MLA-Formatted Works Cited Page for an Essay
Creating a Finely-Tuned Bibliography for One's Academic Paper
Jun 20, 2009
In this age of technology, there are hundreds of sources to help students put together their Works Cited pages; just a few of them can be found in the article "MLA Works Cited Pages: Resources for Writers." But sometimes these sources won't tell a student if just one small thing isn't right in his bibliography. He instead finds out when it's too late (and returned by his professor). Here is a list of some details students might want to tend to.
Bear in mind that this list only covers what is expected for MLA (Modern Language Association) citation style. Be aware that other styles (such as APA or Chicago) may be different.
Title
A writer's bibliography should be by itself at the end of the essay on a new page (or several pages if it's long). Many writers feel like the title "Works Cited" should be underlined or bold or even have a larger font or be in a different color. Unfortunately, their instincts are wrong. The words "Works Cited" should be centered at the top of the page in title case, but the words should be in the same font as the remainder of the paper; it should not be bold, highlighted, or of a different color. Viewing a sample Works Cited page helps some writers envision what their bibliography should look like.
Entries
Each source has its own entry. The first line of each source should be flush with the left margin, but the second line of the source (if there is any) should be indented half an inch. If a writer is using Microsoft Word (and some other word processing programs), this is called a "hanging indent."
The purpose of the hanging indent is to make it easy for readers to turn to a writer's Works Cited page and skim through the list to find a particular source.
Writers have a natural tendency to want to put extra spaces in between each source; this is not necessary, nor is it standard. The indentation serves as the means of differentiating between each entry; no further emphasis is necessary.
Internet Sources
Some writers, when using a web source, copy and paste the URL directly into the Works Cited document. That is fine, but use caution. The problem with pasting the web address is that some word processing programs will recognize the URL as a hyperlink and will underline it and color it accordingly. If possible, the writer will want to "undo" that feature; if that's not possible, the writer should change the formatting manually.
In a Works Cited page, the URL at the end of the citation must be surrounded on both ends by carets (these symbols can be found on most keyboards above the comma and period and are used by pressing the Shift key and then the caret key).
Another problem is that some URLs are long. Word processors will automatically keep the addresses together and so will often move the web address to a line by itself. This is incorrect. Writers need to break up long URLs so their Works Cited pages look as uniform as possible; but this practice also keeps readers from being confused. Writers can force a break in a long URL (preferably where there is a slash) by pressing the space bar on their keyboard once. It is also acceptable to instead refer readers to the website's search page.
Simplicity
Most often if a writer is in doubt, she should err on the side of simplicity and less waste. Most often that choice will be correct. Looking at the above examples, one can see how centering the title Works Cited in title case is simpler than making it large or bold. It also creates less waste: smaller print ultimately translates into fewer pages and less ink. The same holds true for not having extra lines in between citations. So remember: When in doubt, keep it simple.
