components of an mla essay

MLA Citation Guide

• Paper Formatting
• Figures and Images

MLA Citation Components

Title of source, title of container, contributor, publication date, supplemental information.

• Book Examples
• Article Examples
• Media Examples
• Internet Resources Examples
• Other Examples
• In-Text Citations

This page covers each of the core elements in depth, providing examples and guidelines to help you format your citations.

• Author Element
• General Author
• Multiple Authors
• Group Authors
• Screen Name
• Repeat Authors

The first component in every MLA citation is the author . Sometimes an author can be a corporation or group. End the author component with a period. The MLA Handbook has detailed guidance on identifying and formatting the author component in section 5.3 (starting on page 107).

See MLA Handbook , pages 107-121.

List the full last name, a comma, and then full first and middle name/initial of an author.

• William Shakespeare:  Shakespeare, William
• Louisa May Alcott:  Alcott, Louisa May
• Leonardo da Vinci:  da Vinci, Leonardo
• George W. Ogden:  Ogden, George W.
• Jean-Luc Lebrun:  Lebrun, Jean-Luc

Do not use courtesy or academic titles in your citations. Do include suffixes such as Jr., Sr., III, etc. For people referred to by a religious or noble title, without last names, start with the first name.

• Sir Arthur Conan Doyle:  Doyle, Arthur Conan
• Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.:  King, Martin Luther, Jr.
• Ronald C. White, Sr.:  White, Ronald C., Sr.
• King Henry VIII: Henry VIII
• Saint Francis of Assisi: Francis of Assisi
• Lady Gaga : Lady Gaga

List up to two authors in a citation. The second author is listed in normal format. For works with three or more authors, list the first author and then et al.

Sloan, Nate, and Charlie Harding . Switched on Pop: How Popular Music Works, and Why It Matters . Oxford UP, 2020.

(Sloan and Harding 31)

Ducheneaut, Nicolas, et al. "Building an MMO with Mass Appeal: A Look at Gameplay in World of Warcraft ." Games and Culture , vol. 1, no. 4, 2006, pp. 281-317. https://doi.org/10.1177/1555412006292613.

(Ducheneaut et al. 290)

See MLA Handbook , pages 111-113.

Some resources may be attributed to a group or organization, instead of a specific person or persons. In this case, give the name of the group or organization, capitalized as needed. Remove initial articles (a, an, the).

Bureau of Justice Assistance. The Utah Model: A Path Forward for Investigating and Building Resilience to Cyber Crime . Law Enforcement Cyber Center, 2017, www.iacpcybercenter.org/wp-content/uploads/2015/04/The-Utah-Model-A-Path-Forward-for-Investigating-and-Building-Resilience-to-Cybercrime.pdf.

(Bureau of Justice Assistance)

If the resource is published by the same organization that is the author, do not include an author, and begin your citation with the title.

MLA Handbook. 9th ed., The Modern Language Association of America, 2021.

(MLA Handbook 25)

"Ways to Pay." Santa Fe College, www.sfcollege.edu/fa/ways-to-pay/index. Accessed 19 June 2021.

("Ways to Pay")

See MLA Handbook pages 119-120.

If a book is compiled by an editor (usually specified on the cover or title page), list the names as usual, but add the word editor or editors after the name(s).

Forrester, David Anthony , editor . Nursing's Greatest Leaders: A History of Activism . Springer, 2016.

(Forrester 102)

See MLA Handbook, page 111.

If there is no listed author or editor, start your citation with the title and continue the citation as normal. Remember that authors can be a company, organization, or group author, and that should be used as the author if provided and if they are not the same as the publisher.

Title OR "Title ." ...

Go Ask Alice. 1971. Simon Pulse, 2006.

*In this example, the original publication date (1971) is included.

For in-text citations, use the title of the item, followed by the date. If the title is long, you may abbreviate it to the first few words. Book titles are italicized; articles and webpages are enclosed in quotations.

( Go Ask 5).

("Many Parents")

See MLA Handbook , pages 108 and 119.

If you are only able to identify a screen name as an author, use that as the author's name. List names in regular order.

Life Where I'm From . "What a Japanese Apartment is Like." YouTube , 12 Feb. 2016, www.youtube.com/watch?v=P_-QJO802Yc.

