas go, and the Cite This For Me MLA citation maker will put them there for you.

If citing is giving you a headache, use the Cite This For Me free, accurate and intuitive MLA citation generator to add all of your source material to your works cited page with just a click.

How Do I Format?

MLA works cited page:

A works cited page is a comprehensive list of all the sources that directly contributed to your work – each entry links to the brief parenthetical citations in the main body of your work. An in-text citation MLA only contains enough information to enable readers to find the source in the works cited MLA format list, so you’ll need to include the complete publication information for the source in your works cited entries.

Your works cited page should appear at the end of the main body of text, on a separate page. Each entry should start at the left margin (1 inch) and be listed alphabetically by the author’s last name (note that if there is no author, you can alphabetize by title). For entries that run for more than one line, indent the subsequent line(s) by half an inch – this format is called ‘hanging indentation.’

The title of the works cited MLA page should be neither italicized nor bold – it is simply center-aligned. Like the rest of your paper the list should be double-spaced, both between and within entries.

Sometimes your professor will ask you to also list the works that you have read throughout your research process, but didn’t directly cite in your paper. If this is so, create one list of the works that were cited and another, separate list called ‘Works Consulted.’ This is an excellent opportunity to demonstrate the full extent of the research you have carried out.

Works cited examples:

Anderson, Benedict. Imagined Communities. London: Verso, 1983.

Durand, Jorge, et al. “International Migration and Development in Mexican Communities.” Demography , vol. 33, no. 2, 1996, pp. 249–264. JSTOR , www.jstor.org/stable/2061875.

Fox, Claire F. The Fence and the River: Culture and Politics at the U.S.-Mexico Border. U of Minnesota P, 1999.

Sontag, Susan. On Photography. New York: Penguin, 2008.

Visual example:

MLA Format Paper Rules for Other Pages:

All pages in your research paper should have a 1 inch margin set around your whole paper (i.e., set your top, bottom, left, and right margins all to 1 inch). In addition, double space your whole paper, and indent the first sentence of every paragraph by ½ inch.

The first page of your research paper should include an MLA header and the title of your paper. The header should be left-aligned and include the following:

● Your name ● Your teacher’s name ● Class name ● Date

Place the title of your paper on the line after the header and center-align it. Keep it as plain text; do not bold, italicize, or underline it. Use title case capitalization.

In addition to the MLA format heading above, your research paper will also need a running head on all of your pages. The running head will include your last name and the relevant page number.

MLA Citation Formatting Guidelines

When you are gathering sources in your research phase, be sure to make note of the following bibliographical items that are considered as ‘Core Elements’ of any MLA citation:

• Author: Name of original source owner – author, editor, translator, illustrator, or director
• Title of source: article or newspaper title, title of publication, series title
• Title of container
• Other contributors
• Version: examples – unabridged version, 9th ed.
• Number: number of volumes, volume number, issue number, etc.
• Publication date: date of publication, date of composition, issue date, event date
• Location: URL, page range, DOI, etc.

If you’re still in your research phase, why not try out Cite This For Me for Chrome? It’s an intuitive and easy-to-use browser extension that enables you to quickly create and edit a citation for any online source whilst you browse the web.

Racing against the clock? If your deadline has crept up on you and you’re running out of time, the Cite This For Me citation generator will collect and add a source to your bibliography with just a click.

In today’s digital age, source material comes in all shapes and sizes. Thanks to the Cite This For Me citation machine MLA, citing is no longer a chore. Accurately and easily cite nearly any type of source in a heartbeat; whether it be a musical score, a work of art, or even a comic strip. Cite This For Me helps to elevate a student’s research to the next level by enabling them to cite a wide range of sources.

MLA Format 9th Edition - Changes From Previous Editions

It is worth bearing in mind that the style is constantly evolving to meet the various challenges facing today’s researchers. Using the Cite This For Me generator will help you to stay ahead of the game without having to worry about the ways in which the style has changed.

