In MLA, list the reviewer, add “Review of” + the work, then the container, date, and location; use author-page in text.
Review sources sit all over modern reading: newspapers, journals, big sites, and store pages. You might cite a film review, a book review, or a buyer note on a product page. MLA uses a simple idea: cite the review you read as the source, not the work being reviewed, then style the entry with the core elements in order.
This guide gives clear templates, live examples, and a short path from draft to polished entry. Use it when you build a Works Cited entry for a review and when you add the matching in-text citation.
Citing A Review In MLA Style: Step-By-Step
- Start with the reviewer. Use the name as it appears. If the site shows only a handle, use that handle.
- Give the title of the review. If there is no title, use a brief description such as Review of plus the work name.
- Add the container. This is the site, magazine, journal, or newspaper that published the review.
- List contributors and version info if shown. Add editors, translators, or season/episode for TV.
- Supply the date. Use day Month year if given; for journals, include volume and issue before the date.
- End with the location. Use page range for print; use a stable URL or DOI for online work. Add a period.
That order follows the MLA template and works for print reviews and online reviews alike. If a line is missing, skip it and keep the rest.
Quick Templates For Common Review Types
| Source Type | Works Cited Template | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Print newspaper review | Reviewer Last, First. “Title of Review.” Newspaper, Day Mon. Year, pp. xx–xx. | Use city if needed for clarity. |
| Online newspaper review | Reviewer Last, First. “Title of Review.” Newspaper, Day Mon. Year, URL. | Add access date only if your teacher asks. |
| Journal review | Reviewer Last, First. “Title of Review.” Journal, vol. x, no. x, Year, pp. xx–xx. DOI or URL. | Place the DOI at the end when present. |
| Magazine review | Reviewer Last, First. “Title of Review.” Magazine, Day Mon. Year, pp. xx–xx or URL. | Use the page range for print issues. |
| Film review on a website | Reviewer Last, First. “Title of Review.” Website, Day Mon. Year, URL. | If the site names a section, add it after the site name. |
| Book review in a journal | Reviewer Last, First. Review of Book Title, by Author First Last. Journal, vol. x, no. x, Year, pp. xx–xx. DOI or URL. | Use Review of when no review title exists. |
| Customer review (Amazon, Goodreads) | Reviewer or Handle. “Title if any.” Platform, Day Mon. Year, URL. | Treat the platform as the container. |
| Performance review | Reviewer Last, First. “Title of Review.” Publication, Day Mon. Year, URL or pp. xx–xx. | For live shows, give the city in the entry if the title lacks it. |
These patterns match the advice in the official MLA Style Center and the Purdue OWL review rules.
Sample Works Cited Entries
Online film review:
Scott, A. O. “A Genre Bends for a Hero.” The New York Times, 5 Mar. 2024, https://www.nytimes.com/....Print book review in a journal:
Lee, Min-Jae. Review of Night Markets, by Hana Park. Modern Fiction Review, vol. 12, no. 2, 2023, pp. 145–149. https://doi.org/xx.xxxx/xxxxx.Customer review on Amazon:
RiverReader. “Great Balance and Notes.” Amazon, 18 June 2025, https://www.amazon.com/....In-Text Citations For Reviews
Match your in-text tag to the first word in your Works Cited entry. With a named reviewer, that is the last name. Add a page number when a print page is used. For online reviews with no pages, the name alone is fine.
No Named Reviewer
Use a short form of the title inside quotation marks: (“A Genre Bends”). Place a comma in the Works Cited entry only, not in the in-text tag.
Multiple Reviews By The Same Person
Add a short title after the name: (Scott, “A Genre Bends”). This keeps the match clear.
Group Authors And Handles
Cite the site’s team name or the handle as shown: (Metacritic) or (RiverReader). If the handle mixes capitals or digits, copy it as given.
Special Cases And Edge Details
When The Review Describes A Work In Another Language
Keep the review language in your entry. Do not translate the review title. Include a translated book or film title only as part of the description after Review of, if the work is known in English.
When The Review Has No Title
Write Review of plus the work name: Review of Nomadland, by Chloé Zhao. Capitalize the first word and any proper names.
When The Review Sits Behind A Paywall
Use the stable link or DOI supplied by the site. If a stable link is not given, use the main URL for the review page.
When A Review Appears Inside A Video Or Podcast
List the reviewer or host, the segment title if any, the program name as the container, the date, and a timestamp range in the location field.
Formatting Details That Matter
Titles And Quotation Marks
Put the review title in quotation marks. Italicize the container name. Use headline-style capitalization for English titles.
