Creating an MLA
Works Cited Page
Northampton Community College
Mack and Monroe Libraries
(Format used with permission from The Smucker Learning Center,
The University of Akron – Wayne College)
Examples taken from the
MLA Handbook, 8th edition
and the MLA Library Handout
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Citing Your Sources
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Means telling your readers where the
information came from
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Is a courtesy to the original authors
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Is a courtesy to your readers
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The Works Cited Page
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Center the words Works Cited at the top–no quotes,
italics, or underline.
Arrange sources alphabetically, beginning with
author’s last name.
If no author is given, alphabetize by the first word in
the source’s title, other than A, An, or The.
Do not justify the right margin.
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Each Entry Needs a Hanging
Indent
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Type your citation without any extra spacing –OR–
follow these steps to set the indentation before
typing.
Highlight the entire citation –OR— place cursor
where you will begin a citation.
Make sure you are on the Home tab in Microsoft
Word
Click the pop-out arrow to the right of PARAGRAPH
Look under INDENTATION
Click the drop-down arrow under SPECIAL
Change to HANGING
Click OK
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Double-Spacing
Within each citation entry
 Between entries
 Do not put extra spaces between
entries
 Press CTRL + 2 to set doublespacing for the entire paper.
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5
Correctly Formatted
Works Cited Page
6
Some Common Sources
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Book
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Magazine
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Journal
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Newspaper
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Journal article from a Library subscription database
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Web sites
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Book
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Author’s last name, followed by a comma, followed
by their first name, followed by a period.
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Title of book in italics, followed by a period.
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Publisher, followed by a comma.
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Year of publication, followed by a period.
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Example: Book
Borroff, Marie. Language and the Past:
Verbal Artistry in Frost, Stevens, and
Moore. U of Chicago P, 1979.
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Books, continued
If an author has more than one work cited, after the first entry,
instead of the author’s name, type three hyphens, followed by a
period and the title.
Alphabetize the entries by the title of the work.
Borroff, Marie. Language and the Past: Verbal Artistry in Frost, Stevens, and Moore.
U of Chicago P, 1979.
---. Sir Gawain and the Green Knight: A New Verse Translation. Norton, 1967.
---. Wallace Stevens: A Collection of Critical Essays. Prentice, 1963.
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Works Cited
Edmondson, Jacqueline. “The Will of the People.” The Reading Teacher, vol. 55, no. 5,
2002, pp. 52-54. ProQuest, and add here the URL for this online database article if
your instructor requests it.
Gilbert, Sandra M. Emily’s Bread: Poems. Norton, 1984.
---. Ghost Volcano: Poems. Norton, 1995.
Johnson, George J. “A Distinctive Model of Serial Learning.” Psychological Review, vol. 98,
no. 1, 1991, pp. 204-17.
Pipher, Mary. “Saplings in the Storm.” Dialogues: An Argument Rhetoric and Reader.
Edited by Gary Goshgarian, et. al, 4th ed., Longman, 2003, pp. 343-52.
“Reading Between the Lines.” New Yorker. 24 May 1993, pp. 36-43.
"Wicca." Wikipedia the Free Encyclopedia. Wikimedia Foundation, 18 Nov. 2005.
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wicca.
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Magazine
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Last name of author, followed by a comma, followed
by first name of author, followed by a period.
Quotation mark, followed by title of article, followed by
period, followed by quotation mark.
Title of magazine or journal in italics, followed by a
comma
Date of publication, followed by a comma
Page numbers for the entire article, (beginning with p.
for a single page, or pp. for multiple pages), followed
by a period.
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Example: Magazine
Lukacs, John. “The End of the Twentieth
Century.” Harper’s, Jan. 1993, pp.
39-58.
13
Works Cited
Edmondson, Jacqueline. “The Will of the People.” The Reading Teacher, vol. 55, no. 5, 2002, pp.
52-54. ProQuest, Note: If your instructor requests the URL, don’t forget to add the URL
at the end of this citation.
Gilbert, Sandra M. Emily’s Bread: Poems. Norton, 1984.
---. Ghost Volcano: Poems. Norton, 1995.
