FAQ: How do I handle articles like “the” when alphabetizing titles in my MLA Works Cited list?

Alphabetize titles letter by letter, ignoring any initial articles (A, An, or The or the equivalent in other languages) (p. 219).

This is necessary when you have multiple titles by one author or when there is no author and the works cited entry begins with a title. For example, if the title is "The Civil War in American Literature," you would ignore the "The" and alphabetize it starting with "Civil."