IXL | Recognize the parts of a Works Cited entry (MLA 8th–9th editions)

Select the author's first name in this Works Cited entry.

Balestier, Courtney. "Add to Car." Wired, Apr. 2016, pp. 92–97.

ref_doc_title.

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question

Select the magazine name in this Works Cited entry.

Longstreth, Carolyn. "The Northern Elephant Seal." Natural History, Feb. 2016, pp. 15–19.

key idea

When writing research papers, you will often be asked to follow a particular style guide for your citations. One popular style guide is the Modern Language Association (MLA)

Handbook.

The MLA Handbook identifies the important elements of a citation. These elements should always appear in this order:

Author. Title of the source. Title of the container, Contributor, Version, Number, Publisher, Publication date, Location. Date of access.

If one of these elements does not apply to the type of work being cited, or if the information is missing, that element is left out.

Here are examples of how MLA citations can look:


Format	Author. Title of the source. Publisher, Publication date.
Example	Austen, Jane. Pride and Prejudice. Dover Publications, 1995.


Format	Author(s). "Title of the source." Title of the container, Publication date, URL.
Example	Haag, Matthew, and Nicole Hong. "Google to Spend $2.1 Billion on Manhattan Office Building." The New York Times, 21 Sept. 2021, www.nytimes.com/2021/09/21/nyregion/google-buys-building-hudson-square.html.

Here is more information about each of the elements:

Author

This is the name (or names) of the work's creator(s). The first author's name is written in last name, first name format (Smith, Jane). If there is a second author, his or her name is written in first name last name format (Smith, Jane, and John Doe).

Title of the source

This is the title of what you are citing, such as the title of a book. If the source is an entire work, the title appears in italics. If the source is part of a larger work or collection, the title appears in quotation marks. This might be the title of an article, essay, poem, short story, or web page.

Title of the container

When applicable, this is the title of the larger work or collection that the source is a part of. It appears in italics. This might be the title of a book or the name of a newspaper, journal, magazine, or website.

Contributor

These are other people who helped create the work, such as editors or translators. The citation explains the contributor's role (edited by John Doe).

Version

This is usually the work's edition number (9th ed.).

Number

This is usually the volume number, issue number, or both (vol. 10, no. 15).

Publisher

This is the company that published the work. If the work is a website that has the same name as the publisher, the publisher element is usually left out.

Publication date

This is the date when the work was published.

Location

This is the page number(s) (p. 3, pp. 3–5) or web page address where the source was found.

Date of access

This is the date when a web page was viewed. The date of access is optional, but authors often include it if the publication date for a web page is unknown. Authors might also include a date of access if a web page has changed or no longer exists.

solution

The magazine name is Natural

History.

The source is a magazine article, so the magazine name is the title of the

container.

Longstreth, Carolyn. "The Northern Elephant Seal." Natural History, Feb. 2016, pp. 15–19.

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