mla bibliography no author

How do I cite a source that has no author?

Note: This post relates to content in the eighth edition of the MLA Handbook . For up-to-date guidance, see the ninth edition of the MLA Handbook .

When a work is published without an author’s name, begin the works-cited-list entry with the title of the work. Do not use Anonymous in place of an author’s name:

“English Language Arts Standards.” Common Core State Standards Initiative , 2017, www.corestandards.org/ELA-Literacy/.

“An Homily against Disobedience and Wylful Rebellion.” 1570. Divine Right and Democracy: An Anthology of Political Writing in Stuart England , edited by David Wootton, Penguin Books, 1986, pp. 94–98.

For works created by a corporate author—an institution, a government body, or another kind of organization—list that entity as the author:

Hart Research Associates. It Takes More Than a Major: Employer Priorities for College Learning and Student Success . Association of American Colleges and Universities , 2013, www.aacu.org/publications-research/periodicals/it-takes-more-major-employer-priorities-college-learning-and.

An exception: if a corporate author is also the work’s publisher, list that entity as the publisher and skip the “Author” slot:

Reading at Risk: A Survey of Literary Reading in America . National Endowment for the Arts, June 2004.

Cite these works in your text by title or by corporate author—that is, by the first item in the works-cited-list entry:

The homily argues that rebelling against the English monarch amounts to rebelling against God (“Homily” 97).

Eighty percent of employers believe that all college students “should acquire broad knowledge in the liberal arts and sciences” (Hart).

Review a source carefully before deciding that it has no author. It’s important to credit authors for their work.

MLA Citation Guide (9th Edition): No Author, No Date etc.

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What to do when information is missing, no page numbers, no database name, how to alphabetize titles in works cited list.

If there is no author given, your citation will start with the title of the work. You must put these citations in correct alphabetical order in your Works Cited list.

When putting works in alphabetical order, ignore initial articles such as "the", "a", or "an". For example the title  The Best of Canada  would be alphabetized as if it started with the word  Best  instead of the word  The.

If the title begins with a number, alphabetize it as if the number was spelled out. For example the title  5 Ways to Succeed in Business  would be alphabetized under F as if it had started with the word  Five .

For example, this is how the following titles would be alphabetized:

Anthropology in Action  [A] The Best of Canada  [B... ignore "The"] Easy Plant Care  [E] 5 Ways to Succeed in Business  [F... 5=Five] A Special Kind of Madness  [S... ignore "A"]

If no author or creator is provided, start the citation with the title of the source you are citing instead. Do not use "Anonymous" as the author's name. Use the first one, two, or three main words from the title, in either  italics  or in "quotation marks" (the same way it is written in your Works Cited list). You should provide enough words to make it clear which work you're referring to from your Works Cited list.

"How to Teach Yourself Guitar."  eHow,  Demand Media, www.ehow.com/how_5298173_teach-yourself-guitar.html. Accessed 24 June 2016.

In-text citation would be ("How to Teach")

  Note : An author/creator won't necessarily be a person's name. It may be an organization or corporation, for example Health Canada or a username on a site such as YouTube. Also, it is possible for the author's name to be written as only initials. If the author is known only by initials, treat the initials as one unit. Use the initials in your in-text citation and list the entry under the first initial in your Works Cited page. 

If no date is provided, skip that information in your citation. It is recommended that you add the date you accessed the work at the end of the citation in your Works Cited list. Access date is given by putting the word "Accessed" followed by the date you viewed or accessed the work (format =  Day Month (shortened) Year).

Example:  

"Audit and Assurance."  Chartered Professional Accountants Canada , www.cpacanada.ca/en/business-and-accounting-resources/audit-and-assurance. Accessed 6 Sept. 2019.

Some sources, such as online materials, won't have page numbers provided. If this is the case, leave the page numbers out of the citation. For your in-text citation, just use the author's name or the title of the work if there is no author given. For your Works Cited list, just leave the page number part out.

Williamson, Jennifer. "Canada: Business: Attire."  Global Road Warrior,  World Trade Press, 2018, www.globalroadwarrior/com/#mode=country&regionId=27&uri=country-content&nid=13.08&key=country-attire. Accessed 17 July 2016.

In-text citation would be (Williamson)

  Note   If there are no page, chapter, paragraph, or section numbers in the original text, then don't include any. Never count pages or paragraphs yourself .

If you find an article through the  search bar on the main library page, you might be unsure which database the article is from, because this searches across many different databases.

You can find the name of the database a few ways:

Method 1. Click on the title of the article in the search results list. This will bring you to a page with a description of the article as well as other useful information. Scroll down to the bottom of this list of information, and you should see "Database" listed near the bottom.

Method 2. You can also find the name of the database in the summary of information just below the title of the article in the search results list. It will look something like this:

Notice the name of the database is listed at the end.

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MLA 8 Citation Guide

• TITLE of SOURCE
• TITLE of CONTAINER
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Book with no Author

      MLA recommends working the citation information into the text of the relevant paragraph/section/sentence.

