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

MLA 9th edition format guide for 2026: page setup, heading, in-text citations, Works Cited examples, core elements and common mistakes.

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The MLA 9 core elements

Every Works Cited entry follows this order. Skip any element that doesn't apply.

Author.Last name, First name.
Title of source."Article" in quotes or Book in italics.
Title of container,The journal, website or book that holds the source.
Other contributors,Editors, translators, directors.
Version,e.g. 2nd ed.
Number,e.g. vol. 12, no. 3.
Publisher,Usually for books and websites.
Publication date,As specific as available.
Location.Page range, DOI or URL.

In-text citations use author and page, with no comma: (Smith 45).Collepals.com

MLA style is the standard citation and formatting style in English, literature, languages, cultural studies and many other humanities subjects. If your instructor asks for "MLA format", they almost always mean the MLA 9th edition, published in 2021 by the Modern Language Association.

This complete guide covers everything you need: page setup, the first-page heading, in-text citations, the Works Cited list, examples for common sources, and the mistakes that cost students marks. If you need APA instead, see our APA 7th edition format guide.

Is MLA 9th Edition Current in 2026?

Yes. The MLA Handbook, ninth edition (2021), is the current official version. The Modern Language Association also publishes free guidance on its MLA Style Center website, which is the best place to check new or unusual source types.

How MLA Style Works

MLA uses a simple, flexible system:

In-text citations give the author's surname and page number: (Smith 45).
The Works Cited list at the end gives full details of every source cited.
The core elements template lets you build a citation for almost any source, from a journal article to a TikTok video, by listing the same elements in the same order.

MLA Page Setup

Font: a legible font, such as 12-point Times New Roman.
Spacing: double-spaced throughout, including quotations and Works Cited.
Margins: 1 inch on all sides.
Paragraphs: indent the first line 0.5 inch.
Header: your surname and page number in the top right corner, 0.5 inch from the top, on every page (for example, Smith 1).
Title page: not required unless your instructor asks for one, or for group projects.

The First-Page Heading and Title

In the top left corner of the first page, list the following on separate double-spaced lines:

Your full name
Your instructor's name
Course name and number
Date, in day-month-year format (for example, 1 October 2026)

Then centre your title on the next line. Use title case, with no bold, italics, underlining or quotation marks, unless your title includes the title of another work.

Headings

MLA doesn't require headings, but they're useful in longer papers. If you use them, keep them consistent. For example, use bold for level 1 and italics for level 2, all flush left, in title case.

MLA In-Text Citations

The examples below use invented sources for illustration.

Source	Parenthetical	Narrative
One author	(Smith 45)	Smith argues... (45).
Two authors	(Smith and Lee 45)	Smith and Lee note... (45).
Three or more authors	(Smith et al. 45)	Smith and colleagues show... (45).
Corporate author	(World Health Organization 12)	The World Health Organization reports... (12).
No author	("Remote Work Trends" 3)	In "Remote Work Trends"... (3).
No page numbers	(Smith)	Smith suggests...

← Swipe the table to see all columns →

Key in-text rules

No comma between author and page number: (Smith 45), not (Smith, 45).
No "p." or "pp." before page numbers in the text.
Two works by the same author: add a shortened title: (Smith, Modern Workplaces 12).
Multiple sources: separate with semicolons: (Lee 20; Smith 45).
Indirect sources: (qtd. in Smith 45), but cite the original wherever possible.

Long quotations

Prose quotations longer than four lines are set as a block quotation: start on a new line, indent the whole quotation 0.5 inch, don't use quotation marks, and place the citation after the final punctuation.

The Works Cited List

Start on a new page with the title "Works Cited" centred (no bold or italics).
Double-space all entries.
Use a 0.5 inch hanging indent.
List entries alphabetically by the first word of each entry, usually the author's surname.
Reverse only the first author's name: Smith, John, and Maria Lee.
For three or more authors, list the first author followed by "et al."
Abbreviate most months: Jan., Feb., Mar., Apr., Aug., Sept., Oct., Nov., Dec. (May, June and July are written in full).
Shorten page ranges where possible: pp. 101–20.

MLA Works Cited Examples

These examples use invented sources to show the format.

Journal article from a database

Smith, John, and Maria Lee. "Remote Work and Employee Wellbeing." Journal of Workplace Studies, vol. 12, no. 3, 2024, pp. 45–67. Database Name, https://doi.org/10.xxxx/xxxxx.

Book

Smith, John. Modern Workplaces. 2nd ed., Example Press, 2023.

Chapter in an edited book

Lee, Maria. "Supporting Remote Teams." Leadership in Practice, edited by Anna Brown and Carl Green, Example Press, 2022, pp. 101–20.

Three or more authors

Brown, Anna, et al. Working Together. Example Press, 2025.

Webpage

Lee, Maria. "Five Tips for Remote Teams." Example Website, 3 Mar. 2026, www.example.com/remote-tips.

Corporate author

World Health Organization. Title of the Report. World Health Organization, 2025.

When the organisation is both author and publisher, MLA recommends starting the entry with the title and listing the organisation only as publisher.

YouTube video

"Title of Video." YouTube, uploaded by Channel Name, 10 May 2025, www.youtube.com/watch?v=xxxx.

Film

Film Title. Directed by Director Name, Studio Name, 2024.

Generative AI

MLA has published guidance on citing generative AI, typically describing the prompt as the title and naming the tool as the container. Check the latest advice on the MLA Style Center and follow your institution's AI policy.

MLA vs. APA: Key Differences

	MLA 9	APA 7
In-text	(Smith 45)	(Smith, 2024, p. 45)
List name	Works Cited	References
Title page	Not usually required	Required
Date position	Near the end of the entry	After the author
Author names	Full first names	Initials