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Writing · Writing: Research, Forms and Conventions

Research V: MLA Style from the First Page to the Works Cited (MLA Handbook, 9th Edition)

1.3 3.3 3.6About 75 minutes
Learning goals
  • I can build a Works Cited entry for any source using the MLA template of core elements, including a second container.
  • I can cite works with two authors, three or more authors, no author, editors, translators and repeated authors.
  • I can write in-text citations for these cases so that each one matches the first element of its Works Cited entry.
  • I can format a research paper's first page, header, headings and Works Cited page in MLA style.
  • I can explain where MLA, APA and Chicago styles are used in university.

Words to know

core elements
The nine pieces of information in MLA's template, in order: author, title of source, title of container, other contributors, version, number, publisher, publication date, location.
container
The larger whole that holds a source: a journal holds an article, a website holds a page, a database holds the journal.
DOI
Digital object identifier: a permanent code assigned to many scholarly articles, written in MLA as https://doi.org/ followed by the code.
et al.
Latin et alii, and others: used in MLA for a source with three or more authors.
hanging indent
A format in which the first line of an entry starts at the margin and the following lines are indented.
running header
Your last name and the page number, at the top right of every page.
access date
The date you viewed an online source, added at the end of an entry when the source has no date or may change.
citation style
A set of rules for crediting sources, such as MLA (literature and languages), APA (psychology and many social sciences) or Chicago (history and some humanities).

Why one style, done perfectly?

Citation is how scholars keep their promises to readers: every claim I borrowed, you can find. A Works Cited entry with a missing page range or a wrong author is a broken promise, and university markers notice. Get the style right and readers trust you before they reach your thesis.

The MLA Handbook (Modern Language Association, 9th edition, 2021) is the standard in English and other language and literature courses, in high school and in university. In other university courses you will meet other styles: APA in psychology, education and many social sciences (author and year in the citation, (Okafor, 2021)), and Chicago in history (often with footnotes). The principles are the same; the punctuation differs. This lesson makes you fluent in MLA, from the first line of your paper to the last entry.

Remember from Grade 11

You already cite with (Author page), use qtd. in for indirect sources, format block quotations (indented, no quotation marks, citation after the final period), use brackets and ellipses honestly, cite poetry by line and verse plays by act, scene and line, cite films, podcasts, interviews and anthologies, and cite Elders and Knowledge Keepers with the MacLeod template. You also know the core elements by name. This lesson puts them into one system and adds the harder cases.

The template: nine core elements, in order

MLA builds every entry from the same elements, in the same order, each followed by the punctuation shown. Leave out any element that does not apply.

  1. Author. Last name, first name, then a period.
  2. Title of source. Italics for a whole work (a book, a film); quotation marks for a part (an article, a chapter, a poem, a web page). Period.
  3. Title of container, in italics: the larger work that holds the source (a journal, a collection, a website). Comma.
  4. Other contributors, with a description: edited by, translated by, directed by. Comma.
  5. Version, such as 2nd ed. or revised ed. Comma.
  6. Number, such as vol. 14, no. 2. Comma.
  7. Publisher. Leave it out for journals, magazines and newspapers, and for websites whose name is the same as the publisher. Shorten business words (no Inc. or Company) and write UP for University Press. Comma.
  8. Publication date. Day, month, year as given: 3 Mar. 2025. Abbreviate months longer than four letters (Jan., Feb., Mar., Apr., Aug., Sept., Oct., Nov., Dec.). Comma.
  9. Location: page numbers (p. 12 or pp. 33-51), a DOI (https://doi.org/...), or a URL. Period.

Then, if the container is itself inside a second container (a journal found in a database), repeat elements 3 to 9 for it. MLA usually leaves https:// off ordinary URLs but keeps it in front of DOIs; if your teacher prefers full links, follow your teacher.

Containers: a source can sit inside a container inside anotherContainer 2: Literature Online (a database) + DOIContainer 1: Journal of Canadian Fiction Studies, vol. 14, no. 2, 2021Source: "Survival Is Not Enough"by Rita Okafor, pp. 33-51Invented example. Read from the inside out: the article, then the journal, then where you found it.
The article (yellow) is in a journal (green), and you found the journal in a database (blue). Each container gets its own set of elements in the entry, from the inside out.

Authors and other contributors

  • One author: Okafor, Rita.
  • Two authors: first author reversed, second in normal order: Lee, Mina, and Dan Roy.
  • Three or more: first author, then et al.: Bello, Ada, et al.
  • Editor of a whole collection as the author: Kwan, Sam, editor. (editors for two).
  • Translator (when you cite the novel itself): put the translator in other contributors: Translated by Lucie Tremblay,.
  • No author: begin with the title. Do not write Anonymous unless the source does.
  • Organization that is both author and publisher (common for reports): begin with the title and list the organization as publisher.
  • Same author, several works: list them alphabetically by title; give the name in the first entry and replace it with three hyphens and a period (---.) in the next ones.
  • Alphabetize the whole list by the first word of each entry, ignoring A, An and The at the start of a title.

