The Modern Language Association (MLA) style is commonly used for citing sources and formatting papers in the liberal arts and humanities fields. One key component of MLA style is the references page, also known as the works cited page, which provides full citations for all the sources used in a research paper.
The references page appears at the end of a research paper and provides full bibliographic information for every source cited within the text. It allows readers to easily locate each source cited to verify the claims made or locate additional information about the topic being discussed. MLA requires a consistent style for references page entries that includes specific elements like author names, titles, publication details in a prescribed order.
While MLA works cited pages have a set style, there are a few key things writers should keep in mind when constructing their references page for a research paper. First, it should have the label “Works Cited” centered at the top of the page without formatting like bold, italics or quotation marks. The page should have a hanging indent for each reference to make it clear where one entry ends and the next begins.
Sources should be listed alphabetically by the first element of the citation such as author last name or title if no author is given. If there are multiple works by the same author they should continue in alphabetical order by title, with a long dash separating the authors name from the next title entry. Page numbers are not included on the references page as they are only used in parenthetical citations within the body of the paper.
The general structure for entries alphabetized by author and appearing on a references page in MLA style is:
Last name, First name. “Title of Source.” Container, Other contributors, Version, Numbers, Publisher, Date, Location.
Some common source types and their required elements are:
Book: Last name, First name. Title of Book. Publisher, Year Published.
Journal article: Last name, First name. “Title of Article.” Title of Journal, vol. #, no. #, Date, pages.
Website: Last name, First name. “Title of Website.” Name of Website, Date updated/accessed, URL.
Newspaper article: Last name, First name. “Title of Article.” Name of Newspaper, Date, Edition, Section.
Social media post: Last name, First name. “Title/Description of Post.” Social Media Platform, Post date, URLs.
For sources with multiple authors or editors listed, only the first named person should appear with “and” before the last name in the reference. Substitute “et al.” for any additional names not included in the text citation. Place titles of larger containing works like books or journals in italics, but titles of shorter articles or chapters are placed in quotation marks.
While each source entry will follow the prescribed structure and order of its type, inclusion of specific elements like issue numbers, volume numbers or dates accessed may vary depending on the source. For greatest accuracy, be sure to consult the most recent MLA Handbook for additional guidelines on citing less common source types not covered here.
The main purpose of a properly formatted references page is to credit ideas and information that informed the research paper and allow readers to easily locate the original sources. Paying careful attention to the required style elements ensures an organized, uniform presentation of citations and demonstrates academic integrity. While compiling the references page requires extra work, following MLA style correctly benefits researchers by establishing credibility and trustworthiness through properly attributing source material. An organized, consistently formatted works cited page is one requirement that elevates student papers and reflects well on mastery of MLA conventions for research writing.