Citation Examples
MLA Citation Examples
Real MLA 9th edition citation examples for websites, books, journal articles, and more. See formatted Works Cited entries and in-text citations.
Template
Author. Title of Book. Publisher, Year.Reference list entry
Gladwell, Malcolm. Outliers: The Story of Success. Little, Brown and Company, 2008.
In-text citation
(Gladwell 45)Generate this example now
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Journal Article
Template
Author. "Article Title." Journal Name, vol. #, no. #, Year, pp. ##-##. Database, DOI.Reference list entry
Kincaid, Jamaica. "In History." Callaloo, vol. 24, no. 2, 2001, pp. 620-626. JSTOR, https://doi.org/10.1353/cal.2001.0069.
In-text citation
(Kincaid 621)Website
Template
Author. "Title of Page." Website Name, Publisher, Day Month Year, URL.Reference list entry
Lundman, Susan. "How to Make Vegetarian Chili." eHow, www.ehow.com/how_10727_make-vegetarian-chili.html.
In-text citation
(Lundman)Article
Template
Author. "Article Title." Publication Name, Day Month Year, pp. ##-##. URL.Reference list entry
Poniewozik, James. "TV Makes a Too-Close Call." Time, 20 Nov. 2000, pp. 70-71.
In-text citation
(Poniewozik 70)MLA formatting tips
- 1Use title case for all titles.
- 2Include page numbers in in-text citations when referencing specific passages.
- 3Use quotation marks for article/page titles; italicize container titles.
- 4End citations with a period, including after URLs.
Frequently asked questions
Do MLA in-text citations need page numbers?
Yes, when citing a specific passage. If you are referencing the work as a whole, page numbers can be omitted. For web sources without pages, no page number is needed.
What is a "container" in MLA?
A container is the larger work that holds your source. For example, a journal is the container for an article, and a website is the container for a web page.
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