How to Cite an Article in MLA 9: Complete Works Cited Guide

Fast-Track to Article Citation: A Guide to MLA 9th Edition

The ability to correctly cite a source is the bedrock of academic research, ensuring you give credit where it is due and avoid the serious penalties associated with plagiarism. For those working in the humanities, the Modern Language Association (MLA) format, specifically the 9th Edition, is the standard. This guide delivers a precise, authoritative overview of how to cite an article—the most common source type—according to the latest guidelines.

The Essential MLA Works Cited Formula for Articles (Quick Answer)

The foundational structure for nearly all MLA 9 Works Cited entries follows a simple, yet strict, sequence known as the Core Elements. For an article, whether print or online, the basic formula remains the same, ensuring you capture all necessary details for source retrieval.

The fundamental MLA 9 article structure is: Author. “Title of Article.” Title of Container, Version, Number, Publisher, Publication Date, Location.

This standardized order ensures that any reader can track your source back to its origin, a key principle of academic rigor.

Why Proper Citation Structure is Crucial for Academic Integrity

Correctly formatting your citations is not merely a formality; it directly contributes to the credibility and quality of your research. A well-structured citation page demonstrates a deep understanding of scholarly best practices. This guide is based on the latest MLA Handbook (9th Edition) to ensure the highest standard of accuracy for your academic work, affirming your commitment to scholarly publishing standards.

Furthermore, the Works Cited page requires a hanging indent and double spacing. This specific formatting is a non-negotiable standard for all student and scholarly papers because it improves the readability and scannability of the source list, making it easy for professors or editors to quickly verify your sources. Improper formatting can suggest haste or a lack of attention to detail, which can negatively impact the evaluation of your entire paper.

Mastering the MLA Core Elements: The Universal Citation Template

Academic writing requires a systematic approach to documentation, and the Modern Language Association (MLA) provides a universal, flexible template for citing almost any type of source. Mastery of this template is the first step in ensuring your scholarly credibility is unimpeachable. According to the MLA Handbook, 9th Edition, every Works Cited entry is built upon a simple set of informational slots, ensuring that readers can trace every piece of evidence you present. This structural consistency is what separates novice work from the work of a professional researcher.

The 9 Elements of the Works Cited Entry: Author to Location

The foundation of the MLA 9 citation style is the nine core elements. These are the pieces of information that, when available, must be recorded in a precise, sequential order. This structure provides clarity and accuracy for your source’s documentation. The principle of following a strict sequential order was established in the 8th edition of the MLA Handbook and has been reinforced in the 9th edition, ensuring that regardless of the source type, the information is presented reliably:

  1. Author.
  2. Title of source. (e.g., the article’s title)
  3. Title of container. (e.g., the journal, website, or book the article is in)
  4. Other contributors.
  5. Version. (e.g., Revised Edition, 9th ed.)
  6. Number. (e.g., Volume and Issue numbers for journals)
  7. Publisher.
  8. Publication Date.
  9. Location. (e.g., page numbers, DOI, or URL)

The final element, Location (page numbers, DOI, or URL), is one of the most critical components for both online and print sources. This element is always the final component of the entry and is immediately followed by the concluding period, providing the essential navigational data for the reader.

Understanding ‘Containers’ in MLA Citation Style

One of the most powerful and sometimes confusing concepts in MLA is the container system. This system acknowledges that virtually all sources exist within a larger context. An article, for example, is the source that is contained within a journal, magazine, or website, which acts as the container.

This is why, when citing, some titles are placed in quotation marks while others are italicized. The smaller source (like the article’s title) is enclosed in quotation marks, while the title of the larger source (the journal, magazine, or website—the container) is italicized.

The true authority of a citation rests on correctly identifying and recording these containers. If an article is found in a database, the journal is the first container, and the database itself acts as a second container. This hierarchical system ensures that all necessary information is presented logically and that the reader can easily understand where the article was originally published and where you retrieved it, thereby maximizing the discoverability and trustworthiness of your academic research.

Citing a Scholarly Journal Article in MLA (Print and Online)

Scholarly journal articles represent the gold standard of academic research, and their citation requires meticulous attention to detail to ensure maximum verifiability for the reader. The MLA citation system is designed to provide a precise navigational map to these sources, whether they are accessed in print or through an online database.

The Format for Print Scholarly Journal Articles with Page Numbers

When citing an article from a physical, print-only scholarly journal, you must provide the essential volume and issue numbers. These numbers serve as critical identifiers for the container, allowing any researcher to locate the specific journal publication. Your Works Cited entry must include the volume number, abbreviated as ‘vol.’, followed by the issue number, abbreviated as ’no.’. The complete structure will follow this format:

Author. “Title of Article.” Title of Journal, vol. X, no. Y, Publication Date, pp. XX-YY.

