MLA 9th Edition
MLA 9th edition was released in the spring of 2021. Make sure that any resources or citation generators you use are for the correct edition.
We do not currently have online access to the MLA Handbook, but we do have a copy on reserve at the Library Service Desk. You can borrow it by asking at the desk.
Tutors in the Writing Centre can help you with MLA formatting and citations.
Official MLA Style Center resources for MLA 9th Edition:
- A quick guide to works cited
- Sample papers in MLA Style format
- An interactive practice template for works cited
- Formatting your paper
- "How do I cite generative AI in MLA style?"
Basics of MLA Citations
If you are citing sources in an MLA style paper, you'll have brief in-text citations throughout your paper as well as longer full citations on your Works Cited list.
In-text citations in MLA are usually parenthetical citations that include the author's surname and, if relevant, a page number. Usually, there are no commas or years. (If you're reading a paper that routinely has commas and/or years in its parenthetical citations, it might be in APA, Chicago, or another style.)
Full citations in MLA are based on the idea that works have an author or authors, a title, and one or more containers. The container could be something like a journal (for a journal article), a TV series (for a television episode), an anthology (for a short story), a scholarly book (for a book chapter), or a concert (when discussing the performance of a single work). Some works, like novels or films, are usually their own containers. If you're citing a journal article that you accessed through a library database, you'll need to include information for two containers (the journal and the database).
For examples, see "MLA Style Quick Guide" or "Poetry, Songs, and Plays" from the libraries at Memorial University of Newfoundland.
Last updated 29 November 2023