To cite a journal article in MLA style, you need two things: a works-cited entry at the end of your paper and an in-text citation wherever you quote or paraphrase the article. The works-cited entry follows a specific template of core elements, listed in a set order with precise punctuation. Here’s exactly how to build both.
The Works-Cited Entry Template
Every MLA journal citation uses the same sequence of elements. List each one in this order, using the exact punctuation shown:
- Author. Last name, First name.
- Article title. In quotation marks, with a period inside the closing quote.
- Journal title. Italicized, followed by a comma.
- Volume. Abbreviated as “vol.” followed by the number and a comma.
- Issue. Abbreviated as “no.” followed by the number and a comma.
- Date. Season or month and year, followed by a comma.
- Pages. Abbreviated as “pp.” for a range (or “p.” for a single page), followed by a period.
Put together, a complete entry for a print journal article looks like this:
Goldman, Anne. “Questions of Transport: Reading Primo Levi Reading Dante.” The Georgia Review, vol. 64, no. 1, spring 2010, pp. 69-88.
If any element doesn’t apply to your source, skip it and move to the next one. Some journals, for example, don’t use issue numbers. In that case, just leave out “no.” and continue with the date.
Citing Articles from a Database
If you accessed the article through an online database like JSTOR, EBSCOhost, or ProQuest, you add a second layer of information after the page range. This second layer (called “container 2” in MLA terminology) includes the database name and a URL, DOI, or permalink.
The entry looks like this:
Goldman, Anne. “Questions of Transport: Reading Primo Levi Reading Dante.” The Georgia Review, vol. 64, no. 1, spring 2010, pp. 69-88. JSTOR, www.jstor.org/stable/41403188.
And here’s one accessed through EBSCOhost:
Corral, Eduardo C. “Watermark.” New England Review, vol. 30, no. 4, fall 2009, pp. 24–25. EBSCOhost, search.ebscohost.com.
The database name is italicized, followed by a comma, then the URL. If you know the specific database within a platform (for instance, Academic Search Complete within EBSCOhost), you can cite either the database name or the platform name as your second container.
DOIs, Permalinks, and URLs
When an article is available online, MLA has a clear order of preference for the location you include: use a DOI first, a permalink second, or a URL third. A DOI (digital object identifier) is a permanent link assigned to a specific article, typically formatted as a string starting with “https://doi.org/.” If the article has one, use it instead of a regular URL.
You can also include the page range alongside the DOI or URL if the article is paginated. This is helpful when readers might want to know the article’s length or find a specific page. If the page range already appears in the first part of your citation (for the journal itself), don’t repeat it in the database section.
Formatting Author Names
For a single author, write the last name first, followed by a comma and the first name, ending with a period: Smith, John.
For two authors, list the first author last-name-first and the second author first-name-first, connected by “and”: Smith, John, and Jane Doe.
For three or more authors, list only the first author followed by “et al.”: Smith, John, et al.
If the article has no named author, skip the author element entirely and begin the entry with the article title in quotation marks.
In-Text Citations
MLA uses parenthetical in-text citations that pair with your works-cited entry. The basic format is the author’s last name and the page number, with no comma between them:
(Goldman 72)
If you mention the author’s name in your sentence, you only need the page number in the parentheses:
Goldman argues that the translation reshapes the original text (72).
Place the parenthetical citation at the end of the sentence, before the period. The page number always goes inside the parentheses, never in the body of your sentence.
When There’s No Page Number
Some online journal articles don’t have page numbers. In that case, include just the author’s last name in the parenthetical citation. If the article uses another numbering system, like paragraph numbers, you can use that instead, preceded by the appropriate label (par. 4, for example).
When There’s No Author
If the article has no listed author, use a shortened version of the article title in quotation marks as your in-text reference, followed by the page number if available:
(“Questions of Transport” 72)
The shortened title should match the first words of the works-cited entry so readers can find the full citation easily.
Quick Checklist
- Article titles go in quotation marks. Journal titles are italicized.
- Volume and issue are abbreviated as “vol.” and “no.” with lowercase letters.
- Page ranges use “pp.” for multiple pages, “p.” for a single page.
- Periods and commas matter. Each core element ends with a period or comma in a specific pattern. Follow the template exactly.
- Database names are italicized, followed by a comma and the URL or DOI.
- DOIs take priority over URLs when both are available.
- In-text citations use author last name and page number, with no comma between them.