MLA 8 Citation Generator

Generate accurate citations in MLA 8th edition format. Enter a URL, DOI, ISBN, or book title to automatically fetch and format citation data.

Tip: Copy and paste your source information from your document, or enter it manually following the format shown above.

MLA 8th Edition Citation Guide

MLA 8th edition (published 2016) introduced the container system for organizing citation information. It provides a flexible framework for citing any type of source.

In-Text Citations

Same format as MLA 9: parenthetical citations with author's last name and page number.

  • One author: (Smith)
  • Two authors: (Smith and Jones)
  • Three or more authors: (Smith et al.)
  • With page: (Smith 45)

The Container System

MLA 8 introduced the concept of "containers" - larger works that contain your source. For example, a journal article's container is the journal itself.

Nine Core Elements:

  1. Author
  2. Title of source
  3. Title of container
  4. Other contributors
  5. Version
  6. Number
  7. Publisher
  8. Publication date
  9. Location

MLA 8 vs MLA 9

MLA 8 and MLA 9 are very similar. MLA 9 (2021) provides updated examples and clarifications but maintains the same core container system introduced in MLA 8.