bibliottMLA Citation Generator — 9th edition
Free, accurate MLA citations in seconds. Built for humanities, english, literature, languages. AI fills in missing metadata; you copy or export.
What is MLA 9th edition?
MLA (Modern Language Association) is the standard for the humanities, especially literature, languages, philosophy, and cultural studies. The 9th edition (April 2021) keeps the container-based template introduced in 8th edition and adds clearer guidance on inclusive language and digital sources.
When to use MLA
- English literature and composition courses
- Foreign-language and comparative-literature courses
- Philosophy, religious studies, and cultural studies
- High-school humanities papers (most US districts default to MLA)
- Many film, theater, and arts programs
MLA quick reference
In-text citation
Author–page format in parentheses: (Author Page#). No comma between author and page.
(Smith 45) — or — Smith argues that… (45).
Works Cited (alphabetical, hanging indent)
Author Last, First. "Title of Article." Journal Name, vol. #, no. #, Year, pp. #–#. DOI/URL.
Smith, Jane D. "The Future of Artificial Intelligence in Academic Research." Nature Machine Intelligence, vol. 5, no. 3, 2023, pp. 234–45. https://doi.org/10.1038/s42256-023-00001-x.
Author Last, First. Title of Book. Publisher, Year.
Brown, Peter. Citation in the Digital Age. Oxford UP, 2021.
Author Last, First. "Title of Page." Site Name, Day Month Year, URL. Accessed Day Month Year.
World Health Organization. "Mental Health: Strengthening Our Response." WHO, 14 Mar. 2024, www.who.int/news-room/fact-sheets/detail/mental-health. Accessed 7 May 2024.
Key MLA formatting rules
- Title case for titles (capitalize all major words).
- Italicize standalone works (books, journals, films); use quotation marks for shorter pieces (articles, chapters, songs).
- Use the container concept: source → container 1 (e.g. journal) → container 2 (e.g. database).
- Include access dates only when the source has no publication date.
- For 3+ authors, list the first author followed by "et al."
Cite specific source types in MLA
Cite AI tools in MLA
Other citation styles
MLA FAQ
MLA 9 expanded guidance on inclusive language, added clarifications for citing annotations and reactions on social media, and re-introduced more detailed examples for many source types — but the core nine-element container template from MLA 8 is unchanged.
Use a DOI when available. If only a URL is available, include the stable URL without "https://". For paywalled scholarly sources, include the database name as container 2.
Treat your prompt as the title and OpenAI as the publisher: "Describe the symbolism in The Great Gatsby" prompt. ChatGPT, 14 Mar. version, OpenAI, 14 Mar. 2024, chat.openai.com. See /cite-chatgpt-mla for the full pattern.