What is the difference between a Works Cited page and a bibliography?

A Works Cited page includes only the sources you directly cited in your paper. Every entry on the page has a corresponding in-text citation, and every in-text citation has a corresponding entry. A bibliography, by contrast, can include sources you consulted for background reading but did not cite directly. MLA uses the term "Works Cited" precisely because of this distinction. If your instructor asks for a bibliography, clarify whether they mean a true bibliography (all sources consulted) or a works cited list (only sources cited). Using the wrong title or including uncited sources can result in lost points.

How do I alphabetize entries that start with a title?

When a source has no author and the entry begins with the title, ignore initial articles - A, An, and The - when determining alphabetical order. For example, an entry beginning with The Great Gatsby would be alphabetized under "G," not "T." An entry beginning with "An Overview of Climate Policy" would be alphabetized under "O." The article is still written as part of the title; you simply skip it mentally when deciding where the entry belongs in the alphabetical sequence.

Do I include sources I read but did not cite?

No. The Works Cited page includes only sources that are cited in the text of your paper. If you read a source for background but did not reference it in your writing, leave it off the Works Cited page. Including uncited sources inflates your list and misrepresents the scope of your engagement with the literature. If your instructor wants to see everything you consulted, they will typically ask for a separate "Works Consulted" page or a bibliography in addition to the Works Cited.

How do I handle two authors with the same last name?

List them alphabetically by first name. For example, an entry by David Smith would come before one by Rachel Smith. In your in-text citations, include the first initial to distinguish between them: (D. Smith 45) and (R. Smith 112). This prevents ambiguity for the reader. If both authors share the same first initial, include enough of the first name to distinguish them - for example, (Daniel Smith 45) and (David Smith 78).

Should I include URLs for all online sources?

The MLA Handbook (9th ed.) generally recommends including URLs for online sources, but this is an area where instructor preferences vary. Some instructors want URLs for everything; others find them visually cluttered and prefer you omit them unless a source would be difficult to find otherwise. When in doubt, include the URL. Place it at the end of the entry as the "Location" element. If a DOI or stable permalink is available, use that instead - these are more reliable than standard URLs, which can change or break over time. Omit "https://" from the beginning of the URL unless the address would be unclear without it.

What if a source is missing one of the core elements?

Simply skip any core element that is not available or relevant to the source. For example, many websites do not list an author - begin the entry with the title instead. Some sources lack a publication date - use the remaining elements in order. The core elements system in MLA 9 is designed to be flexible: you include what is available and omit what is not. The order and punctuation of the elements you do include stays the same regardless of which elements are missing. This is one of the key advantages of MLA 9 over earlier editions, which required memorizing different templates for every source type.

How to Format a Works Cited Page in MLA 9

The Works Cited page is where your research becomes verifiable. Every source you reference in an MLA paper needs a corresponding entry on this page, and every entry on this page needs a corresponding in-text citation in your paper. Getting the formatting right matters because instructors and readers use the Works Cited page to locate and evaluate your sources. A misformatted entry can make a source unfindable, which undermines the entire purpose of citation.

This guide walks through the complete formatting rules for a Works Cited page in MLA 9th edition, including page layout, alphabetization, special cases like multiple works by one author, and a sample page with varied entry types. All rules reference the MLA Handbook (9th ed.) unless noted otherwise.

If you want to generate individual citations automatically, the AllCitations MLA 9 generator can build correctly formatted entries from a URL, ISBN, or DOI. But understanding the page-level formatting rules is essential, because even perfectly formatted individual entries can look wrong if the page itself is not set up correctly.

What a Works Cited Page Is

A Works Cited page is a list of every source you cited in your paper. It appears at the end of the paper on a new page. The name is precise: it includes only works you actually cited, not works you read but did not reference. This is different from a bibliography, which can include sources you consulted for background but did not directly cite.

The distinction matters. If a source appears on your Works Cited page but is never cited in the text, it should not be there. If a source is cited in the text but missing from the Works Cited page, that is an error. The two must match.

For guidance on how to format the in-text citations that correspond to your Works Cited entries, see our complete guide to in-text citations.

Page Layout and Formatting

The MLA Handbook (9th ed.) specifies the following formatting rules for the Works Cited page. These apply to the page itself, not to individual entries.

Title

Center the title "Works Cited" at the top of a new page. Do not bold, italicize, underline, or enlarge it. It should be in the same font and size as the rest of your paper (typically 12-point Times New Roman). Do not put it in quotation marks.

Margins

Use 1-inch margins on all sides (top, bottom, left, and right). This is the same margin setting as the rest of your MLA paper.

