How do you write a reference list in the MLA writing style?

Answer

Your list of references in an MLA paper will be called "Works Cited," and that is the title that should go at the top of the page in the center. (This is not the same thing as the header, which is where your last name and the page number go.)

After the Works Cited, you would list each entry alphabetically by author. List the author (last name, comma, first name), title, publication city and date, and page numbers of the borrowed material. Other things that you would need to include can be found at this site http://owl.english.purdue.edu/owl/resource/557/01/, depending on the *type* of entry... websites require the url and don't always have page numbers, magazines require the magazine title and the article title, etc... each entry should have a hanging indent, meaning that the first line is flush with the left margin and the rest of the entry is indented. You do not have to do this by hand if you have a word processing program. They can do it automatically.

There is an example here http://www.ccc.commnet.edu/mla/sample.shtml if you are looking for an overall look. If you need details about how to enter a movie or a book with multiple authors, or other types of entries, use the link in the previous paragraph. :)

First answer by Zanbabe. Last edit by Zanbabe. Contributor trust: 583 [recommend contributor]. Question popularity: 18 [recommend question]