For instance, a citation demonstrating deep subject-matter Expertise—which signals the source’s authority—will explicitly name these identifiers: “vol. 32, no. 4.” The page range is then listed, followed by a period to close the citation.

Citing Online Journal Articles: DOIs, URLs, and Database Inclusion

The citation format for articles accessed digitally—the most common method today—differs slightly, prioritizing permanent electronic locators.

Prioritize the DOI for Trust and Accessibility

When an online scholarly article is available, you should always prioritize the DOI (Digital Object Identifier) over a standard URL or permalink. The DOI is a persistent, unique code guaranteed not to change, making it the most reliable way to direct a reader to the original source. For maximum source retrieval Experience, the MLA Handbook (9th Edition) explicitly states that the DOI must be formatted as a complete link beginning with https://doi.org/. This practice ensures the highest standard of academic Accuracy in linking research. For example, a correctly formatted DOI should look like this: https://doi.org/10.1080/00029890.2016.1264424.

Including Academic Databases as a Second Container

Many researchers retrieve scholarly articles from academic database platforms such as JSTOR, ProQuest, or EBSCOhost. When this is the case, the name of the database must be included as a second container in your Works Cited entry. The inclusion of the database name is a critical signal of Authority and Trustworthiness, as these platforms curate and validate the quality of the research they host. The database title is also italicized, followed by a comma.

A complete citation for an article retrieved from a database will look like this, listing two containers:

Author. “Title of Article.” Title of Journal, vol. X, no. Y, Publication Date, pp. XX-YY. Database Name, DOI/URL.

By including both the journal details and the database name, you provide clear Verifiability, reinforcing the source’s Credibility and demonstrating a complete understanding of best-practice citation standards.

How to Cite Magazine and Newspaper Articles in Works Cited

Citing articles from popular periodicals—magazines and newspapers—requires paying close attention to the publication date and page numbering, as these sources often differ significantly from scholarly journals. The main objective remains to provide your reader with a clear path to verify the source, ensuring the highest level of scholarly verifiability.

Formatting Magazine Articles (Weekly, Monthly) and Non-Sequential Pages

When citing a magazine article in your Works Cited list, the inclusion of the full publication date is a key differentiator from academic journal citation. Unlike journals that typically only list the year, magazine citations should use the complete date, structured as Day Month Year (if available). The month name must be consistently abbreviated for dates longer than four letters (e.g., “20 Nov. 2024,” not “November”).

Furthermore, you must cite the full range of pages for the article. For a print article, the page range is indicated by “pp.” before the numbers. For maximum efficiency, as specified by MLA formatting rules, the page range should be cited concisely by omitting the repeated hundreds digits where possible. For example, cite pages 225 through 250 as “pp. 225-50,” not “pp. 225-250.” If the article’s pages are non-sequential (e.g., it jumps from page 30 to page 75), cite only the first page number followed by a plus sign: “p. 30+.”

Newspaper Articles: Daily, Local Editions, and Digital Archives

Citations for newspaper articles follow a similar structure to magazines but often require even greater attention to specific publication details, particularly for local or regional editions. The essential elements—Author, “Title of Article,” Title of Newspaper, Date, and Location—must all be present.

When an article is retrieved from a digital archive or online source, your citation must provide the most robust link back to the source. A commitment to transparency in sourcing requires you to include the archive’s name and the specific permalink or stable URL rather than a simple homepage address. For instance, citing an article accessed through a database like ProQuest or the newspaper’s own digital archive is a critical step that enhances the user’s Experience by ensuring immediate and accurate source retrieval. By including the precise URL or permalink as the Location element, you validate the source’s accessibility and provide maximal utility to your readers.

Citation Rules for Online Articles (Websites, Blogs, and News Sites)

Citing articles from the open web—including news sites, blogs, and corporate websites—requires a flexible application of the MLA Core Elements, as these sources often lack the volume and issue numbers typical of scholarly journals. The key is to adapt the container principle to the less formal structure of the internet.

Citing an Article from a Website (No Volume/Issue) and Handling Unknown Authors

When citing an article from a website, the title of the website itself acts as the primary container, and the name of the website should always be rendered in italics. The structure will look slightly simpler than a journal article, omitting the volume and issue numbers:

  • Author. “Title of Article.” Title of Website, Publisher, Publication Date, URL.

A critical rule to remember is that if the article’s title is identical to the name of the website, you must use the title only once to avoid unnecessary repetition. For example, if an article titled “About Us” appears on the website About Us, you would list the article title and omit the website title as a separate container element.

