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Reference elements

Works Cited

MLA's name for the reference list — the alphabetised record of every source cited in the paper.

MLA calls the list “Works Cited”, centred at the top of a new page, with entries alphabetised by the first element of each and given a hanging indent. Functionally it is a reference list: cited sources only.

MLA also defines “Works Consulted” for sources you read but did not cite. Keep the two separate rather than quietly folding background reading into Works Cited.

MLA 9 builds each entry from a fixed sequence of nine “core elements” — author, title of source, title of container, other contributors, version, number, publisher, publication date, location — which is why MLA entries for unusual sources are more predictable than they look.

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