Easy MLA Chart for 8th Edition. Create citations using the steps down the far left column. Read across for tips and style notes.

Follow these steps / Punct-uation / Name order / More than one author / More than two authors / Other types of authors / Films / Pseudonyms and handles / Corporate authors
Step 1: Author:
Who is the author of the source? / Period. / Last name first for first author. Example: Washington, George. / If two authors use order on text. Type “and,” and put second author in normal order: Washington, George and Donald Trump. / If more than two names use “et al.” (with period)
Austen, Jane, et al. / If the author is really an editor or translator include that full word with a comma after the name. / For a film choose whether to put the director, performer, or other creator and label them. / Include pseudo-nyms or online handles just like names:
@sue. / An author may also be an org-anization, agency, or institution.
Punct-uation / Longer, independent works / Shorter or works in a collection or chapters / Capitalize / Subtitles / Untitled sources / Original
Date
Step 2: Title of source: What is the title of the source? / Period. / Typecollections or independent works like books or websitesin Italic font with NO quotation marks. / Put shorter or included works like short stories, poems, or articlesin quotation marks with NO italics: “A Worn Path.” / Capitalize the main words of titles.
Do NOT capitalize all letters. / Include subtitles after a colon.
Frankenstein: Or, The Modern Prometheus. / No title? Include a description (Review, Comment, etc.) and the first portion or the subject title. / Include original date right after a title, only if valuable, in new sentence. 1894. / Change the original cap-italizationin publication if necessaryto MLA.
Step 3:Container1 (include all below that is relevant)
Title: How was the source published? / Comma, / A container may be a book or a book collection. Capitalize it. / A container may be periodical, such as a journal, magazine, or newspaper.
A journal may be the first container; a database the second container. / Italicize titles of periodicals or books. / A container may be a Website title. Capitalize it. / A container may be a series title (e.g. comic series, or TV series) Capitalize all titles.
Other contributors / Comma, / Editor, Director, Translator, etc. / edited by, translated by, etc.
Version / Comma, / Edition, Second Edition, updated, expanded, etc. / third edition, expanded edition, etc.
Number(s) / Comma, / Volume, Issue, etc. / Write but abbreviate:
vol. 3, no. 12. / Seasons and episodes of a series. / Write out: season 3, episode 12.
Publisher / Comma, / Abbreviate “Press” with P; “University Press” UP. / City of Publisher no longer required. / You can still include the city if it is important to understanding the text. / Place city name before the publisher with a colon (:). / Omit redundant infor-mation, like a website publisher with same name as website.
Publication date: When was the source published? / Comma, / Find what date information you can. / Use MLA date format: 28 May 2018. / You can abbreviate months. Include a period for abbreviation: 25 Dec. 1919. / Give the most recent date on the copyright page of a book. / If valuable, include original dates after the title, not here. See above.
Location:
Where did you find the source? / Period. / For books or periodicals include page numbers, or a range of page numbers. Use p. or pp. for abbreviations. / For web items include the URL that is practical for finding the source. / For periodicals use the DOI or permalink if possible. / For DVD sets include the disc number. / For objects include the location like a museum or display with codes. / Newspap-ers include section and pages:
B2. / If news story skips pages use “+” sign:
A1+.
Other items can be added. Use your own judgement. / Start a new sent-ence. / Date of access. Important for web items. “Accessed 4 May 2020.” / Number of volumes of a serie:. 8 volumes. / Labeling an unusual source like a lecture, transcript, interview. / Special or additional publishing information
Step 4: Container 2: Just repeat container 1 with new info. / Use commas until last item, then a period. / Italicize titles of containers like databases or collections. Ex: Netflix, JSTOR. / Container 2 may be a database like EBSCO, or Academic Search Complete, or JSTOR. / It may be a web collection like Netflix, or Hulu. / It may be an E-book collection, or digital library. / It may be a printed collection or series that contains the item. / Include URL if related to a web source.

By Dr. Kent Chapin Ross, April 2016. Let me know of any corrections or suggestions: I am making an infographic that will make this information more fun and accessible for students. Based on MLA Handbook: Eight Edition, 2016.

EXAMPLES:

A book:

McCarthy, Cormac. The Road. Vintage, 2006.

A journal article from Academic Search Complete (EBSCO):

Hawkes, Alison. "Is That A Drone In My Park?" Bay Nature, vol. 16, no. 2, 2016, pp. 47-50. Academic Search Complete, Accessed 18 Apr. 2016.

An article from a website:

Coren, Stanley. “The Data Says ‘Don’t Hug the Dog!’: New Data Shows that Hugging Your Dog Raises Its Stress and Anxiety Levels.” PsychologyToday.com, 13 Apr. 2016,

An ebook or online book:

Kipling, Rudyard. The Jungle Book. 1894. Project Gutenberg, 4 Nov. 2012,

A film:

Iñárritu, Alejandro González, director. The Revenant. Performances by Leonardo DiCaprio and Tom Hardy, Regency Enterprises, 2016.

A Website:

Roth, Bernard. The Achievement Habit. HarperCollins, 2015,