MLA Citation
MLA 9th Edition Guide
journal

How to Cite a Journal Article in MLA 9.

Journal articles are the backbone of academic research. MLA 9 has precise rules for citing print journals, online journals, and database articles — including how to format DOIs, volume and issue numbers, and page ranges.

Updated January 15, 2024

MLA 9 journal article citation format

Last, First. “Title of Article.” Journal Name, vol. #, no. #, Month Year, pp. #–#. DOI or URL.

Example (with DOI):

Patel, Raj. “Food Sovereignty and the Right to Eat.” Journal of Peasant Studies, vol. 36, no. 3, 2009, pp. 663–706. https://doi.org/10.1080/03066150903354086.


Required fields for a journal citation

  • Author(s) — Last, First format for first author
  • Article title — in straight double quotation marks
  • Journal name — italicised
  • Volume and issue — “vol. 12, no. 3”
  • Year — publication year
  • Pages — “pp. 120–135”
  • DOI or URL — include the DOI if one exists; otherwise the stable URL

Examples

Online journal article (DOI)

Smith, Zadie. “Some Notes on Attunement.” The New Yorker, 17 Dec. 2012, www.newyorker.com/magazine/2012/12/17/some-notes-on-attunement.

Database article (no DOI)

Johnson, Mark. “Climate Policy in the Post-Paris Era.” Environmental Science & Policy, vol. 45, 2019, pp. 11–18. JSTOR, www.jstor.org/stable/123456.

Article with multiple authors

Alvarez, Maria, and David Chen. “Neural Plasticity in Aging.” Nature Neuroscience, vol. 24, no. 8, 2021, pp. 1083–1091. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41593-021-00894-y.


In-text citation for a journal article

(Patel 672) or (Alvarez and Chen 1085)

For three or more authors: (Smith et al. 45)


DOI autocite tip

Use the DOI / ISBN tab on the generator. Paste the DOI (e.g. 10.1080/03066150903354086) and click “Look up” — the generator fetches full metadata from CrossRef and populates every field automatically.

Ready to generate your citation?

Free. No login. Accurate MLA 9 in seconds.

Generate a citation.