To cite a peer-reviewed journal article in MLA, list author, “Article Title,” journal, volume, issue, year, pages or article number, and a DOI or stable URL.
MLA style treats a journal article as a set of core elements placed in a steady order. Once you know the pieces, you can build clean entries for print or online sources without guesswork. This guide shows you the pieces, the order, and the small punctuation moves that make a works-cited page look polished. You also get matching in-text formats and quick patterns for common cases start to finish.
Core MLA Rules For Journal Articles
Every works-cited entry follows the core template. For peer-reviewed articles, the list below covers what you gather and how each part appears. The table that follows keeps the layout short and clear.
| Element | What To Include | Format In Entry |
|---|---|---|
| Author | Last name, first name; add middle initials; for two authors use “and”; for three or more use first author + “et al.” | Smith, Jordan, and Casey Long. / Ruiz, Marta, et al. |
| Article Title | Title as it appears in the journal; keep capitalization in title case | “Neural Markers of Bilingual Memory.” |
| Journal Title | Journal’s full name | Journal of Cognitive Studies |
| Volume & Issue | vol. number, no. number | vol. 14, no. 2 |
| Year | Four digits | 2025 |
| Location | Page range or article number/eLocator | pp. 115–138. / e12549. |
| DOI or URL | Prefer DOI with https://doi.org/ ; use a stable URL if no DOI | https://doi.org/10.1037/abc000999 |
| Second Container | Name of database or platform when the journal article is housed in a larger service | JSTOR. / EBSCOhost. |
| Access Date | Only when your instructor asks or when the source changes often | Accessed 18 Sept. 2025. |
Citing A Peer Reviewed Article In MLA: Quick Patterns
Use these short models to shape the works-cited line and the matching in-text citation. Replace each placeholder with the data from your source, keep the order, and match punctuation exactly.
Print Journal Article
Works-cited: Lastname, Firstname. “Article Title.” Journal Title, vol. #, no. #, Year, pp. xx–xx.
In-text: (Lastname xx).
Online Journal Article With A DOI
Works-cited: Lastname, Firstname, and Second Author. “Article Title.” Journal Title, vol. #, no. #, Year, pp. xx–xx, https://doi.org/xx.xxxx/xxxxx.
In-text: (Lastname and Second Author xx).
Online Journal Article Without A DOI
Works-cited: Lastname, Firstname. “Article Title.” Journal Title, vol. #, no. #, Year, pp. xx–xx, stable URL. Database Name.
In-text: (Lastname xx).
Advance Online Publication Or Early View
Works-cited: Lastname, Firstname. “Article Title.” Journal Title, published online Day Mon. Year, https://doi.org/xx.xxxx/xxxxx.
In-text: (Lastname).
What Counts As Peer Reviewed
Peer review means the journal screens submissions through subject experts before publication. You can confirm this by checking the journal’s “About” page or the submission guidelines. Library databases also label journals as “peer-reviewed” or “refereed.” When in doubt, search the journal’s site or use a database filter before you build your citation.
In-Text Citations That Match Your Entry
MLA in-text citations use the author’s last name and the page number. No comma appears between them. If the author is named in your sentence, include only the page. For two authors, give both names joined with “and.” For three or more, use the first author’s last name plus “et al.” Page spans use an en dash.
- One author: (Khan 47)
- Two authors: (Nguyen and Patel 133–134)
- Three or more: (Lopez et al. 9)
- Author named in prose: Lopez notes a sharp decline (9).
- No page numbers on the PDF: use the author only, or a section heading if that helps readers find the spot.
When two sources share a last name, add a short title: (J. Smith 22) and (L. Smith 310). If two sources by the same author appear in your paper, include a brief title in the parentheses: (Patel, “Seasonality” 58) and (Patel, “River Flow” 204).
Punctuation, Capitalization, And Italics
Article titles sit in quotation marks; journal titles take italics. Capitalize major words in titles. Abbreviate “volume” and “number” as “vol.” and “no.” Use “pp.” for page ranges and a period after each part. When a DOI is present, present it as a URL that begins with https://doi.org/ . If a stable URL appears, drop the protocol if your instructor allows; many writers keep the full link for clarity.
MLA prefers the DOI over a plain URL when both exist, since a DOI stays stable across platforms. A database name appears after the URL when the database is your second container. That second container is common for items viewed through services like JSTOR or EBSCO.
Trusted Guidance While You Work
You can confirm DOI and URL rules in the MLA Style Center post on page range and DOIs. For quick help with author-page in-text format, see Purdue OWL’s in-text basics. Both sources track the current handbook and match classroom expectations.
