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Citation Styles: MLA Style

Introduction

The Modern Language Association of America developed MLA Style, a widely used citation format in the Arts and Humanities fields. The latest version is the 9th edition. Like other citation styles, MLA includes both in-text citations and a Works Cited page to properly attribute sources.

Here are some guidelines, examples, and resources for using MLA citation style for your reference.

In-text citations for MLA Style: Author-page format

Essential elements and presentation for the "Author-page" format are as follows. Please also refer to the MLA Style Center for details. 

  1. Author's last name and page number(s) must be included in the in-text citation, whether it's a direct quote or paraphrasing. 
  2. Each in-text citation must have a complete reference on the Works Cited page. 

Below are several reference cases:  

  • Parenthetical citation: (Last Name Page #)   e.g. (Wells et al. 555)

For example: The data is supplemented with Chinese comedies, novels, poems, and dramas to "unmask truths that tend to be concealed in ordinary social interactions" (Wells et al. 555).

  • Narrative citation:  Last Name (Page #)    e.g.  Wells et al. (555)

For examples:

Wells, et al. supplement their data with Chinese comedies, novels, poems and dramas to "unmask truths that tend to be concealed in ordinary social interactions" (555). 

Wells et al. draw a parallel between American Thanksgiving and Chinese Mid-Autumn Festival (555).

Notes: 

  • The author's name can be included within the sentence or in parentheses after the quotation or paraphrase. However, the page number(s) must be placed in parentheses at the end of the sentence, not within the text of the sentence. 
  • When quoting from electronic sources, such as webpages, page number is not required. In these cases, cite only the author's name. If there is no author, cite the first word or words from the title only. 

 

Works Cited:

Wells, W. D. et al. "Melodies and Counterpoints: American Thanksgiving and the Chinese Moon Festival." Advances in consumer research, vol. 26, 1999, pp. 555-61.

Bibliographies for MLA Style: Works Cited List

Below are entries for the Work-Cited list that should be included in the bibliography, titled "Works Cited" in MLA Style: 

Core elements: 1) Author. 2) Title of Source. 

Containers: 3) Title of Container, 4) Contributor, 5) Version, 6) Number, 7) Publisher, 8) Publication Date, 9) Location.  

Highlights for "Works Cited" Format: 

  • Create a separate page at the end of your research paper and named it as "Works Cited". Center the title at the topic of the page. 
  • Double space all the citations
  • Indent the second and subsequent lines of citations by 0.5 inches to create a hanging indent. 
  • List entries in alphabetical order.

Refer to the MLA Style Centre for detailed examples of each element. 

Here are examples of commonly used materials for the "Works Cited" list in MLA style: 

Print Book

Author's Last Name, First Name. Title of Book. Edition. City of Publication, Publisher, Publication Date.

*Note: The City of Publication should only be used if the book was published before 1900, if the publisher has offices in more than one country, or if the publisher is unknown in North America.

Example:

Yau, Kinnia Shuk-ting. Japanese and Hong Kong Film Industries: Understanding the Origins of East Asian Film Networks. Routledge, 2010.

eBook with DOI

Author's Last Name, First Name. Title of eBook. Edition., Publisher, Publication Date. Location (DOI or URL). Access Date (if applicable).

Example:

Graham, G. Philosophy of the Arts: An Introduction to Aesthetics. 2nd ed., Routledge. 2001. https://doi.org/10.4324/9780203131794. Accessed 24 Feb. 2025.

eBook from a Website / Database

Author's Last Name, First Name. Title of eBook. Edition., Publisher, Publication Date. Website/Database Name, Location (DOI or URL). Access Date (if applicable).

Examples:

Graham, Gordon. Philosophy of the Arts: An Introduction to Aesthetics. 3rd ed., Taylor & Francis Group, 2005. ProQuest Ebook Central, ebookcentral.proquest.com/lib/cuhk-ebooks/detail.action?docID=254270. Accessed 24 Feb. 2025.

Tomlinson, Heather Biggar, and Syifa Andina. Parenting Education in Indonesia: Review and Recommendations to Strengthen Programs and Systems. World Bank Publications, 2015. ProQuest Ebook Central, ebookcentral.proquest.com/lib/cuhk-ebooks/detail.action?docID=2122770. Accessed 28 Feb. 2025.

Note: If a DOI is available, cite the DOI number (precede it with "https://doi.org/") instead of the URL. Otherwise, a URL without the "https://" or permalink. 

Book Chapters

Author's Last Name, First Name. "Title of Chapter." Title of Book, edited by Editor's First Name and Last Name,  Edition. Publisher, Publication Date, Page numbers of the chapter.

Example:

Wiesner-Hanks, Merry. "Monarchs." Women and the Reformations: A Global History, Yale University Press, 2024, pp. 1-40

Print Journal Article

Author's Last Name, First Name. "Title of Article." Title of Journal, Volume Number, Issue Number, Publication Date, Page numbers of the article.

Example:

Cheung, Lawrence Yam-Leung. "Dislocation Focus Construction in Chinese." Journal of East Asian Linguistics, vol. 18, no. 3, 2009, pp. 197-232.

Online Journal Article

Author's Last Name, First Name. "Title of Article." Title of Journal, Volume Number, Issue Number, Publication Date, Page numbers of the article. Database Name, Location (DOI or URL). Access Date (if applicable).

Example:

Guha, Abhijit et al. "Generative Ai and Marketing Education: What the Future Holds." Journal of Marketing Education, vol. 46, no. 1, 2024, pp. 6-17. Sage Journals, doi:10.1177/02734753231215436. Accessed 24 Feb. 2025.

Note: If a DOI is available, cite the DOI number (precede it with "https://doi.org/") instead of the URL. Otherwise, a URL without the "https://" or permalink. 

Newspaper Article

Author's Last Name, First Name. "Title of Article." Title of Newspaper [city of newspaper if the newspaper is a less well-known or local publication], Publication Date, Page numbers of the article.

Example:

Doyle, Andrew. "Behind a False Wall, a Lost Da Vinci Might Lurk." The Washington Post, 7 Feb. 2025, p. A16.

Online Newspaper Article

Author's Last Name, First Name. "Title of Article." Title of Newspaper [city of newspaper if the newspaper is a less well-known or local publication], Publication Date, Page numbers of the article. Database Name, Location (DOI or URL). Access Date (if applicable).

Example:

Cheung, Joseph, and Harold Chang. "High Official Visit Canton Tragedy Site." South China Morning Post (1946-), 11 Aug. 1975, p. 1. ProQuest, www.proquest.com/historical-newspapers/high-official-visit-canton-tragedy-site/docview/1527071145/se-2. Accessed 25 Feb. 2025.

Note: If a DOI is available, cite the DOI number (precede it with "https://doi.org/") instead of the URL. Otherwise, a URL without the "https://" or permalink. 

General Format

Speaker's Last Name, First Name. "Title of Lecture / Speech.'" Title of Course / Conference / Meeting, Date of lecture, Name of the organisation. Name the venue and its city (if the name of the city is not listed in the venue’s name). Descriptor that appropriately expresses the type of presentation (e.g., Address, Lecture, Reading, Keynote Speech, Guest Lecture, Conference Presentation).

Example:

Ma, Muk Chi. "Popular Culture under Colonial Governance: Dragon Boat Races in Hong Kong." Comparative and Public History Talk Series, 20 Jan. 2018, Department of History, Chinese University of Hong Kong. Lecture.

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