MLA Citation Checker
Paste your MLA citation below and we will check it for common formatting errors, style issues, and missing information.
Common MLA Mistakes We Check For
- Missing periods between citation elements
- Using & instead of "and" between authors (APA vs MLA)
- Including "Retrieved from" (APA style, not MLA)
- Using "n.d." for missing dates (APA style)
- Including http:// or https:// in URLs
- Wrong date format (MM/DD/YYYY instead of Day Month Year)
- Missing period after "et al"
- Article titles not in quotation marks
What Our MLA Citation Checker Detects
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Style mixing
Catches APA elements like '&' instead of 'and,' 'Retrieved from,' and 'n.d.' that don't belong in MLA.
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Date format errors
Flags MM/DD/YYYY dates. MLA uses Day Month Year format (15 Mar. 2024).
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URL protocol
Reminds you to remove https:// from URLs. MLA style omits the protocol.
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Punctuation check
Verifies periods between elements, 'et al.' with a period, and quotation mark placement.
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Missing fields
Identifies when required elements like author, title, or date are absent.
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Title formatting
Checks that article titles use quotation marks and book titles use italics.
Common MLA Formatting Mistakes Students Make
1.Using & instead of 'and' between author names (that is APA style)
2.Writing 'Retrieved from' before URLs (APA, not MLA)
3.Using 'n.d.' for missing dates (MLA simply omits the date)
4.Including https:// in URLs
5.Forgetting the period after 'et al.'
6.Putting article titles in italics instead of quotation marks
7.Using MM/DD/YYYY date format instead of Day Month Year
8.Not using hanging indents on the Works Cited page
9.Mixing MLA 8th and 9th edition rules
10.Numbering entries on the Works Cited page (they should only be alphabetized)