Spacing

Double-space everything on the Works Cited page: between the title and the first entry, between entries, and within entries. Do not add extra space between entries. The spacing should be uniform throughout.

Hanging Indent

Each entry uses a hanging indent: the first line of the entry is flush with the left margin, and all subsequent lines of that same entry are indented 0.5 inches. In most word processors, you can set this through the paragraph formatting menu rather than pressing Tab manually.

Page Numbering

The Works Cited page continues the page numbering from the body of your paper. If the last page of your essay text is page 8, the Works Cited page is page 9. The page number appears in the upper right corner, preceded by your last name (e.g., "Smith 9"), consistent with the running header used throughout an MLA paper.

Font

Use a legible font in a readable size. The MLA Handbook does not mandate a specific typeface, but Times New Roman at 12 points is the most widely accepted and expected by instructors. If your instructor specifies a different font, follow their guidelines.

Alphabetization Rules

Entries on the Works Cited page are listed in alphabetical order by the first element of each entry. In most cases, this is the author's last name. The alphabetization rules in MLA follow these principles:

Letter-by-letter alphabetization. Ignore spaces, hyphens, and apostrophes when alphabetizing. "De Groot" comes before "Decker" because you compare "d-e-g" against "d-e-c" - wait, actually you compare character by character: "De Groot" (d-e-g) sorts after "Decker" (d-e-c) because "g" comes after "c."

Ignore articles in titles. When a work has no author and the entry begins with the title, ignore initial articles (A, An, The) when alphabetizing. A work titled The Great Gatsby would be alphabetized under "G," not "T."

Numbers in titles. Alphabetize titles beginning with numbers as if the number were spelled out. A work titled "3 Strategies for Better Writing" would be alphabetized as if it began with "Three."

Authors with the same last name. When two or more authors share the same last name, alphabetize by first name. If the first names are also identical, alphabetize by the title of the work.

Multiple works by the same author. This is a common scenario that has specific rules - see the section below.

Handling Multiple Works by the Same Author

When your Works Cited page includes two or more works by the same author, list them alphabetically by title (ignoring initial articles). For the first entry, write the author's name normally. For each subsequent entry by the same author, replace the author's name with three hyphens followed by a period (---.).

Gladwell, Malcolm. Outliers: The Story of Success. Little, Brown and Company, 2008.

---. The Tipping Point: How Little Things Can Make a Big Difference. Little, Brown and Company, 2000.

The three hyphens signal to the reader that the author is the same as the previous entry. This convention only works when the author (or authors) are exactly the same. If Malcolm Gladwell is the sole author of one work and a co-author of another, you cannot use the three hyphens for the co-authored work - you must write out all the names.

When an author appears as the sole author of some works and as the first of multiple co-authors of other works, list the single-author entries first, followed by the co-authored entries alphabetized by the second author's last name.

Formatting Individual Entries

MLA 9th edition uses a "core elements" system for building citations. Rather than memorizing a different format for every source type, you fill in the same set of elements in the same order, including only the elements that are available and relevant. The core elements are:

Author.
Title of source.
Title of container,
Other contributors,
Version,
Number,
Publisher,
Publication date,
Location.

Each element is followed by the punctuation mark shown above (period after author and title of source, comma after the remaining elements, period at the very end). For detailed guidance on citing specific source types, see our guides on citing a website in MLA 9, citing a book in MLA 9, and citing a journal article in MLA 9.

Special Cases

No Author

When a source has no identifiable author, begin the entry with the title. Alphabetize by the title (ignoring initial articles). Do not use "Anonymous" unless the work is actually attributed to "Anonymous."

"Climate Change and Coastal Erosion." National Geographic, 14 Mar. 2025, www.nationalgeographic.com/environment/article/climate-change-coastal-erosion.

Government Documents

Government documents often list the government agency as the author. Begin with the name of the government, followed by the agency or department that produced the document.

United States, Government Accountability Office. K-12 Education: Student Population Has Significantly Diversified, but Many Schools Remain Divided Along Racial, Ethnic, and Economic Lines. Government Accountability Office, 2022.

If you cite multiple documents from different agencies within the same government, alphabetize by the agency name after the government name.

Corporate or Organizational Authors

When an organization is the author, list the organization name in the author position. If the organization is also the publisher, start the entry with the title and list the organization only as the publisher.

American Medical Association. AMA Manual of Style: A Guide for Authors and Editors. 11th ed., Oxford UP, 2020.

Sources with No Page Numbers

Many digital sources lack page numbers. This is not a problem for the Works Cited entry - page numbers (or other location information) are the last core element and are simply omitted when unavailable. The absence of page numbers primarily affects in-text citations, where MLA allows you to use paragraph numbers, section headings, or timestamps as alternatives.

