MLA BibBuilder: Create Works Cited Entries by Filling in a Form

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[ Argument | Titles | Thesis Statements | Blueprinting | Quoting | Citing | MLA Format ]

Choose a form, fill it out, and push the button… you will get an individual entry for a “Works Cited” page, which you may then copy and paste into your word processor. The BibBuilder will guide you through the process of filling in a form to get an MLA-style citation.

Choose Your Source

  • Article (in a periodical, or chapter; printed or electronic)
  • Book (printed or electronic)
  • Web Page (corporate web page, blog entry, YouTube video, etc.)

Limitations

  • Garbage in, garbage out. If you don’t type the correct information in the blanks, or if you use improper formatting, this utility won’t be able to correct it for you.
  • This utility requires a browser with JavaScript capability (found in any recent graphical browser).
  • When you copy text from the browser window, you may lose the formatting (such as underlining).
  • This utility generates one entry at a time. Alphabetizing and formatting the entries on the page is up to you (but this article will help: MLA Style–Using MS-Word to Format a Paper).
  • There are commercial database applications that will do the fancy stuff; this tool is primarily intended to help undergraduates (although I use it myself all the time).

[wp_ad_camp_4]Work Cited

Gibaldi, Joseph. MLA Handbook for Writers of Research Papers. 7th ed. New York: MLA, 2009.

1997 — Original version created for the Engineering Writing Centreand the University of Toronto English Library at the University of Toronto.
1998 — updated version posted at the University of Wisconsin-Eau Claire
2003 — transferred to its present location, at Seton Hill University
27 Jul 2011 — updated and reformatted

Related Links
Researching English Papers Online
Planning to use the Internet to research your paper? First, you should learn about authority, plagiarism, and documentation.Academic Journals: Using Them Properly
“Crazy Joe’s Shakespeare Website” probably won’t have the accurate information your English professor is looking for. If you want reliable articles, look in an academic journal.Format a Paper in MLA Style
This step-by-step set of directions will help you use MS-Word to format an English paper properly.

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View Comments

  • It saved me from making a F on a project.The only thing wrong with the citation is it dasent make the second line hang indention.

    • You are right. Even if I got it to display properly on screen, I couldn't guarantee that it would look right when you copy-paste it into a word processor.

  • I have used the Bibliography Builder with my students in the past. As I am checking it now before a lesson, I notice the the "book" option is not working.

  • Is the book section of your bibliography builder not functioning? The website and periodical sites seem to work fine.

    • Hrm... you are right. It seems to need some work. I'll see what I can do.

  • When I do a bibliography for a science fair project do I have to add this site under my resources if I use it to build my bibliography?

    • MLA stands for "Modern Language Association," so this page would not be helpful for answering that question.

  • How do i put in a cited block quote that is in a book but not by the author? Do i put the original person who said it or the arthor and book i got it from?

    • It's better if you find the original source and quote it directly, rather than rely on a secondhand source.

      However, if you must cite a secondhand source, you could introduce the quote by mentioning the ultimate source, but cite the source where you found it:

      Smith's classic definition of basketweaving still holds.

      Blah bah, long indented passage from Smith goes here. (Jones 123)

  • Please show me how you document a cite in MLA paper if it is a website cite (Author's name)

    • Use the corporate author -- the name of the group or organization that created the document.

  • I just want to say thank you so much! you guys have saved my papers so many times!

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