Below is a list outlining the key ways in which the style has developed since previous editions.

• Titles of independent works (such as books and periodicals) are now italicized rather than underlined.
• You are encouraged to include URLs and you should no longer include “https://” at the beginning of the URL with the exception of DOIs.
• Including the date a website was accessed is no longer mandatory unless the website is expected to change or become unavailable, or no other date for the source is provided.
• Every entry in your MLA works cited list no longer needs to indicate the publication medium (e.g. ‘Print.’, ‘Web.’, ‘DVD.’ etc.)
• It’s optional to include the city of publication. It’s recommended only if your source was published before 1900 or the version changes based on location.

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Published January 8, 2016. Updated July 21, 2021.

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What is an MLA citation style?

MLA (Modern Language Association) citation style is a widely used citation format in the humanities, particularly in literature, language, and the arts. The latest edition of the MLA Handbook, MLA 9, provides guidelines for formatting and citing sources in academic research papers and essays. The MLA citation style focuses on the author-page format for in-text citations, which means that when you quote or paraphrase a source in your paper, you include the author’s last name and the page number in parentheses at the end of the sentence. For example, (Smith 12). The full reference for the source is then included on the works cited page at the end of the paper. The works cited page is an alphabetical list of all the sources cited in the paper, including books, articles, websites, and other sources. The format for each source type is specific and follows a specific order. For example, a book citation would include the author’s last name, first name, title, publisher, publication date, and the medium of publication (print or online). It’s also important to note that MLA citation style requires using italics for titles of books and other standalone works. In contrast, titles of articles, chapters, and other shorter works are placed in quotation marks.

Introducing a MLA 9 Citation Generator

Our MLA 9 Citation Generator is an online tool that helps you easily and accurately format your references in MLA 9 style. Our MLA 9 Citation Generator simplifies the process by automating your citation formatting. All you need to do is input the required information and let our tool do the rest. The accuracy of your citations is crucial when it comes to academic research. Incorrectly formatted references can lead to loss of credibility and even plagiarism. The MLA 9 Citation Generator ensures that your references are accurate and compliant with the latest MLA 9 guidelines. This allows you to focus on your research and not worry about formatting. In addition to our MLA 9 Citation Generator, we offer other citation and reference tools, such as a citation machine and a bibliography generator. These tools can help you with all your citation needs, whether you’re working on a research paper, essay, or other academic projects.

How to use our MLA 9 Citation Generator

Using our MLA 9 Citation Generator is simple and easy. Navigate our website and click on the MLA 9 Reference Generator link. You will be prompted to input the required information for your source, such as the author’s name, the title of the work, the publication date, etc. Once you have entered all the information, click the generate citation button, and our tool will automatically format the reference in MLA 9 style. You can copy and paste the citation into your research paper or essay. Our MLA 9 Reference Generator also offers customized options to suit your needs. For example, you can choose between in-text citations and works cited page citations, and you can also select the type of source you are referencing, such as a book, journal article, or website. You can also choose between formatting options, such as italicizing book titles or adding quotation marks around article titles. If you have a lot of sources to cite, manually entering each one into the generator can be time-consuming. Our MLA 9 Reference Generator allows you to import sources from online databases such as JSTOR, ProQuest, and Google Scholar. Enter the DOI or ISBN of the source, and our tool will automatically import the information and format the citation for you.

Generally, the formatting guide is as follows:

Author’s name. “Title of the source.” City: Publisher, Year.

Accordingly, The complete citation will look like this:

In-text: (Rowling)

Your bibliography: RowlingJ. K. Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone . Scholastic, 1999.

Error Detection

Our MLA 9 Citation Generator is designed to detect errors in your citations and alert you to them. For example, if you forget to enter a required field or if the date is in the wrong format, our tool will notify you and prompt you to correct the error. This ensures that your citations are accurate and error-free, saving you time and hassle in the long run.

