Core Elements of MLA Citations

MLA has nine core elements that each work cited should have in it. If you are writing a paper in the MLA style you should document the following elements of the work that you are using. If you cannot find an element, it is okay to skip over that element. Each element goes in sequential order.

Element 1: Creator of Work (Always Used If Present)

• Author of Work (Original Creator)
  • If one author is present use this style, "Last Name, First Name."
  • If two authors are present use this style, "Last Name, First Name, First Name Last Name."
  • If a work has three or more authors use this style, "Last Name, First Name, et al."

• Editor of Work (Volume of Essays Edited by Someone)
  • If one editor is present use this style, "Last Name, First Name, editor." 
  • If two or more editors are present use this style, "Last Name, First Name, et al., editors."

• Corporate Author of Work (Institution, Association, Government Agency, or Organization)
  • If an corporation is present use this style, "Corporation/Government Agency, or Organization Name."

Element 2: Title of Work (Always Used)

• Title of a Book, Collection of Essays, or Poems
  • If the source is a book you use the following format for the title, "Title of Work: Subtitle in Caps."

• Title of a Single Essay, Story, Poem, Periodical Piece (Journal Entry, Magazine, Newspaper)
  • If the source is a standalone essay, poem, periodical piece, you use the following format, "Title of piece put in Quotation Marks."

Element 3: Container of Smaller Works (Commonly Used with Databases/Encyclopedias/Dictionaries)

• Title of Container
  • If the source is a database, book inside a larger collection of works, and/or a comic book you use the following format, "Title of Container."

Element 4: Other Contributors to Work (Not Commonly Used)

• Editors, Translators, Etc. of Work
  • If the source used editors, translators, etc. you use the following format, "Edited/Translated/Illustrated by First Name and Last Name,"

Element 5: Version of Work (Not Commonly Used)

• Edition of the Work
  • If the source has a version such as, 2nd. Edition, Alternative Edition, Revised Edition, you use the following format, "Title of Ed/Number of Ed,"

Element 6: Number of Work (Not Commonly Used)

• Volume/Issue Number of Work
  • If the source is a part of a series of works you use the following format, "Volume___/No. __,"

Element 7: Publisher (Always Used)

• Publisher of Work
  • If the source is a book or website you use the following format, "Publisher Name,"  
  • Omit publishers for the following sources,
    • Periodicals
    • Website with the Same Title as Publisher (The New York Times.Com) 
    • Title of a Database. 

Element 8: Publication Date (Always Used)

• Date of the Work
  • If the source has a publication date you use the following format, "Day Month Year,"
  • If a specific date is not mentioned simply putting the "Year," will do. 

Element 9: Location (Always Used If Consulting Specific Parts of a Text)

• Page Numbers Consulted/URL To Work
  • If the source is a physical work you use the following format to specify the page numbers consulted, "pp___-____."
  • If the source is an online work you use the following format, "URL Link to Article/Website."

How to Format a Works Cited Page

You will not use all of the MLA Core Elements when making citations. Listed below are some common examples of how to format a work cited source in your paper. You will see the most common elements used when creating these citations.*

*These sources should be listed alphabetically at the end of your paper. They must have a hanging indent if the citation goes onto a second line. 

Book With One Author Style and Example:

• Format: Last Name, First Name. Title of Work. Publisher, Date of Publication. 

• Example: Jacobs, Alan. The Pleasures of Reading in an Age of Distraction. Oxford UP, 2011.

Book With Two Authors Style and Example:

• Format: Last Name, First Name, and First Name Last Name. Title. Publisher, Date. 

• Example: Dorris, Michael, and Louise Erdrich. The Crown of Columbus. HarperCollins Publishers, 1999.

Book With Three Authors or More Style and Example

• Format: Last Name, First Name, et al. Title. Publisher, Date.

• Example: Mascot, Bill, et al. The Hate You Give. Oxford UP, 2012.

Database Article Style and Example

• Format: Last Name, First Name. "Title in Quotations." Title of Container (Journal Title), Volume Number, Issue Number (if applicable), Year Published, Pages Consulted. Database Title, URL to Database Article. Date Accessed. 

• Example: Goldman, Anne. "Questions of Transport: Reading Primo Levi Reading Dante." The Georgia Review, vol.64, no. 1, 2010, pp.69-88. JSTOR, www.jstor.org/stable/41403188. Accessed 26 May 2021. 

Website Article Style and Example

• Format: Last Name, First Name. "Title in Quotations." Title of Website, Day Month Year (if applicable), URL Link. Date Accessed (Day Month Year). 

• Example: Hollmichel, Stefanie. "The Reading Brain Differences between Digital and Print." So Many Books, 25 Apr. 2013, somanybooksblog.com/2013/04/25/the-reading-brain-differences-between-digital-and-print/. Accessed 23 Apr. 2015.

Encyclopedia Article Style and Example

• Format: Last Name, First Name (Of Article). "Title in Quotations." Title of Encyclopedia/Dictionary, edited by Editor's First Name and Last Name, Edition (If Given), Volume Number, Publisher Name, Year of Publication, Pages Consulted.

• Example: Smyth, E. "Boniface IX, Pope." New Catholic Encyclopedia, edited by Berard L. Marthaler et al., 2nd ed., vol. 2, Catholic University of America Press, 2002, pp. 504-505.

Online Video Style and Example

• Format: "Title of video." YouTube, uploaded by Screen Name, day month year, www.youtube.com/xxxxx

• Example: Beyoncé . "Sorry." YouTube, uploaded by BeyFan123, 17 December 2016, www.youtube.com/12342134.