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MLA 9 Citation Rules at a Glance

In-text citations use the author's last name and a page number with no comma: (Smith 23).
The reference page is titled "Works Cited," not "References," and is sorted alphabetically by author.
MLA uses a "container" model: Author. "Title of Source." Title of Container, Contributors, Version, Number, Publisher, Date, Location.
Titles of articles and chapters go in quotation marks; titles of books, journals, and websites are italicized.
URLs are included without "https://" and access dates are optional unless the source lacks a publication date.

MLA 9 Citation Examples

Journal Article

Smith, John. "Sleep Deprivation and Executive Function." Journal of Cognitive Science, vol. 12, no. 3, 2020, pp. 45–67.

Book

Baker, Amy. The Structure of Scientific Reasoning. Academic Press, 2019.

Frequently Asked Questions

What is different about MLA 9 compared to MLA 8?

MLA 9 adds guidance for citing sources with no clear author or date, refines advice on annotated works, and clarifies formatting for numbers and dates, but the core container system is unchanged.

Do I need "Accessed" dates for websites?

Only when the webpage has no publication date of its own. If a source is undated and might change, add an access date at the end.

Want the complete rules with more examples and edge cases? Read the full MLA 9 citation guide.

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