PERRLA/Guides/MLA 9/AACN Essentials

How to Cite the AACN Essentials in MLA 9

An MLA 9 Works Cited entry for the AACN Essentials starts with the title in italics, because the American Association of Colleges of Nursing both wrote and published it. Then come the version (2026 ed.), the American Association of Colleges of Nursing as publisher, the date (Apr. 2026), and the PDF's URL without https://. The in-text citation is a shortened title in italics and the page number, with no comma: (Essentials 29).

The format

The Essentials: Core Competencies for Professional Nursing Education. 2026 ed., American Association of Colleges of Nursing, Apr. 2026, www.aacnnursing.org/....

PERRLA MLA Experts ยท Updated October 27, 2026
Checked against the MLA Handbook, 9th edition. Every example is formatted by PERRLA's reference engine.

First, the easy way: PERRLA

Paste the link to the Essentials PDF into PERRLA's reference search. PERRLA reads the PDF and builds a Gray Literature reference with the American Association of Colleges of Nursing as the group author, the title, the year, and the link. Then make three small changes for MLA. Type American Association of Colleges of Nursing in the publisher Name box, so PERRLA sees the same group as author and publisher and starts the entry with the title. Type 2026 ed. in Identifying Information. And add the month to Publication Year, because the document says it was updated in April 2026.

Use the link that ends in Essentials-2026.pdf. AACN gives that link in its own citation guidance, and it tells your reader exactly which edition you read.

Adding it by hand? Choose Gray Literature (Reports, Briefs, Codes), then A standalone work: report, brief, codes, etc. Add a Group Author (Organization) with the name American Association of Colleges of Nursing, and type the same name in the publisher Name box. Then fill in Title of the Work, Identifying Information, Publication Year, and the URL. PERRLA handles the title case, the italics, and the date format.

Not using PERRLA yet? Here is how to build the same works cited entry by hand.

The parts of the works cited entry

1. Start with the title

MLA has a rule for organizations: when the group that wrote a work also publishes it, skip the author and begin with the title. AACN wrote the Essentials and publishes it, so the entry starts with the title, and AACN appears once, as the publisher. No individual authors appear on the cover or title page, so don't list the task force members.

2. Title, in italics

The Essentials is a document that stands on its own, so its title goes in italics. Use title case: capitalize the first word, the first word after the colon, and every main word. End with a period.

The Essentials: Core Competencies for Professional Nursing Education.

3. Version: 2026 ed.

The cover of the current document says 2026 Edition. MLA records a version label like that after the title, abbreviated, followed by a comma.

2026 ed.,

The original 2021 document carried no edition label on its cover or title page, so a 2021 entry leaves this part out.

4. Publisher

Give the American Association of Colleges of Nursing, spelled out, followed by a comma. Save the abbreviation AACN for your own sentences. The American Association of Critical-Care Nurses also goes by AACN, which is one more reason to spell the name out in the entry.

American Association of Colleges of Nursing,

5. Date

Give the date as fully as the document does. The 2026 edition's title page says "Updated April 2026," so the date is the month and year, with the month abbreviated.

Apr. 2026,

The 2021 version's title page says it was approved by AACN's members on April 6, 2021. The 2006 DNP Essentials is dated October 2006.

6. URL

End with the URL of the PDF, without https://, followed by a period.

www.aacnnursing.org/Portals/0/PDFs/Publications/Essentials-2026.pdf.

AACN's Download button still points to a link ending in Essentials-2021.pdf, but that link now opens the 2026 edition. Give the Essentials-2026.pdf link. For a printed copy, end the entry after the date.

Examples

The 2026 edition, quoting a domain descriptor

The current Essentials, updated in April 2026. This is the version AACN posts and the one most nursing courses now expect. The citation quotes the Domain 2 descriptor, printed on page 29.

  • In-text citation(Essentials 29)
  • Narrative citationAs the American Association of Colleges of Nursing explains in The Essentials, … (29).

The 2026 edition, citing one competency

Competency 3.4, which the 2026 edition rewrote to read "Advance population health policy that emphasizes collective well-being for populations served." MLA cites the page, not the competency number, so name the competency in your sentence and give page 35 in the parentheses. The Works Cited entry stays the same.

  • In-text citation(Essentials 35)
  • Narrative citationCompetency 3.4 of AACN's Essentials asks nurses to … (35).

An earlier Essentials document: the DNP Essentials (2006)

Before 2021, AACN published a separate Essentials for each degree. DNP students writing about the history of the practice doctorate still cite The Essentials of Doctoral Education for Advanced Nursing Practice, dated October 2006. It has no edition label, so the entry goes from the title straight to the publisher.

  • In-text citation(Essentials)
  • Narrative citationAACN's The Essentials of Doctoral Education for Advanced Nursing Practice set out ….

