Heart Of Darkness Mla Citation | Works Cited Done Right

You’ve got the quote and the page number. Then the citation trips you up: which year goes where, whether to name an editor, and what to do if you read it online.

This guide shows clean MLA 9 citations for Heart of Darkness in the ways students use it: a print book, a class anthology, an e-book, or a web copy. You’ll end with a Works Cited entry that matches your version, plus in-text citations that line up with it.

What You Need Before You Build The Citation

MLA Works Cited entries follow a set order of pieces. The trick is pulling details from the source you used, not the source someone else used.

• Title page data: author name, title, publisher, year
• Editor or translator if your copy lists one
• Edition or version if it’s labeled (Norton Critical Edition, e-book edition)
• Page numbers for quoted lines, if your copy has them
• Container info if the text sits inside a bigger book or a site

If you’re unsure where to find these, start with the title page, then the copyright page. For online reading, scan the top and bottom of the page for the site name and a date.

Heart Of Darkness Mla Citation Formats For Common Sources

Use the table as a map, then fill in the blanks with the facts from your copy.

Where You Read It	Works Cited Entry Pattern	In-Text Citation Pattern
Print book, single work	Conrad, Joseph. Heart of Darkness. Publisher, Year.	(Conrad Page)
Book with editor listed	Conrad, Joseph. Heart of Darkness. Edited by Editor Name, Publisher, Year.	(Conrad Page)
Translated edition	Conrad, Joseph. Heart of Darkness. Translated by Translator Name, Publisher, Year.	(Conrad Page)
Story inside an anthology	Conrad, Joseph. “Heart of Darkness.” Anthology Title, edited by Editor Name, Publisher, Year, pp. xx-xx.	(Conrad Page)
E-book file on a device	Conrad, Joseph. Heart of Darkness. E-book ed., Publisher, Year.	(Conrad) or (Conrad ch. #)
Online book on a website	Conrad, Joseph. Heart of Darkness. Website Name, Sponsor, Date, URL.	(Conrad) or (“Heart”)
Audiobook	Conrad, Joseph. Heart of Darkness. Narrated by Narrator Name, Publisher, Year.	(Conrad Time Stamp)
Class handout or LMS PDF	Conrad, Joseph. Heart of Darkness. Course packet, Instructor Name, Course Name, Term, pp. xx-xx.	(Conrad Page)

Works Cited Entry For A Standard Print Book

If you read a printed book where Heart of Darkness is the whole book, start with the basic layout. The MLA Style Center’s book page lists the core pieces for a book as author, title, publisher, and publication date. How to Cite a Book

Pattern:

• Conrad, Joseph. Heart of Darkness. Publisher, Year.

Then match your in-text citations to the author name in your Works Cited entry:

• (Conrad 42)

When Your Edition Names An Editor

If your title page lists an editor, add that person after the title. MLA uses “Edited by” for this role. You still lead with Joseph Conrad because the work itself is his.

• Conrad, Joseph. Heart of Darkness. Edited by Editor Name, Publisher, Year.

When Your Book Has A Version Label

Some editions add a label like “Norton Critical Edition” or “E-book ed.” MLA treats that as a version element that comes after the title.

• Conrad, Joseph. Heart of Darkness. Version, Publisher, Year.

How To Cite Heart Of Darkness In An Anthology Or Course Reader

In many literature classes, Heart of Darkness appears as one selection inside a larger book. That larger book is the container. Your Works Cited entry starts with the selection title in quotation marks, then names the container book in italics, then adds editor, publisher, year, and page range.

• Conrad, Joseph. “Heart of Darkness.” Anthology Title, edited by Editor Name, Publisher, Year, pp. xx-xx.

Two checks keep this one tidy:

• Use the page range for the whole selection (start page to end page).
• Use the page you quoted only in the in-text citation: (Conrad 118).

When The Anthology Lists Two Editors

If there are two editors, name both in the order shown on the title page. If there’s a corporate editor, use the organization name as written.

Heart Of Darkness Mla Citation For E-Books And Online Reading

E-books come in two buckets: a file you read in an app, and a text you read as a web page with a URL. MLA treats them differently because one has no public link and the other does.

E-Book On A Device Or App

If you opened the book in Kindle, Apple Books, Kobo, or a library app, mark it as an e-book edition.

• Conrad, Joseph. Heart of Darkness. E-book ed., Publisher, Year.

In-text citations can get messy if your e-book has no stable page numbers. If your app shows real page numbers that match a print edition, use them. If it shows only locations or chapter markers, cite the chapter in your sentence, then use (Conrad) in parentheses so the reader can match it to your Works Cited entry.