Dates And Months
Use day Month year for news and sites: 5 Mar. 2024. Use just the year for journals after volume and issue. Abbreviate long months as MLA suggests.
URLs, DOIs, And Access Dates
Prefer a DOI when you have one. Use clean URLs without tracking codes. Include an access date only if your teacher asks for it.
Page Ranges
Use an en dash between numbers: 145–149. For one page, write p. 7. For many pages, write pp. 7–9.
Common Mistakes And Fixes
| Mistake | Fix | Example |
|---|---|---|
| Citing the book or film, not the review | Make the reviewer the author and add Review of or the review title | Lee, Min-Jae. Review of Night Markets… |
| Missing container | Add the site, magazine, journal, or newspaper after the title | Scott, A. O. “A Genre Bends for a Hero.” The New York Times… |
| No match between in-text tag and entry | Use the same first element in both places | (Scott 12) ↔ Scott, A. O.… |
| Plain hyphen for page range | Use an en dash | pp. 145–149 |
| Long tracking URL | Trim to the clean link or use the DOI | https://doi.org/xx.xxxx/xxxxx |
Examples You Can Copy
Magazine Film Review (Online)
Works Cited:
Murray, Tasha. “A Quiet Gamble Pays Off.” Slate, 22 July 2024, https://slate.com/....In-text: (Murray)
Newspaper Book Review (Print)
Works Cited:
Campos, Luis. “Grief, Grit, and Grace.” Chicago Tribune, 14 Feb. 2025, p. C3.In-text: (Campos C3)
Journal Review With DOI
Works Cited:
Wallace, Ann. Review of Sea Glass Stories, by Carmen Liao. Journal of Narrative Arts, vol. 8, no. 1, 2025, pp. 77–79. https://doi.org/10.1234/jna.2025.008.01.77.In-text: (Wallace 78)
Customer Review On Goodreads
Works Cited:
InkFox. “Spare And Honest.” Goodreads, 3 May 2025, https://www.goodreads.com/....In-text: (InkFox)
Performance Review (Website)
Works Cited:
Diaz, Renée. “Street Ballet Sparks Joy in Austin.” Texas Arts Review, 18 Sept. 2025, https://txartsreview.org/....In-text: (Diaz)
Quick Checklist
- Reviewer name first.
- Title of the review, or Review of + work.
- Container name in italics.
- Volume and issue for journals.
- Date in the right form.
- Location: pages, DOI, or URL.
- In-text tag matches the first element.
When your entry mirrors the MLA template, your readers can trace the exact review you used. The same pattern holds for a film review, a book review, an album review, and a customer review on a store page. Once you build a few, the rhythm sticks.
Walkthrough: Cite A Movie Review
You found a review on a news site. The page shows reviewer name, a review title, the site name, a date, and a clean URL. Start with the name: Patel, Rina. Copy the title given and enclose it in quotation marks. Add the site name in italics. Follow it with the date in day Month year order. Finish with the URL, stripped of tracking code.
Works Cited:
Patel, Rina. “Gravity Still Dazzles in IMAX Re-Release.” The Guardian, 9 Sept. 2025, https://www.theguardian.com/....In-text: (Patel)
If your copy came from print, switch the URL to a page number. Many papers label sections with a letter; include it: (Patel C1). Each part points readers to the version you used.
Walkthrough: Cite A Book Review
A journal prints a review without a title. You begin with the reviewer’s name. Since the review has no title, write Review of followed by the book title in italics and book author’s name. Then give the journal as the container, volume and issue, year, page range, and DOI.
Works Cited:
Barnes, Clarice. Review of Letters From The Port, by Alvaro Cruz. Studies in Letters, vol. 44, no. 3, 2025, pp. 301–304. https://doi.org/10.5678/sil.44.3.301.In-text: (Barnes 302)
This layout keeps the stress on the review as your source while naming the book inside the description.
Troubleshooting Odd Pages
Star Ratings With No Text
Some platforms show a star score with one short line. If the page gives a user handle and a date, you can still cite it. Treat the one line as the title, or use a brief description.
Review Hubs And Aggregators
Rotten Tomatoes and similar sites gather reviews and scores. If you cite the site’s own staff capsule, list the site as the group author. If you open a linked full review on a partner site, cite that partner page, not the hub.
Updates And Edits
News sites sometimes add an update tag. Use the date shown at the top of the review at the time you read it. If the page lists both a posted date and an updated date, either can work; stay consistent within your list.