MLA works cited list , Rārangi whakamihi a MLA

In the works cited list, put the surname or family name of the author first, followed by their first name.

Multiple authors

If there are 2 authors, separate each name with a comma and write the word 'and' before the final author.

Alphabetise entries according to the first author's last name. If there is no identifiable author, list according to whatever appears first in the entry, usually the title.

Only the first author's name is listed surname-first. Each author after them should be listed as first name, then last name.

If a source has 3 or more authors, give the first author's last name and replace the other authors with 'et al.' – an abbreviation of the Latin et alia, meaning 'and others' in both the works cited list and in-text citations.

Authors with the same last name

If 2 different authors of different sources have the same last name, alphabetise them according to their first names.

Citing multiple works by the same author

If there are 2 or more entries by the same author or authors, alphabetise them by the title. Use 3 hyphens and a full stop in place of the author's name for entries after the first. When using the title to alphabetise, ignore the initial 'a', 'an' and 'the'. If the single author of multiple references is also listed as the first co-author in another reference, then alphabetise according to the last name of the second co-author.

List entries with only 1 author before entries with 2 or more authors. 

Group author

Sometimes a source may be written by a group or organisation. This is often true for collaborative or official works by government departments, corporations or other organisations.

In this case, use the group name in the author position, without the initial articles, 'a,' 'an' or 'the'.

When a non-government entity is both author and publisher, you may omit the author element and begin with the title, listing only the publisher.

Government author

Generally, a government department can be cited as the author of a government publication if it is named in the source details. 

If it is unclear who the author is, cite the government agency that issued the work as the author. Arrange the references from the largest entity to the smallest. Start with the name of the government, then the specific agency, department or website.

MLA in-text citations: Author – Government author

No author

Move the title into the author position for any work, such as a book, article or website that does not identify an author, corporate author or government author.

MLA in-text citations: Author – No author

Usernames (online handles)

Include usernames (online handles) in square brackets after an author’s name.

Write the main titles of printed material and web pages in italics.

Sometimes, a reference will have 2 titles: the name of an article or entry (the source) and the name of the whole work (container). For example, journals (the container) have a name, but each article has a title too. Anthologies have a book title (the container) and a chapter title. In these cases, write the container title in italics but not the source (article or chapter). Put the source title in quotation marks.

Note the full stops after the author, source title and container title. All the other elements are separated by commas.

MLA referencing books: Anthologies

Sometimes a container might be within an even larger container. For example, you might want to reference a show seen on Netflix or an article found in the database JSTOR.

This level of detail is unnecessary for most undergraduate assignments. Only include the larger container if you have a specific reason, such as the source can only be found on a particular database.

MLA style principles

If the DOI is available, cite this instead of the URL. Start the DOI or URL with www, not https://.

Use upper-case letters at the beginning of all words in the title except for minor functional words. For example, a, the, and, but, in, of and to. If there is a title and subtitle, put a colon between them unless the title ends with a question mark or exclamation mark.

In past editions of MLA, all sources needed to indicate the publishing medium: 'Print' for physical books and journals and 'Web' for online material. However, the publishing medium is not required in the 9th edition of MLA. 

If you're unsure which source type to use, go to Identifying Sources.

Publisher

Write the publisher's name or names as shown on the work. Don't include legal or superfluous terms such as Inc., Co, Ltd, press and publishers.

Shorten university to U and University Press to UP.

Co Publisher

If a source has 2 independent publishers and they seem equally responsible, cite both, separated with a forward slash.

Don't include an imprint – a division with its own brand name of an existing publisher.

No Publisher

If there is no publisher in the source, you can omit this detail or give the publisher in square brackets. Square brackets indicate the information does not come from the source.

Only add the publisher if you can locate the publication from another reliable source, such as the library catalogue.

The library catalogue lists publisher names for each book in its collection.

Massey University Library

No year of publication

If there is no year of publication in the source, you can either omit this detail or give the date in square brackets. Square brackets indicate the information does not come from the source. You may find the publication date from a reliable source, such as the library catalogue.

Massey University Library

If the date you sourced is only approximated, write 'circa' – meaning 'around' – before the date. If you are uncertain about the accuracy of the date, add a question mark.

Year of publication before 1900

Because publisher details can be difficult to locate for books published before 1900, you don't need to include the publisher's name in the works cited list. If you can, include the city of original publication and the publication date.

City of publication

Generally, the city of publication is an unnecessary detail that is not required. However, there are exceptions. Include the city of publication:

• if a book is published before 1900
• in the place of the publisher's name – although if both details are known, include both.

Also, write the city of publication if the publisher has offices in more than 1 place and there is likely to be a difference between books published in these places. For example, American and British spelling and vocabulary.

Add a comma after the city, before naming the publisher.

Digital Object Identifier (DOI), URLs and permalinks

A DOI is preferable to both a permalink and a URL. A permalink is preferable to a URL. DOIs and permalinks are more stable than URLs.

Start the DOI or URL with www, not https://.

Avoid URL shortening services such as bit.ly. If your URL is longer than 3 lines or is longer than the rest of the entry, truncate it, retaining the host – the first part of the URL with the website or publisher). Generally, truncate to the second forward slash.