Online Text With A URL

If you read Heart of Darkness on a website, name the site and include the URL at the end. Add a publication date when one is shown. If none is shown, you can still cite the page with the other elements present.

• Conrad, Joseph. Heart of Darkness. Website Name, Sponsor, Date, URL.

In-Text Citations That Match Your Works Cited

MLA’s in-text system is built to point the reader to the right Works Cited entry with little clutter. That’s why MLA uses the author’s last name and a page number when pages exist.

Standard Quotation Or Paraphrase From A Print Copy

Put the author’s last name and the page number in parentheses near the end of the sentence:

• (Conrad 57)

If you name Conrad in your sentence, the parentheses can hold the page number alone:

• (57)

When You Cite An Intro Or Notes Written By Someone Else

Some editions include an introduction, footnotes, or scholarly notes written by an editor. When you quote that material, your in-text citation needs to match the writer of that section, not Conrad. Your Works Cited entry also changes: you cite the intro or note as a work within a container, then list the book details after it.

When Your Copy Uses Roman Numerals

Introductions and front matter often use roman numerals. Keep them as shown: (Conrad xvi).

When There Are No Page Numbers

If you can’t cite a page, use the author alone: (Conrad). If you cite multiple Conrad works in the same paper, add a shortened title: (“Heart” ch. 2) or (“Heart of Darkness”). Pick one pattern and keep it consistent.

Works Cited Entry Models You Can Copy And Edit

Swap in the publisher and year from your copy, and add editors, versions, or URLs only when your source calls for them.

• Conrad, Joseph. Heart of Darkness. Publisher, Year.
• Conrad, Joseph. Heart of Darkness. Edited by Editor Name, Publisher, Year.
• Conrad, Joseph. Heart of Darkness. E-book ed., Publisher, Year.
• Conrad, Joseph. “Heart of Darkness.” Anthology Title, edited by Editor Name, Publisher, Year, pp. xx-xx.

When a field doesn’t exist in your source, skip it. MLA does not ask you to invent missing facts.

Works Cited Page Setup So It Looks Like MLA

A correct entry can still lose points if the page setup is sloppy. Keep the Works Cited list easy to scan, with each entry starting on the left and wrapped lines indented.

• Center the heading “Works Cited” at the top of the page.
• Double-space the list and do not add extra blank lines between entries.
• Use a hanging indent: the first line flush left, the next lines indented.
• Alphabetize by the first word of each entry (often the author’s last name).
• Keep punctuation steady. If you copy a model line, copy its commas and periods too.

If you cite Heart of Darkness more than once through different versions in the same paper, treat each version as its own Works Cited entry. Then add a shortened title in the in-text citation so the reader can tell which one you mean.

For quotes that run long, MLA often asks for a block format. The citation still works the same way: the author and page number follow the quoted passage. If you’re using an e-book without pages, keep the marker you chose earlier (chapter, section, or location) and stick with it.

Common Errors That Cost Points

Most point-loss comes from a short list of repeat issues. Fix these and your Works Cited page reads clean.

• Mixing editions. Your Works Cited year must match the version you read, not a random year from a web search.
• Dropping the container. If Heart of Darkness sits inside a reader, the container title belongs in your entry.
• Wrong title styling. The book title is italicized. A selection inside an anthology uses quotation marks.
• URL clutter. Use the clean URL without tracking strings when you can.
• In-text mismatch. The name in parentheses must match the first element of the Works Cited entry.

Final Check Before You Submit

This last scan catches the stuff that slips past tired eyes.

Check	What To Match	Quick Fix
Author name	In-text name matches Works Cited first word	If Works Cited starts with Conrad, use (Conrad Page)
Title styling	Book titles in italics; parts in quotes	Italicize Heart of Darkness when it’s the book title
Publisher and year	Matches the edition you used	Use the title page and copyright page
Editor and version	Only included when your source lists them	Add “Edited by …” or “E-book ed.” after the title
Page numbers	Cited pages exist in your version	If none exist, cite chapter or use (Conrad) only
Online access	Website name and URL included for web reading	Add site title in italics, then the URL at the end
Punctuation	Periods and commas follow MLA order	Match the template punctuation

For a fast rule check on the in-text side, the MLA Style Center lays out how author-page citations work and what to do when pages are missing. In-Text Citations: An Overview

One last tip: write your Works Cited entry first, then draft your in-text citations from it. That order keeps your references consistent. It also makes revising later simple when your teacher flags one entry for you.

In your paper, use the exact phrase heart of darkness mla citation only when you’re naming the task, not when you’re quoting the novel.

If you follow the patterns above, your heart of darkness mla citation will match MLA 9 expectations and stay consistent from the first quote to the last page.