In MLA Works Cited entries, publication dates are presented in day-month-year order. If the name of the month has five or more letters, abbreviate it to the first three. Sometimes you simply state the year, for example when citing a book, but if the source provides a more specific publication date you should usually include it, for example when citing a journal article, Citing pieces from theater in MLA. An MLA in-text citation contains the author's last name and a page number: In-text citation of a play. If the text of the play includes act, scene, and cue numbers, replace the page number with act, scene, and cue. numbers, separated by dots: In the list of works cited, start with the name of the poet and the title of the poem in dots. The rest of the quote depends on where the poem was published. If you are reading the poem in a book or anthology, follow the format of an MLA book chapter citation. If you accessed the poem online, follow the format of a citation from the MLA website.