Book with No Author

List by title of the book. Incorporate these entries alphabetically just as you would with works that include an author name. For example, the following entry might appear between entries of works written by Dean, Shaun and Forsythe, Jonathan.

Encyclopedia of Indiana . Somerset, 1993.

Remember that for an in-text (parenthetical) citation of a book with no author, provide the name of the work in the signal phrase and the page number in parentheses. You may also use a shortened version of the title of the book accompanied by the page number. For more information see the In-text Citations for Print Sources with No Known Author section of  In-text Citations: The Basics .

MLA Works Cited Page: Books

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MLA Style Quick Guide 8th ed

• Editor, No Author
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Find your librarian, schedule a research appointment, today's hours : , editor, no author (mla).

When there is truly no author available for a given work, then use the Title to start the citation.  Make sure that the Title of your work is set in Italics or "Quotation Marks" appropriately just as it would be for any given citation with an author.  When you are ready to cite the source in- text,  you do not need to use the entire title (see example below), but you must include at least enough of the title to ensure that your readers can adequately refer to the source when examining the works-cited bibliography.

Example Citation :

"Pizza Dough Garlic Knots Recipe." eHow, Demand Media, https://www.ehow.com/13727752/pizza-dough-garlic-knots-recipe. Accessed, 8 August 2020.

In-text Citation :

("Pizza Dough")

Important Note: In your review of a source, please make sure that there truly is no author known for a work. Remember that an author may be an organization, a government agency or corporation.  This is especially true for content such as corporate white papers and organizational articles found online. In this case, the organization can be named as an author. Likewise, an author may be only listed by their initials.  In this case, use the initials as the author.  Finally, when a source is indicated and signed as "Anonymous", it will also serve as as the author's name. Only when a source truly has no known author should you begin your source with a Title .

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MLA Style Guide: 8th Edition: No Author

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IN-TEXT CITATIONS FOR A...

If no author is given or a work is anonymous, cite the work by its title. Use the full title if it is brief or a shortened version if it is longer. When abbreviating a title, begin with the word by which it is alphabetized:

A Glossary of Literary Terms Used in Nineteenth Century Literary Criticism becomes Glossary of Literary Terms

If the title of the work is already used in your text, simply include the page number in your parenthetical citation.

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MLA Style Guide, 7th Edition: Work with No Author

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Work with No Author

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If a book has no author's or editor's name on the title page, begin the citation with the title. Do not use Anonymous or Anon.

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MLA Citation Guide (8th Edition): No author, no date etc

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On This Page: When Information is Missing

No page numbers, no database name.

If no author or creator is provided, start the citation with the title of the source you are citing instead. Use the first one, two, or three main words from the title, in either  italics  or in "quotation marks" (the same way it is written in your Works Cited list). You should provide enough words to make it clear which work you're referring to from your Works Cited list.

"How to Teach Yourself Guitar."  eHow,  Demand Media, www.ehow.com/how_5298173_teach-yourself-guitar.html. Accessed 24 June 2016.

In-text citation would be ("How to Teach")

  Note : An author/creator won't necessarily be a person's name. It may be an organization or corporation, for example Health Canada or a username on a site such as YouTube. Also, it is possible for the author's name to be written as only initials. If the author is known only by initials, treat the initials as one unit. Use the initials in your in-text citation and list the entry under the first initial in your Works Cited page. 

If and only if an item is signed as being created by Anonymous, use "Anonymous" where you'd normally put the author's name. Otherwise, if it is an unknown author, start your citation with the title of the work.

For more information on how to cite an author's name known only by initials, check out the MLA Style Center blog . 

If no date is provided, skip that information in your citation. It is recommended that you add the date you accessed the work at the end of the citation in your Works Cited list. Access date is given by putting the word "Accessed" followed by the date you viewed or accessed the work (format =  Day Month (shortened) Year).

Example:  

"Audit and Assurance."  Chartered Professional Accountants Canada , www.cpacanada.ca/en/business-and-accounting-resources/audit-and-assurance. Accessed 6 Sept. 2019.

Some sources, such as online materials, won't have page numbers provided. If this is the case, leave the page numbers out of the citation. For your in-text citation, just use the author's name or the title of the work if there is no author given. For your Works Cited list, just leave the page number part out.

Williamson, Jennifer. "Canada: Business: Attire."  Global Road Warrior,  World Trade Press, 2018, www.globalroadwarrior/com/#mode=country&regionId=27&uri=country-content&nid=13.08&key=country-attire. Accessed 17 July 2016.

In-text citation would be (Williamson)

  Note   If there are no page, chapter, paragraph, or section numbers in the original text, then don't include any. Never count pages or paragraphs yourself .

If you find an article through the  search bar on the main library page, you might be unsure which database the article is from, because this searches across many different databases.

You can find the name of the database a few ways:

Method 1. Click on the title of the article in the search results list. This will bring you to a page with a description of the article as well as other useful information. Scroll down to the bottom of this list of information, and you should see "Database" listed near the bottom.

