MLA Format Guide: The Complete 2026 Reference (9th Edition with Examples)

If you’ve ever stared at a source and wondered exactly how to format it for MLA, you’re not alone. The MLA format guide can feel overwhelming — nine core elements, containers within containers, and rules that shift depending on whether you’re citing a podcast episode or an AI chatbot. This complete 2026 reference covers every rule in the MLA 9th edition with 25+ copy-paste examples, so you can format any source confidently and correctly.

MLA (Modern Language Association) format is the dominant citation style in humanities disciplines — English literature, film studies, cultural criticism, linguistics, and comparative literature. Whether you’re writing a seminar paper, a master’s thesis, or a journal article, getting MLA right is non-negotiable. This guide gives you everything: paper formatting, in-text citations, Works Cited rules, and examples for every source type including AI tools.

1. Paper Formatting Rules

MLA has specific formatting requirements for the paper itself — not just the citations. These apply to essays and seminar papers; check your institution’s guidelines for theses and dissertations, which may vary.

Header and Heading

MLA does not use a separate title page for most assignments. Instead, place a four-line header in the top-left corner of the first page:

Your Full Name
Professor's Name
Course Name and Number
Day Month Year

Center the title on the next line. Do not bold, italicize, underline, or enlarge the title. Subsequent pages use a right-aligned header: Last Name + page number (e.g., Smith 2).

Margins, Font, and Spacing

2. The 9 Core Elements of MLA

The defining feature of MLA 9th edition is its universal template — nine elements that can describe any source. Include only the elements that apply to your specific source. Each element is followed by specific punctuation.

3. In-Text Citations

MLA in-text citations use the author-page format. The citation appears in parentheses immediately after the quoted or paraphrased material, inside the closing punctuation of the sentence.

Basic Rules

• Author named in text: Smith argues that memory is “fundamentally reconstructive” (112).
• Author not named in text: Memory is “fundamentally reconstructive” (Smith 112).
• No page number: (Smith) — omit the page number entirely.
• No author: Use a shortened title — (“Memory and Loss” 45) or (The Archive 112).
• Two authors: (Smith and Jones 78).
• Three or more authors: (Smith et al. 78).
• Same author, multiple works: (Smith, The Archive 45) — add shortened title.
• Indirect source (qtd. in): (qtd. in Jones 92) — cite the source where you found the quote.
• Block quotes: Indent 0.5 inch, no quotation marks, period before the parenthetical citation.

In-Text Citation Examples

4. Works Cited Page Rules

The Works Cited page lists every source you cited in your paper — nothing more, nothing less. It begins on a new page at the end of your paper.

• Title: Works Cited — centered, not bolded or italicized.
• Alphabetical order by author’s last name (or by title if no author).
• Double-spaced throughout with no extra space between entries.
• Hanging indent: first line flush left, subsequent lines indented 0.5 inch.
• Abbreviate months to three letters: Jan., Feb., Mar., Apr., May, June, July, Aug., Sept., Oct., Nov., Dec.
• Use “and” between two authors; use “et al.” for four or more.
• Omit “The,” “A,” or “An” when alphabetizing by title.
• Include a DOI or URL for online sources where available.

Need to generate your Works Cited automatically? Tesify’s Auto Bibliography builds accurate MLA 9th edition citations from a URL, DOI, or ISBN — and exports your full Works Cited page as a .docx or .pdf in seconds. You can also check whether your paper’s citations match the Works Cited list and catch any missed sources before submission.

5. Examples: Books and Book Chapters

Entire Book — Single Author

Entire Book — Two Authors

Entire Book — Three or More Authors

Book with an Editor

Translated Book

Chapter in an Edited Anthology

Later Edition of a Book

6. Examples: Journal and Magazine Articles

Scholarly Journal Article (Print)

Scholarly Journal Article (Online with DOI)

Magazine Article

Newspaper Article

Review

7. Examples: Websites and Online Sources

Web Page with Named Author

Web Page — No Author

Web Page — No Publication Date (with Access Date)

Government Website

Need help with APA citations too? See our APA Citation Format Guide and our step-by-step How to Cite in APA tutorial.

8. Examples: Video, Podcast, Social Media, Interview, and Email

YouTube Video

Film

Television Episode

Podcast Episode

Tweet / X (formerly Twitter) Post

Instagram Post

Personal Interview

Email

Image / Artwork

Wondering how MLA compares to APA or Chicago? Our guide What Citation Style Should You Use for Your Thesis? breaks down each style by discipline so you can choose the right one.

9. Examples: Citing AI Tools in MLA 2026

AI tools are now a routine part of academic work, and MLA has issued formal guidance on how to cite them. The key principle: treat the AI system as the author, with the company or organization as publisher. Always describe what you used the AI for in your text.

ChatGPT (OpenAI)

Google Gemini

Tesify (AI Academic Writing Assistant)

For a full comparison of how APA and MLA each handle AI citations, see our APA Citation Format Guide, which covers APA 7th edition AI citation rules alongside the MLA approach.

10. Common MLA Mistakes to Avoid

Frequently Asked Questions