(Life Where I'm From, 00:00:20)

If you have both a name and a screen name, and they are different from each other, you may include the screen name in square brackets after the name.

Pope Francis [ @Pontifex ]. "Everyone's existence is tied to that of others: life is not time merely passing by, life is about interactions." Twitter , 15 June 2017, twitter.com/Pontifex/status/875314447497252866.

(Pope Francis)

See MLA Handbook , page 118.

For multiple entries in your Works Cited list by the same author, use three em dashes or three hyphens to replace the author in subsequent citations. Order your citations alphabetically by title. If there are works with co-authors, those are listed separately.

Hawking, Stephen. Black Holes and Baby Universes and Other Essays . Bantam Books, 1993.

---. My Brief History . Bantam Books, 2013.

---. The Universe in a Nutshell . Bantam Books, 2001.

Hawking, Stephen, and Leonard Mlodinow. The Grand Design . Bantam Books, 2010.

To differentiate these works in in-text citations, add a title (or the first few words of a title) to your citation.

(Hawking, Black Holes 114)

See MLA Handbook , pages 221 and 235-236.

• Title of Source Element
• Punctuation in Titles
• Untitled Sources

The next component is the title of the source you are using. Depending on what you are citing, your title will be formatted differently. Capitalize all important words in the title. End the title with a period. The MLA Handbook has detailed guidance on identifying and formatting the title component in section 5.23 (starting on page 121).

See MLA Handbook , pages 121-134.

You should italicize the titles of stand-alone works:

If you are citing something that is part of a bigger work, you should place the title in "quotation marks":

• chapters in books
• essays, poems, or stories in an anthology
• entries in a reference book
• articles in a journal, magazine, or newspaper
• videos uploaded to YouTube
• episodes of television or podcasts

See MLA Handbook , pages 66-69.

If a title ends in a question mark or exclamation point, you do not need to add a period to the end of the title element.

Dupret, Baudoin. What Is Sharia? Translated by David Bond, C. Hurst, 2018.

See  MLA Handbook , page 130.

If your source does not have an official title, provide a general description to use as the title, and do not format with italics or quotation marks. Only capitalize the first word. Examples:

• Stained glass window

Beatles. Concert. 15 Aug. 1965, Shea Stadium, New York.

See MLA Handbook , page 132.

• Title of Container Element
• Examples of Containers

When items are contained within something larger, that container can be added on to a base citation. There may be more than one container.

For instance, a short story (source) can be in a book (container 1) that is accessed through a library database (container 2). Or an episode (source) of a television series (container 1) can be streamed through a video service (container 2).

Typically you should italicize the names of containers, and end with a comma.

See MLA Handbook , pages 134-140.

• a book is the container for a cited chapter, entry, poem, story, etc.
• a journal/magazine/newspaper is the container for an article
• a website is the container for a webpage
• a database is a container for items accessed through them
• a television series is a container for an episode

In the following citation examples, the containers are bolded:

Hecht, Johanna. "Colonial Kero Cups." Heilbrunn Timeline of Art History, The Metropolitan Museum of Art, Oct. 2003, http://www.metmuseum.org/toah/hd/kero/hd_kero.htm.

Sharpe, Thomasina H. "Later Life Sexuality." Sex and Sexuality, edited by Richard D. McAnulty and M. Michele Burnette, vol. 1, Praeger, 2006, pp. 133-151.

Shook, Anthony, et al. "Musical Experience Influences Statistical Learning of a Novel Language." The American Journal of Psychology, vol. 126, no. 1, 2013, pp. 95-104. JSTOR, https://doi.org/10.5406/amerjpsyc.126.1.0095.

Tizon, Alex. "My Family's Slave." The Atlantic, June 2007, www.theatlantic.com/magazine/archive/2017/06/lolas-story/524490/.

• Contributor Element
• Examples of Contributors

You may wish to include other contributors in your citation that are involved in a work while not being the primary creator/author. Examples include editors, translators, illustrators, and directors.

Just like with authors, if there are three or more editors, translators, etc., list the first contributor and then include the abbreviation et al. Typically, you will end the Contributors element with a comma.

