How do you alphabetize a works-cited-list entry that begins with a title starting with an article?

Note: This post relates to content in the eighth edition of the MLA Handbook. For up-to-date guidance, see the ninth edition of the MLA Handbook.

As the MLA Handbook notes, titles should be alphabetized in works-cited lists “letter by letter, ignoring any initial A, An, or The or the equivalent in other languages” (115). Note, though, that the article should be retained at the start of the title:

The Hunger Games

Taxi

Les triplettes de Belleville

To learn how our practice differs in an index or sortable list of titles, read our post.

Work Cited

MLA Handbook. 8th ed., Modern Language Association of America, 2016.