PERRLA/Guides/MLA 9/Equipment or apparatus

How to Cite Equipment or an Apparatus in MLA 9

An MLA 9 Works Cited entry for equipment or an apparatus starts with the device's name in italics and title case, then the model number if it isn't part of the name, the company that makes it as the publisher, the year it came out, and the product page's URL, with an optional description like Apparatus. at the end. The company is both the maker and the publisher, so MLA names it once, as publisher, and the in-text citation uses the device's name: (SimMan Critical Care). MLA has no equipment rule of its own, so give an entry when the exact make and model matter to your work, not for everyday tools like a stethoscope.

The format

Name of the Equipment. Model Number, Company Name, Year, www.url.com. Apparatus.

PERRLA MLA Experts ยท Updated October 29, 2026
Checked against the MLA Handbook, 9th edition. Every example is formatted by PERRLA's reference engine.

First, the easy way: PERRLA

Choose Apparatus & Equipment, then pick a type:

  • An apparatus or piece of equipment (stand alone without software): PERRLA adds Apparatus. at the end.
  • Apparatus or equipment with software included: for equipment that runs on its own software, like a simulator run from a control program. PERRLA adds Apparatus and software.

Add the manufacturer as the Company. Then fill in Name of the Apparatus or Equipment, Model Number, Year of Release, and the URL (Web address) of the product page. Fill in Model Number only when the model isn't already part of the name, and leave Year of Release blank if the company doesn't give one.

PERRLA puts the name in italics and title case and drops the https:// from the link. There's no lookup for equipment: product pages don't carry the details an entry needs, so you add it with this form.

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

The parts of the works cited entry

1. Does it need an entry?

Give an entry when the exact make and model matter: a reader trying to repeat your study, or judge your measurements, would need to know which device you used. Research instruments, clinical monitors that took your study's measurements, and simulators used as a teaching intervention all qualify.

A blood pressure monitor that took every reading in your study: cite it. The stethoscope you used in clinical: just describe it.

Equipment you or your lab built yourselves can't be found by a reader, so describe it in your paper instead.

2. Name of the equipment

The entry starts with the device's name, in italics and title case, followed by a period. Brand names keep the capitals the company gives them, even unusual ones.

SimMan Critical Care.

IntelliSense Professional Digital Blood Pressure Monitor.

Leave out the ® and ™ marks that product pages print after the name. They aren't part of the name.

3. Model number

When the model number isn't part of the name, give it after the name, followed by a comma. When the name already includes it, don't repeat it.

HEM-907XL,

4. Company (publisher)

The company that makes and sells the equipment is both its author and its publisher. MLA names an organization like that once, as publisher, after the name and model. Leave off business words like Inc. and LLC.

Laerdal Medical,

OMRON Healthcare,

The brand on the device isn't always the company's name. ActiGraph devices are now made by Ametris, so Ametris is the publisher and ActiGraph stays in the device's name.

5. Year of release

Give the year that model came out, followed by a comma. Product pages rarely show it, so check the company's press releases. If you can't find a year, leave the date out.

2024,

The copyright year at the bottom of a product page is the year the website was updated, not the year the equipment came out. Don't use it.

6. URL

Give the product page's URL without the https://, followed by a period.

omronhealthcare.com/products/intellisense-professional-digital-blood-pressure-monitor-hem-907xl.

MLA makes the date you looked at the page (the access date) optional, so an equipment entry can end with the URL, or with the description below.

7. Description (optional)

MLA lets you add a short description at the end of an entry when the reader might not otherwise know what the source is. For equipment, Apparatus. or Apparatus and software. does that job.

Apparatus and software.

Examples

Equipment that comes with software: a patient simulator

Laerdal Medical's SimMan Critical Care, a high-fidelity patient simulator Laerdal unveiled in January 2024. A nursing education study that ran its scenarios on it would cite it. It runs on its own simulation control software, so it takes Apparatus and software. In MLA form: SimMan Critical Care. Laerdal Medical, 2024, www.laerdal.com/us/products/simulation-training/emergency-care-trauma/simman-critical-care/. Apparatus and software.

  • In-text citation(SimMan Critical Care)
  • Narrative citationThe simulation used Laerdal Medical's SimMan Critical Care, which …

Equipment with a model number and no date: a blood pressure monitor

OMRON Healthcare's IntelliSense Professional Digital Blood Pressure Monitor, model HEM-907XL, a monitor made for clinical use. The model number isn't part of the name, so it follows the name. The product page gives no release year, so the date is left out. In MLA form: IntelliSense Professional Digital Blood Pressure Monitor. HEM-907XL, OMRON Healthcare, omronhealthcare.com/products/intellisense-professional-digital-blood-pressure-monitor-hem-907xl. Apparatus.

