When the author is MIA, you let the title step into the spotlight. In MLA style, you’ll use either the full title or a shortened version, depending on the flow of your sentence. It’s like a stand-in actor that carries the show without missing a beat.
For a book or a full-length work, italicize the title (or use the shortened version in italics). For a shorter piece—like a web article, a poem, or a blog post—put the title in quotation marks. Think of it as styling: italics for the main stage, quotes for the guest appearance.
Here’s a quick example: instead of writing “(Smith 23),” you’d write “(How to Bake 23)” for a book, or “(“Baking Tips”)” for a webpage with no author. Yes, it’s that straightforward.
When Your Source Has a Corporate Parent
Sometimes the “no author” situation is actually a corporate or government author. Think UNESCO, the American Heart Association, or your local city’s tourism website. In MLA, if the organization is the author, you do name them in your citation, even if no individual person is credited.
So a report from the World Health Organization gets cited as “(World Health Organization 12)”—not as a title. It’s a subtle but important distinction that keeps your citations sharp. If you’re quoting a tweet from @NatGeo, that’s different; treat the handle as the author.