Method 2. You can also find the name of the database in the summary of information just below the title of the article in the search results list. It will look something like this:

Notice the name of the database is listed at the end.

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MLA Citation Style Guide: Book with No Author

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Book with No Author (p.162, 223-224)

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😕 What is an MLA Citation Generator?

An MLA citation generator is a software tool designed to automatically create academic citations in the Modern Language Association (MLA) citation format. The generator will take information such as document titles, author, and URLs as in input, and output fully formatted citations that can be inserted into the Works Cited page of an MLA-compliant academic paper.

The citations on a Works Cited page show the external sources that were used to write the main body of the academic paper, either directly as references and quotes, or indirectly as ideas.

👩‍🎓 Who uses an MLA Citation Generator?

MLA style is most often used by middle school and high school students in preparation for transition to college and further education. Ironically, MLA style is not actually used all that often beyond middle and high school, with APA (American Psychological Association) style being the favored style at colleges across the country.

It is also important at this level to learn why it's critical to cite sources, not just how to cite them.

🙌 Why should I use a Citation Generator?

Writing citations manually is time consuming and error prone. Automating this process with a citation generator is easy, straightforward, and gives accurate results. It's also easier to keep citations organized and in the correct order.

The Works Cited page contributes to the overall grade of a paper, so it is important to produce accurately formatted citations that follow the guidelines in the official MLA Handbook .

⚙️ How do I use MyBib's MLA Citation Generator?

It's super easy to create MLA style citations with our MLA Citation Generator. Scroll back up to the generator at the top of the page and select the type of source you're citing. Books, journal articles, and webpages are all examples of the types of sources our generator can cite automatically. Then either search for the source, or enter the details manually in the citation form.

The generator will produce a formatted MLA citation that can be copied and pasted directly into your document, or saved to MyBib as part of your overall Works Cited page (which can be downloaded fully later!).

MyBib supports the following for MLA style:

Daniel is a qualified librarian, former teacher, and citation expert. He has been contributing to MyBib since 2018.

Home / Guides / Citation Guides / Citation Basics / How to Cite a Website with No Author

How to Cite a Website with No Author

The exact formatting of website citations for websites without an author depends on which citation style you are using, but the general rules are the same. For example, it is usually preferable to list the title of the webpage article first if no author is available.

Here is how to cite a webpage without an author in three of the most popular citation styles: APA 7, MLA 9, and Chicago (17th ed.).

Reference Entry Template:

Title of webpage/article. (Year, Month Date of publication). In Website Name . URL

Reference Entry Example:

Giant panda. (2022, June 29). In Wikipedia . https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Giant_panda

When there isn’t a known author, use the source’s title in the in-text citation. For titles usually italicized in the reference entry (books, films, etc.), italicize the title in the in-text citation. For titles that aren’t italicized (magazine articles, reference book entries, etc.), enclose the title in double quotation marks.

Parenthetical Citation:

(“Title,” Year) or ( Title , Year)

(“Giant Panda,” 2022)

Narrative Citation:

“Title” (Year) or ( Title , Year)

“Giant Panda” (2022)

Works Cited Entry Template:

“Title of the Webpage/Entry.” Title of the Website , Name of the publisher (if different from the website name), Date of publication, URL.

“Taiwan Cool to China Panda-plomacy.” CNN.com , 6 Jan. 2006, http://www.cnn.com/2006/WORLD/asiapcf/01/06/china.taiwan.ap/index.html

Citation in Prose:

“Title” (page number)

“Taiwan Cool to China Panda-plomacy” says Taiwan may not accept the gift of two pandas (1).

(“Title” Page #) or ( Title Page #)

Taiwan may not accept the gift of two pandas (“Tawain Cool to China Panda-plomacy 1).

Chicago (17th ed., note-bibliography style)

Note Template:

• “Article Title,” Website Title , Month Day, Year, URL.

Note Example:

• “Taiwan Cool to China Panda-plomacy.” CNN.com , January 6, 2006, http://www.cnn.com/2006/WORLD/asiapcf/01/06/china.taiwan.ap/index.html.

Bibliography Template:

“Article Title.” Website Title . Month Day, Year. URL.

Bibliography Example:

“Taiwan Cool to China Panda-plomacy.” CNN.com . January 6, 2006. http://www.cnn.com/2006/WORLD/asiapcf/01/06/china.taiwan.ap/index.html.

For more citation help, visit the  EasyBib Writing Center !

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To cite a website with no author, date, or title in MLA format, it is important that you know the name of the website and URL. As the publication date is not available, it is important to add the accessed date after the URL in the works cited list entry. The templates and examples for an in-text citation and works cited list entry for a webpage with no author, date, or title are provided below:

In-text citation template and example:

(Website Name)

Works cited list entry template and example:

Name of the Website , URL. Accessed Day Month Year.

Chegg ,  www.cheggindia.com . Accessed 21 Aug. 2021.

