Write down the author of the source. You can usually find this information on the front cover or on the title page, if the source is a book. If the source is an article, the author's name is located just under the article title. If the source is online, the author might be an organization, or even a screen name. Make sure to write down the author's full first name as well as last name, because first names are not abbreviated to initials in MLA style.
Record the title of the source. Write it exactly as it appears, without changing the wording, spelling or punctuation. In MLA style, you should capitalize each word except for articles and prepositions.
Find and note the publisher of the source. In a book, this is usually specified on the copyright page (just before or after the title page). Again, write the name of the publisher just as it appears in the source. If the source is an article in a periodical, instead of writing the publisher, write the full name of the journal or magazine; also note the volume and issue number, if available. If your source is online, write the name of the website or the organization that publishes the website.
Record the publisher's location. This step is only necessary if the source is a book or some other non-periodical print publication. You can find this information on the copyright or title page; it's usually right next to the name of the publisher. MLA style only requires one publisher location, so if there are multiple locations listed, just use the first one.
Write down the date of the source's publication. If your source is a book, this information can be found on the copyright page; just look for the most recent year. If your source is a periodical, the date should be written on the cover. If it's a magazine or newspaper, then MLA style suggests that you write the full date (year, month and, if available, day). If the source is online, then record when it was published, posted, copyrighted, updated or last reviewed.
Add any notes about that source that will help you remember its contents. You can write down direct quotes (in quotation marks), paraphrase information, record your thoughts in response to the source or mark page numbers or passages for future reference or further reading. If you record specific information or a direct quote, also write down the related page number(s), because the MLA Handbook requires that you cite a page number whenever you quote a source or reference something specific.