MLA Citation Generator
Generate MLA-style citations (9th edition) for journal articles, websites and books — enter the source details and copy a correctly formatted MLA reference.
How to cite in MLA style
MLA (Modern Language Association, 9th edition) style is the standard in English, the humanities and many high-school and college courses. References go in a “Works Cited” list at the end, and the first author is listed surname-first. With three or more authors, only the first is named, followed by “et al.”
Journal: Author(s). “Article Title.” Journal Name, vol. X, no. Y, Year, pp. Pages.
For example: Smith, John A. “Effects of sunlight on mood.” Journal of Wellbeing, vol. 12, no. 3, 2020, pp. 45-52. Switch the source type above to format a website or a book in MLA style instead — the citation updates as you type, ready to copy. In your text, cite by author and page, like (Smith 47).
Need a different style? Use the APA, Chicago, IEEE, AMA, ACS, Turabian or CSE citation generator.
Frequently asked questions
How do you cite a journal article in MLA format?
MLA (9th edition) format is: Author(s). “Article Title.” Journal Name, vol. X, no. Y, Year, pp. Pages. For example: Smith, John A. “Effects of sunlight on mood.” Journal of Wellbeing, vol. 12, no. 3, 2020, pp. 45-52. The first author is inverted (surname first); with three or more authors, use the first followed by “et al.”
How are authors formatted in MLA?
List the first author surname-first (Smith, John A.). For two authors, add “and” then the second author in normal order. For three or more, give only the first author followed by “et al.” In-text citations use the author surname and page number, like (Smith 47).
Is this MLA citation generator free?
Yes — completely free, with no account or sign-up. Enter your source once, pick the source type (journal, website or book), and copy the formatted MLA citation.