Johnson, George J. “A Distinctive Model of Serial Learning.” Psychological Review , vol. 98, no.1,
1991, pp. 204-17.
Pipher, Mary. “Saplings in the Storm.” Dialogues: An Argument Rhetoric and Reader. Edited by
Gary Goshgarian, et. al, 4th ed., Longman, 2003, pp. 343-52.
“Reading Between the Lines.” New Yorker , 24 May 1993, pp. 36-43.
"Wicca." Wikipedia the Free Encyclopedia. Wikimedia Foundation, 31 Aug. 2016.
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wicca.
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Journal Article
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Last name of author, followed by a comma, followed
by first name of author, followed by a period.
Quotation mark, followed by title of article, followed
by period, followed by quotation mark.
Title of journal in italics.
Volume – vol. , followed by the applicable volume
number, followed by a comma
If available, add the issue number, followed by a
comma
Year of publication, followed by a comma.
Page numbers for the entire article, preceded by a
pp. for multiple pages, or p. for a single page,
followed by a period.
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Example A: Journal
Segal, Gabriel. “Seeing What Is Not There.”
Philosophical Review, vol. 98, 1989, pp.
189-214.
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Example B: Journal
Johnson, George J. “A Distinctive Model of
Serial Learning.” Psychological Review,
vol. 98, no. 2, 1991, pp. 204-17.
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Works Cited
Edmondson, Jacqueline. “The Will of the People.” The Reading Teacher, vol. 55, no. 5, 2002, pp.
52-54. ProQuest, and add here the URL for this online database article if your instructor
requests it.
Feder, Barnaby J. “For Job Seekers, a Toll-Free Gift of Expert Advice.” New York Times, 30 Dec.
1993, national edition, D1+.
Gilbert, Sandra M. Emily’s Bread: Poems. Norton, 1984.
---. Ghost Volcano: Poems. Norton, 1995. Johnson, George J. “A Distinctive Model of Serial
Learning.” Psychological Review, vol. 98, no. 1, 1991, pp. 204-17.
Johnson, George J. “A Distinctive Model of Serial Learning.” Psychological Review , vol. 98, no.1,
1991, pp. 204-17.
Pipher, Mary. “Saplings in the Storm.” Dialogues: An Argument Rhetoric and Reader. Edited by
Gary Goshgarian, et. al, 4th ed., Longman, 2003, pp. 343-52.
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Newspaper Article
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Author’s last name, followed by a comma, followed
by their first name, followed by a period.
Quotation mark, followed by the article title, followed
by a period, followed by a quotation mark.
If the article is an editorial, write Editorial, followed
by a period.
Name of newspaper, in italics.
Date of publication (Day Month Year format),
followed by a comma, followed by the edition (if
given), followed by a comma.
Section and page number followed by a period. If the
article is on more than one page, add a plus sign,
followed by a period.
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Example: Newspaper
Sun, Lena. “Chinese Feel the Strain of a New
Society.” Editorial. Washington Post, 13
June 1993, pp. A1+.
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Works Cited
Edmondson, Jacqueline. “The Will of the People.” The Reading Teacher, vol. 55, no.
5, 2002, pp. 52-54. ProQuest, and add here the URL for this online database
article if your instructor requests it.
Feder, Barnaby J. “For Job Seekers, a Toll-Free Gift of Expert Advice.” New York
Times, 30 Dec. 1993, national edition, pp. D1+.
Gilbert, Sandra M. Emily’s Bread: Poems. Norton, 1984.
---. Ghost Volcano: Poems. Norton, 1995.
Johnson, George J. “A Distinctive Model of Serial Learning.” Psychological Review,
vol. 98, no.1, 1991, pp. 204-17.
Pipher, Mary. “Saplings in the Storm.” Dialogues: An Argument Rhetoric and Reader.
Edited by Gary Goshgarian, et. al, 4th ed., Longman, 2003, pp. 343-52.
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Article from Library
Database
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Your citation will depend on whether you used an
article from a newspaper, magazine, or journal, which
you retrieved from a library database.