Final thoughts

As you can see, our MLA 9 Citation Generator is a user-friendly and efficient tool that can help you simplify the citation process and accurately format your references in MLA 9 style. Whether you’re a student, researcher, or academic, our tool is perfect for anyone who needs to cite sources in their work. It is the best tool with additional features like customizable options, importing sources, and error detection. Save time formatting your references manually. Try our MLA 9 Citation Generator today and see how easy it is to format your references in MLA 9 style. Our tool is free to use and can save you time and hassle. Try it now and take the first step towards simplifying your citation process.

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MLA Style Guide and Examples

The Modern Language Association uses the MLA Handbook to provide guidelines on MLA Style, which is the citation style you will be using in this class to format your papers and cite your sources. Included on this page are important documents and links that will help you to use MLA properly.

New MLA 9 rules state that the citation should NOT include http:\\ 

For example, https://roadtrippers.com/the-ultimate-guide-route-66/  should be changed to roadtrippers.com/the-ultimate-guide-route-66/

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• Purdue OWL Use this to double-check your citations.

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Brainfuse offers free online tutoring, writing services and homework assistance 24/7.  Certified Brainfuse tutors provide live, on-demand tutoring and assignment help in a variety of subjects. Brainfuse tutors meet students where they are at in order to effectively help students of all skill levels. To access services, students can log into their GoCSN account and then into Canvas. Students can choose a listed course on the left and then click on Brainfuse Online Tutoring.

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Citation Styles

What is a Citation?

A citation is positioned within the body of your paper, right after you finish referencing or quoting another author's work. This is known as an inline or in-text citation. At the end of your paper, you will also provide a complete reference. A reference must provide enough information to both identify and locate the original source of the information.

A reference usually includes:

• Name(s) of author(s)
• Title of source (article or chapter title and journal or book title)
• Publication date (if known)
• Page number(s)
• Volume and edition/issue numbers (for books and articles)
• If the content is likely to change over time, include the date you originally accessed the content.

Citation Resources

Style Guide Resources

Check out the U-M Library's comprehensive  Citation Help Research Guide  for examples and formatting tips for APA Style, MLA Style, IEEE Style, and well as other Science Styles. You'll also find guidance on citing government documents, data and statistics, and using bibliography tools. Learn how to manage your citations and get help with the  Manage Citations with Zotero, Mendeley, Endnote Research Guide .  

Many students also rely on PurdueOWL for their various style guides, but be aware that the website has many ads, whereas our Citation Help Research Guide is ad-free.

Related Sources

• Do you have a literature review assignment? Check out this guide for an in depth look at writing an advanced literature review.
•   Beyond Plagiarism  is made up a series of lessons that focus on strategies for finding, citing, analyzing, and quoting source material responsibly.

Tools for Formatting Citations

Having trouble formatting your citations? Use these tools to automatically generate citations for books, journal articles, newspapers and more in APA, MLA, and Chicago styles.

• EasyBib EasyBib is an automatic bibliography and citation generator for MLA citations.
• University of North Carolina Citation Builder This citation generator will format citations in MLA, APA, Chicago, or CSE citation styles.
• ZoteroBib Helps you build a bibliography instantly from any computer or device, without creating an account or installing any software.

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This guide will point you to many resources that will help you create and manage your citations. A variety of styles will be addressed.

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Resources for Specific Styles - OWL

The resources on this page will offer information about how to create references (citations), in-text citations, paper formatting, and more.

The Purdue University Online Writing Lab , known as  Purdue OWL , is commonly considered the expert resource concerning many citation styles. It's website is freely accessible and offers detailed, current information for the following styles: APA, MLA, IEEE, Chicago, AMA, and ASA. Purdue OWL also offers excellent information about general writing, avoiding plagiarism, and resources specifically for students whose first language is not English.

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For citation information on the Purdue OWL website use the  Research and Citation Resources link below. (You can find the link to this page on the menu to left of their website homepage.)

