EssayClerkMLA citation generator
Build MLA 9 Works Cited entries and author-page citation examples for books, articles and websites. Private browser formatting; optional lookups go online.
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Your source details
Import BibTeX or RIS
Books, journal articles, and webpages. Maximum 200,000 characters. URLs and DOI strings alone are not imports.
Find a source by DOI or ISBN
When you choose Look up source, only this identifier is sent to EssayClerk and Crossref (DOI) or Open Library (ISBN). Your source form and bibliography stay in this browser. Entering a URL elsewhere does not fetch it.
Crossref does not cover every DOI registry. If no match is found or lookup is unavailable, use the manual form below.
Your sources (0/100)
Add a source to start your bibliography.
Works cited
Add or import sources to create your bibliography.
Keep a copy on this device
Optional. One saved citation project per browser and site address. Save replaces the previous copy; edits are never saved automatically. Restore is always your choice.
Includes added sources, style, and lookup provenance. Unadded forms, pasted imports, and citation locators are not saved.
Anyone using this browser profile can access the saved copy. Browser data may be cleared or unavailable. Device saving is not a backup or cloud sync; download your work separately.
Add sources and save or clear source-form edits before saving a project snapshot. Pasted import previews are not included.
Create MLA 9 Works Cited entries
MLA references describe the work and, when relevant, the larger publication that contains it. Use MLA 9th edition here for the supported source types, then compare your entry with the source you used.
- For a book, enter the author, title, publisher and publication year for your edition.
- For an article, keep the article title and journal title in separate fields. Volume, issue and pages describe where the work appears.
- For an online work, retain the source URL or DOI when known. Review available authorship and publication information rather than treating the link as a complete reference.
A worked book example
This is a fictional teaching example, not a verified publication.
Reference: Jones, Alex. Study Skills. Example Press, 2024.
Page-12 citation: (Jones 12)
The fictional book entry places the year with the publication details. The preview italicizes the book title. Its page-12 example uses the author and page without the APA-style year. Choose a real locator for your quotation; the tool does not inspect your essay.
Keep the work and its container distinct
When citing an article, the article is the work and the journal is its container. Putting the journal name in the article-title field can produce a reference that looks formatted but describes the wrong thing. Review both fields alongside volume, issue and pages before adding the source.
The citation example helps identify the selected work and location; it does not know whether you already named the author in your sentence. Review citations in context, match them with the Works Cited list, and apply the required italics and list layout in your editor after copying plain text.
Questions about this style
How do I make an MLA Works Cited entry for a website?
Choose Webpage and enter the available author, title, website information, date and URL. Check the entry against MLA 9 guidance and use a real page or other appropriate locator for quotations; a webpage may not have page numbers.
What is a container?
A container is the larger publication holding a work, such as a journal holding an article. Enter it separately from the article title; not every source needs the same fields.
Can I paste an existing Works Cited list?
The formatter imports structured BibTeX or RIS records. It does not repair arbitrary pasted MLA prose. The citation checker can review source metadata, but its pasted-reference mode is limited to APA.
Review the guidance
Supported sources are books, journal articles and webpages. Formatting does not verify that a publication exists or certify assignment compliance. Use the bibliography formatter for structured imports and the word counter when reviewing your draft.
Build references from details you know
Enter books, journal articles, or webpages manually, or preview supported BibTeX/RIS records before adding them. APA, MLA, Chicago author-date and Harvard sort references using the style. IEEE and Vancouver number references in source-list order; use Move up/down to arrange the order of first citation. Unknown author/date fields stay unknown. Formatting is not a check that a source exists or that all metadata is correct.
Imports preserve parsed CSL metadata, including additional roles such as editors; the form edits the common fields shown. Unsupported source types and incomplete imports are rejected without adding partial records. Possible duplicates require an explicit keep-separate decision; automatic merging and arbitrary prose repair are not implemented.
Keep your sources
The citation generator and bibliography formatter share this browser session’s sources when navigating between them. Refreshing or closing clears the current project. A device copy is saved and restored only through the controls above; later edits need another save. Export BibTeX/RIS to keep source records; a plain-text bibliography is formatted output rather than an editable source project.
Open the bibliography formatter
Check this citation project for missing details, identifiers, dates, and possible duplicates.
Formatting uses Citation.js and citeproc-js. citeproc-js © 2009–2019 Frank Bennett. Licenses and covered source. Styles/locales from Citation Style Language are licensed CC BY-SA 3.0; author notices are retained. Review APA guidance or MLA guidance for your source.