See MLA Handbook , pages 145-148.

Here are some common examples of contributors:

• translated by
• illustrated by
• introduction by
• directed by
• performance by
• uploaded by

In the following citation examples, the contributors are bolded:

Boyhood . Directed by Richard Linklater, performance by Patricia Arquette, IFC Productions / Detour Filmproduction, 2015.

Homer. The Odyssey . Translated by Herbert Jordan, U of Oklahoma P, 2014.

Redd, Nancy. Bedtime Bonnet . Illustrated by Nneka Myers , Random House, 2020.

Spiotta, Dana. "Jelly and Jack." The Best American Nonrequired Reading 2016 , edited by Rachel Kushner, Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, 2016, pp. 39-56.

• Version Element
• Examples of Versions

Include the version or edition you are using to help your reader identify the source you are using.

The most common version is the edition of a book, but you may also provide the version of a holy text such as the Bible, information about an eBook version, or a specific version of a film, such as a director's cut.

Typically you will end the version component with a comma.

See MLA Handbook , pages 154-158.

In the following citation examples, the version is bolded:

Gendrich, Cynthia M., and Stephen Archer. Theatre: Its Art and Craft . 7th ed., Rowman & Littlefield, 2017.

Gladwell, Malcom. Outliers: The Story of Success . Kindle ed., Little, Brown and Company, 2008.

Holy Bible . New Living Translation, Tyndale House, 2016.

Stone, Oliver, director. JFK . 1991. Director's cut, Le Studio Canal+ / Regency Enterprises, 2003.

• Number Element
• Examples of Numbers

Some sources are numbered, and providing the number will help your reader track down the source you are using.

The most common numbering element is the volume and issue of a journal, but you may also provide a volume number for books or a season/episode number for television episodes or podcasts.

Typically, you will end the number component with a comma.

See MLA Handbook , pages 39-40.

In the following citation examples, the number component is bolded:

McNeill, Ann, et al. "Tobacco Packaging Design for Reducing Tobacco Use." Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews, no. 4, 2017, pp. 1-346. Cochrane Library, https://doi.org/10.1002/14651858.CD011244.pub2.

Orme, Nicholas. "Christianity, Cornwall." The Celts: History, Life, and Culture , edited by John T. Koch and Antone Minard, vol. 1, ABC-CLIO, 2012, pp. 192-193.

"Person to Person." Mad Men , created by Matthew Weiner, performance by Jon Hamm, season 7, episode 14, Weiner Bros., 2015.

Shook, Anthony, et al. "Musical Experience Influences Statistical Learning of a Novel Language." The American Journal of Psychology , vol. 126, no. 1, 2013, pp. 95-104. JSTOR , https://doi.org/10.5406/amerjpsyc.126.1.0095.

"Tunnel Vision." Hidden Brain , hosted by Shankar Vedantam, episode 65, NPR, 20 Mar. 2017, www.npr.org/templates/transcript/transcript.php?storyId=520136937.

• Publisher Element
• Abbreviations
• Multiple Publishers
• Government Agencies
• No Publisher

Most citations include a publisher . This is the organization that produced the source. Examples of publishers are:

• a book publishing company
• a production company for a film or television series
• the organization that produces a website
• a music label

Typically you will end the publisher component with a comma.

See MLA Handbook , pages 164-173.

Many book publisher names can be abbreviated. Leave off words such as Company , Corporation , Limited , etc. and initial articles, such as The . For academic presses, abbreviate University to U and Press to P. Spell out ampersands (&) as the word and .

• W.W. Norton & Company, Inc.: W.W. Norton
• Health Forum LLC: Health Forum
• Image Comics, Inc.: Image Comics
• University of Illinois Press: U of Illinois P
• The MIT Press: MIT Press
• Princeton University Press: Princeton UP
• Rowman & Littlefield: Rowman and Littlefield.

See MLA Handbook , page 172.

If there are two or organizations that are equally responsible for a source, include them with a forward slash ( / ) separating them. This is especially common with films.

Boyhood . Directed by Richard Linklater, IFC Productions / Detour Filmproduction, 2015.

See MLA Handbook , page 170.

For government publications, there are often many departments listed hierarchically. You can use the primary agency (i.e., the biggest) as the publisher, as opposed to listing all departments.

