MLA Works Cited Pages
Works Cited pages are an important part of academic writing, because they alert readers to where they can find the sources used to develop their writing. Most student writers are familiar with the basic rules for creating a Works Cited page from their composition courses.
Capitalizing Words
The first word, last word, and all words with the exception of the following should be capitalized in your Works Cited: Articles (a, an, the), prepositions (in, by, after, of, on, etc.), coordinating conjunctions (and, but, for, to, nor, or, so, yet), and sometimes to. See the example below
Page and Lines
Do not write out the words page or lines when you give page numbers or line numbers. For example, you don't need to write: Pages 3-7. All you need to write is 3-7. See the example below.
City of Publication
(1) If you have multiple cities of publication, always choose the city that is the most recognizable to your reader. For example, if you have a choice between Advance and New York, choose New York. You do not need to add "City" when you use New York.
(2) Do not put the state. If you only have one choice for city of publication, you have to use it. See the example below:
Example:
Ruggiero, Vincent Ryan. The Art of Thinking: A Guide to Critical and Creative Thought. 9th ed. New York: Pearson Education, 2008.
Titles of Long and Short Form Works
1) Titles of books, novels, anthologies, plays, novellas, and other longer works must be italicized.
(2) Titles of articles, short stories, songs, and shorter works should be in quotation marks. Do not italicize these.
Here is an example:
Wilson, August. Fences. Literature and the Writing Process. Ed. Elizabeth
McMahan, Susan X. Day, and Robert Funk. 8th ed. Upper Saddle
River: Prentice, 2007. 788-834.
Starting Your Works Cited Page
The Works Cited page should appear on the last page of your essays. In other words, the Works Cited will have a page all to itself. The title Works Cited should appear at the top of the page in the center. Take a look at the following example:
Student Last Name 4
Works Cited
Organizing a Works Cited
1) Works Cited pages need to be organized by the author's last name first. If there isn't an author, the Works Cited needs to be organized by title. You don't include "a," "an," or "the" when you alphabetize by title.
(2) All entries need to be double spaced within and between the entries.
(3)The first line of each entry needs to be flush with the left margin. All of the proceeding lines in the entry will be indented. This is called hanging paragraph and can be set within your “paragraph” tab.
(4) Do not number your entries in a Works Cited
Look at the following page to see a model.
McLaughlin 4
Works Cited
Capote, Truman. Breakfast at Tiffany’s and Other Stories. New York: Vintage,
1994. 1-111.
Ruggiero, Vincent Ryan. The Art of Thinking: A Guide to Critical and Creative Thought. 9th ed. New York: Pearson Education, 2008.
Wilson, August. Fences. Literature and the Writing Process. Ed. Elizabeth
McMahan, Susan X. Day, and Robert Funk. 8th ed. Upper Saddle River:
Prentice, 2007. 788-834. 