Abbreviate the month in the accessed date field.

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Purdue Online Writing Lab Purdue OWL® College of Liberal Arts

MLA Works Cited: Electronic Sources (Web Publications)

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Copyright ©1995-2018 by The Writing Lab & The OWL at Purdue and Purdue University. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, reproduced, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed without permission. Use of this site constitutes acceptance of our terms and conditions of fair use.

MLA (Modern Language Association) style is most commonly used to write papers and cite sources within the liberal arts and humanities. This resource, updated to reflect the MLA Handbook (9 th ed.), offers examples for the general format of MLA research papers, in-text citations, endnotes/footnotes, and the Works Cited page.

The MLA Handbook highlights principles over prescriptive practices. Essentially, a writer will need to take note of primary elements in every source, such as author, title, etc. and then assort them in a general format. Thus, by using this methodology, a writer will be able to cite any source regardless of whether it’s included in this list.

However, this guide will highlight a few concerns when citing digital sources in MLA style.

Best Practices for Managing Online Sources

Because online information can change or disappear, it is always a good idea to keep personal copies of important electronic information whenever possible. Downloading or even printing key documents ensures you have a stable backup. You can also use the Bookmark function in your web browser in order to build an easy-to-access reference for all of your project's sources (though this will not help you if the information is changed or deleted).

It is also wise to keep a record of when you first consult with each online source. MLA uses the phrase, “Accessed” to denote which date you accessed the web page when available or necessary. It is not required to do so, but it is encouraged (especially when there is no copyright date listed on a website).

Important Note on the Use of URLs in MLA

Include a URL or web address to help readers locate your sources. Because web addresses are not static (i.e., they change often) and because documents sometimes appear in multiple places on the web (e.g., on multiple databases), MLA encourages the use of citing containers such as Youtube, JSTOR, Spotify, or Netflix in order to easily access and verify sources. However, MLA only requires the www. address, so eliminate all https:// when citing URLs.

Many scholarly journal articles found in databases include a DOI (digital object identifier). If a DOI is available, cite the DOI number instead of the URL.

Online newspapers and magazines sometimes include a “permalink,” which is a shortened, stable version of a URL. Look for a “share” or “cite this” button to see if a source includes a permalink. If you can find a permalink, use that instead of a URL.

Abbreviations Commonly Used with Electronic Sources

If page numbers are not available, use par. or pars. to denote paragraph numbers. Use these in place of the p. or pp. abbreviation. Par. would be used for a single paragraph, while pars. would be used for a span of two or more paragraphs.

Basic Style for Citations of Electronic Sources (Including Online Databases)

Here are some common features you should try to find before citing electronic sources in MLA style. Not every web page will provide all of the following information. However, collect as much of the following information as possible:

• Author and/or editor names (if available); last names first.
• "Article name in quotation marks."
• Title of the website, project, or book in italics.
• Any version numbers available, including editions (ed.), revisions, posting dates, volumes (vol.), or issue numbers (no.).
• Publisher information, including the publisher name and publishing date.
• Take note of any page numbers (p. or pp.) or paragraph numbers (par. or pars.).
• DOI (if available, precede it with "https://doi.org/"), otherwise a URL (without the https://) or permalink.
• Date you accessed the material (Date Accessed). While not required, saving this information it is highly recommended, especially when dealing with pages that change frequently or do not have a visible copyright date.

Use the following format:

Author. "Title." Title of container (self contained if book) , Other contributors (translators or editors), Version (edition), Number (vol. and/or no.), Publisher, Publication Date, Location (pages, paragraphs and/or URL, DOI or permalink). 2 nd container’s title , Other contributors, Version, Number, Publisher, Publication date, Location, Date of Access (if applicable).

Citing an Entire Web Site

When citing an entire website, follow the same format as listed above, but include a compiler name if no single author is available.

Author, or compiler name (if available). Name of Site. Version number (if available), Name of institution/organization affiliated with the site (sponsor or publisher), date of resource creation (if available), DOI (preferred), otherwise include a URL or permalink. Date of access (if applicable).

Editor, author, or compiler name (if available). Name of Site . Version number, Name of institution/organization affiliated with the site (sponsor or publisher), date of resource creation (if available), URL, DOI or permalink. Date of access (if applicable).

The Purdue OWL Family of Sites . The Writing Lab and OWL at Purdue and Purdue U, 2008, owl.english.purdue.edu/owl. Accessed 23 Apr. 2008.

Felluga, Dino. Guide to Literary and Critical Theory . Purdue U, 28 Nov. 2003, www.cla.purdue.edu/english/theory/. Accessed 10 May 2006.

Course or Department Websites

Give the instructor name. Then list the title of the course (or the school catalog designation for the course) in italics. Give appropriate department and school names as well, following the course title.

Felluga, Dino. Survey of the Literature of England . Purdue U, Aug. 2006, web.ics.purdue.edu/~felluga/241/241/Home.html. Accessed 31 May 2007.

