MLA 9th Edition: The Page, the Quote, and the Works Cited — STYLE-101

I. The Executive Dispatch (TL;DR)

MLA 9 is a template, not a list of fixed formulas. The nine core elements tell you what to collect; the source determines how the entry looks.
In-text citations are author-page. Give the author’s last name and the page number, usually without “p.” or “pp.”
The Works Cited page is alphabetical, double-spaced, and uses a hanging indent. Every entry ends with a period.
Titles matter. Italicise self-contained works (books, journals, films, websites); put short works (articles, chapters, poems, web pages) in quotation marks.
When in doubt, follow your instructor. MLA 9 explicitly treats its guidelines as guidelines, not a substitute for assignment instructions.

II. What MLA 9 Is For

MLA style exists to do three things: format the page consistently, identify sources in the text, and give readers a complete trail back to those sources. It is the standard style in literature, languages, and many humanities courses.

MLA 9, published in 2021, keeps the core-element model introduced in MLA 8 and adds clarification. It explains how to find each element in different kinds of sources, expands in-text citation guidance, reintroduces research-paper formatting, and adds chapters on inclusive language, grammar, and plagiarism.

The most important principle is accountability. A citation is not a decoration; it tells the reader where an idea came from and how to check it. MLA’s flexibility is not permission to be vague. It is permission to describe a source accurately even when it does not fit a standard template.

III. Formatting the Paper

Page setup

Use standard white paper, 8.5 × 11 inches.
Set 1-inch margins on all sides.
Use a legible 12-point font (Times New Roman is common, but MLA allows other readable fonts).
Double-space the entire paper, including the Works Cited.
Leave one space after periods and other punctuation.
Indent the first line of each paragraph 0.5 inch (use Tab, not five spaces).
Do not add extra space between paragraphs.
Use italics for titles of longer works and for emphasis only when necessary.

The first page

Do not create a title page unless your instructor asks for one. In the upper left corner, double-spaced, put:

Your Name
Instructor’s Name
Course Code
8 November 2026

Then centre the title. Do not bold, italicise, underline, or put the title in quotation marks unless the title itself contains a title. Use Title Case, not ALL CAPS. Double-space between the title and the first line of the paper.

The header

In the upper right corner, 0.5 inch from the top, put your last name and the page number:

Smith 1

Number every page consecutively with Arabic numerals. Some instructors ask you to omit the header on the first page; follow their instructions.

Section headings

If you use section headings, keep them consistent. MLA permits numbered headings:

1. Early Writings
2. The London Years
3. Traveling the Continent

It also permits formatted headings, as long as the levels are clear and consistent. Do not mix systems without a reason.

Notes, tables, and figures

Endnotes: place them on a separate page titled Notes before the Works Cited. Centre the title.
Tables: label them Table 1, give a title, and place the table near the relevant discussion. Include source information below the table.
Figures: label them Fig. 1, give a caption, and include source information. Place the figure near the relevant discussion.

The Works Cited page

Start the Works Cited on a new page. Centre the title Works Cited (no italics, no quotation marks, no bold). Double-space every entry. Do not add extra space between entries. Use a hanging indent: the first line is flush left, and every subsequent line is indented 0.5 inch. Alphabetise by the first element of each entry, usually the author’s last name. Every entry ends with a period.

IV. In-Text Citations

The basic pattern

MLA uses the author-page method. Put the author’s last name and the page number in parentheses, usually just before the period:

Romantic poetry is characterised by a “spontaneous overflow of powerful feelings” (Wordsworth 263).

If the author is named in a signal phrase, give only the page number:

Wordsworth argued that Romantic poetry is marked by a “spontaneous overflow of powerful feelings” (263).

Do not write “p.” or “pp.” in an in-text citation. Do not put a comma between the author and page number.

Two authors

Use both last names:

(Best and Marcus 9)

Three or more authors

Use the first author’s last name and “et al.”:

(Franck et al. 327)

Corporate author

Use the organisation’s name, shortening it after the first mention if the abbreviation is clear:

(United Nations 12)

No author

Use a shortened title. Put short works in quotation marks and italicise longer works:

(“Impact of Global Warming”)

(Boring Postcards USA 14)

Same author, multiple works

Add a shortened title to distinguish the works:

(Elkins, “Visual Studies” 63)

(Murray, Write to Learn 6)

Multiple sources in one citation

Separate them with a semicolon:

(Burke 3; Dewey 21)

Authors with the same last name

Use first initials:

(R. Miller 12; A. Miller 46)

Multivolume works

Include the volume number, a colon, and the page number:

(Quintilian 1: 14–17)

The Bible

In the first citation, identify the edition; then give book, chapter, and verse:

(New Jerusalem Bible, Ezek. 1.5–10)

(Rev. 4.6–8)

Indirect sources

If you are quoting a source cited inside another source, use “qtd. in” and cite the source you actually consulted:

(qtd. in Weisman 259)

Try to find the original source when you can.

