What are the common mistakes in MLA format references?

Common MLA reference mistakes involve deviations from the standardized Modern Language Association rules for formatting source citations, compromising accuracy and consistency essential for scholarly work. Such errors are preventable but frequently encountered across student and professional writing. Key pitfalls include incorrect author formatting (inverting names unnecessarily, omitting suffixes), improper title presentation (missing or incorrect italicization/quote marks for books/articles), inaccurate publication details (publisher name abbreviation, missing city, volume/issue misuse), and faulty access information for online sources (omitting URLs or DOIs, using improper format like "https://"). Punctuation errors (misplaced commas, periods, colons) and inconsistent citation formats across the works cited list are also prevalent, alongside neglecting container information for sources found within larger works and mismatches between in-text citations and the full reference entry. Avoiding these mistakes significantly enhances the credibility of academic writing by ensuring proper attribution, facilitating source verification, and adhering to scholarly conventions, thereby strengthening the work's overall integrity and reliability.