English Department . Purdue U, 20 Apr. 2009, www.cla.purdue.edu/english/. Accessed 31 May 2015.

A Page on a Web Site

For an individual page on a Web site, list the author or alias if known, followed by an indication of the specific page or article being referenced. Usually, the title of the page or article appears in a header at the top of the page. Follow this with the information covered above for entire Web sites. If the publisher is the same as the website name, only list it once.

Lundman, Susan. “How to Make Vegetarian Chili.”  eHow , www.ehow.com/how_10727_make-vegetarian-chili.html. Accessed 6 July 2015.

“ Athlete's Foot - Topic Overview. ”   WebMD , 25 Sept. 2014, www.webmd.com/skin-problems-and-treatments/tc/athletes-foot-topic-overview.

Citations for e-books closely resemble those for physical books. Simply indicate that the book in question is an e-book by putting the term "e-book" in the "version" slot of the MLA template (i.e., after the author, the title of the source, the title of the container, and the names of any other contributors).

Silva, Paul J.  How to Write a Lot: A Practical Guide to Productive Academic Writing. E-book, American Psychological Association, 2007.

If the e-book is formatted for a specific reader device or service, you can indicate this by treating this information the same way you would treat a physical book's edition number. Often, this will mean replacing "e-book" with "[App/Service] ed."

Machiavelli, Niccolo.  The Prince , translated by W. K. Marriott, Kindle ed., Library of Alexandria, 2018.

Note:  The MLA considers the term "e-book" to refer to publications formatted specifically for reading with an e-book reader device (e.g., a Kindle) or a corresponding web application. These e-books will not have URLs or DOIs. If you are citing book content from an ordinary webpage with a URL, use the "A Page on a Web Site" format above.

An Image (Including a Painting, Sculpture, or Photograph)

Provide the artist's name, the work of art italicized, the date of creation, the institution and city where the work is housed. Follow this initial entry with the name of the Website in italics, and the date of access.

Goya, Francisco. The Family of Charles IV . 1800. Museo Nacional del Prado, Madrid. Museo Nacional del Prado , www.museodelprado.es/en/the-collection/art-work/the-family-of-carlos-iv/f47898fc-aa1c-48f6-a779-71759e417e74. Accessed 22 May 2006.

Klee, Paul. Twittering Machine . 1922. Museum of Modern Art, New York. The Artchive , www.artchive.com/artchive/K/klee/twittering_machine.jpg.html. Accessed May 2006.

If the work cited is available on the web only, then provide the name of the artist, the title of the work, and then follow the citation format for a website. If the work is posted via a username, use that username for the author.

Adams, Clifton R. “People Relax Beside a Swimming Pool at a Country Estate Near Phoenix, Arizona, 1928.” Found, National Geographic Creative, 2 June 2016, natgeofound.tumblr.com/.

An Article in a Web Magazine

Provide the author name, article name in quotation marks, title of the web magazine in italics, publisher name, publication date, URL, and the date of access.

Bernstein, Mark. “ 10 Tips on Writing the Living Web. ”   A List Apart: For People Who Make Websites , 16 Aug. 2002, alistapart.com/article/writeliving. Accessed 4 May 2009.

An Article in an Online Scholarly Journal

For all online scholarly journals, provide the author(s) name(s), the name of the article in quotation marks, the title of the publication in italics, all volume and issue numbers, and the year of publication. Include a DOI if available, otherwise provide a URL or permalink to help readers locate the source.

Article in an Online-only Scholarly Journal

MLA requires a page range for articles that appear in Scholarly Journals. If the journal you are citing appears exclusively in an online format (i.e. there is no corresponding print publication) that does not make use of page numbers, indicate the URL or other location information.

Dolby, Nadine. “Research in Youth Culture and Policy: Current Conditions and Future Directions.” Social Work and Society: The International Online-Only Journal, vol. 6, no. 2, 2008, www.socwork.net/sws/article/view/60/362. Accessed 20 May 2009.

Article in an Online Scholarly Journal That Also Appears in Print

Cite articles in online scholarly journals that also appear in print as you would a scholarly journal in print, including the page range of the article . Provide the URL and the date of access.

Wheelis, Mark. “ Investigating Disease Outbreaks Under a Protocol to the Biological and Toxin Weapons Convention. ”   Emerging Infectious Diseases , vol. 6, no. 6, 2000, pp. 595-600, wwwnc.cdc.gov/eid/article/6/6/00-0607_article. Accessed 8 Feb. 2009.

An Article from an Online Database (or Other Electronic Subscription Service)

Cite online databases (e.g. LexisNexis, ProQuest, JSTOR, ScienceDirect) and other subscription services as containers. Thus, provide the title of the database italicized before the DOI or URL. If a DOI is not provided, use the URL instead. Provide the date of access if you wish.

