Some works, especially works contained in databases, may list citation information for the work on a cover sheet or in a footer. If that citation information contains any factual errors, then adjust your own works-cited-list entry to match the source you are consulting and to follow the MLA template of core elements.

However, make sure to check whether the citation information on the cover sheet or in the footer is factually inaccurate or whether it is information for a different version of a work. For example, in one of our other posts, we address what you should do when an online article you are looking at doesn’t have page numbers but the database the article is contained in lists the page range for the original print version of the article.

In addition, some websites or databases you consult may have citation generators built into them. However, citations created by those generators can vary in accuracy and may need to be adjusted to fit MLA style recommendations. For more guidance, see our post about using citation generators and MLA style.