In this example, three agencies are listed:

The largest is the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, which is used as the joint publisher in the citation.

Global Health and Aging . U.S. Department of Health and Human Services / World Health Organization, Oct. 2011, www.nia.nih.gov/sites/default/files/2017-06/global_health_aging.pdf. NIH Publication no. 11-7737.

See MLA Handbook , page 171.

Some sources do not need a publisher. Examples include:

• magazine, journal, or newspaper articles
• a self-published work
• a webpage where the publisher is the same as the website title

See MLA Handbook , page 165.

• Publication Date Element
• Formatting Dates
• Approximate Date
• Original Date
• Date of Access

The next component is the publication date . List the date as: Day Month Year . Abbreviate all months but May, June, and July. The date is usually followed by a comma.

See MLA Handbook , page 173-187.

Here are a few examples of dates formatted properly in MLA.

• January 1, 1995: 1 Jan. 1995
• January/February 2015: Jan.-Feb. 2015
• April 14, 1976: 14 Apr. 1976
• May 13, 2016: 13 May 2016
• June 2006: June 2006
• September 27, 2016: 27 Sept. 2016

Some works, such as historical texts or artwork, may have an approximate date. Use the term Circa or spell out the approximate date.

Eberhardt, Anton. Saint George . Circa. 1760, Artstor , library.artstor.org/#/asset/AMICO_CHICAGO_1031150789. Sculpture.

Bayeux Tapestry . Eleventh century, Bayeux Museum, www.bayeuxmuseum.com/en/the-bayeux-tapestry/discover-the-bayeux-tapestry/explore-online/.

See MLA Handbook , page 186.

If you are citing a work that has been reprinted or republished, you can include the original date after the title.

Poe, Edgar Allan. "The Pit and the Pendulum." 1842. The Complete Tales & Poems of Edgar Allan Poe , introduction by Wilbur S. Scott, Castle Books, 2002, pp. 237-246.

See MLA Handbook , pages 209-210.

If an item does not have a discernible date, leave off the date element. Do not use abbreviations to indicate there is no date.

For online sources, you may elect to include a date of access. If there is no date associated with a work, a date of access becomes even more important.

"Ways to Pay." Santa Fe College, www.sfcollege.edu/fa/ways-to-pay/. Accessed 25 July 2021.

See MLA Handbook , page 211.

• Location Element
• Examples of Locations

The final component of a citation is the location . The location will differ depending on the type of source you are citing. The location is usually followed by a period.

Print sources (such as a book chapter, entry, or journal article) will include page numbers. Online sources will typically include a URL (note that the preliminary http:// is removed in MLA format). Scholarly articles often have a DOI. Items seen or experienced in person include a physical place.

See MLA Handbook , pages 187-197.

In the following citation examples, the location is bolded:

Enola Holmes . Directed by Harry Bradbeer, Netflix / Legendary Legendary Pictures / PCMA, 2020. Netflix , www.netflix.com/title/81277950 .

Hecht, Johanna. "Colonial Kero Cups." Heilbrunn Timeline of Art History , The Metropolitan Museum of Art, Oct. 2003, www.metmuseum.org/toah/hd/kero/hd_kero.htm.

Miranda, Lin-Manuel. Hamilton . Directed by Thomas Kail, 28 Jan. 2017, PrivateBank Theatre, Chicago .

Mondrian, Piet. Composition with Blue and Yellow . 1932, Philadelphia Museum of Art, Philadelphia. Oil on canvas.

If a DOI is present for a journal article, include it instead of a URL. DOI stands for Digital Object Identifier and they serve as a permanent link to electronic content.

Format DOIs as follows: https://doi.org/XXXXXXXXXXXXX . Do not omit the https:// prefix. DOIs are a string of numbers and letters that typically begin with 10. You may need to edit DOIs that appear in different formats (e.g., http://dx.doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0251557 or doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0251557) to the proper format.

Lukowski, Angela F., and Dmitry Tsukerman. "Temperament, Sleep Quality, and Insomnia Severity in University Students: Examining the Mediating and Moderating Role of Sleep Hygiene." PLoS ONE , vol. 16, no. 7, 2021. Gale Academic OneFile , https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0251557.