Alonso, Alvaro, and Julio A. Camargo. “ Toxicity of Nitrite to Three Species of Freshwater Invertebrates. ”   Environmental Toxicology, vol. 21, no. 1, 3 Feb. 2006, pp. 90-94. Wiley Online Library , https://doi.org/10.1002/tox.20155. Accessed 26 May 2009.

Langhamer, Claire. “Love and Courtship in Mid-Twentieth-Century England.” Historical Journal, vol. 50, no. 1, 2007, pp. 173-96. ProQuest , https://doi.org/10.1017/S0018246X06005966. Accessed 27 May 2009.

E-mail (including E-mail Interviews)

Give the author of the message, followed by the subject line in quotation marks. State to whom the message was sent with the phrase, “Received by” and the recipient’s name. Include the date the message was sent. Use standard capitalization.

Kunka, Andrew. “ Re: Modernist Literature. ”  Received by John Watts, 15 Nov. 2000.

Neyhart, David. “ Re: Online Tutoring. ” Received by Joe Barbato, 1 Dec. 2016.

A Listserv, Discussion Group, or Blog Posting

Cite web postings as you would a standard web entry. Provide the author of the work, the title of the posting in quotation marks, the web site name in italics, the publisher, and the posting date. Follow with the date of access. Include screen names as author names when author name is not known. If both names are known, place the author’s name in brackets.

Author or compiler name (if available). “Posting Title.” Name of Site , Version number (if available), Name of institution/organization affiliated with the site (sponsor or publisher), URL. Date of access.

Salmar1515 [Sal Hernandez]. “Re: Best Strategy: Fenced Pastures vs. Max Number of Rooms?” BoardGameGeek , 29 Sept. 2008, boardgamegeek.com/thread/343929/best-strategy-fenced-pastures-vs-max-number-rooms. Accessed 5 Apr. 2009.

Begin with the user's Twitter handle in place of the author’s name. Next, place the tweet in its entirety in quotations, inserting a period after the tweet within the quotations. Include the date and time of posting, using the reader's time zone; separate the date and time with a comma and end with a period. Include the date accessed if you deem necessary.

@tombrokaw. “ SC demonstrated why all the debates are the engines of this campaign. ”   Twitter, 22 Jan. 2012, 3:06 a.m., twitter.com/tombrokaw/status/160996868971704320.

@PurdueWLab. “ Spring break is around the corner, and all our locations will be open next week. ”   Twitter , 5 Mar. 2012, 12:58 p.m., twitter.com/PurdueWLab/status/176728308736737282.

A YouTube Video

Video and audio sources need to be documented using the same basic guidelines for citing print sources in MLA style. Include as much descriptive information as necessary to help readers understand the type and nature of the source you are citing. If the author’s name is the same as the uploader, only cite the author once. If the author is different from the uploader, cite the author’s name before the title.

McGonigal, Jane. “Gaming and Productivity.” YouTube , uploaded by Big Think, 3 July 2012, www.youtube.com/watch?v=mkdzy9bWW3E.

“8 Hot Dog Gadgets put to the Test.” YouTube, uploaded by Crazy Russian Hacker, 6 June 2016, www.youtube.com/watch?v=WBlpjSEtELs.

A Comment on a Website or Article

List the username as the author. Use the phrase, Comment on, before the title. Use quotation marks around the article title. Name the publisher, date, time (listed on near the comment), and the URL.

Not Omniscient Enough. Comment on “ Flight Attendant Tells Passenger to ‘Shut Up’ After Argument Over Pasta. ”  ABC News, 9 Jun 2016, 4:00 p.m., abcnews.go.com/US/flight-attendant-tells-passenger-shut-argument-pasta/story?id=39704050.

MLA Citation Style 9th Edition: Annotated Bib.

• Core Elements
• Audio Materials
• Books & eBooks
• Encyclopedias & Dictionaries
• Government Documents
• Images, Infographics, Maps, Charts, & Tables
• Indigenous Elders and Knowledge Keepers (Oral Communication)
• Journal Articles
• Magazine Articles
• Newspaper Articles
• Personal Communications (including emails and interviews)
• Religious Works
• Social Media
• Theses & Dissertations
• Websites (including documents/PDFs posted on websites)
• Works in Another Language / Translations
• No Author/Date/Etc.
• Sample Paper
• Annotated Bib.

What is an Annotated Bibliography?

Useful Links for Annotated Bibliographies

• Annotated Bibliographies Overview of purpose and form of annotated bibliographies from the Purdue OWL.
• Writing an Annotated Bibliography Overview and examples from the University of Guelph.
• Writing an Annotated Bibliography Definition, tips, and examples from the University of Toronto.

Annotations

An annotated bibliography is a list of citations for various books, articles, and other sources on a topic. The annotated bibliography looks like a Reference page but includes an annotation after each source cited. An annotation is a short summary and/or critical evaluation of a source. Annotated bibliographies can be part of a larger research project, or can be a stand-alone report in itself.

Types of Annotations

 A summary annotation describes the source by answering the following questions: who wrote the document, what the document discusses, when and where was the document written, why was the document produced, and how was it provided to the public. The focus is on description. 