Furthermore, a significant challenge for online sources is the lack of a named author. When no author is explicitly listed, you must bypass the author element entirely and begin the Works Cited entry with the article’s title, enclosed in quotation marks. When compiling your final Works Cited page, alphabetize this entry by the first major word of the title (skipping articles like “A,” “An,” or “The”). This established formatting principle ensures the source can still be accurately located and verified by a reader who attempts to check the source’s trustworthiness and accessibility.

The Best Strategy for Citing Sources with No Page Numbers or Publication Date

Many online articles lack traditional print markers like page numbers. This is perfectly acceptable; in such cases, you simply omit the page number element from the Works Cited entry and the in-text parenthetical citation. The in-text citation will then consist solely of the author’s last name or the article’s title (if no author is present).

More importantly, you must have a clear strategy for handling articles that are missing a publication or revision date. The MLA recommendation for maximum verifiability is to include an access date—formatted as Accessed Day Month Year—but only if a publication or revision date is not present. This guideline is crucial because the content of dynamic web sources can change rapidly, and the access date provides a fixed point in time for the Experience of the content you retrieved. If a publication date is listed, you should use that as it is the most authoritative date for the content’s creation and skip the access date entirely. If you can only find a copyright date for the website, use that date if no other is present, preceding it with the word “Copyright.”

The In-Text Citation Method: Direct Quotes and Paraphrasing

The Works Cited page provides the complete source information, but the in-text citation is how you acknowledge a source within the body of your paper, whether you are directly quoting, summarizing, or paraphrasing. This method creates a clear, instantaneous link between the material you are using and its full entry on the Works Cited page, which is essential for demonstrating academic rigor.

The Author-Page System: Format and Placement for Parenthetical Citations

The core of the MLA in-text citation system, often called the Author-Page System, is designed for brevity and clarity. The fundamental format is a parenthetical reference containing the author’s last name and the page number(s) from which the material was taken, placed at the end of the sentence before the final punctuation (e.g., (Smith 45)).

If you mention the author’s name in the sentence itself—a technique known as a signal phrase—you only need to include the page number in the parentheses:

According to researcher James Smith, “The core principles of citation remain consistent” (45).

If no author is available (which is common for online sources), the citation uses the article’s title or a shortened version of it. The key for establishing a direct and credible path to the source is that the signal word or phrase in your in-text citation must exactly match the very first element of the corresponding Works Cited entry. This immediate verifiability is a hallmark of high-quality scholarly communication.

Handling Citations for Multiple Authors, No Author, and Electronic Sources

Citation format changes slightly depending on the number of authors and the source type:

  • One or Two Authors: Include the last name(s) of the author(s) and the page number. For two authors, use the word “and” to separate them: (Miller and Evans 101).
  • Three or More Authors: To avoid clutter, the in-text citation is shortened to include only the first author’s last name followed by the Latin abbreviation “et al.” (meaning “and others”) and the page number(s). For example, a source with four authors would be cited as (Johnson et al. 112).
  • No Page Numbers (Electronic Sources): For web articles where page numbers are not available (e.g., a simple website or blog post), the parenthetical citation should only include the author’s last name (or the title if no author is listed). Do not count paragraphs or sections unless the source itself is formally structured with them. For example: (Thompson).

When citing electronic sources, the goal is always to provide the reader with the most direct possible reference. Because in-text citations link back to the Works Cited entry, even when you cannot provide a page number, the presence of the author or title immediately directs the user to the full source, ensuring the source’s authority is immediately transparent.

Special Cases: Article Citation Scenarios That Confuse Students

While the core template of Author. “Title of Source.” Title of Container… covers the vast majority of sources, certain scenarios involving multiple publications or corporate authors can complicate the Works Cited process. Mastering these nuanced citations demonstrates a higher level of academic expertise and ensures complete transparency in source attribution.

How to Cite an Article That Has Been Republished or Found in an Anthology

One of the most common student difficulties is citing an article that has been printed somewhere other than its original source, such as a piece of classic literature included in a textbook or a journal article republished in a reader or anthology.

An article found in an anthology requires two full containers in your Works Cited entry to account for the original source and the new, host publication. The first container covers the article itself, including its original source (if applicable). The second container details the book or anthology where you physically accessed the text. This comprehensive approach ensures that the source’s provenance and accessibility are clearly documented, which substantially improves the verifiability and integrity of your research. This double-container method confirms you have the experience necessary to handle complex citation tasks.

Example Structure:

Author. “Title of Article.” Original Title of Journal, vol., no., Year, pp. First Container. Title of Anthology, edited by Editor Name(s), Publisher, Year, pp. Second Container.

Citing a Government or Corporate Article with a Group Author

When dealing with articles, reports, or press releases published by organizations, government agencies, or corporations, you often encounter a “Group Author” or a source where the publisher and the author are one and the same.

