The Works Cited page, exactly.

The page

Where

A new page after your last paragraph, with the same header (last name and page number).

Title

Works Cited, centered, plain text. Work Cited for a single source.

Spacing

Double-spaced throughout, with no extra lines between entries.

Indent

A half-inch hanging indent: the first line at the margin, the rest indented. See hanging indents.

Order

Alphabetical by the first word of each entry, usually the author’s last name. Skip A, An and The when sorting titles.

An example list

The CDC page starts with its title because the agency is both author and publisher. The two Walker entries are different people (Matt and Matthew), so both names are written out and the entries are ordered by first name.

Rules students miss

• The same author twice: write the name in the first entry, and three hyphens and a period in the next ones: ---. Title. Order those entries by title.
• Every source cited, every citation listed. Works Cited includes only works you cite, and every parenthetical citation must point to one entry.
• URLs without https://. DOIs as https://doi.org/ and the number.
• Titles of whole works in italics, parts of works in quotation marks, all in title case.
• No numbering, no bullets, and no splitting the list by kind of source unless your instructor asks.

The format of each entry depends on the kind of source. Look yours up on the MLA page or How to cite.

Common mistakes

1. Bold or underlined “Works Cited”. Plain text, centered.
2. Entries in the order you used them. MLA is alphabetical. Numbered order belongs to IEEE.
3. A hanging indent made with tabs. It breaks when a line wraps. Use the paragraph setting.
4. Single spacing to save room. MLA double-spaces the list.
5. Calling it a bibliography. In MLA, a list of works you cite is Works Cited. “Works Consulted” or “Bibliography” is for a list that includes works you did not cite, and only when asked.

Questions