The list of works cited appears as a new page at the end of the manuscript. For an article with numbered pages, the works cited page also gets a number; for example, if the manuscript contains 14 pages, the works cited page begins on page 15. The page should have the same 1-inch margin and header format as the rest of the paper, with "Works Cited" centered at the top, without italics or quotation marks.
All citations employ double spacing, with the space between citation entries appearing single-spaced. The second, third, fourth and subsequent lines of each citation are indented five spaces to create a hanging indent. Commonly cited sources include books, periodicals and electronic sources, but some writers use personal and published interviews, films, radio programs or even photographs and paintings.
A book citation uses an italicized title, in this format: Last name, First name. Title of the Book. Place of the Publication: The Publisher, The Year of Publication. The Publication Medium. For example, a citation for "The Color Purple: a Novel" would put the title in italics and use this formatting: Walker, Alice. The Color Purple: a Novel. New York: Harcourt Brace Jovanovich, 1982. Print.
For a book with two or more authors, the first author's name appears in the Last name, First name format, while each subsequent name appears in the First name Last name format. For example, "How Can I Help?" would have its title italics and the rest of the information formed like this: Dass, Ram, and Paul Gorman. How Can I Help?: Stories and Reflections on Service. New York: Knopf, 1985. Print.
MLA format considers electronic resources as Web sources, so when citing websites, the medium of publication appears as "Web," in this format: Editor or author (if this information is available). Name of Website. Version number. Name of institution associated with the site, date of site or resource creation (if available). Medium of publication. Date of access. <URL, if applicable>.
For example, an online article would utilize this format: Pawlowski, A. "Airport Carpets Stir Online Passion - CNN.com." CNN.com - Breaking News, U.S., World, Weather, Entertainment & Video News. CNN, 27 Jan. 2011. Web. 27 Jan. 2011. <http://www.cnn.com/2011/TRAVEL/01/27/airport.carpets.website/index.html?hpt=C2>.
The MLA rules for proper citations change every few years, but the official "MLA Handbook for Writers of Research Papers" details how to cite even the most obscure resources. Online tools such as EasyBib, SourceAid and NoodleTools automatically format book and website citations into the proper MLA format, and you can adjust them to suit the specific requirements of your research paper (See Resources).