In-text citations

The in-text citation uses the first thing in the Works Cited entry, so for the Essentials it's the title, shortened and in italics, plus the page number with no comma.

  • In parentheses: shorten the title to its first noun and the words before it, leaving out an opening The: (Essentials 29).
  • A domain or competency: name it in your sentence and give the page in parentheses: Competency 3.4 of AACN's Essentials asks nurses to … (35).
  • Title in your sentence: give the page alone at the end: As the American Association of Colleges of Nursing explains in The Essentials, … (29).
  • Two Essentials documents in one paper: both shorten to Essentials, so add words from each title until the two citations differ.

Use the page number printed on the page, not the PDF viewer's page count. In the 2026 PDF, the Domain 2 descriptor is on printed page 29, which is the viewer's page 34.

Common mistakes

  • American Association of Colleges of Nursing. The Essentials: Core Competencies for Professional Nursing Education. American Association of Colleges of Nursing, 2026,The Essentials: Core Competencies for Professional Nursing Education. 2026 ed., American Association of Colleges of Nursing, Apr. 2026,AACN wrote and published the Essentials. MLA names an organization like that once, as the publisher, and starts with the title.
  • (AACN 29)(Essentials 29)Your reader finds the entry by its first word, and the entry starts with the title.
  • American Association of Colleges of Nursing. (2026). The essentials: Core competencies for professional nursing education.The Essentials: Core Competencies for Professional Nursing Education. 2026 ed., American Association of Colleges of Nursing, Apr. 2026,That's APA. MLA starts with the title in title case, adds the version and publisher, and puts the date after them.
  • (Essentials 34)(Essentials 29)Cite the page number printed in the document. The PDF viewer counts the cover and front pages, so its numbers run ahead.
  • … American Association of Colleges of Nursing, 2021, www.aacnnursing.org/Portals/0/PDFs/Publications/Essentials-2021.pdf.… 2026 ed., American Association of Colleges of Nursing, Apr. 2026, www.aacnnursing.org/Portals/0/PDFs/Publications/Essentials-2026.pdf.The 2021 link now opens the 2026 edition. If you downloaded it after April 2026, you read the 2026 edition, so the version, the date, and the link should all say so.

Quick checklist

  • The title first, in italics and title case
  • 2026 ed. after the title for the current edition
  • American Association of Colleges of Nursing, spelled out, as publisher
  • Apr. 2026 as the date
  • The Essentials-2026.pdf link, without https://, ending with a period
  • In text: (Essentials 29), with the printed page number

Questions students ask

Is the 2021 AACN Essentials still the current version?

No. In April 2026, AACN posted a 2026 edition with targeted updates. The fourth of its eight concepts for nursing practice is now Access, Connection, and Engagement, which takes the place of Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion, and several competencies and sub-competencies were reworded. Cite 2026 unless your course tells you to use the 2021 version.

How do I cite the 2021 version in MLA?

Cite the version you read. The 2021 document has no edition label, so the entry goes from the title to the publisher and the year: The Essentials: Core Competencies for Professional Nursing Education. American Association of Colleges of Nursing, 2021. Add the link you used only if it still opens the 2021 text, since AACN's own 2021 link now opens the 2026 edition.

How do I cite a specific domain or competency?

Make one Works Cited entry for the whole Essentials. In your paper, name the domain or competency in your sentence and put the page it's printed on in parentheses: (Essentials 35).

Why does the entry start with the title instead of AACN?

MLA's rule for organizations: when the same group wrote and published a work, it's named once, as the publisher, and the entry starts with the title. That keeps AACN from appearing twice.

How do I cite the Baccalaureate or DNP Essentials?

The same way, with each document's own title and date. The Essentials of Baccalaureate Education for Professional Nursing Practice is from 2008, and The Essentials of Doctoral Education for Advanced Nursing Practice is dated October 2006. Both were replaced by the competency-based Essentials in 2021, so use them for history or comparison.

What if I'm using a print copy?

Use the same entry and end it after the date, with no URL: The Essentials: Core Competencies for Professional Nursing Education. 2026 ed., American Association of Colleges of Nursing, Apr. 2026. Check that your copy says 2026 Edition on the cover; if not, use the details printed in your copy.

Rules checked against the MLA Handbook (9th ed.), chapter 5 (an organization that is both author and publisher, titles of independent works, the version element, publishers, dates, and URLs) and chapter 6 (in-text citations, page numbers, and shortened titles), and the MLA Style Center pages "How do I cite a source that has no author?" and the answer on shortened titles. Example sources verified on October 27, 2026, against the 2026 Essentials PDF (cover, title page, and printed pages 29 and 35), the Essentials-2021.pdf link's redirect to the 2026 edition, the Internet Archive copy of the 2021 PDF (saved April 11, 2025), and the 2006 DNP Essentials PDF on aacnnursing.org.

PERRLA builds the AACN Essentials entry from its PDF link, starting with the title the MLA way.

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