The essentials
How MLA works
Literature, languages, cultural studies and other humanities subjects.
Use author and page without a comma: (Patel 42). If the author is named in the sentence, use only the page: (42).
Works Cited
Alphabetical by the element that begins the entry, usually the author’s surname.
Include the page number for paginated works. Avoid repeating the author’s name inside parentheses when it is already in your sentence.
Copy the pattern, verify the facts
MLA reference examples
Patel, Syed Imran, and Aisha Khan. “Digital Research Habits among University Students.” Journal of Learning Practice, vol. 18, no. 2, 2025, pp. 44–59. DOI.org, https://doi.org/10.1234/jlp.2025.018.
Rahman, Laila. Research Skills for Modern Learners. Horizon Academic, 2024.
“Evaluating Online Evidence.” National Research Council, 12 Mar. 2026, https://example.org/evidence.
These examples use invented publication details to demonstrate structure. Replace every element with information from your actual source.
Review before submission
Common mistakes
- Putting a comma between author and page in an in-text citation.
- Forgetting the title of a container such as a journal or website.
- Using a URL without enough source context.
- Numbering the Works Cited list.
- Including a source in the list that is not cited in the text.
Final review
MLA checklist
- Core elements appear in a logical order.
- Author–page citations match the Works Cited entry.
- Container titles are included and styled correctly.
- URLs or DOIs work.
- Entries are alphabetised and use a hanging indent.
Course, institution and publisher rules can override general examples.