How Do You Cite a PDF in MLA? Format & Examples to Follow
Published by at February 24th, 2025 , Revised On February 24, 2025
Citations are the most important elements of any research study, whether it is a term paper or a full-fledged dissertation. References increase the value of the content or opinions expressed by students. However, it is not possible everytime to get a perfectly relevant book or a journal article to use its excerpts in your prose.
Sometimes, you have to consult the PDFs published by unknown authors or publications. That’s why if you want to become a valuable researcher, you must seek an answer to this question: how do you cite a PDF in MLA format? You don’t need to search anywhere because this guide is designed to answer all your possible queries regarding citation styles.
How to Cite a PDF Document in MLA Format?
According to the 9th edition of the MLA Style guidelines, you should cite PDFs according to their original source, with the URL or DOI at the end. The format is more or less the same as the researchers follow to cite references from websites in their research papers and so on.
However, there are some changes that you have to consider, like writing “PDF download” at the end of the citation right after where you place the URL or DOI separated by a period. You don’t need to write “PDF download” if the PDF that you are using is an original source and there exist no multiple versions.
Last name, First name of the author. “Title of the Document.” Website name, Day Month Year of publication, URL or DOI. PDF download
To add MLA in-text citations, just write the last name of the author closed in parentheses, and if you are taking an excerpt from any specific page, then add the page number as well.
(Last name of the author)
(Last name of the author Page #)
Pro Tip: Don’t write the URL as “https://” or “http://”; instead write the PDF URL as “www” and whatever comes next to it.
Citing a PDF Book in MLA Format
The PDF (Portable Document Format) is becoming more common to share files due to easy accessibility on every kind of device. It is no surprise that you will find a book while doing research in PDF and get stunned by seeing the content relevance to the research questions that you are addressing in your dissertation.
Now, your question would be how to cite a PDF document in MLA format to use the e-book content in the literature review. Whether you need to use a few sentences or paragraphs from a book, you just need to follow the common cite a book in MLA format and must include the source website to complete the citation.
MLA Format
Last name, First name. Book Title. Publisher, Year. Website/Database Name. DOI or URL. PDF download.
Example
Chomsky, Noam. “Who Rules the World?” www.academia.edu, Jan. 2016, www.academia.edu/118037230/Who_Rules_The_World. PDF download.
In-Text Citation
(Chomsky)
Citing a PDF Journal Article in MLA Format
Journal articles are the most used references worldwide by writers in the literature review writing of their SCI papers and other research studies. The best thing about them is the availability of the volume number and name of the journal, and in case the DOI is not available, the URL can be used to trace it back.
If you have found some articles from top-ranking academic journals in the PDF format and are relating to your literature review, then make sure to use them and cite them in the MLA works cited list using the format below.
MLA Format
Last name, First name. “Article Title.” Journal Name, vol. Volume, no. Issue, Month Year, pp. Pages, DOI or URL. PDF download.
Example
Abou-Agag, Naglaa. “Ecocriticism and Shakespeare: The Gaia Hypothesis in as You Like It.” International Journal on Studies in English Language and Literature (IJSELL), vol. Volume 4, May 2016, https://doi.org/10.20431/2347-3134.0405001. PDF download.
In-Text Citation
(Abou-Agag 1-8)
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Citing a Newspaper in MLA Format
If you are a student of international relations and politics, there are evident chances that you need to use the headline or any op-ed of The Guardian, Daily Mail, Financial Times, etc in your study. Usually, newspapers are now being shared in PDF format since the surge in the use of smart devices has increased across the globe.
If you have highlighted an important excerpt and spotted some sentences to cite in your thesis, then make sure to follow the format outlined below to avoid getting the words marked as plagiarism.
MLA Format
Last name, First name. “Article Title.” Magazine/Newspaper Name, Day Month Year, pp. Pages, URL, PDF download.
Example
Malik, Nesrine. “Trump’s Plan for Gaza Leaves Arab Nations Facing an Impossible Choice.” The Guardian, 17 Feb. 2025,
In-Text Citation
(Malik)
How to Cite a PDF in MLA Format? If It’s the Only Version
If the PDF you are using to add references to your study is the only version of it available to you. Then, there’s no need to add the term “PDF download” at the end of the citation right after the URL or DOI.
You just need to follow the same format as you do in the case of books or websites to cite a PDF in MLA format. For example, Nietzsche, Friedrich. The Birth of Tragedy. 1872, www.russoeconomics.altervista.org/Nietzsche.pdf. To add in-text citations, just add the last name “Neitzsche” in parentheses, and you are good to go.
How to Cite a PDF in MLA Format? If There are More Than One Version
If you are using a PDF, of which there are numerous versions available on the internet, either exactly the same or with minor changes, then you need to put the word “PDF download” at the end of the citation, and the rest of the structure remains the same.
Adding the phrase “PDF download” is necessary to avoid getting your citation marked as plagiarised or devoid of traceable sources because these factors undermine the value of the research.
How to Cite a PDF in MLA Format? If There’s No Author Name or Date Mentioned
If you have come across a PDF document that has no author name or publication date mentioned on it. You can still use it and add citations in your study by just mentioning the source or date on which you accessed it in the citations list.
Scholars are prone to experience these kinds of documents with incomplete information because PDF is the informal way of sharing information. That’s why the one who has compiled or written the content doesn’t pay much heed to mentioning the author’s name or publication source.
You can skip the name of the author and instead add the source in place of the title while adding citations on the works cited page. If the date of publication is also not available, then you can just write the “Accessed Day Month Year” in place of it, and you are good to go and publish your study.
Example
Medicine in old age (1985). 2nd ed. London: British Medical Association. PDF download. Accessed 17 Feb. 2025.
Frequently Asked Questions
You can add DOI by adding “https://doi.org/” and then the unique numerical number of the article after that to meet the MLA style format requirements.
You can still use it as a reference and use the source name instead of the author name, and in place of the publication date, you can write the Accessed Day Month Year on the works cited page.