URLs and DOIs

MLA 9th edition generally recommends including URLs for online sources, though your instructor may have a different preference. When including a URL, place it at the end of the entry as the "Location" element. Omit "https://" at the beginning unless the URL would be unclear without it. If a stable permalink or DOI is available, use that instead of a regular URL.

Sample Works Cited Page

Below is a sample Works Cited page showing ten entries of varied source types, formatted according to MLA 9th edition rules. Note the hanging indent, double spacing, and alphabetical order.

Works Cited

American Psychological Association. Publication Manual of the American Psychological Association. 7th ed., American Psychological Association, 2020.

Chambers, Becky. A Psalm for the Wild-Built. Tordotcom, 2021.

Gladwell, Malcolm. Outliers: The Story of Success. Little, Brown and Company, 2008.

---. The Tipping Point: How Little Things Can Make a Big Difference. Little, Brown and Company, 2000.

Kimmerer, Robin Wall. Braiding Sweetgrass: Indigenous Wisdom, Scientific Knowledge, and the Teachings of Plants. Milkweed Editions, 2013.

Nguyen, Thanh, and Maria Rossi. "Screen Time and Adolescent Sleep Quality: A Longitudinal Study." Journal of Adolescent Health, vol. 72, no. 4, 2023, pp. 481-89.

"Renewable Energy Explained." U.S. Energy Information Administration, 14 June 2024, www.eia.gov/energyexplained/renewable-sources/.

Solnit, Rebecca. "The Ideology of Isolation." Harper's Magazine, July 2016, pp. 5-7.

Tuck, Eve, and K. Wayne Yang. "Decolonization Is Not a Metaphor." Decolonization: Indigeneity, Education & Society, vol. 1, no. 1, 2012, pp. 1-40.

United States, Department of Education. The Condition of Education 2024. National Center for Education Statistics, 2024.

This sample illustrates several formatting features at once: the centered title (not bold in an actual paper - shown bold here only for visual clarity in this guide), hanging indents, three-hyphen treatment for multiple works by Gladwell, an entry beginning with a title because no author is listed, and the variety of source types (books, journal articles, a magazine article, a government document, and a website).

Formatting Checklist

Use this checklist before submitting your paper to make sure your Works Cited page follows all MLA 9 rules.

Formatting Element	Requirement	Check
Page placement	Starts on a new page after the paper body	☐
Title	"Works Cited" centered, plain text, same font as paper	☐
Margins	1-inch margins on all sides	☐
Spacing	Double-spaced throughout, no extra space between entries	☐
Hanging indent	First line flush left, subsequent lines indented 0.5 in	☐
Page numbering	Continues from paper (Last Name + page number, upper right)	☐
Alphabetical order	Entries sorted by first element (usually author last name)	☐
Title alphabetization	Initial articles (A, An, The) ignored when sorting	☐
Multiple works, same author	Three hyphens (---.) replace repeated author name	☐
Every citation accounted for	Each in-text citation has a Works Cited entry, and vice versa	☐
Core elements	Each entry includes all available core elements in order	☐
Punctuation	Periods after author and source title; commas between container elements	☐
Italicization	Titles of long works (books, journals, websites) italicized	☐
Quotation marks	Titles of short works (articles, essays, poems) in quotation marks	☐
URLs	Included where applicable; "https://" omitted unless needed	☐

Common Mistakes and How to Avoid Them

Adding extra space between entries. The entire Works Cited page should be uniformly double-spaced. A common error is adding an extra blank line between entries to visually separate them. MLA does not allow this - the hanging indent is sufficient to distinguish one entry from the next.

Numbering the entries. Do not number your Works Cited entries. They are alphabetized, not numbered. This is not a numbered reference system like IEEE or Vancouver - MLA uses author-page in-text citations that correspond to alphabetized entries.

Bolding or enlarging the title. The title "Works Cited" should be in the same font size and style as the rest of the paper. Do not bold, underline, or italicize it, and do not increase the font size.

Using "Bibliography" as the title. The correct title is "Works Cited," not "Bibliography," "References," or "Works Consulted." Each of these terms means something different. "References" is used in APA style, not MLA. "Bibliography" implies a broader list that may include works you consulted but did not cite.

Incorrect hanging indent. Some students indent the first line of each entry instead of the subsequent lines. In a hanging indent, the first line is flush with the left margin and subsequent lines are indented - the opposite of a normal paragraph indent.

Forgetting the three-hyphen rule. When listing multiple works by the same author, only the first entry uses the author's name. All subsequent entries replace the name with three hyphens and a period. Repeating the full name for each entry is technically incorrect in MLA format.