MLA Citation Guide
This guide will help you understand how to use the MLA citation format for both in-text citations and works cited lists. It includes some more commonly used source formats. For complete information, please consult the MLA Handbook for Writers of Research.
General Principles of Works Cited Lists
- The entries in works cited lists must be alphabetized by the first word in each entry. Usually that is the author's last name.
- Double space within entries and do not skip additional lines between entries. For reasons of space and presentation, entries in this guide are all single-spaced.
- The first line of each entry should be at the left-hand margin. Indent each subsequent line by five to seven spaces, or use the hanging indent feature on your word processor.
- Italicize titles of books and periodicals (magazines, newspapers, academic journals). The first letter of each word in titles is capitalized.