See MLA Handbook , page 194.

URLs should omit the http:// and https:// prefix (except in the case of DOIs). A period will end the citation after the URL.

"Dance Your Way to Better Brain Health."  Centers for Disease Control and Prevention , 4 June 2018, www.cdc.gov/features/alzheimers-and-exercise/index.html.

If a URL is three full lines or longer than the rest of the entry, you may shorten it to the host.

See  MLA Handbook , pages 195-196.

• Supplemental Information Element
• Date of Original Publication
• Original Publication Information

Sometimes you may wish to include supplemental information about a source to help your readers. Supplemental information may be inserted after the title of the source or at the end of the citation, with a period after the information. Here are a few common types of supplemental information.

See MLA Handbook , pages 208-217.

If the source you are using is part of a series, you may place that information at the end of the citation, after the location.

Cahill, Kevin E., et al. How Does Occupational Status Impact Bridge Job Prevalence? U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, July 2011, www.bls.gov/osmr/pdf/ec110050.pdf. BLS Working Paper 447.

Winter, Marcus A. "More Charter Schools Should Be Opened." Charter Schools , edited by Margaret Haerens and Lynn M. Zott, Greenhaven, 2012, pp. 169-179. Opposing Viewpoints.

See MLA Handbook , page 214.

If you are citing a source that needs to have its format clarified, you may include that information at the end of the citation.

"Tunnel Vision." Hidden Brain , hosted by Shankar Vedantam, episode 65, NPR, 20 Mar. 2017, www.npr.org/templates/transcript/transcript.php?storyId=520136937. Transcript.

See MLA Handbook , pages 211-213.

If the source you are using was originally published elsewhere, you may choose to include the original publication information.

Schroeder, Natalie. "Stephen King's Misery : Freudian Sexual Symbolism and the Battle of the Sexes." Contemporary Literary Criticism, edited by Jeffrey W. Hunter, vol. 244, Thomson Gale, 2008, pp. 50-55. Originally published in Journal of Popular Culture, vol. 30, no. 2, 1996, pp. 137-48.

• << Previous: Figures and Images
• Next: Book Examples >>
• Last Updated: May 2, 2024 4:14 PM
• URL: https://sfcollege.libguides.com/mla

Commitment to Equal Access and Equal Opportunity

Santa Fe College is committed to an environment that embraces diversity, respects the rights of all individuals, is open and accessible, and is free of harassment and discrimination. For more information, visit sfcollege.edu/eaeo or contact [email protected] .

SACSCOC Accreditation Statement

Santa Fe College is accredited by the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools Commission on Colleges (SACSCOC). For more information, visit sfcollege.edu/sacscoc .

Home / Guides / Citation Guides / MLA Format

MLA Format: Everything You Need to Know Here

Welcome to an overview of “What is MLA Format?” in relation to paper formatting. You’ll find in-depth guidelines, examples, and visual samples to help you easily format your paper. This guide does not serve as a reference for MLA citation format.

For help determining the proper structure for citing, refer to the other guides on EasyBib.com. Here is another informative site which may help with further understanding of MLA citation format.

Guidelines for Formatting a Paper in MLA

• Use white 8 ½  x 11” paper.
• Make 1 inch margins on the top, bottom, and sides.
• The first word in every paragraph should be indented one half inch.
• Indent set-off or block quotations one half inch from the left margin.
• Use any type of font that is easy to read, such as Times New Roman. Make sure that italics look different from the regular typeface.
• Use 12-point size.
• Double space the entire research paper, even the Works Cited page.
• Leave one space after periods and other punctuation marks, unless your instructor tells you to leave two spaces.

These guidelines come from the MLA Style Center’s web page “Formatting a Research Paper.”

MLA Guide Overview

There are various sections in this guide. Each section provides an in-depth overview of the different components to keep in mind when developing an MLA paper.

This guide includes the following sections:

• Format background
• General paper formatting
• MLA heading format & title page instructions
• Running head & page numbers
• Paraphrases
• Abbreviations
• Numbers (includes the use of numbers in MLA outline format)
• Images, tables, and musical scores
• MLA works cited format
• MLA citation format (for in-depth citation rules visit this MLA citation guide or MLA in-text citation guide)
• Edits & proofreading

If you need more guidance, a website like EasyBib.com usually has guides and tools to help you out. There’s also resources on other styles, like our guide on “ APA reference page ”, otherwise known as a “References” page.