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Resources for Specific Styles - Excelsior

Excelsior Online Writing Lab. Excelsior College, much like  Purdue University, offers a very comprehensive website speaking to all things academic writing related. In terms of their citation resources, however, you will find only the three most commonly used styles: MLA, APA, and Chicago. If you are needing assistance with one of these three, the Excelsior OWL website is an extremely helpful resource. See the link below for their  Citation & Documentation . 

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• Citation & Documentation - Excelsior

A note about databases and pre-made citations:

Many library research databases offer ready made citations. It's important to be aware that these citations are machine generated and may contain errors. It's always a good idea to double check these database generated citations for accuracy.

IN THE BOXES BELOW YOU WILL SEE RESOURCES FOR SPECIFIC STYLE TYPES. IF YOU DO NOT SEE WHAT YOU NEED, REFER BACK TO THE PURDUE OWL RESEARCH & CITATION WEBSITE FOR ADDITIONAL STYLE TYPES, OR CONTACT YOUR LIBRARIAN.

• Contact Your Librarian

APA ( American Psychological Association)  style  was established  in order to create a simple set of procedures, or “style” guidelines, that would codify the many components of scientific writing . “Scientific” includes both some of the physical sciences as well as the social sciences such as psychology,  anthropology, criminal justice, sociology, etc.

• APA Citation Examples

The American Psychological Association's own website which offers many examples of the most commonly cited types of sources. For a list of examples for different types of sources, click on the tab entitled, "Style and Grammar Guidelines."

MLA (Modern Language Association) style is most commonly used to cite sources within the language arts, cultural studies, and other humanities disciplines.

MLA’s own website is not complete, but it does offer examples of how to cite five basic source types. You can click on an entry to get more information, as well as find links to posts with more examples.

• MLA Citation Examples
• In-Text Citations: An Overview

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Chicago (CMA)

The Chicago Manual of Style (CMS) is the preferred formatting and style guidelines used by the disciplines of history, philosophy, religion, and the arts.

The manual offers many examples of source types as well as information about in-text citations, paper formatting, and punctuation.

Harvard Referencing Style

RIT has no defined style for "Harvard Referencing." Instead we recommend using Bournemouth's guidelines and resources found below along with BibGuru, a third party citation management tool. TAKE  NOTE: the recommendation and examples are different in these two resources as there is no controlling authority. Ask your professor which flavor of Harvard they want to see in your paper.

• Harvard Reference Guide from Bournemouth This great guide has excellent information on how to cite and reference using a Harvard style.
• Harvard Citation Guide This takes you to recommendations and explanations for Harvard from BibGuru a third party citation tool.

The IEEE (Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers) referencing system is commonly used in technical fields, typically electrical, electronic and computer systems engineering. In the IEEE referencing style, a number [X] is inserted at the point in your writing where you cite another author's work. At the end of your work, the full reference [X] of the work is provided. Citations and their corresponding references are provided in the order they appear throughout your writing.

• IEEE Website Reference Manual The IEEE Reference Guide outlines how to cite a wide variety of references in IEEE style.
• IEEE Website Mathematics Guide The IEEE Mathematics Guide illustrates how mathematical equations should be rendered in a technical article.

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Don't let plagiarism errors spoil your paper, consider your source's credibility. ask these questions:, contributor/author.

• Has the author written several articles on the topic, and do they have the credentials to be an expert in their field?
• Can you contact them? Do they have social media profiles?
• Have other credible individuals referenced this source or author?
• Book: What have reviews said about it?
• What do you know about the publisher/sponsor? Are they well-respected?
• Do they take responsibility for the content? Are they selective about what they publish?
• Take a look at their other content. Do these other articles generally appear credible?
• Does the author or the organization have a bias? Does bias make sense in relation to your argument?
• Is the purpose of the content to inform, entertain, or to spread an agenda? Is there commercial intent?
• Are there ads?
• When was the source published or updated? Is there a date shown?
• Does the publication date make sense in relation to the information presented to your argument?
• Does the source even have a date?
• Was it reproduced? If so, from where?
• If it was reproduced, was it done so with permission? Copyright/disclaimer included?

