When creating a works cited entry in mla format, what should you do if you cannot find the author’s name, publication date, or some other piece of information?

1 answer

When creating a works cited entry in MLA format and you cannot find specific information such as the author's name or publication date, you can follow these guidelines:

  1. Author: If no author is available, begin the entry with the title of the work. The title should be in italics for books, films, or other standalone works, or in quotation marks for articles, essays, or shorter pieces.

  2. Publication Date: If the publication date is not available, you can omit it from the entry. It's not necessary to include a placeholder like "n.d." for "no date."

  3. Other Information: If information such as the publisher or page numbers is missing, leave that detail out of the entry. Ensure that you still include the information that you do have.

Here is an example of how to format an entry without an author or publication date:

Example Entry: "Title of the Work." Title of the Website, Publisher (if known), URL.

For instance: "Understanding Climate Change." Climate Education, www.climateeducation.org.

Always strive to provide as much information as possible, but it’s acceptable in MLA to leave out the parts that you cannot find.