MLA Format Background

The Modern Language Association (MLA) is an organization responsible for developing MLA format. It was developed as a means for researchers, students, and scholars in the literature and language fields to uniformly format their papers and assignments. This uniform, or consistent, method to developing a paper or assignment allows for easy reading. Today, MLA is not only used in literature and language subject areas; many others have adopted it as well.

The Modern Language Association released the 9th and most current edition of their MLA Handbook in April 2021. The Handbook provides thorough instructions on citing, as well as guidelines for submitting work that adheres to the Modern Language Association’s rules and standards. Although we’re not affiliated with the MLA, our citation specialists bring you this thoughtful and informative guide on the format.

Looking for information about previous editions to the Handbook ? Want to learn more about the origin of “What is MLA format?” Click here to learn about the previous editions to the Handbook .

Actually, are you looking for help on using another style? See how to cite an APA journal , learn to create an APA book citation , and more!

Formatting the Header in MLA

To create a header for your first page, follow these steps:

• Begin one inch from the top of the first page and flush with the left margin.
• Type your name, your instructor’s name, the course name and number, and the date on separate lines, using double spaces between each.
• Double space once more and center the title. Do NOT underline, bold, or type the title in all capital letters. Only italicize words that would normally be italicized in the text. Example: Character Development in The Great Gatsby
• Do not place a period after the title or after any headings
• Double space between the title and first lines of the text

General Paper Formatting

Paper choice.

While many professors, instructors, and publications allow electronic submission, some prefer printed, hard copies of papers. This section focuses on the type of paper to use for printed submission.

If you choose to print your paper, use white paper only. Do not use ivory, off-white, or any other shades or colors.

Choose a standard, high quality paper to print your project on. Do not use cardstock. It is not necessary to use resum é paper. Use typical, high quality printer or copy paper.

When it comes to size, 8 ½-by-11-inch paper is the recommended size. If you’d like to use a different size, ask your teacher prior to submission.

Use One-Inch Margins in MLA

Use one-inch margins around the entire page. The running head should be the only item seen in the one inch margin (see below for more on running heads).

Most word processing programs automatically default to using one inch margins. Check the page settings section of the program to locate the margin size.

Indenting Paragraphs in MLA

Indent the first word in every paragraph. Sentences should begin one half inch from the left margin.

It is not necessary to manually measure half an inch. Use the “tab” button on the keyboard to create a half inch space.

Double Space Paragraphs in MLA

MLA research paper format requires that the entire research paper or MLA format essay includes double-spaced lines. Double-spaced lines should be found in between the written body of the work, in the heading, and also on the MLA reference page.

While it may seem tempting to place a few extra lines between the heading, title, and beginning of the paper, lines should all be double spaced.

Font and Font Size in MLA

In an MLA paper, it is acceptable to use any font type that is easy to read. Many source types, such as books and articles, use fonts that are easy to read, so if you’re seeking an appropriate font style, look at other sources for guidance. Two of the most commonly used fonts are Arial and Times New Roman.

It is important for the reader to be able to distinguish the difference between italicized and regular font, so if you choose a font style different than Arial or Times New Roman, make sure the difference between the two type styles is evident.

The use of a 12-point font size is recommended as this is the default size for many word processing programs. It is acceptable to use another standard size, such as 11-point or 11.5-point.

Some professors or instructors will provide guidance on how to secure hard copies of projects. If your instructor does not provide you with any expectations or guidance, a simple staple in the top left corner should suffice. If a stapler is not available, some instructors allow paper or binder clips.

Do not fold the top left corner down to secure the pages together. The page could easily unfold, causing a mess of papers. While binders and plastic holders are cute, in reality, they add bulk to a professor or instructor who may like to take the papers home for grading purposes. Keep the binding simple and clean. Staples work best, and binder and paper clips are the next best option.

As always, follow any instructions your professor or teacher may provide. The guidelines found here are simply recommendations.