 An evaluative annotation includes a summary as listed above but also critically assesses the work for accuracy, relevance, and quality. Evaluative annotations can help you learn about your topic, develop a thesis statement, decide if a specific source will be useful for your assignment, and determine if there is enough valid information available to complete your project. The focus is on description and evaluation.

Annotated Bibliographies: How-To Guide

• MLA Annotated Bibliography Template

Sample Entry

London, Herbert. “Five Myths of the Television Age.” Television Quarterly , vol. 10, no. 1, Mar. 1982, pp. 81-69.

Herbert London, the Dean of Journalism at New York University and author of several books and articles, explains how television contradicts five commonly believed ideas. He uses specific examples of events seen on television, such as the assassination of John Kennedy, to illustrate his points. His examples have been selected to contradict such truisms as: “seeing is believing”; “a picture is worth a thousand words”; and “satisfaction is its own reward.” London uses logical arguments to support his ideas which are his personal opinion. He does not refer to any previous works on the topic. London’s style and vocabulary would make the article of interest to any reader. The article clearly illustrates London’s points, but does not explore their implications leaving the reader with many unanswered questions.

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• Knowledge Base

Student's Guide to MLA Style (2021) | Citation & Format

To cite sources in MLA style, you need

• In-text citations that give the author’s last name and a page number.
• A list of Works Cited that gives full details of every source.

Make sure your paper also adheres to MLA format : one-inch margins, double spacing, and indented paragraphs, with an MLA style heading on the first page.

You can create citations automatically with our free MLA Citation Generator . Enter a URL, DOI , or ISBN, and the generator will retrieve the necessary information.

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Table of contents

Mla works cited list, the nine core elements of mla citations, mla in-text citations, free lecture slides, frequently asked questions about mla style.

The Works Cited list is where you give full details of all sources you have cited in the text. Other citation styles sometimes call this the “reference list” or “bibliography.” An annotated bibliography is slightly different.

Author . “Source Title.” Container Title , Other contributors , Version , Number , Publisher , Publication date , Location .

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Begin each source entry with the name of the author(s) or creator(s). The name of the first author is always inverted (Last name, First name).

When a source has two authors, the second author’s name is shown in the normal order (First name Last name).

For sources with three or more authors, state only the first author’s name, followed by “ et al. ”

The author of a source is not necessarily a person; it can also be an organization. If so, simply use the name of the organization.

However, if the organization is both the author and publisher , start with the title of the source instead.

MLA author element

Always include the full title of the source, including subtitles (separated by a colon and space).

Use title case —capitalize all words apart from conjunctions , prepositions , and articles . If there is no title, give a short description of the source, with normal sentence case capitalization.

The styling of the title depends on the type of source:

• Italics when the source is self-contained (e.g. a whole book, movie or website).
• Quotation marks when the source is part of a larger whole (e.g. a chapter of a book , a page on a website, or an article in a journal).
• No styling  when describing a source without a title.

3. Container

A container is the larger work that the source you’re citing appears in. For example, a chapter is part of a book, a page is part of a website, and an article is part of a journal.

If the source you’re citing is a self-contained whole (e.g. a whole book), leave out this element.

The container title is always italicized.

Elements 3 (container title) to 9 (location) all provide information about the container.

Sources with two containers

A source can also have two containers. If you watched an episode of a TV show on Netflix, the show title is the first container and Netflix is the second container. If you accessed a journal article through the database JSTOR, the journal name is the first container and JSTOR is the second container.

In most cases, only the title and location (often the URL or DOI ) of the second container are included in the source entry. This is because databases like JSTOR don’t have relevant contributors, versions, publishers, or publication dates.

• Datta, Hannes, et al. “The Challenge of Retaining Customers Acquired with Free Trials”. Journal of Marketing Research , vol. 52, no. 2, Apr. 2015, pp. 217–234. JSTOR , www.jstor.org/stable/43832354.

Pay attention to the punctuation. The author and source title elements each end with a period. Elements within a container are separated by commas, and a period is used to close the container.

4. Other contributors

Contributors are added right after the container title and always end with a comma. Use a description like “translated by,” “directed by,” or “illustrated by” to indicate the role of the contributor. For example:

• Latour, Bruno. Politics of Nature: How to Bring the Sciences into Democracy . Translated by Catherine Porter, Harvard UP, 2004.

When a source has three or more contributors with the same role, include the name of the first contributor followed by “et al.”

If there are no other relevant contributors, leave out this element.

When there is more than one version of a source, you should include the version you used. For example, a second-edition book , an expanded version of a collection, or a director’s cut of a movie would require the version to be included:

• Porter, Michael E. Competitive Strategy: Techniques for Analyzing Industries and Competitors . 2nd ed. , Simon and Schuster, 1998.
• Columbus, Chris, director. Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets . director’s cut, Warner Bros., 2002.