Poetry, drama, and time-based media

Poetry: cite line numbers: (lines 5–6) or (5–6) if the context is clear.
Drama: cite act, scene, and line: (1.1.12–14).
Film, video, or podcast: cite a timestamp: (00:02:15–00:02:35).

Sources without page numbers

For a website or other source without page numbers, cite the author or title only. Do not use paragraph numbers from your browser’s print preview.

When no citation is needed

You do not need to cite common knowledge, familiar proverbs, or well-known quotations. When in doubt, cite. The boundary of “common knowledge” depends on your audience and your course.

V. Quoting and Paraphrasing

Short quotations

Prose quotations of four lines or fewer go in double quotation marks and are integrated into your sentence. Place the parenthetical citation before the period:

The poem’s narrator calls the Green Knight “oueral enker grene” (1.150).

If the quotation ends with a question mark or exclamation point, keep that mark and place the citation after it.

Long quotations

Prose quotations of more than four lines are set off as a block quote:

Start on a new line.
Indent the entire quotation 0.5 inch from the left margin.
Do not use quotation marks.
Keep double spacing.
Place the citation after the final punctuation of the quotation.

Poetry

For one to three lines, use quotation marks and indicate line breaks with a slash:

The narrator describes the Green Knight as “oueral enker grene” (1.150).

For more than three lines, use a block quote and preserve the line breaks. Cite line numbers.

Drama

For dialogue, begin each speaker’s name in all caps and indent the speech. Cite act, scene, and line at the end.

Ellipses and brackets

Use an ellipsis (. . .) to mark omitted words. Use square brackets to add clarification or a change: [sic], [emphasis added], [he]. Do not use ellipses to change the meaning of a quotation.

Paraphrasing

Paraphrasing still requires a citation. Rewriting a source’s ideas in your own words does not make them yours. Cite the source and make sure the paraphrase genuinely restates the idea rather than swapping a few synonyms.

VI. The Nine Core Elements

MLA 9 builds Works Cited entries from a template. Not every element appears in every entry. Use the elements that identify the source.

Author. Last name, first name. For two authors: Last, First, and First Last. For three or more: Last, First, et al.
Title of source. In quotation marks for short works; italicised for long works.
Title of container. The larger work that contains the source: a journal, anthology, website, database, or streaming service. Italicise it.
Contributor. Editors, translators, directors, performers, or other key contributors, introduced by a verb such as “edited by” or “translated by.”
Version. Edition, version, or release, such as “2nd ed.” or “version 3.1.”
Number. Volume and issue for journals, or season and episode for television.
Publisher. The organisation that produced or published the work. Omit it when it is essentially the same as the author or website title.
Publication date. Day month year when available. Abbreviate months except May, June, and July.
Location. Page numbers, URL, DOI, or other locator. Use a DOI when available; otherwise use a URL.

Optional elements

Add optional elements when they help the reader: access date, archival location, a transcript, a performance date, or a series name. Use them deliberately, not as decoration.

The container model

A source can have more than one container. A journal article inside a database has the journal as its first container and the database as its second. A television episode inside a series on a streaming service has the series and the service. The container is the larger thing that holds the source.

VII. Model Works Cited Entries

A book

Joseph, Bob. 21 Things You May Not Know About the Indian Act. Indigenous Relations Press, 2018.

A book with two authors

Gillespie, Paula, and Neal Lerner. The Allyn and Bacon Guide to Peer Tutoring. Allyn and Bacon, 2000.

A book with three or more authors

Wysocki, Anne Frances, et al. Writing New Media: Theory and Applications for Expanding the Teaching of Composition. Utah State UP, 2004.

A chapter or essay in an edited collection

Chang, David A. “Critical Indigenous Methodology and the Problems of History.” The Routledge Handbook of Critical Indigenous Studies, edited by Brendan Hokowhitu et al., Routledge, 2021, pp. 90–99.

A journal article

Best, David, and Sharon Marcus. “Surface Reading: An Introduction.” Representations, vol. 108, no. 1, 2009, pp. 1–21. JSTOR, https://doi.org/10.1525/rep.2009.108.1.1.

A newspaper article

Smith, Joanna. “Documentary Chases Fragile Trail of Pass System.” Toronto Star, 9 Apr. 2016, www.thestar.com/news/canada/2016/04/09/documentary-chases-fragile-trail-of-pass-system.html.

