Citing Sources

In MLA style, an image requires a caption with an in-text citation and an entry in Works Cited.

An image caption provides information about the image and credits the source of the image. Give each image a figure number (Fig. 1, Fig. 2, etc.).

If the image is a drawing, rendering, infographic, or other illustration, include:

• the title of the image
• what type of image it is (Drawing, Rendering, Infographic, Cartoon, Map, Diagram, Illustration, etc.)
• the name of the artist or illustrator
• the date the image was created

If the image is a photograph of a building, include:

• the name of the building
• the name of the architect
• the date the building was completed
• the location of the building
• the name of the photographer
• the date the photograph was taken

If the image is a photograph or reproduction of a work of art, include:

• the title of the artwork
• the name of the artist
• the date the artwork was created
• the name of the owner of the artwork (often a museum)

If you don’t see all of this information in the caption of the image or the text around it, look for a separate list of image credits. This list is often called List of Illustrations, Illustration Credits, Image Credits, or simply Credits. In books, it may be either at the beginning or at the end of the book.

At the end of the caption, credit the source of the image with a credit line, which is formatted as an in-text citation. Here's an example: