Don’t worry, you’re not alone. Every student, writer, and lost soul has faced this. It’s the citation equivalent of finding a sock with no mate—frustrating, but not the end of the world.
In MLA format, when an author is missing in action, you shift the spotlight to the title. Think of it like this: if the author is the lead singer, the title is the backup dancer who now has to carry the whole show.
It feels weird at first, like calling a cat “dog” because you lost the tag. But trust me, MLA is cool with it. They’ve seen weirder things than a floating title.
Titles to the Rescue
Here’s the trick: in your in-text citation, use the title in quotes. If it’s an article or webpage, put it like “Zombie Survival Tips.” For a book, italicize it like How to Bake Without a Recipe. It’s simple, like calling out “Hey, blue car!” instead of the driver’s name.
You can shorten a long title if it’s a mouthful. Just use the first few words that make sense. It’s like giving someone a nickname because their real name is too hard to pronounce. “Professor Difficult-Last-Name” becomes “Prof. D.”—same idea.