Sources such as journal articles (“vol. 18”), magazines (“no. 25”) and TV shows (“season 3, episode 5”) are often numbered. If your source has numbered parts, include this in the source entry:

• Wieseke, Jan, et al. “Willing to Pay More, Eager to Pay Less: The Role of Customer Loyalty in Price Negotiations.” Journal of Marketing , vol. 68, no. 6, 2014, pp. 17–37.

It is also possible for a source to have an edition, volume, and number. Just separate them using commas.

7. Publisher

Book and movie citations always include the publisher element. The publisher is the company responsible for producing and distributing the source—usually a book publisher (e.g. Macmillan or Oxford UP ) or a movie production company (e.g. Paramount Pictures or Warner Bros ).

Note that “University Press” is abbreviated to “UP” in a Works Cited entry. For example, the University of Minnesota Press becomes “U of Minnesota P”; Oxford University Press becomes “Oxford UP.”

When not to add a publisher Sometimes the publisher is already included elsewhere in the source entry, such as in the container title or author element. For example, the publisher of a website is often the same as the website name. In this case, omit the publisher element.

You generally don’t need to include a publisher for the following source types:

• Newspapers and magazines
• Platforms like YouTube, Netflix, or JSTOR

8. Publication date

When available, always include the publication year . If you also know the month, day, or even time of publication, you can include this if it helps the reader to locate the source. Date ranges are also possible. For example:

• 25 Jan. 2019
• 14 Aug. 2017, 4:45 p.m.
• Jan. 2017–Apr. 2018

Multiple publication dates If there is more than one publication date, use the one that is most relevant to your research and take the date of the edition that you have used.

No date When a source does not state a publication date, add the date on which you accessed the information. For example: Accessed 22 Sep. 2018 .

9. Location

What you include in the location element depends on the type of source you are citing:

• Book chapter : Page range of the chapter (e.g. pp. 164–180. )
• Web page : URL, without “https://” (e.g. www.scribbr.com/mla-style/quick-guide/. )
• Journal article : DOI , with “https://”—or stable URL, without: (e.g. https://doi.org/10.1080/02626667.2018.1560449. or www.jstor.org/stable/43832354. )
• Physical object or live event : Name of the location and city (e.g. Moscone Center, San Francisco. or The Museum of Modern Art, New York. )

MLA in-text citations are brief references in the body of your document which direct your reader to the full reference in the Works Cited list. You must include an in-text citation whenever you quote or paraphrase  a source.

A standard MLA in-text citation includes the author’s last name and a page number in parentheses. The page number refers to the exact location of the quote or information that you are citing:

• 66% of voters disagree with the policy (Smith 13) .

If the author is already named in the sentence, you only need to include the page number in parentheses:

• According to Smith , 66% of voters disagree with the policy (13) .

Multiple authors

For a source with two authors, include the last names of both authors. If a source has three or more authors, only include the last name of the first author, followed by “et al.” if in parentheses or “and colleagues” if in the text.

• Smith and Morrison claim that “MLA is the second most popular citation style” (17) .
• According to Reynolds and colleagues , social and demographic circumstances still have a major effect on job prospects (17–19) .

If a source does not state a specific author, the in-text citation should match the first word(s) of the Works Cited entry, whether that’s an organization name or the source title.

Format titles the same as they appear in the Works Cited, with italics or quotation marks. Use the full title if mentioned in the text itself, but an abbreviated title if included in parentheses.

• The article “New Ways to Slow Down Global Warming” claims that . . . (4).
• Reducing carbon emissions slows down climate change (“New Ways” 4) .

No page number

If a source has no page numbers, but is divided into numbered sections (e.g. chapters or numbered paragraphs), use these instead:

• Morrison has shown that there is a great need for . . . (par. 38) .
• Reynolds devotes a chapter to the rise of poverty in some states in the US (ch. 6) .

For audiovisual sources (such as YouTube videos ), use a timestamp:

• In his recent video, Smith argues that climate change should be the main political priority of all governments today (03:15–05:21) .

If there is no numbering system in the original source, include only the author’s name in your citation.

Are you a teacher or professor looking to introduce your students to MLA style? Download our free introductory lecture slides, available for Google Slides and Microsoft PowerPoint.

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MLA Style  is the second most used citation style (after APA ). It is mainly used by students and researchers in humanities fields such as literature, languages, and philosophy.

The MLA Handbook is currently in its 9th edition , published in 2021.

This quick guide to MLA style  explains the latest guidelines for citing sources and formatting papers according to MLA.

A standard MLA Works Cited entry  is structured as follows:

Only include information that is available for and relevant to your source.

The fastest and most accurate way to create MLA citations is by using Scribbr’s MLA Citation Generator .

Search by book title, page URL, or journal DOI to automatically generate flawless citations, or cite manually using the simple citation forms.

If information about your source is not available, you can either leave it out of the MLA citation or replace it with something else, depending on the type of information.

• No author : Start with the source title.
• No title : Provide a description of the source.
• No date : Provide an access date for online sources; omit for other sources.

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