MLA Format: Everything You Need to Know and More

Filled with a wide variety of examples and visuals, our Citation Machine® MLA guide will help you master the citation process. Learn how to cite websites, books, journal articles, magazines, newspapers, films, social media, and more!

MLA Citation Generator | Website | Books | Journal Articles | YouTube | Images | Movies | Interview | PDFs

Comprehensive Guide to APA Format

Our Citation Machine® APA guide is a one-stop shop for learning how to cite in APA format. Read up on what APA is, or use our citing tools and APA examples to create citations for websites, books, journals, and more!

APA Citation Generator | Website | Books | Journal Articles | YouTube | Images | Movies | Interview | PDFs

Everything You Need to Know About Chicago Style

Creating citations in Chicago style has never been easier thanks to our extensive Citation Machine® Chicago style guide and tools. Learn about footnotes, endnotes, and everything in between, or easily create citations for websites, books, journal articles, and more!

Chicago Citation Generator | Website | Books | Journal Articles | YouTube | Images | Movies | Interview | PDFs

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Academic Referencing: How to Cite a Research Paper

Learning how to conduct accurate, discipline-specific academic research can feel daunting at first. But, with a solid understanding of the reasoning behind why we use academic citations coupled with knowledge of the basics, you’ll learn how to cite sources with accuracy and confidence.

When it comes to academic research, citing sources correctly is arguably as important as the research itself. "Your instructors are expecting your work to adhere to these professional standards," said Amanda Girard , research support manager of Shapiro Library at Southern New Hampshire University (SNHU).

With Shapiro Library for the past three years, Girard manages the library’s research support services, which includes SNHU’s 24/7 library chat and email support. She holds an undergraduate degree in professional writing and a graduate degree in library and information science. She said that accurate citations show that you have done your research on a topic and are knowledgeable about current ideas from those actively working in the field.

In other words, when you cite sources according to the academic style of your discipline, you’re giving credit where credit is due.

Why Cite Sources?

Citing sources properly ensures you’re following high academic and professional standards for integrity and ethics.

“When you cite a source, you can ethically use others’ research. If you are not adequately citing the information you claim in your work, it would be considered plagiarism ,” said Shannon Geary '16 , peer tutor at SNHU.

Geary has an undergraduate degree in communication  from SNHU and has served on the academic support team for close to 2 years. Her job includes helping students learn how to conduct research  and write academically.

“In academic writing, it is crucial to state where you are receiving your information from,” she said. “Citing your sources ensures that you are following academic integrity standards.”

According to Geary and Girard, several key reasons for citing sources are:

• Access. Citing sources points readers to original sources. If anyone wants to read more on your topic, they can use your citations as a roadmap to access the original sources.
• Attribution. Crediting the original authors, researchers and experts  shows that you’re knowledgeable about current ideas from those actively working in the field and adhering to high ethical standards, said Girard.
• Clarity. “By citing your sources correctly, your reader can follow along with your research,” Girard said.
• Consistency. Adhering to a citation style provides a framework for presenting ideas within similar academic fields. “Consistent formatting makes accessing, understanding and evaluating an author's findings easier for others in related fields of study,” Geary said.
• Credibility. Proper citation not only builds a writer's authority but also ensures the reliability of the work, according to Geary.

Ultimately, citing sources is a formalized way for you to share ideas as part of a bigger conversation among others in your field. It’s a way to build off of and reference one another’s ideas, Girard said.

How Do You Cite an Academic Research Paper?

Any time you use an original quote or paraphrase someone else’s ideas, you need to cite that material, according to Geary.

“The only time we do not need to cite is when presenting an original thought or general knowledge,” she said.

While the specific format for citing sources can vary based on the style used, several key elements are always included, according to Girard. Those are:

• Title of source
• Type of source, such as a journal, book, website or periodical

By giving credit to the authors, researchers and experts you cite, you’re building credibility. You’re showing that your argument is built on solid research.

