📚 MLA Citation Generator (MLA 9th Edition Works Cited)

What is the MLA Citation Generator?

MLA style is the citation system of the Modern Language Association, used most often in English, literature, languages and the humanities. The current 9th edition (published 2021) moved away from long lists of source-specific rules and toward a single, flexible template built on what it calls the core elements. Instead of memorizing one format for a magazine and another for a website, you describe any source using the same ordered slots and simply leave out the ones that do not apply.

The nine core elements, in order, are: Author. "Title of source." Title of container, Other contributors, Version, Number, Publisher, Publication date, and Location. Each element is followed by a specific punctuation mark, a period after the author and the title of the source, and commas between the elements inside the container. The author is inverted to Last, First so the list can be alphabetized. The title of the source is in quotation marks when it is part of a larger whole (an article, a web page, a chapter) and in italics when it stands alone (a whole book). The container is the larger work that holds the source, a journal, a website, an anthology, and it is set in italics.

The location element is where MLA 9 differs most from older habits. For a print source the location is the page range, written as pp. 45-58. For an online source the location is the URL with the scheme removed, so https://www.example.com becomes www.example.com. This generator strips the http:// or https:// automatically so your entry matches the MLA recommendation. For web sources you can also add an Accessed date, which is encouraged for pages that may change or that carry no clear publication date.

Every Works Cited entry has a partner: the in-text citation. In MLA the in-text citation is a short parenthetical pointing the reader to the right entry, normally the author last name and a page number with no comma between them, for example (Zalewski 47). If there is no page number, as with most websites, you use just the author name, (Zalewski). When no author exists, MLA uses a shortened version of the title in quotation marks. This tool generates the in-text form for you so the two always agree.

When to use it

• Building a Works Cited page for a high school or college English essay in MLA 9th edition.
• Citing a news article, blog post or other web page accurately, with the URL formatted the MLA way and an Accessed date.
• Generating the matching in-text parenthetical so the citation in your paragraph lines up with the full reference.
• Quickly formatting a mix of source types (a book, a journal article and a website) without re-learning the rules for each.

How to use the MLA Citation Generator

1. Pick the source type: website, book or journal article. The form shows only the fields that matter for that type.
2. Enter the author (last name and optional first name), the title of the source, and the container such as the website or journal name.
3. Add the remaining details: publisher, publication date, volume and issue, page range, URL and a date accessed where relevant.
4. Read the formatted MLA Works Cited entry and the in-text citation below, then use the copy buttons to paste either one into your document.

Formula & method

Worked examples

MLA 9 core elements and their punctuation (in order)

MLA month abbreviations for dates

Common mistakes to avoid

• Keeping http:// or https:// in the URL. MLA 9 wants the location URL with the scheme removed, so write www.example.com/page, not https://www.example.com/page. This tool strips it for you automatically.
• Putting a comma between author and page in the in-text citation. The correct MLA in-text form is (Zalewski 47) with a space and no comma. Writing (Zalewski, 47) is an APA habit, not MLA.
• Italicizing or quoting the wrong title. A standalone work (a whole book) is italicized; a part of a larger work (an article, a chapter, a web page) goes in quotation marks. Mixing these up is the most frequent MLA error.
• Forgetting the hanging indent and alphabetical order. Entries in a Works Cited list are alphabetized by the first element (usually the author last name) and use a hanging indent, where the second and later lines are indented half an inch.

Glossary

Works Cited

The alphabetized list of full references at the end of an MLA paper. Each entry corresponds to an in-text citation used in the text.

Core elements

The nine ordered building blocks MLA 9 uses to describe any source: Author, Title of source, Title of container, Other contributors, Version, Number, Publisher, Publication date, and Location.

Container

The larger work that holds the source, such as a journal, a website, an anthology or a TV series. It is set in italics.

In-text citation

A short parenthetical reference within the text, usually the author last name and a page number, for example (Chen 47), that points to a Works Cited entry.

Location

The final core element that tells the reader where to find the source: a page range (pp. X-Y) for print, or a URL without the scheme for online sources.

Accessed date

The date you viewed an online source, written as Accessed DD Mon. YYYY. It is recommended for web pages that lack a clear publication date or may change.

Frequently asked questions