Detailed MLA Citation Examples

1. Books

Single Author Book

Format: Author Last, First. Book Title. Publisher, Year of Publication.
Example:
Gladwell, Malcolm. Outliers: The Story of Success. Little, Brown and Company, 2008.

Multiple Authors

Format: First Author Last, First, and Second Author First Last. Book Title. Publisher, Year.
Example:
Smith, John, and Jane Doe. Research Methods in Education. Academic Press, 2024.

2. Online Sources

Website Articles

Format: Author Last, First. "Article Title." Website Name, Date of Publication, URL.
Example:
Thompson, Sarah. "The Future of Academic Writing." Education Today, 10 Mar. 2024, www.educationtoday.com/future-writing.

No Author Website

Format: "Article Title." Website Name, Date of Publication, URL.
Example:
"MLA Format Guidelines." Purdue OWL, 15 Jan. 2024, owl.purdue.edu/mla-guidelines.

3. Journal Articles

Print Journal

Format: Author Last, First. "Article Title." Journal Name, vol. #, no. #, Year, pp. #-#.
Example:
Martinez, Carlos. "Digital Literacy in Higher Education." Journal of Academic Research, vol. 45, no. 2, 2024, pp. 123-145.

Online Journal

Format: Author Last, First. "Article Title." Journal Name, vol. #, no. #, Year, pp. #-#, DOI or URL.
Example:
Lee, Jennifer. "Citation Practices in Digital Age." Modern Research, vol. 12, no. 4, 2024, pp. 67-89, doi:10.1234/mr.2024.1234.

4. Other Common Sources

YouTube Videos

Format: "Video Title." YouTube, uploaded by Channel Name, Date, URL.
Example:
"MLA Format Tutorial." YouTube, uploaded by Academic Help, 5 Feb. 2024, www.youtube.com/watch?v=example.

Personal Interviews

Format: Interviewee Last, First. Personal interview. Date.
Example:
Johnson, Robert. Personal interview. 20 Mar. 2024.

In-Text Citation Rules

Basic In-Text Citations

MLA uses parenthetical citations that include the author's last name and page number:

Example:
According to recent research, students benefit from proper citation training (Smith 45).

No Page Numbers (Online Sources)

For online sources without page numbers, use only the author's name:

Example:
Digital literacy is essential in modern education (Thompson).

Multiple Authors

For sources with multiple authors, include all names or use "et al." for more than two:

Two authors: (Smith and Johnson 23)
Three or more: (Brown et al. 67)

Works Cited Page Guidelines

Formatting Requirements

  • Start on a new page with "Works Cited" centered at the top
  • Double-space throughout
  • Use hanging indent for each entry
  • Alphabetize entries by author's last name
  • Use Times New Roman 12pt font

Sample Works Cited Entry

Works Cited

Brown, Lisa. "Research Methods in Digital Age." Academic Journal, vol. 15, no. 3, 2024, pp. 45-67.
Smith, John. Modern Academic Writing. University Press, 2024.
"Writing Guidelines." Academic Resources, 10 Jan. 2024, www.academic.com/guidelines.