A website page

“MLA 9th Edition Changes.” Purdue OWL, Purdue University, 2021, owl.purdue.edu/owl/research_and_citation/mla_style/mla_formatting_and_style_guide/mla_changes_9th_edition.html. Accessed 8 Nov. 2026.

A film

Angry Inuk. Directed by Alethea Arnaquq-Baril, EyeSteelFilm, 2016.

A television episode

“The National Anthem.” Black Mirror, season 1, episode 1, Channel 4, 2011.

A YouTube video

“Indigenous Knowledge and Western Science: Dr. Leroy Little Bear Talk.” YouTube, uploaded by [Channel Name], 2016, www.youtube.com/watch?v=gJSJ28eEUjI.

An interview

Arnaquq-Baril, Alethea. Interview by [Interviewer Name]. [Publication or Program], [Date].

A lecture or presentation

Little Bear, Leroy. “Indigenous Knowledge and Western Science.” [Course Name], [Institution], [Date]. Lecture.

A government report

Canada, Truth and Reconciliation Commission. Honouring the Truth, Reconciling for the Future: Summary of the Final Report of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission of Canada. Government of Canada, 2015.

A dictionary or encyclopedia entry

“Ideology.” The American Heritage Dictionary, 3rd ed., 1997.

An annotated bibliography entry

Start with the normal Works Cited entry, then add the annotation on a new line, indented 1 inch from the entry’s start. Keep the annotation to one paragraph.

VIII. Works Cited Page Mechanics

Title: centre Works Cited at the top. No italics, no quotation marks, no bold.
Order: alphabetise by the first element. Ignore “A,” “An,” and “The” when alphabetising titles.
Spacing: double-space everything; no extra space between entries.
Indentation: hanging indent of 0.5 inch.
Punctuation: every entry ends with a period.
Titles: italicise long works; use quotation marks for short works.
Page ranges: use “pp.” for multiple pages and “p.” for one. Compress repeated digits: pp. 225–50.
Dates: day month year; abbreviate months except May, June, July.
URLs and DOIs: use a DOI when available; otherwise a URL. End the entry with a period. Do not add angle brackets.
Access dates: include “Accessed 8 Nov. 2026” for sources that may change or have no publication date.

IX. Inclusive Language and Plagiarism

MLA 9 also asks writers to think about inclusive language. The goal is precision and respect, not a list of forbidden words. Use people-first language when it is appropriate, respect the terms people use for themselves, avoid sexist or gender-specific language when a gender-neutral term is more accurate, and use the singular “they” when it fits the sentence and the writer’s style. If you are unsure how a person or community self-identifies, ask or use the most specific term available.

Plagiarism is the use of another person’s words or ideas without proper acknowledgment. It includes copying a sentence, paraphrasing an argument without citation, and presenting someone else’s structure or data as your own. Quoting, paraphrasing, and summarizing all require documentation unless the material is genuinely common knowledge. Keep your notes separate from your draft, record page numbers as you read, and cite as you write. The best defence against accidental plagiarism is a good paper trail.

X. Common MLA 9 Mistakes

Using APA date style in the Works Cited. MLA puts the date near the end, not in parentheses after the author.
Forgetting the container. A journal article needs the journal title; a website page needs the website title.
Putting “p.” in an in-text citation. Use just the number: (Smith 23).
Using a comma between author and page. It is (Smith 23), not (Smith, 23).
Italicising article titles. Articles, chapters, poems, and web pages go in quotation marks.
Using quotation marks for book titles. Books, journals, films, and websites are italicised.
No hanging indent. The Works Cited should have a 0.5-inch hanging indent.
No period at the end of an entry. Every entry ends with a period.
Citing a URL with no access date for a changing page. Add an access date when the source is undated or likely to change.
Trusting a citation generator. Check the author, title, container, publisher, date, and location yourself.

XI. Exam & Essay Sparkplugs

1. Build a Works Cited entry for a chapter in an edited collection.

Winning approach. Start with the chapter author, put the chapter title in quotation marks, italicise the book title, add “edited by” and the editor(s), then the publisher, year, and page range. End with a period.

2. Cite the same quotation in three different ways.

Winning approach. Use a signal phrase with the author and a page number in parentheses; use a full parenthetical citation; and use a block quotation with the citation after the final punctuation. Explain why each form suits a different sentence.

3. Correct a Works Cited entry that uses APA-style dates and a missing container.

Winning approach. Move the date to the end of the entry, restore the container title in italics, add the publisher and location, and check that the entry ends with a period.