MLA Citation Generator

MLA is built on containers, not source types

The 8th edition replaced dozens of per-source-type templates with one universal structure, and the 9th edition kept it. Every entry follows the same nine elements in the same order: Author. Title of Source. Title of Container, Other Contributors, Version, Number, Publisher, Publication Date, Location. Elements you do not have are simply omitted. This is why MLA no longer has a separate rule for citing a podcast or a tweet — the container system already handles them.

Nested containers

A journal article in a database sits in two containers: the journal, then the database. An episode of a series on a streaming service sits in the series, then the service. You complete the first container's elements, then start again for the second. Most confusion with MLA comes from trying to force a two-container source into one line.

In-text citations carry no date

MLA uses author and page: (Smith 42), with no comma between them. This is the sharpest visible difference from APA and the one graders notice fastest. If the author's name appears in your sentence, only the page number goes in parentheses. For sources without pages, use a paragraph or timestamp locator only if the source itself numbers them; do not count paragraphs yourself.

The Works Cited page

Titled "Works Cited", centred, not bold and not underlined. Alphabetised by author surname, double spaced throughout, with a half-inch hanging indent. Every entry ends with a full stop. The page continues the document's page numbering rather than starting fresh.

URLs and DOIs in the 9th edition

Include a DOI where one exists, formatted as https://doi.org/ followed by the number. Otherwise include a stable URL, with http:// or https:// omitted at your instructor's discretion — MLA permits both. Access dates are optional and worth including only for sources likely to change or disappear.

Three or more authors

List the first author surname-first, then "et al." — MLA switches to et al. at three, the same threshold as APA 7 but reached by a different rule. Two authors are both listed, the first inverted and the second in normal order, joined by "and".