Format the citation as you would for the print source.
After typing the page numbers, you will then type:
– The name of the database from which you retrieved the
article, in italics, followed by a comma.
– The URL of the online article, followed by a period.
Note that stable URLs, permalinks, or digital objective identifiers
(Doi), which are sometimes provided by databases, are
preferable to an unstable URL retrieved from the browser
window.
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Example: Journal Article from
Library Database
“Topics for Our Times: Welfare Reforms and Women’s
Health.” American Journal of Public Health, vol.
88, no. 7, 1998, pp. 1017-18. EBSCOhost, and
add here the URL for the article, if your
instructor requests it.
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Example: Magazine Article from
Library Database
Marcus, David L. “Making Sports Count.” U.S. News &
World Report 18 Mar. 2002, p. 71. EBSCOhost,
and add here the URL for this online article, if
your instructor requests it.
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Works Cited
Edmondson, Jacqueline. “The Will of the People.” The Reading Teacher, vol. 55, no. 5, 2002, pp.
52-54. ProQuest, and add here the URL for this online database article if your instructor
requests it.
Gilbert, Sandra M. Emily’s Bread: Poems. Norton, 1984.
---. Ghost Volcano: Poems. Norton, 1995.
Johnson, George J. “A Distinctive Model of Serial Learning.” Psychological Review , vol. 98. no.
1, 1991, pp. 204-17.
Pipher, Mary. “Saplings in the Storm.” Dialogues: An Argument Rhetoric and Reader. Edited by
Gary Goshgarian, et. al, 4th ed., Longman, 2003, pp. 343-52.
“Reading Between the Lines.” New Yorker, 24 May 1993, pp. 36-43.
"Wicca." Wikipedia the Free Encyclopedia. Wikimedia Foundation, 18 Nov. 2005.
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wicca.
25
Internet Sources
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Author’s last name, followed by a comma, followed by their
first name, followed by a period.
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Quotation mark, followed by title of document, followed by a
period, followed by quotation mark.
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Name of the entire web site, in italics, followed by a period.
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Name of sponsoring institution (if given), followed by a
comma.
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Date of web page’s last update, in Day Month Year format,
followed by a period.
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The web address of the document
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Example: Internet Source
Saad, Lydia. “Conserving Energy Is Americans’ Top Environmental
Action.” Gallup News Service. The Gallup Organization,
14 Mar. 2007, www.gallup.com/poll/26872/
conserving-energy-americans-top-environmentalaction.aspx.
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Works Cited
Edmondson, Jacqueline. “The Will of the People.” The Reading Teacher, vol. 55, no. 5, 2002,
pp. 52-54. ProQuest, and add here the URL for this online database article if your
instructor requests it.
Gilbert, Sandra M. Emily’s Bread: Poems. Norton, 1984.
---. Ghost Volcano: Poems. Norton, 1995. Johnson, George J. “A Distinctive Model of Serial
Learning.” Psychological Review, vol. 98, no.1, 1991, pp. 204-17.
Pipher, Mary. “Saplings in the Storm.” Dialogues: An Argument Rhetoric and Reader. Edited by
Gary Goshgarian, et. al, 4th ed., Longman, 2003, pp. 343-52.
“Reading Between the Lines.” New Yorker, 24 May 1993, pp. 36-43.
"Wicca." Wikipedia the Free Encyclopedia. Wikimedia Foundation, 18 Nov. 2005.
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wicca.
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For More Help

MLA handout from the Library Reference Desk (also available online
at the Library website)
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MLA Handbook, 8th edition
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Learning Center Writing Tutors
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Other NCC Library documentation links and handouts under “Need
Help?”  Citing Sources
http://www.northampton.edu/Library.htm
MLA website https://style.mla.org/
View other MLA tutorials:
– MLA Basics
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– In-Text Citation
Questions?
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Stop by the Learning Center!
Stop by the Library Reference Desk at the Mack
(Bethlehem) and Monroe libraries.
Call the Library Reference Desk:
– Mack (Bethlehem): 610-861-5359
– Monroe: 570-369-1810
Email a librarian - [email protected].
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