  • In-text citation(IntelliSense Professional Digital Blood Pressure Monitor)
  • Narrative citationBlood pressure was measured with OMRON's IntelliSense Professional Digital Blood Pressure Monitor, which …

When the brand isn't the company: a research accelerometer

The ActiGraph wGT3X-BT, an accelerometer researchers use to measure physical activity and sleep. ActiGraph is now Ametris, and the product page credits Ametris, so Ametris is the publisher and ActiGraph stays in the device's name, lowercase w and all. The model is already in the name, so the Model Number box stays empty. In MLA form: ActiGraph wGT3X-BT. Ametris, academic.ametris.com/actigraph-wgt3x-bt. Apparatus.

  • In-text citation(ActiGraph wGT3X-BT)
  • Narrative citationActivity was recorded with the ActiGraph wGT3X-BT, which …

In-text citations

An MLA 9 in-text citation for equipment uses the first thing in the Works Cited entry. Since the entry starts with the device's name, the citation is the name in italics, with no page number, because equipment has no pages.

  • Parenthetical: (SimMan Critical Care)
  • No year in the entry: nothing changes, since MLA citations don't use the year: (ActiGraph wGT3X-BT)
  • Name in your sentence: when the device's name is already in your sentence, you don't need a parenthetical at all: Each scenario ran on Laerdal Medical's SimMan Critical Care.

Equipment is usually cited where you describe your methods. Naming the device in your sentence is often the smoothest way to do it, and it gives the reader the name to look up in your Works Cited list.

Common mistakes

  • Laerdal Medical. SimMan Critical Care. Laerdal Medical, 2024,SimMan Critical Care. Laerdal Medical, 2024,When a company both makes and puts out the equipment, MLA starts the entry with the equipment's name and lists the company once, as publisher.
  • Laerdal Medical. (2024). SimMan critical care [Apparatus and software].SimMan Critical Care. Laerdal Medical, 2024,That's APA. MLA uses title case, puts the year after the publisher, and has no bracketed label.
  • SimMan® Critical Care™SimMan Critical CareLeave out the ® and ™ marks. They're legal notices, not part of the name.
  • ActiGraph wGT3X-BT. wGT3X-BT, Ametris,ActiGraph wGT3X-BT. Ametris,When the model number is already in the name, don't add it again.
  • OMRON Healthcare, Inc., 2026,OMRON Healthcare,MLA leaves business words like Inc. off publishers' names, and the year at the bottom of a product page is the website's copyright, not the year the monitor came out.

Quick checklist

  • Only specialized equipment whose make and model matter
  • Start with the device's name in italics and title case, no ® or ™
  • Model number after the name, unless it's already in the name
  • The company once, as publisher, without Inc. or LLC
  • The release year, never the website's copyright year
  • The URL without https://
  • In text: the device's name in italics

Questions students ask

Do I need to cite equipment in MLA?

MLA has no rule just for equipment, so ask whether a reader repeating your work would need to know the exact device. Specialized equipment whose make and model matter, like a research accelerometer or a simulator you used as an intervention, gets an entry. Everyday tools, like a stethoscope or your laptop, don't.

Is the company the author of equipment in MLA?

The company is both the maker and the publisher, and MLA lists an organization like that only once, as publisher. So the entry starts with the equipment's name, and the in-text citation uses that name in italics.

What if I can't find the year the equipment came out?

Check the company's press releases, which often announce a new model. If you still can't find a year, leave the date out. Don't use the website's copyright year. MLA makes the date you viewed the product page optional, so the entry can go straight from the company to the URL.

The equipment came with software. Do I cite them separately?

If the software comes with the equipment under the same name, one entry covers both: end it with Apparatus and software. If you used a separate program, like ActiLife for ActiGraph data or SPSS for your analysis, give that program its own software entry.

Should I cite the equipment or its user manual?

Cite the equipment when you're saying you used it. If you quote or paraphrase the user manual, like its instructions or its accuracy specifications, cite the manual itself, like a report by an organization, with the page you drew on.

Rules checked against the MLA Handbook (9th ed.), chapter 5 (the core elements, an organization that is both author and publisher, business words in publishers' names, optional elements, and access dates) and chapter 6 (in-text citations), and the MLA Style Center's answers on company reports and source code (an organization that writes and publishes a work goes in as publisher, and the entry starts with the title), supplemental elements, and access dates. The MLA has no equipment example, so the entries apply the MLA template. Example sources are the ones verified for the APA 7 page: SimMan Critical Care against Laerdal's product page and its January 2024 launch press release, the HEM-907XL against OMRON Healthcare's product page, and the wGT3X-BT against Ametris's product page, each reopened by curl on October 29, 2026.

PERRLA builds the equipment entry from the name, model number, company, and year, with the italics and the Apparatus label in place.

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