MLA Heading & Title Page Instructions

The web page “Formatting a Research Paper” gives two options when it comes to creating the header for your project:

• An MLA format heading can be placed at the top of the first page
• A title page can grace the front of the assignment. If you choose to create a title page, keep in mind that there aren’t any official title page or cover page guidelines in MLA format. See more information below.

If choosing option one, creating an MLA heading, you’ll need to include four main components:

• Your full name
• Your instructor’s name
• The name and number of the course or class
• The assignment’s due date

The first item typed on the paper should be your full name.

• Position your name one inch from the top and left margins of the page.
• Add a double space beneath your name, and type the name of your instructor.
• Below the professor or instructor’s name should be a double space, followed by the name of the course, class, or section number (if available).
• Below it, include another double space and add the assignment’s due date (Day Month Year).

Here’s an example:

The assignment’s title should be placed below the due date, after a double space. Align the title so it sits in the center of the MLA format paper. The title should be written in standard lettering, without underlines, bold font, italicized font, or any quotation marks. Only include italics or quotation marks if your title includes the title of another source.

Here is an example of an MLA header for an MLA format essay, paper, or assignment:

Neal E. Bibdarsh

Professor Haujeemoto

English 201

The Trials and Tribulations of Lincoln’s Reciting of “The Gettysburg Address”

*Note: The quotation marks here are around the title of a speech included in the paper’s title.

Most research papers use a standard MLA format heading, like the one seen above. If your instructor requires you to create a standalone title page, ask him or her for specifications. MLA does not have specific instructions for developing an MLA title page. We recommend you use an MLA header for your project.

If your teacher or professor requires a standalone title page, but has not provided any guidance or specifications, here are a few suggestions from EasyBib.com and this MLA guide :

• Center and double space all of the text on your page.
• Place the name of your school at the top of the page.
• Skip down to about the center of the page and type the title of your paper. Do not bold the title, italicize the entire title, place quotation marks around it, or type the title out in capital letters.
• Use italics for the titles of any sources in the title of your paper. Example: An Analysis of Mythical Creatures in Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire
• first letter of the title
• first letter of the last word
• first letter of any adjectives, adverbs, nouns, pronouns, and verbs
• If your paper has a subtitle, include on the next line below your title.
• Skip down to the bottom third of the page and add your name, the the name of your instructor, the name/number of the course or class, and the assignment’s due date on four separate lines.
• Keep the font size at 12 pt., or a size close to it, to make it look professional.
• Use the same font as the text of the paper. The Modern Language Association recommends any font that is easy to read and has a clear distinction between italics and standard font. Times New Roman and Arial are recommended, but many other fonts work as well.
• Include a page number in the top right corner of the paper. For more information on how to style page numbers, check out the next section, “Running Head and Page Numbers.”
• We do not recommend adding any images or cover art to the title page. 

Click  additional information about essays to see an example of a formatted header.

You can either create a title page using the EasyBib Title Page creator or omit the title page completely and use a header.

Running Head & Page Numbers in MLA

A running head is a brief heading that is placed in the top right corner of every page in a project. The Modern Language Association Style Center (online) states that the running head consists of:

• Last name of the paper’s author
• Page number

General tips to keep in mind:

• The running head is placed in the upper right-hand corner, half an inch from the top margin and one inch from the right margin of the page.
• Type your last name before the page number.
• The last name and page number should be separated by a single space.
• Do not place the word “page” or use an abbreviation, such as p. or pg., before the page number.
• Quite often, the running head begins on the second page, but your instructor may ask you to include the running head on the first page of the assignment. As always, if your instructor provides you with specific directions, follow his or her guidelines.

Before adding this information manually onto every single page, check to see if the word processor you’re using has the capability to automatically add this information for you. Try looking in the settings area where page numbers or headers can be added or modified.

Google Docs: Adding a header

• Go to the menu section “Insert.”
• Select “Page numbers” and select the option that places the page number in the upper-right corner.
• A page number will appear; your cursor will blink next to it.
• Move your cursor to the left of the page number.
• Type your last name. Add a space between your name and the page number.
• You should now have a properly formatted header on every page!

