Common Sources
This section will cover the three common types of sources seen in academic papers: books, journals, and websites. Additionally, each aspect of the citation is color-coded for readability.
A Note on Page Numbers: In MLA, if the first digit of the page number range is the same (ex. pp. 275-294), you can omit the second first digit (ex. pp. 275-94). Additionally, if the source is only one page the page numbers are written as such: p. 107. If the source is multiple pages, the page numbers are written as: pp. 132-158.
Book/Book Chapter
For any questions not addressed in this section, please visit the Purdue OWL’s MLA Works Cited Page: Books.
Book
Author Name: Last name, First Name.
Title: Title: Subtitle (if applicable).
Publication Information: Publisher,
Date: Year.
Kerr, Katelyn. Katelyn’s Manual of MLA. UNC Charlotte Press, 2023.
Book Chapter
Author Name: Last name, First name.
Title: “Title of Chapter/Essay.” Title of Collection/Book,
Publication Information: Publisher.
Date: (Year).
Pages: (pp. Page number–Page number).
Wheeler, Rachel. “Introduction.”Eco-Spirituality: An Introduction, Fortress Press, 2022, pp. 1-16.
Journal
For any questions not addressed in this section, please visit the Purdue OWL’s MLA Works Cited Page: Periodicals.
Author Name Last name, First name.
Title: “Title: Subtitle (if applicable).”
Journal Title: Journal Title,
Volume and Issue: vol. Volume number, no. Issue number,
Date: Year,
Pages: pp. Page number-Page number.
Link: DOI or URL.
Anand, Saurabh. “Decolonizing Tutor and Writing Center Administrative Labor: An Autoethnography of a South Asian Writing Center’s Personnel.” The Writing Center Journal, vol. 42, no. 1, 2024, pp. 107-123. https://doi.org/10.7771/2832-9414.2054.
Website
For any questions not addressed in this section, please visit Purdue OWL’s MLA Works Cited: Electronic Sources.
Author Name: Last name, First name.
Title: “Page Title.”
Website: Website Title,
Date: Date Month. Year,
Link: URL.
Accessed Date: Accessed Date Month. Year.
Garahan, Katie. “Mission and Values.” UNC Charlotte Writing Resources Center. 18 Mar. 2025, https://wrc.charlotte.edu/mission-and-values/. Accessed 18 Mar. 2025.
If the article is published by a group/organization, replace the Author Name with the name of the group/organization. If the author and the site name are the same, do not include the Website Title and instead italicize the author name.
Center for Disease Control and Prevention. “COVID 19: How To Protect Yourself and Others.” 12 July 2024. https://www.cdc.gov/covid/prevention/index.html. Accessed 18 Mar. 2025.