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Introduction

Full Name: MLA Handbook, 9th Edition (Modern Language Association, 2021)

Citation System: Author–Page

Typical Fields: Literature, Humanities, Languages, Cultural Studies, Film Studies, Philosophy

Official Source: https://style.mla.org

MLA uses an Author–Page system. In-text citations include the author's surname and the page number — no comma between them, no year. The reference list is called 'Works Cited' and is arranged alphabetically. MLA 9 introduced a flexible 'container' model: every source is described using a universal set of core elements in a fixed sequence.

In-Text Citations

Situation	In-Text Example
One author	(Smith 45)
Two authors	(Garcia and Lee 102)
Three or more authors	(Patel et al. 78)
Author named in sentence	Smith argues that learning is contextual (45).
No author — use short title	("Citation Practices" 12)
No page number (website)	(Ahmed) or Ahmed states that…
Multiple sources	(Smith 45; Garcia and Lee 102)
Direct quotation	Smith argues that "learning is social" (45).
Indirect source	(qtd. in Ahmed 33)

Note: MLA does not include the year in in-text citations. Page numbers appear without 'p.' or 'pp.' For online sources with no page numbers, cite the author's name only, or use paragraph numbers if numbered (par. 3).

Works Cited Examples

MLA 9 uses a universal format based on nine core elements: Author. Title of Source. Title of Container, Other Contributors, Version, Number, Publisher, Publication Date, Location.

Source Type	Format	Example
Book	Author Last, First. Title of Book. Publisher, Year.	Creswell, John W. Research Design. SAGE Publications, 2014.
Book chapter	Author. "Chapter Title." Book Title, edited by Name, Publisher, Year, pp. x–x.	Bjork, Robert A. "Retrieval Inhibition." Varieties of Memory, edited by Roediger, Erlbaum, 1989, pp. 309–330.
Journal article	Author. "Article Title." Journal Name, vol. X, no. X, Year, pp. x–x. DOI or URL.	Maddux, William W. "Creativity and Learning." Psychological Science, vol. 22, no. 6, 2011, pp. 753–761. https://doi.org/10.1177/xxx
Thesis	Author. "Title." Year, Institution, type. Database or URL.	Harris, Lisa. "Instructional Leadership." 2014, Univ. of Michigan, Doctoral dissertation.
Webpage	Author. "Title of Page." Website Name, Day Month Year, URL.	WHO. "Mental Health." World Health Organization, 5 Sept. 2023, www.who.int/news-room/fact-sheets/detail/mental-health.
Social media	Author [@handle]. "Content." Platform, Day Month Year, URL.	APA [@APA]. "COVID-19 Resources." Twitter, 19 Mar. 2020, twitter.com/APA/status/xxx.
YouTube video	Creator. "Video Title." YouTube, Day Month Year, URL.	TED. "Do Schools Kill Creativity?" YouTube, 12 Sept. 2009, youtu.be/iG9CE55wbtY.
AI tool	Tool Name, Developer, Version, Date generated, URL.	ChatGPT, OpenAI, GPT-4, 10 Nov. 2023, chat.openai.com.

Note: MLA currently treats AI-generated content as a source type requiring adaptation of the core elements template.

Figures & Tables

For figures, place a label below the image: 'Fig. 1. Description. Source.'
For tables, label above: 'Table 1' followed by a caption.
Include the full Works Cited entry for any reproduced source.
MLA does not have a specific 'note' format — attribution is built into the caption.

Formatting Rules

Heading: 'Works Cited' — centered, no bold, new page
Order: Alphabetical by author's last name
Indent: Hanging indent
Author names: Last, First for first author; First Last for subsequent authors
Titles: Books, journals, websites in italics; articles and chapters in quotation marks
Dates: Day Month Year format (e.g., 5 Sept. 2023) for web sources

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