Page ranges: MLA writes the second number in full up to 99 (pp. 33-51); above that, it usually gives only the last two digits when that is clear: pp. 101-24, pp. 395-401.

SourceWorks Cited entry (all invented, for practice)
Journal article found in a database, with DOIOkafor, Rita. "Survival Is Not Enough: Art after the End in Station Eleven." Journal of Canadian Fiction Studies, vol. 14, no. 2, 2021, pp. 33-51. Literature Online, https://doi.org/10.5555/jcfs.2021.0042.
Book, two authorsLee, Mina, and Dan Roy. Writing the North: Essays on Place. Northline UP, 2018.
Book, three or more authorsBello, Ada, et al. Reading after Disaster. Harbour Press, 2022.
Chapter in an edited collectionGrey, Alana. "Rivers That Remember." Land and Story in Canadian Fiction, edited by Sam Kwan, Northline UP, 2019, pp. 101-24.
Translated novelGagnon, Élise. The Long Snow. Translated by Lucie Tremblay, Maple Bay Press, 2016.
Online newspaper articleHaddad, Omar. "Libraries Report Record E-book Loans." The Northern Ledger, 4 Feb. 2026, www.northernledger.ca/news/ebooks.
Web page, no author, no date"Guide to the Travelling Library." Lakeshore Public Library, www.lakeshorelibrary.ca/guide. Accessed 12 Oct. 2026.
Second work by the same author---. "Travelling Light: Performance in Post-Catastrophe Fiction." Canadian Novel Review, vol. 9, 2023, pp. 7-19.
Read each entry against the nine elements. Notice the periods after author and title, commas between container elements, UP for University Press, abbreviated months, and the access date only on the undated web page. Every person, journal and publisher here is invented except the novel titles.

In-text citations that match

The golden rule: the in-text citation begins with whatever begins the Works Cited entry, so the reader can find it instantly.

  • Two authors: (Lee and Roy 45)
  • Three or more: (Bello et al. 12)
  • No author: a shortened title, styled as in the entry: ("Guide") or (Reading 40) in italics for a book.
  • Author named in your sentence: page only: Okafor argues that ... (40).
  • Several works by one author: add a short title: (Okafor, "Survival" 40).
  • Translated work: cite the author of the work, not the translator: (Gagnon 88).
  • No page numbers: author only, or a section or paragraph number if the source numbers them (par. 6).

Placement: put the citation at the end of the clause that uses the source, before the period in a sentence (...community (Grey 105).), and after the final punctuation in a block quotation.

Formatting the paper

  • Page: 1-inch margins; a readable 12-point font; double-spaced everything, including the heading, quotations and Works Cited, with no extra space between paragraphs.
  • Running header: your last name and the page number, top right, half an inch from the top of every page.
  • Heading (first page only, top left, on four lines): your name, your teacher's name, the course, the date (16 October 2026).
  • Title: centred, in title case, in plain text (not bold, not underlined, not in quotation marks). Titles of works inside your title keep their own italics or quotation marks.
  • Paragraphs: indent the first line half an inch.
  • No title page unless your teacher asks for one.
  • Works Cited: starts on a new page, with the title Works Cited centred in plain text. Entries are alphabetical, double-spaced, with a hanging indent of half an inch.
  • Section headings (useful in a long ISU) are allowed; keep them short and consistent in style.
  • Notes: MLA allows endnotes or footnotes for comments that would interrupt your text, numbered with superscript numerals. Use them rarely.
An MLA first page (no title page unless your teacher asks)Chen 1Priya ChenMs. OkaforENG4U16 October 2026Carrying the Story: Storytelling andCommunity in Two Canadian Novelsheader: last name +page, top rightheading: name,teacher, course,date, top lefttitle: centred,plain textfirst line indentedhalf an inchdouble-spacedthroughout,1-inch margins
Everything on the first page is double-spaced. The title is plain text: no bold, no larger font. The page number in the header continues on every page, including the Works Cited.
A Works Cited page: alphabetical, double-spaced, hanging indentWorks CitedDimaline, Cherie. The Marrow Thieves. [publisher], [year].Okafor, Rita. "Survival Is Not Enough: Art after the End in StationEleven." Journal of Canadian Fiction Studies, vol. 14, no. 2, ...---. "Travelling Light." ...Second and later lines of each entry are indented half an inch.Three hyphens and a period replace a repeated author's name.
The Works Cited page lists only sources you actually cited. The hanging indent makes the first word of each entry, usually the author's last name, easy to find.
Worked example

Let's build an entry for an article found in a database

You read (invented) article Rivers and Return in Medicine Walk by Joan Ma and Sean Paul Dubois in the journal Studies in Northern Literature, volume 31, issue 1, published in 2020, pages 5 to 27, through the database Humanities Full Text, DOI 10.5555/snl.31.1.5.

