Skip to Main Content

Citation Guide (MLA 9th Edition)

How to cite sources according to MLA
This page has been updated to MLA 9

Number (Works Cited)

Number is the sixth core element.

Number is used to document multiple volume works which are numbered.

This element may not be necessary for every Works Cited entry. For example, journals are typically numbered by volume and issue.

  • This element begins with a capital letter only if the proceeding element ended with a period.
  • If the proceeding element ended with a comma, the first letter of this element will be lower case.
  • Abbreviate the word volume as "vol." and the word number as "no.".
  • Separate the two parts with a comma and a space in this format: vol. 10, no. 2,
  • This element ends with a comma.

Examples

For ease of identification, number information is in bold and red text below.

Book in multiple volumes:

Damrosch, David, et al, editors. The Longman Anthology of World Literature. 2nd ed., vol. A, Pearson Education, 2009.

Journal, magazine, or newspaper article:

Dickman, Kylie. "Apocalypse in the Garden State." Rolling Stone, no. 1260, 5 May 2016, pp. 36-9.

Dukes, Charlene. "Recognizing our Camelot Moment." Community College Journal, vol. 86, no. 5, Apr./May 2016, p. 1.

Houtman, Eveline. “Mind-Blowing: Fostering Self-Regulated Learning in Information Literacy Instruction.” Communications in Information Literacy, vol. 9, no. 1, 2015, pp. 6-18. pdxscholar.library.pdx.edu/comminfolit/vol9/iss1/6/.

Comic book issue:

Byrne, John and Jim Lee. "The Resurrection and the Flesh." X-Men, vol. 2, no. 4, Marvel Comics, Jan. 1992.

Television series episode:

"Something Nice Back Home." Lost, directed by Stephen Williams, performance by Matthew Fox, season 4, episode 10, Bad Robot, 2008.

Otis College of Art and Design | 9045 Lincoln Blvd. Los Angeles, CA 90045 | MyOtis

Millard Sheets Library | MyOtis | 310-665-6930 | Ask a Librarian