Edge Cases You Will See
Article Numbers Or eLocators
Many journals use article numbers in place of pages. Include the article number as the location: e.g., e12549. Skip “pp.” in that case.
No Issue Number
Some journals publish by volume only. Omit the issue line and keep the rest of the order: vol. 12, 2023, pp. 45–70.
Special Issues
When a journal marks a special issue, add the label after the journal title: Journal Title, special issue on Urban Heat, edited by Mei Chen, vol. 8, no. 3, 2022, pp. 1–19.
Translated Articles
If the article credits a translator, add “translated by Name” after the article title. The rest of the pattern stays the same.
Corporate Or Group Authors
Use the organization’s name as the author. If the name repeats as the publisher, you can shorten the second instance.
Cross-Published Articles
Occasionally an article appears in two journals at the same time. Cite the journal you used. If you discuss both, you can add a note in your text.
Sample Scenarios With Ready Entries
| Scenario | Works-Cited Entry | In-Text |
|---|---|---|
| Print, one author | Lee, Amara. “Soil Moisture Signals.” Earth Metrics, vol. 6, no. 1, 2024, pp. 33–59. | (Lee 41) |
| Online with DOI | Obeid, Rami, and Lila Gomez. “Urban Heat Trends.” Climate Notes, vol. 11, no. 2, 2023, e9921, https://doi.org/10.1000/cn.2023.9921. | (Obeid and Gomez) |
| Online, no DOI | Harper, Tiana. “Lake Level Cycles.” Water Studies, vol. 19, no. 4, 2022, pp. 211–234, https://www.jstor.org/stable/123456. JSTOR. | (Harper 228) |
| Database as container | Yu, Bin. “Coral Bleaching Maps.” Marine Records, vol. 5, no. 3, 2021, pp. 71–95. Gale Academic OneFile. | (Yu 92) |
| Three authors | Patel, Ravi, et al. “Crop Yield Models.” Agronomy Today, vol. 28, no. 2, 2020, pp. 147–169, https://doi.org/10.5678/at.2020.2147. | (Patel et al. 150) |
| Special issue | Guerra, Sofia. “Coastal Zoning Conflicts.” Policy Quarterly, special issue on Coastal Cities, vol. 9, no. 1, 2025, pp. 1–26. | (Guerra 4) |
Step-By-Step Mini Workflow
- Grab the PDF or landing page for the article. Copy the author names, article title, journal title, volume, issue, year, and the location (pages or article number).
- Look for a DOI on the first page or the landing page. If present, present it as https://doi.org/… . If there is no DOI, find a stable URL or permalink.
- If you reached the article through a library database, record the database name as a second container after the DOI or URL.
- Build the works-cited entry in the exact order shown in the table. Watch periods and commas.
- Add a matching in-text citation using the author’s last name and the page number you used in your quote or paraphrase.
- Check spacing, hanging indent, and italics in your document. MLA calls for double spacing and a hanging indent of 0.5 inch on the works-cited page.
Common Mistakes To Avoid
- Dropping the DOI prefix. Use the full https://doi.org/ link.
- Mixing title styles. Put article titles in quotes and journal names in italics.
- Using commas inside in-text citations. Stick with Lastname page.
- Leaving out the issue number for journals that number issues within a volume.
- Forgetting the database as a second container when you cite a version from a service like JSTOR or Gale.
- Copying citation text with irregular capitalization from a PDF; fix to title case for English titles.
Copy-Ready Template
Lastname, Firstname, and Second Author. “Article Title.” Journal Title, vol. #, no. #, Year, pp. xx–xx. https://doi.org/xx.xxxx/xxxxx. Database Name. Accessed Day Mon. Year.
Quick Checks Before You Submit
Scan your entry against the core table at the top. Confirm author format, quotation marks, italics, abbreviations, and link style. Verify in-text citations match the first author in each works-cited entry and that page numbers refer to the source you read. A short pass with these checks saves edits later and keeps your reader focused on your ideas.
Names And Titles That Cause Snags
Hyphenated surnames keep the hyphen and sort under the first part: Garcia-Marin files under “G.” Particles like “de,” “van,” or “von” stay with the last name at the end of the entry: de Vries appears as “de Vries, Anneke.” Suffixes like Jr. or III follow the last name after a comma: “Washington, Booker T., Jr.” If the PDF lists many authors but the landing page credits a group author, use the group name.
Titles with colons keep subtitle after the colon in title case. Non-English titles keep the journal’s capitalization style; if the title uses sentence case, reproduce that style. If the journal shows Roman numerals, copy them as printed. When an article lists a year and a season, include the season: Spring 2024. If a journal numbers issues by month, the month may appear after the year to clarify timeline.