MLA Citation Generator
Build a correctly formatted MLA 9th edition Works Cited entry from the MLA core elements.
About the MLA Citation Generator
The MLA Citation Generator builds a properly ordered MLA 9th edition Works Cited entry from a simple form. Instead of memorizing where the commas, periods, and italics belong, you fill in the pieces of your source — author, title, container, publisher, date, and location — and the tool assembles them into the exact sequence MLA 9 expects. Any field you leave blank is skipped cleanly, so a web page without a named author or a book without a URL still produces a tidy, correctly punctuated citation.
This tool is for students, researchers, and writers who cite sources in MLA style and want a fast, reliable way to format each entry without second-guessing the rules. It runs entirely in your browser: nothing you type is uploaded, there's no sign-up, and once the page has loaded it keeps working even with no internet connection. Your reading list and source details stay private on your own device.
How to use
- Enter the author in "Last, First" order, for example
Smith, John. Leave it blank for sources with no listed author. - Add the title of the source — the article, web page, or chapter you're citing. It will be placed in quotation marks automatically.
- Add the title of the container, such as the website, journal, or book the source appears in. This is the element that should be italicized in your final list.
- Fill in any remaining core elements you have: other contributors, publisher, publication date, and location (a URL or page range). Add a date of access if your source is online and undated.
- Read the assembled entry in the highlighted box and use Copy citation to place it on your clipboard.
About the MLA 9 core elements
MLA 9 replaced rigid, source-type templates with a single flexible list of "core elements" assembled in a fixed order: Author, Title of source, Title of container, Other contributors, Publisher, Publication date, and Location. This tool follows that order and includes an optional access date, which MLA recommends for online sources that may change. Because the same structure covers websites, journal articles, and book chapters, you use one form for nearly every source.
Frequently asked questions
What does "container" mean in MLA?
The container is the larger work that holds your source — the website a page lives on, the journal an article appears in, or the book a chapter comes from. In MLA style the container title is italicized, which this tool marks with asterisks in the plain-text output.
Why are asterisks shown around the container title?
The output is plain text, so it can't display real italics. The asterisks show you which part MLA wants italicized. When you paste the citation into your document, italicize that text and remove the asterisks.
What if my source has no author or no date?
Just leave those boxes empty. The generator omits any blank field and adjusts the punctuation so the remaining elements still read correctly. You never get stray commas or empty brackets.
Is my data private, and does this work offline?
Yes to both. Every citation is built locally in your browser — no source details are sent to a server, stored, or tracked. After the page loads once, the generator keeps working with no internet connection at all.
Does this follow the latest MLA edition?
Yes. It assembles entries using the MLA 9th edition core-elements method, the current standard for MLA formatting used in most schools and universities.