MLA 9th edition
Free MLA citation generator.
MLA style, from the Modern Language Association, is an author–page system: in the text you give the author's surname and the page you're citing, and full details go in a Works Cited list. This generator follows the 9th edition (2021), the current one.
Paste a DOI, a link, an ISBN or a title. The generator finds the source's details, lets you check and edit them, then writes the Works Cited entry and the in-text citation.
The style
How MLA citations work.
Used in: English, literature, modern languages, cultural studies and much of the humanities.
MLA in-text citations
- Give the surname and page with no comma and no "p.": (Akbari 834). If the author is named in your sentence, give only the page: (834).
- Two authors: (Akbari and Kolokotsa 836). Three or more: (Santamouris et al. 12).
- No author: use a shortened title, in quotation marks for short works and italics for long ones: ("Cooling Cities" 3).
- Two works by the same author: add a short title, (Oke, Urban Climates 45).
- No page numbers: leave the locator out, or use one the source numbers itself (par., sec., ch.).
- The first word of the citation must match the first word of the Works Cited entry.
The Works Cited
- Title the page "Works Cited" (centred, plain text), double-spaced with a 0.5-inch hanging indent, alphabetical by the first element.
- Give full first names as the source shows them: LeCun, Yann. Two authors: invert only the first, joined with ", and". Three or more: the first author plus ", et al."
- Use title case for all titles. Put short works (articles, chapters, webpages) in quotation marks and italicise containers (journals, books, websites).
- Follow the core-element order: Author. "Title." Container, contributors, version, vol. and no., publisher, date, location.
- Write dates day month year with abbreviated months (27 May 2015; 4 Nov. 2026). Use "pp." with a shortened second number (pp. 436-44).
- Give DOIs as https://doi.org/…; otherwise a URL without http:// or https://. An access date is optional, and useful for undated pages.
MLA citation examples
Journal article
LeCun, Yann, et al. "Deep Learning." Nature, vol. 521, no. 7553, 27 May 2015, pp. 436-44. https://doi.org/10.1038/nature14539.
In text: (LeCun et al. 437) · LeCun et al. argue… (437)
Book
Austen, Jane. Pride and Prejudice. Penguin Books, 2003.
In text: (Austen 112)
Book chapter
Moreno, Lucia. "Green Roofs in Dense Districts." Cooling the City, edited by Ravi Patel, Routledge, 2021, pp. 45-68.
In text: (Moreno 52)
Webpage by an organisation, no date
"Depressive Disorder (Depression)." World Health Organization, www.who.int/news-room/fact-sheets/detail/depression. Accessed 4 Nov. 2026.
In text: ("Depressive Disorder")
The journal, book and webpage examples are real sources; the chapter is an illustrative example from the style rules.
Common MLA mistakes
- Using initials ("LeCun, Y.") instead of full first names ("LeCun, Yann").
- Inverting the second author, or dropping the comma before "and".
- Putting the year in parentheses after the author, as APA does.
- Adding a comma or "p." inside the citation: write (Oke 45), not (Oke, p. 45).
- Writing American-style dates (May 27, 2015) or long months in full.
FAQ
MLA citation questions.
Is this MLA citation generator free?
Yes. You can create citations without an account, up to 20 an hour. EssayMate students can also cite from inside the essay editor.
Does it follow MLA 8 or MLA 9?
MLA 9, the current edition. It keeps MLA 8's core elements and adds more guidance on things such as inclusive language and citing sources with no page numbers.
Where do page numbers go in MLA citations?
In the in-text citation, after the surname with no comma: (Austen 112). The generator leaves the page out, because it depends on the passage you quote, so add it yourself.
Do I need an access date in MLA?
It's optional in MLA 9. Add one (Accessed 4 Nov. 2026.) when a webpage has no publication date or is likely to change.
Writing the essay too?
EssayMate finds real sources and cites them while it writes.
Give it the brief and it delivers a cited essay as a Word or PDF file, in APA, MLA, Chicago, Harvard or IEEE.