  1. Author. Two authors: first reversed, second normal, and between them. Ma, Joan, and Sean Paul Dubois.
  2. Title of source. An article is part of a journal, so quotation marks. The novel title inside it stays in italics. "Rivers and Return in Medicine Walk." The period goes inside the closing quotation mark.
  3. Container 1. The journal, in italics, then its elements with commas: Studies in Northern Literature, vol. 31, no. 1, 2020, pp. 5-27. No publisher for a journal.
  4. Container 2. The database, in italics, then the location: Humanities Full Text, https://doi.org/10.5555/snl.31.1.5.
  5. In-text citation. Two authors, both named: (Ma and Dubois 12). If you name them in your sentence, just (12).
  6. Check. Does the citation begin with the same word as the entry (Ma)? Yes. Are periods after the author, title and end, and commas between container elements? Yes.

Ma, Joan, and Sean Paul Dubois. "Rivers and Return in Medicine Walk." Studies in Northern Literature, vol. 31, no. 1, 2020, pp. 5-27. Humanities Full Text, https://doi.org/10.5555/snl.31.1.5. In-text: (Ma and Dubois 12).

Hands-on activity

Cite your bookshelf, then format a page

You need: four sources from home or a library (a novel, a translated book or one with an editor, a collection of stories or essays, and one online article), a word processor.

  1. For each source, find the details on the copyright page or web page: author, title, publisher, year, editor or translator, page range.
  2. Write each Works Cited entry using the nine-element template. Say each element's name aloud as you write it.
  3. For the collection, cite one story or essay inside it, with its page range.
  4. Alphabetize your four entries and format them with a hanging indent (in most word processors: Paragraph settings, Indentation, Special: Hanging, 0.5 inch).
  5. Set up a first page: header with your last name and page number, four-line heading, centred plain title, double spacing.
  6. Write one sentence quoting each source and add the matching in-text citation.

What to look for: element order and punctuation; italics vs quotation marks; et al. or and used correctly; page ranges; citations that begin with the same word as their entries; a page that matches the diagram.

Just for fun

MLA style is the only place in life where three hyphens and a period can stand in for a whole person. If an author writes enough books, they eventually become ---.

Your turn

1

Put the nine MLA core elements in order.

2

Write the author element for a book by Ana Mendes, Kai Brown and Leo Park.

3

Write the in-text citation for page 45 of a book by Mina Lee and Dan Roy.

4

Why is there no publisher in a journal article's entry?

5

How should the date September 3, 2025 appear in a Works Cited entry?

6

You quote page 88 of a novel by Élise Gagnon, translated by Lucie Tremblay. Whose name goes in the in-text citation?

7

Where does the running header go, and what does it contain?

More practice: warm-up

1

Is the title of a journal article in italics or quotation marks?

2

What does et al. mean?

3

What replaces a repeated author's name in a Works Cited list?

4

Is the title of an MLA paper bold?

5

What is a DOI?

More practice: on your own

1

Correct this entry: Grey, Alana, "Rivers That Remember", Land and Story in Canadian Fiction, Sam Kwan, Northline University Press, 2019, 101-124.

2

Alphabetize: The Long Snow (no author), Bello, Ada, et al., "A Guide to Ice Fishing" (no author), Atwood, Margaret.

3

Write the in-text citation for a web page with no author titled Guide to the Travelling Library, with no page numbers.

4

You cite two works by Rita Okafor. Write in-text citations for page 40 of "Survival Is Not Enough" and page 12 of "Travelling Light".

5

When should you add an access date to an entry?

Challenge

1

Write a full Works Cited entry and in-text citation: an (invented) essay "Snow as Memory" by Leah Cardinal, pages 210 to 233, in the collection Winter Writing, edited by Paul Nadeau and Anika Shah, 2nd edition, Prairie UP, 2017.

2

Explain why MLA requires the in-text citation to begin with the same word as the Works Cited entry, using an example with no author.

3

A classmate's ISU is written in MLA except the Works Cited, which uses author-date entries such as Okafor, R. (2021). Explain the problem and why styles should not be mixed.

Check your understanding

Quiz

1.

Which is the correct MLA author element for a book with four authors, the first being Ada Bello?

2.

In which part of an entry does a translator's name appear?

3.

Which in-text citation matches an entry beginning Lee, Mina, and Dan Roy.?

4.

A journal article was found in a database. In the entry, the database is:

5.

Which formatting choice follows MLA?

6.

How does MLA write the page range 395 to 401?

7.

Which university discipline most often uses APA style rather than MLA?

For parents and teachers

Big idea: students learn MLA style (MLA Handbook, 9th edition) as one system: nine core elements in a fixed order, containers, in-text citations that match the Works Cited, and the formatting of a full research paper. This supports Writing 1.3 (research), 3.3 (punctuation) and 3.6 (publishing and presentation).

How to help: pick a book off your shelf and ask your teen to say the Works Cited entry aloud, naming each element. Check the copyright page together for the publisher and year. If your teen uses a citation generator, have them check its output against the template; generators often get capitalization, containers and page ranges wrong.

Common difficulties:

  • Mixing up italics (whole works) and quotation marks (parts).
  • Forgetting the second container (the database) or the page range.
  • In-text citations that do not start with the same word as the entry, especially for sources with no author.
  • Single-spacing the Works Cited or forgetting the hanging indent.
  • Mixing MLA with APA (author-date) formats.

If a teacher asks for a different style, the same habits apply: complete, consistent information that lets a reader find every source.