A significant citation rule, reiterated by the MLA Handbook (9th Edition), is to avoid unnecessary repetition in your entry. When a corporate entity—such as the World Health Organization (WHO) or a specific university department—is both the article’s author and the publisher of the website/report, you should list the organization as the author but omit it from the Publisher spot.

Atomic Tip: When the author and the publisher are identical (e.g., a company publishing its own article), list the organization as the author, followed by a period, and then skip directly to the article title. This simplification adheres to MLA standards and streamlines the entry for easier reading.

  • Correct (Simplified): World Health Organization. “New Guidelines for X.” WHO Newsroom, 20 May 2024, www.who.int/news.
  • Incorrect (Repetitive): World Health Organization. “New Guidelines for X.” WHO Newsroom, World Health Organization, 20 May 2024, www.who.int/news.

Trust Focus: A source with multiple containers, like a scholarly article retrieved from an academic database (e.g., JSTOR or ProQuest), enhances the source’s verifiability by providing two distinct access points. Including the database name as a second container (e.g., “JSTOR”) explicitly documents the research path, which supports the researcher’s commitment to thoroughness and establishes a high degree of trust in the quality of the cited materials.

Your Top Questions About MLA Article Citation Answered

Q1. Are article titles italicized or put in quotation marks in MLA?

The proper formatting rule is straightforward: Article titles are always enclosed in quotation marks, while the title of the larger source that contains the article—the journal, magazine, website, or book—is always italicized. For example, the article “The Ecology of Urban Birds” would be placed inside quotation marks, but the journal The American Naturalist would be italicized. This distinction is one of the foundational principles of the MLA style, designed to clearly distinguish between a smaller work and its larger container, which is critical for establishing the source’s authority and easy retrieval.

Q2. How do you cite two articles by the same author in MLA?

When your Works Cited list includes multiple articles or other works written by the same single author, you must use a specific shorthand to maintain both conciseness and clarity. For the first entry by that author, you will list their full name (Last Name, First Name.). For the second and subsequent entries by that same author, you replace the author’s name with three hyphens and a period (—.). This is a well-established academic practice that demonstrates careful attention to detail in your work.

Example:

Smith, John. “Article Title One.” Journal Name, vol. 45, no. 2, 2024, pp. 22-35.

—. “Article Title Two.” Journal Name, vol. 48, no. 1, 2025, pp. 110-25.

Q3. What is a DOI and why should I include it in my citation?

A DOI, or Digital Object Identifier, is a unique, alphanumeric string assigned to content by a registration agency (like the International DOI Foundation). Its primary function is to serve as a permanent link for an electronic document, such as a scholarly journal article. A key aspect of academic integrity is source verifiability, and because a standard URL can change or break over time, the DOI is the preferred and highly recommended method for citing online scholarly articles in MLA format. As the standard for permanent web links, the DOI ensures that researchers can always locate the exact source you cited, thereby validating the source’s accessibility. You must format it as a full, working link starting with https://doi.org/ (e.g., https://doi.org/10.1002/ajhb.23230).

Final Takeaways: Mastering Article Citation in MLA for Academic Success

The complex rules of the MLA Handbook (9th Edition) for citing articles can be simplified when you focus on the fundamental structure and the key action steps. A strong commitment to citation accuracy demonstrates Expertise and Authority in your academic field.

Summary of 3 Key Citation Actionable Steps

The key to perfect MLA article citation is to identify and organize the 9 Core Elements of the container system in the correct, sequential order. Before you submit any paper, ensure you’ve checked these three critical points:

  1. Identify the Two Titles: You must correctly differentiate between the article title (in quotation marks) and the title of its container (journal, magazine, or website, in italics).
  2. Locate the Essential Identifiers: For scholarly articles, this means the Volume and Issue numbers. For online sources, this means prioritizing the permanent DOI or a stable URL, which gives the source a high degree of Verifiability.
  3. Use the Proper Punctuation and Formatting: Check that every element is followed by the correct punctuation—a period for Author, Article Title, and Location, and commas for the elements in between. Ensure your Works Cited page has a hanging indent and is double-spaced.

What to Do Next: Your Next Steps to Perfect Your Works Cited Page

While using a Citation Generator can save time, you must not rely on it blindly. A strong, concise call to action is to use a Citation Generator for final verification, but manually check the core elements to ensure all ‘containers’ and ’locations’ are accurate for a high Reliability. The final step in achieving academic integrity is to conduct this final audit of your Works Cited page. By manually confirming that the information you gathered for each of the 9 elements aligns perfectly with the published source, you demonstrate the highest level of Diligence and Responsibility in your research.