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Section 10.5.4.3

General Structure of Entry

An MLA Works Cited entry has three basic elements: author(s); title; and publication information. Separate the elements with a period and a single space. In some cases, such as online materials and articles in an edited book, other elements are included.

  1. Author or authors: List the authors or, in some cases, the editors of the work in the order and form in which they are listed on the title page of the document. Include all first names, middle names, and initials. List the first author by last name followed by a comma, a space, and the rest of the name. For works with two authors, follow the first author's name with a comma and a space, and then list the second author's name in straightforward order followed by a period. For works with three authors, follow the first author's name with a comma and a space, then list the second and third authors' names. For works with more than three authors (or editors), list only the inverted name of the first author followed by a comma and "et al." the Latin phrase meaning "and others." If a work produced by an organization lists no individual author, give the full name of the organization as author. If no author or organization is listed, move the title of the work into the author position. If your list of works cited includes two or more works by the same person, list the name in full in the first entry. In subsequent entries, type three hyphens and a period in place of the name. The three hyphens indicate exactly the same name or names as the preceding entry and can be used even if the role (author or editor) is different.
  2. Title: Give the full name of work including subtitles, which are separated from the title by a colon and a single space. Capitalize the first and last words of a title and subtitle and all other words except articles, coordinating conjunctions, prepositions and the to in infinitives.
  3. Publication information

    Date format: MLA style includes the year and, in some cases, the month and day as part of the publication information. Dates are given in arabic numerals in the the format day, month, and year without any commas. Abbreviate all months except May, June, and July with the month's first three letters plus a period (for example, 12 Sep. 1991).

    Page numbers: Indicate page numbers without the abbreviation p. or pp. For a range of numbers, write out the full first number and the final two digits of the last number, with a hyphen in between. Give more than two digits in cases where they are needed to make the range immediately apparent to the reader (66-98, but 66-103 instead of 66-03).

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## MLA: Structure of Entry ##
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