“Proper citation not only builds a writer's authority but also ensures the reliability of the work,” Geary said. “Properly formatted citations are a roadmap for instructors and other readers to verify the information we present in our work.”

Common Citation Styles in Academic Research

Certain disciplines adhere to specific citation standards because different disciplines prioritize certain information and research styles . The most common citation styles used in academic research, according to Geary, are:

• American Psychological Association, known as APA . This style is standard in the social sciences such as psychology, education and communication. “In these fields, research happens rapidly, which makes it exceptionally important to use current research,” Geary said.
• Modern Language Association, known as MLA . This style is typically used in literature and humanities because of the emphasis on literature analysis. “When citing in MLA, there is an emphasis on the author and page number, allowing the audience to locate the original text that is being analyzed easily,” Geary said.
• Chicago Manual of Style, known as Chicago . This style is typically used in history, business and sometimes humanities. “(Chicago) offers flexibility because of the use of footnotes, which can be seen as less distracting than an in-text citation,” Geary said.

The benefit of using the same format as other researchers within a discipline is that the framework of presenting ideas allows you to “speak the same language,” according to Girard.

APA Citation for College: A Brief Overview

Are you writing a paper that needs to use APA citation, but don’t know what that means? No worries. You’ve come to the right place.

How to Use MLA Formatting: A Brief Overview

Are you writing a paper for which you need to know how to use MLA formatting, but don’t know what that means? No worries. You’ve come to the right place.

How to Ensure Proper Citations

Keeping track of your research as you go is one of the best ways to ensure you’re citing appropriately and correctly based on the style that your academic discipline uses.

“Through careful citation, authors ensure their audience can distinguish between borrowed material and original thoughts, safeguarding their academic reputation and following academic honesty policies,” Geary said.

Some tips that she and Girard shared to ensure you’re citing sources correctly include:

• Keep track of sources as you work. Writers should keep track of their sources every time an idea is not theirs, according to Geary. “You don’t want to find the perfect research study and misplace its source information, meaning you’d have to omit it from your paper,” she said.
• Practice. Even experienced writers need to check their citations before submitting their work. “Citing requires us to pay close attention to detail, so always start your citation process early and go slow to ensure you don’t make mistakes,” said Geary. In time, citing sources properly becomes faster and easier.
• Use an Online Tool . Geary recommends the Shapiro Library citation guide . You can find sample papers, examples of how to cite in the different academic styles and up-to-date citation requirements, along with information and examples for APA, MLA and Chicago style citations.
• Work with a Tutor. A tutor can offer support along with tips to help you learn the process of academic research. Students at SNHU can connect with free peer tutoring through the Academic Support tab in their online courses, though many colleges and universities offer peer tutoring.

Find Your Program

How to cite a reference in academic writing.

A citation consists of two pieces: an in-text citation that is typically short and a longer list of references or works cited (depending on the style used) at the end of the paper.

“In-text citations immediately acknowledge the use of external source information and its exact location,” Geary said. While each style uses a slightly different format for in-text citations that reference the research, you may expect to need the page number, author’s name and possibly date of publication in parentheses at the end of a sentence or passage, according to Geary.

A longer entry listing the complete details of the resource you referenced should also be included on the references or works cited page at the end of the paper. The full citation is provided with complete details of the source, such as author, title, publication date and more, Geary said.

The two-part aspect of citations is because of readability. “You can imagine how putting the full citation would break up the flow of a paper,” Girard said. “So, a shortened version is used (in the text).”

“For example, if an in-text citation reads (Jones, 2024), the reader immediately knows that the ideas presented are coming from Jones’s work, and they can explore the comprehensive citation on the final page,” she said.

The in-text citation and full citation together provide a transparent trail of the author's process of engaging with research.

“Their combined use also facilitates further research by following a standardized style (APA, MLA, Chicago), guaranteeing that other scholars can easily connect and build upon their work in the future,” Geary said.

