For most citation styles, including MLA, the First Element to appear is the Author. MLA citations require that you write out the Author's full Name as LastName, FirstName.
Example:
Gargiulio, Richard.
The addition of a Second Name to the Author Element requires that you add 'and FirstName LastName' after the First Author. NOTE: A comma is added after the First Author's Name.
Example:
Gargiulio, Richard, and Emily Bouke.
For a source with three or more Authors, it is only necessary to write the First Author's Name (LastName first, again) followed by a comma and "et al." This Latin phrase means 'and others', so it acknowledges the existence of additional Authors without requiring you to write them all out in your citation.
Example:
Gargiulio, Richard, et al.
The Second Element of a MLA citation is the source's Title.
If an Article/Essay/Song/etc. (i.e. Source) is a part of a larger work (i.e. Container), put quotation marks (" ") around the Title.
Examples:
Magele, Astrid, et al. "Effects of Musical Training in Music Therapy Following Cochlear Implantation—A Case Report."
Lennon, John, and Paul McCartney. "Across the Universe."
"Healthy on the Inside."
If the source is NOT part of a larger work, (i.e. a whole Book) put the Title in italics.
Example:
LaRocca, Rajani. Red, White, and Whole.
So before you write any citation, it is vital that you are aware of what type of source you want to cite. It changes both where you will find the information you need and how you write your citation. Do not skip this step!
The Third Element of an MLA citation is the Container Title, always put in italics.
A Container is the larger work from which you discovered the Source you are citing.
Examples:
Whitaker, James Andrew. "Owning Climate Change Among the Makushi and Akawaio." Climatic and Ecological Change in the Americas: A Perspective from Historical Ecology,
Greenberg, Drew Z. "The Killer in Me." Buffy the Vampire Slayer,
Vu, Trung V. "Individualism and Collective Responses to Climate Change." Land Economics,
A Contributor is someone who had a hand in the creation of the Source you are citing, but is NOT the primary Author. All that is needed to add Element 4 to a citation is to write edited by Firstname Lastname, after the Title(s).
Examples:
Shakespeare, William. "King Richard III." The Annotated Shakespeare, edited by Alfred Leslie Rowse, Orbis Publishing Limited, 1978, p. 214-27.
Ashman, Howard, and Alan Menken. "Part of Your World." The Little Mermaid, performance by Jodi Benson, Walt Disney Records, 1989.
Since Version and Number are used to cite sources that have multiple Issues or Volumes, these Elements do not always need to appear in a citation.
A Newspaper like the Omaha World Herald or a Journal like PLoS One continually publish new Issues and Articles on a regular schedule. All those Articles are part of the Omaha World Herald or PLoS One. In order for readers to locate past Articles, these publications assign Volume (i.e. Versions) and Issue Numbers.
To add these to a citation, write "vol." for Volume and "no." for Number. Remember to separate these two Elements with a comma.
Example:
Magele, Astrid, et al. "Effects of Musical Training in Music Therapy Following Cochlear Implantation—A Case
Report." Audiology Research, vol. 14, no. 2,
Elements 7 & 8 detail your source's Publishing Information: Publisher Name & Publication Date.
To add a Publisher Name, capitalize every word EXCEPT articles (a, an, the), conjunctions (and, but), and prepositions (on, in). Do not put it in quotation marks or italics.
Example:
W.W. Norton and Company
To add a Publication Date, use the order: Day/Month/Year. Make sure to write the Month's abbreviation (if applicable), rather than its full name or its corresponding number. If the source does not indicate the Day or Month, simply add the Year.
Formats:
Example:
"45596 Bahamas at Haworth at 2:09pm Sunday 26th May 2024." YouTube, uploaded by David Roy Ball, 27 May
2024, https://youtu.be/SCpKU4REyD0?si=WgA35x1gX731tr4K.
Element 9, Location, informs the reader where you found your source. This could be a Website URL, an Article's DOI (digital object identifier), a Book's Page Numbers, and/or the Database where the source was located. It is possible to add more than one Location in a citation, particularly for sources found online.
Examples:
Website URL:
NOTE: Do not include https:// or www.
Desai, Vishakha N. "Are You American Enough? Reflections on Being an Asian in America." Asia Blog, Asia Society, 1 Apr. 2021, asiasociety.org/blog/asia/are-you-american-enough-reflections-being-asian-america.
Page Numbers:
NOTE: pp. ###-##
Database:
NOTE: Put in italics
DOI:
NOTE: Include https://doi.org/
Magele, Astrid, et al. “Effects of Musical Training in Music Therapy Following Cochlear Implantation—A Case Report.” Audiology Research, vol. 14, no. 2, Apr. 2024, pp. 217–26. EBSCOhost, https://doi.org/10.3390/audiolres14020020.
When it comes to books, the Title Page and Copyright Page--often the front and back of a single page--are the best places to find citation information. Other places like dust jackets, book covers, and indexes will often omit or add information you should not use in your citations.
Scholarly Journal Articles usually add the citation information you need to the first page, often including the Abstract. A hosting Database may also add some or all of this information to a downloaded Article's last page. However, be cautious about using that information because it is computer generated by the database and has not been reviewed by the publishing Journal.
Unfortunately, there is no uniform standard for citation information placement in other types of sources. Examine every source you use to find its Author, Title, and Publication Facts. Ask a librarian for assistance if you have questions!
You should include as many of these Citation Elements as you can to ensure your reader is able to locate your source on their own.
Not every source will give you all 9 Elements. Therefore most Elements are not required in every citation you write, with the only exception being Element 2, the Title. NOTE: If you are unable to locate a title, write a brief description of the source in its place.
The list of all 9 Elements are called the Core Elements of MLA Citation.
Periods only appear after Element 1, Element 2, and the End of the citation. All other Elements are followed by commas.
Example:
Ashman, Howard, and Alan Menken. "Part of Your World." The Little Mermaid, performance by Jodi Benson, Walt Disney Records, 1989.
Congratulations! You now know all the building blocks you need to write your own MLA Citations!!