This guide shows you how to cite correctly in MLA 9th edition — the foundation of academic integrity. PaperDraft helps you format citations as you draft, so you practice sound attribution, not evasion.
MLA is the style of literary studies, modern language departments, and most humanities courses in North America. The 9th edition (2021) formalizes the core-elements template introduced in the 8th — a single pattern that applies to every kind of source, which makes the style flexible but demands attention to which elements apply to each source type. This guide walks you through the template, the in-text pattern, and the edge cases.
Quick rules
- MLA is an author–page style. Every in-text citation names an author and a page number.
- The bibliography is called Works Cited (centered, not bold).
- Works Cited uses hanging indent and is double-spaced throughout.
- Titles use headline capitalization — major words capitalized.
- Titles of short works (articles, chapters, poems) go in quotation marks; titles of long works (books, journals, films) are italicized.
- Use "et al." for three or more authors.
The nine core elements
Every MLA Works Cited entry follows the same template, in this order, with the punctuation shown:
- Author.
- Title of Source.
- Title of Container,
- Contributor,
- Version,
- Number,
- Publisher,
- Publication Date,
- Location.
Not every source uses every element. A book by a single author has few containers; a chapter in an edited volume nests a source inside a container inside a publisher. Skip any element that does not apply, and keep the punctuation consistent with the template.
In-text citation patterns
- Parenthetical: "Attention shapes the narrative (Smith 45)."
- Narrative: "Smith argues that attention shapes the narrative (45)."
- Two authors: (Smith and Jones 45).
- Three or more authors: (Smith et al. 45).
- Two works by the same author: Include a short form of the title — (Smith, Attention 45) vs. (Smith, "Focus" 12).
- No author: Use a short form of the title in the author position.
- No page numbers (website, film): Omit the page element. You may include a timestamp, paragraph number, or section title if the source is clearly divisible.
Works Cited formats
Book (single author):
Smith, Jane R. Attention and Narrative. Oxford UP, 2020.
Book chapter in an edited volume:
Jones, Kevin L. "Attention in Early Modern Drama." Handbook of Renaissance Studies, edited by Margaret Brown and Paul Green, Wiley, 2019, pp. 45–67.
Journal article with DOI:
Smith, Jane R., and Kevin L. Jones. "Mediators of Attention in Victorian Fiction." Journal of Literary Studies, vol. 113, no. 4, 2021, pp. 512–530. https://doi.org/10.1037/edu0000456.
Article on a news site:
Harris, Peter. "New Findings in Attention Research." The Guardian, 14 Mar. 2023, www.theguardian.com/science/2023/mar/14/attention-research.
Streaming film or TV episode:
"The Attention Economy." Documentaries Now, season 4, episode 7, Netflix, 12 May 2022, www.netflix.com/title/81234567.
Tweet or social media post:
@NameHere. "Text of the post." X [formerly Twitter], 14 Mar. 2023, twitter.com/NameHere/status/1234567890.
Thesis (unpublished):
Garcia, Maria. Attention Regulation in Adolescents. 2022. University of California, Berkeley, PhD dissertation.
Edge cases
No author. Move the title into the author position. Use a shortened title in the in-text citation.
Multiple containers. An article in a journal accessed through JSTOR has two containers — the journal (primary) and JSTOR (secondary). Include both, each with their applicable elements.
Translations. Name the translator as Contributor: "translated by Edith Grossman." For substantial translations, you may place the translator in the author position if the translation itself is the focus.
Generative AI. MLA treats AI-generated content as a source. Format:
"Prompt text here" prompt. ChatGPT, 14 Mar. 2023 version, OpenAI, 15 Mar. 2023, chat.openai.com/chat.
In-text: (ChatGPT).
Disclose the use of AI tools per your course policy.
Performance. For a live performance, the location element is the venue and city.
Common mistakes
- Putting a comma between author and page in-text. MLA uses (Smith 45), not (Smith, 45).
- Using "page" or "p." in-text citations. MLA omits both — just the number.
- Capitalizing titles in sentence case. MLA uses headline capitalization throughout.
- Forgetting italics vs. quotation marks. Containers (books, journals, films) are italicized; the sources within them (chapters, articles, episodes) are in quotation marks.
- Skipping the hanging indent. Works Cited entries require hanging indent.
- Including the URL protocol inconsistently. MLA 9th prefers URLs with http:// removed, but include DOI prefixes in full.
How PaperDraft helps
PaperDraft stubs MLA citations in the correct container structure as you draft. It knows the nine core elements, the punctuation pattern, and where italics vs. quotation marks go. What PaperDraft does not and cannot do is verify that the source you cite is the source you read. Every stubbed citation needs to be matched against the actual source — author spelling, container name, publication date — and that verification is your work as the author. See our academic responsibility guide for the full frame.
Frequently asked questions
Which edition of MLA should I use?
MLA 9th edition (2021) is current. The 8th edition introduced the core-elements template, which 9th refines rather than replaces. If your course says "MLA" without specifying, use 9th.
How do I cite a source with no page numbers?
Omit the page element. If the source has clearly divisible sections (paragraphs, timestamps, chapters), you may include them — e.g., (Smith, par. 5) for paragraph 5.
What is a "container" in MLA?
The container is whatever larger work the source is inside. An article is inside a journal (container); a chapter is inside a book (container); a streaming episode is inside a series inside a platform (two containers). MLA's innovation in the 8th edition was treating all of these uniformly.
How do I cite a translation?
Name the translator as "translated by Name" in the Contributor position. If you cite extensively from the translator's work (not the original author's arguments), you may move the translator to the author position with "translator" as a descriptor.
What do I do if the source has three authors?
Use "et al." in the Works Cited entry: "Smith, Jane R., et al." And in-text: (Smith et al. 45).
How should I disclose AI-assisted drafting in MLA papers?
Cite AI outputs as sources where they contributed content. Disclose broader drafting assistance per course policy. Our disclosure guide walks through current expectations across institutions.