Developing and demonstrating your research skills, enhancing your work’s credibility and engaging ethically with the intellectual contributions of others are at the core of the citation process no matter which style you use.

A degree can change your life. Choose your program  from 200+ SNHU degrees that can take you where you want to go.

A former higher education administrator, Dr. Marie Morganelli is a career educator and writer. She has taught and tutored composition, literature, and writing at all levels from middle school through graduate school. With two graduate degrees in English language and literature, her focus — whether teaching or writing — is in helping to raise the voices of others through the power of storytelling. Connect with her on LinkedIn .

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Learn more at the slu academic integrity pages, slu academic integrity policy, helpful apa citation style sources.

In addition to the sources below, check out SLU Librarian Jamie Emery's guide  Style Guides & Manuals , including resources for APA, MLA, Chicago & more.

Includes information on APA style citations, as well as information on other citation styles and formatting. This site also includes a variety of other useful writing related information.

APA (American Psychological Association) style is most commonly used to cite sources within the social sciences. This resource, revised according to the 7th edition of the APA manual, offers examples for the general format of APA research papers, in-text citations, endnotes/footnotes, and the reference page. For more information, please consult the Publication Manual of the American Psychological Association, (7th ed.).

This poster created by Purdue Owl summarizes APA style in a visual format.

The style and grammar guidelines pages present information about APA Style as described in the Publication Manual of the American Psychological Association, Seventh Edition and the Concise Guide to APA Style, Seventh Edition.

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• 20 August 2024

The citation black market: schemes selling fake references alarm scientists

• Dalmeet Singh Chawla

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Citations for cash: researchers have identified services where scholars can buy citations to their papers in bulk. Credit: Vergani_Fotografia/Getty

Research-integrity watchers are concerned about the growing ways in which scientists can fake or manipulate the citation counts of their studies. In recent months, increasingly bold practices have surfaced. One approach was revealed through a sting operation in which a group of researchers bought 50 citations to pad the Google Scholar profile of a fake scientist they had created.

The scientists bought the citations for US$300 from a firm that seems to sell bogus citations in bulk. This confirms the existence of a black market for faked references that research-integrity sleuths have long speculated about, says the team.

The science that’s never been cited

“We started to notice several Google Scholar profiles with questionable citation trends,” says Yasir Zaki, a computer scientist at New York University (NYU) Abu Dhabi, whose team described its sting operation in a February preprint 1 . “When a manuscript acquires hundreds of citations within days of publication, or when a scientist has an abrupt and large rise in citations, you know something is wrong.”

These practices are troublesome because many aspects of a researcher’s career depend on how many references their papers garner. Many institutions use citation counts to evaluate scientists, and citation numbers inform metrics such as the h -index, which aims to measure scholars’ productivity and the impact of their studies.

Citation manipulation can have real consequences. In June, Spanish newspaper El País reported that the country’s Research Ethics Committee has urged the University of Salamanca to investigate the work of its newly appointed rector, Juan Manuel Corchado, a computer scientist accused of artificially boosting his Google Scholar metrics. (Corchado did not respond to Nature ’s request for comment.)

References for sale

Research-integrity watchers had already suspected that citations are for sale at paper mills , services that churn out low-quality studies and sell authorship slots on already-accepted papers, says Cyril Labbé, a computer scientist at Grenoble Alpes University in France. “Paper mills have the ability to insert citations into papers that they are selling,” he says.

In November 2023, analytics firm Clarivate in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, excluded more than 1,000 researchers from its annual list of highly cited researchers because of fears of citation gaming and ‘hyper-publishing’.

Hundreds of extreme self-citing scientists revealed in new database

In their sting operation, Zaki and his colleagues created a Google Scholar profile for a fictional scientist and uploaded 20 made-up studies that were created using artificial intelligence.

