MLA Works Cited Page, mla bibliography sample.

• A Tree Grows in Brooklyn
• The Wizard of Oz

The majority of references are organized in alphabetical order by the first item in the reference, which is usually an author’s last name. When a source doesn’t have an author, the title is placed first in the reference. Many films and movies, for instance, begin with the title, since no author is present.

If, on the source, the author’s name is placed in standard order (first name followed by last name) reverse it in the reference list. Begin the reference with the last name of the individual, add a comma, and add the first name of the author. End the field with a period.

Two commonly used particles in German names are “von” and “zu.” Examples include Alexander von Humboldt, Ferdinand von Zeppelin, Prince Chlodwig zu Hohenlohe-Schillingsfürst, and Maximilian zu Wied-Neuwied.

MLA Formatting

Citing multiple sources with the same co-authors
When there are multiple sources on a reference list by the same co-authors, organize those specific references alphabetically by the titles. Only include the names of the coauthors in the first entry.

• Del Toro, Benicio.
• Leon, Juan Ponce de.
• Soto, Hernando de.
• Del Rio, Andres Manuel.

Mather, Victor. “Japan Advances in World Cup 2018 Despite Losing to Poland.” New York Times, 28 June 2018, nyti.ms/2IzyUdm.

Either way, whether the reference starts with the last name of the author, or a title, the entries are placed in alphabetical order.

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!).

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.

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.

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.

рџ™Њ Why should I use a 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 isn't 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'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.

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

Generate accurate citations in MLA format automatically, with MyBib!

The privatization of governmental services has increased dramatically in the past decade as local, state, and federal agencies have searched for ways to cut costs while still meeting their mandated responsibility to provide various public services. This privatizing trend has particularly affected the criminal justice system. Since the early 1990s, privatized correctional facilities have increased significantly, nationally and statewide. This policy has far-ranging consequences not only within the criminal justice system, but as an instructive example for government officials when considering the costs and benefits of privatization as a public policy option. By 2001, thirty states, the District of Columbia and Puerto Rico had privately-operated correctional facilities (Austin and Coventry 4). This movement has incited considerable debate and controversy, mainly because prison privatization calls for giving the private sector direct control over the lives of a captive human population.

The MLA header should be one inch from the top and left margins. The heading and the entire paper should be double spaced.

Whether you need MLA, APA citations, or Chicago style notes, look up the latest edition before turning in a paper.

Since we’re here to learn how to format an essay, we’ve pointed out some important things about the paper to help you write a correctly formatted essay.

Visual Sample Paper

The example research paper below is one that was written in college for a course on the Inklings. The Inklings were a group of writers in England before WWII, including C.S. Lewis and J.R.R. Tolkien.

Prison privatization started in the early 1980s, ostensibly to ease the burden on taxpayers by offering financial relief to private companies to run state prisons. Thomas Beasley founded Corrections Corporation of America in 1983, “the nation’s leader in the construction and management of private prisons” (Darling). That year, Corrections Corporation of America set up the first privately-operated prison in Tennessee. Since then, the number of private

Surprisingly, there has been little objective and concrete analysis of the privatization of prisons in the United States. This is probably for two reasons: first, ideological arguments on the matter have pushed out substantive research, and second, because this trend has only recently accelerated in the U.S. and mainly on a state level. However, case studies and statistics at the state level are more accessible. With capacity for over 30,000 prisoners in 43 facilities, the state of Texas has privatized more of its prison system than any state in the nation (McDonald and Patten Jr. iv).

The abbreviated MLA paper below (linked here without annotations) is about J.R.R. Tolkien’s Lord of the Rings and how the author used myth, story, and song to link all of his works together. Tolkien is famous for creating a fantasy universe called Middle-earth, which readers can’t truly understand until they read all of the books about Middle-earth (The Silmarillian, The Hobbit, and The Lord of the Rings).

To save you some time, the downloaded file is already set up in APA or MLA format, depending on which citation style you used.

Yes, after creating your citations you can download your reference list to Word. Simply click on download > Microsoft Word (.docx) in the menu above your reference list.

Yes, the Scribbr Citation Generators are 100% free.

The in-text citation must match the first word of the Works Cited entry – usually the author’s last name. It also includes a page number or range to help the reader locate the relevant passage.

MLA in-text citations

Using the interactive tool, you can see what an MLA citation looks like for different source types.

You fill in the forms with information about a source, such as the author(s), title, and publication date. The tool then creates an accurate reference and in-text citation that you can use to give credit to the original author.

• Safely store your reference list
• Create multiple reference lists
• Work from multiple devices

MLA in-text citations are brief references that direct your reader to the full source entry. You include them every time you quote, block quote, paraphrase or summarize a source.

A standard MLA paper requires a works cited list. This is the list of sources you used in your research. It is similar to a bibliography. It comes at the end of the paper and on a new page. It should include the same header and pagination as the main text.

2. Still using double spacing for the lines, type your title. Center the title, and do not use font treatments unless MLA style requires it, such as titles.

1. Title page (only if your teacher asks for one)
2. Outline
3. Report
4. Images
5. Appendixes if you have them
6. Works cited (bibliography)

Begin typing at the top left of your page. A standard choice for the font is 12 point Times New Roman, and you should keep your text left justified. It's also recommended that you do not use automatic hyphenation features and that you only use one space after a period or other punctuation mark unless you're told otherwise.

MLA Outline

You may use this format for your first page when your teacher requires one.

Images (figures) can make a big difference in a paper, but students are often a little hesitant about including them.

3. Once you have a complete list, you will format so that you have hanging indents. To do this: highlight the entries, then go to FORMAT and PARAGRAPH. Somewhere in the menu (normally under SPECIAL), find the term HANGING and select it.

Images should be placed near the related text and labeled as Figure, which is typically abbreviated as Fig. # to show the number of images contained within your piece. Captions and figure labels should appear directly below the image itself, and if your caption contains all the necessary information about the source, that source doesn't need to be listed in your works cited list unless it's cited elsewhere in the text.