Free MLA Citation Generator
Generate correctly formatted MLA 9th edition citations for journal articles, books, and websites. Enter a DOI to auto-fill the details, or use manual entry — then copy the formatted citation straight into your Works Cited page.
Our editors can proofread and refine your entire paper for academic tone, clarity, and journal-readiness.
How MLA Referencing Works
MLA (Modern Language Association) style is the standard citation format in literature, languages, and many humanities disciplines. It uses an author-page in-text citation system paired with an alphabetized "Works Cited" list at the end of the paper, rather than a numbered reference list or author-date format.
MLA Journal Article Citation
Smith, John A., and Kate Lee. "Understanding Academic Motivation in Graduate Students." Journal of Educational Psychology, vol. 14, no. 2, 2021, pp. 112-128.
Format: Author(s). "Title of Article." Journal Name, vol. X, no. X, Year, pp. XX-XX.
MLA Book Citation
Smith, John A. Research Methods in Social Science. Academic Press, 2020.
Format: Author(s). Title of Book. Publisher, Year.
MLA Website Citation
Smith, John A. "How to Write a Literature Review." Tezyar Research Blog, 4 Mar. 2022, example.com/article.
Format: Author. "Title of Page." Site Name, Day Month Year, URL.
MLA In-Text Citations (Works Cited)
MLA in-text citations use the author's last name and a page number, with no comma between them: (Smith 112). If the author is named in the sentence, only the page number is needed: Smith argues this point directly (112).
When to Use MLA vs Chicago
Both are common in the humanities, but MLA is the standard in literature, language, and cultural studies, while Chicago is more common in history and some social sciences. If your department or journal doesn't specify, MLA's simpler author-page in-text style is often preferred for literary analysis, while Chicago's notes system suits heavier historical sourcing.
Häufig gestellte Fragen
This tool follows MLA 9th edition (2021), the current standard — the core citation elements are the same as MLA 8, with minor updates to guidance on formatting and inclusivity.
Yes, MLA generally expects a URL (without "https://") for web sources, though it's acceptable to omit it if the source is easily locatable through a search, per your instructor's preference.
List all entries alphabetically by author's last name, with a hanging indent (first line flush left, subsequent lines indented). This tool generates the individual citation — final page formatting follows standard MLA document guidelines.