The team then approached a company, which they found while analysing suspicious citations linked to one of the authors in their data set, that seemed to be selling citations to Google Scholar profiles. The study authors contacted the firm by e-mail and later communicated through WhatsApp. The company offered 50 citations for $300 or 100 citations for $500. The authors opted for the first option and 40 days later 50 citations from studies in 22 journals — 14 of which are indexed by scholarly database Scopus — were added to the fictional researcher’s Google Scholar profile.

The team didn’t share the company’s name with Nature , citing concerns that revealing it could draw attention to its website, or the fake Google Scholar profile they created, because this might reveal the identities of the authors of the studies that planted the fake citations. Asked by Nature whether Google Scholar is aware that faked profiles can be created on its site, Anurag Acharya, distinguished engineer at the company said: “While academic misbehaviour is possible, it’s rare because all aspects are visible — articles indexed, articles included by an author on their profile, articles citing an author, where the citing articles are hosted and so on. Anyone in the world can call you on it.”

In another demonstration of citation manipulation, last month researchers created a fake Google Scholar profile for a cat called Larry listing a dozen fake papers with Larry as the sole author. The researchers posted a dozen more nonsensical studies on the academic social-networking site ResearchGate that cited Larry’s papers. A week or so after Larry’s identity was revealed, Google Scholar removed the cat’s studies, those citing Larry, and the accumulated citations. ResearchGate has also removed the bogus studies citing Larry.

Fake preprints

Zaki and colleagues’ sting operation was born out of a broader effort to assess the scale of the fake-citation problem. They used software to examine about 1.6 million Google Scholar profiles that had at least 10 publications. They searched for profiles with more than 200 citations and instances in which researchers’ citations increased by 10 times or more each year or when the rise represented a jump of at least 25% of their total citation count. The team found 1,016 such profiles.

The fight against fake-paper factories that churn out sham science

Zaki says that many citations to the papers on those profiles are from preprint articles that haven’t been peer reviewed and that they are typically listed in the bibliographies of papers but not cited in the main body of the manuscripts.

“Citations can easily be manipulated by creating fake preprints and through paid services,” says co-author Talal Rahwan, a computer scientist at NYU Abu Dhabi.

The authors also surveyed 574 researchers working at the 10 highest-ranked universities in the world. They found that of those universities that consider citation counts when evaluating scientists, more than 60% obtain these data from Google Scholar.

Fishy patterns

Labbé isn’t convinced by the survey’s claim that Google Scholar is widely used to obtain researchers’ citation metrics. Allegations of citation manipulation on Google Scholar have surfaced in the past, he says, and academics have long suspected that there are vendors offering this sort of service. But the sting operation to reveal a citation seller is the first of its kind, he says.

Guillaume Cabanac, a computer scientist at the University of Toulouse in France who has created a tool that flags fabricated papers that contain odd turns of phrase added to circumvent plagiarism-detection software, says that many studies are cropping up with citations to work that has nothing to do with the topic of the study.

Labbé’s team is building a tool that automatically flags fishy citation patterns that might point to manipulation.

How big is science’s fake-paper problem?

To help with that, Zaki’s team proposes a metric called the citation-concentration index, designed to detect cases in which a scientist receives many citations from few sources. Such activity is often a sign of a ‘citation ring’, in which scientists agree to cite one another to inflate each other’s metrics. “Suspicious ones tend to have massive citations stemming from just a few sources,” Rahwan says.

One fear among integrity sleuths is that fraudsters will conceive subtler practices to avoid being found out. For instance, one way to avoid being detected by the citation-concentration index, Labbé notes, is to buy a few citations at a time and not in bulk.

For Labbé, the way to address citation gaming is to change the incentives in academia so that scientists are not under pressure to accumulated as many citations as possible to progress their careers. “The pressure for publication and citation is detrimental to the behaviour of scientists,” he says.

Nature 632 , 966 (2024)

doi: https://doi.org/10.1038/d41586-024-01672-7

Ibrahim, H., Liu, F., Zaki, Y. & Rahwan, T. Preprint at arXiv https://doi.org/10.48550/arXiv.2402.04607 (2024).

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