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How to Set Up an MLA Bibliography

According to the Modern Language Association (MLA), MLA style has been adopted by more than 1,100 academic and literary sources, including journals, magazines, and university presses. MLA style is most common in the liberal arts and humanities. Purdue University's Online Writing Lab (OWL) notes that in 2009, MLA made several updates to its style. Most notably, it put an end to underlining titles in favor of the use of italics. The use of MLA, and other citation styles, is required for setting up bibliographies at most universities.

Instructions

- 1
  Start your works cited page, or bibliography, on a separate page at the end of your paper. Keep the same 1-inch margins and MLA-approved headers as the rest of your paper.
- 2
  Label this page "Works Cited." These words should not be in italics or quotation marks and should be centered at the top of the page.
- 3
  List all sources cited in your paper in alphabetical order by the author's last name as shown below:
  Jones, Keith A.
  Johnson, Tim Anthony
- 4
  Cite works with more than one author alphabetically by title using three hyphens in lieu of the author's name for each entry after the first, as in the example below adapted from Cornell University's Library:
  ---. Awesome MLA Style. New York: Random Cabin, 2009. Print.
  
  Be sure to italicize, not underline, the title of the book.
- 5
  Begin entries with no author by title following alphabetical order.

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Writing Guides