Microsoft Word Document: Adding a header

• Double-click in the space at the top of the page (where the page number is).
• OR Go to the “Insert” menu, select “Header,” and select “Edit Header.”
• Type your last name next to page number. If it isn’t already right-aligned, go to the “Home” menu and right-align your name.

Quotations in MLA

Quotes are added into assignments to help defend an argument, prove a point, add emphasis, or simply liven up a project.

Quotes should not take up the majority of your paper or assignment. Quotes should be sprinkled sparingly throughout, and quotes longer than 4 lines should be formatted as MLA block quotes . Use direct quotes from outside sources to enhance and expand on your own writing and ideas.

Words from quotes belong to the individual who spoke or wrote them, so it is essential to credit that individual’s work. Credit him or her by adding what is called an “in-text citation” into the body of the project.

There are three ways to add quotes: 1. With the author’s name in the sentence (a citation in prose).

Dan Gutman shares a glimpse into the overall plot by stating, “I didn’t know it at the time, but a baseball card—for me—could function like a time machine” (5).

In the above example, Dan Gutman is the author of the book that this quote is pulled from.

2. Without the author’s name in the sentence (a parenthetical citation).

The main character’s confusing experience is realized and explained when he states “I didn’t know it at the time, but a baseball card—for me—could function like a time machine” (Gutman 5).

In the above example, Dan Gutman’s name isn’t included in the sentence. It’s included in the parentheses at the end of the sentence. This is an example of a proper MLA style citation in the body of a project.

3. In a block quote, which is used when a large quote, of 4 lines or more, is added into a project.

Using footnotes and endnotes

The Modern Language Association generally promotes the use of references as described in the sections above, but footnotes and endnotes are also acceptable forms of references to use in your paper.

Footnotes and endnotes are helpful to use in a variety of circumstances. Here are a few scenarios when it may seem appropriate to use this type of referencing:

• When you are referring to a number of various sources, by various authors, in a section of your paper. In this situation, it is a good idea to use a footnote or endnote to share information for parenthetical references. This will encourage the reader to stay focused on the text of the research paper, instead of having to read through all of the reference information.
• When you are sharing additional information that doesn’t quite fit into the scope of the paper, but is beneficial for the reader. These types of footnotes and endnotes are helpful when explaining translations, adding background information, or sharing counterexamples to research.

To include a footnote or endnote, add a superscript number at the end of the sentence the footnote or endnote refers to. They can be included mid-sentence if necessary, but be sure to add it after any punctuation, such as commas or periods. Find a location that doesn’t distract the reader from the content and flow of the paper.

Within the text example:

Numerous well-known children’s books include characters from a wide range of races and ethnicities, thus promoting diversity and multiculturalism.¹

At the bottom of the page (footnote) or at the end of the section (endnote):

¹See Isadora, Parr, and Velazquez. While Parr’s work features characters of various colors, such as pink or blue, children easily correlate it with individuals of different races and ethnicities.

On the last page of the assignment, the writer includes the full references for the books by Isadora, Parr, and Velazquez.

For more on block quotes and a further, detailed explanation on the use of quotes, including MLA footnotes, refer to our MLA In-Text Citation and Parenthetical Citations Guide. In this guide you’ll find further information including directions for the use of quotes without an author, page numbers, and how to properly credit work from electronic sources.

For guides on citations in another style, check out APA parenthetical citation and APA in-text citation .

Paraphrases in MLA

Paraphrases are created when text or speech from another source are added into a project, but the writer chooses to summarize them and weave in his or her own writing and writing style.

Even though the writer modifies the information from another source, it is still necessary to credit the source using proper format ( Handbook 98). Paraphrased information uses the same MLA reference format as stated in the section directly above this one.

Here is an acceptable paraphrase:

Original text:

“Stay hungry. Stay foolish.” Steve Jobs

Paraphrase:

Steve Jobs encouraged students at Stanford to continue with their determination, drive, and ambitious behavior. They should never be simply satisfied with the status quo. They should continue to push themselves despite possible obstacles and failures.

To develop a well-written paraphrase, follow these simple, step-by-step instructions.

• Find a phrase, sentence, paragraph, or section of original text you’d like to turn into a paraphrase.
• Read the text carefully and make sure you fully comprehend its meaning. A writer can only develop a well-written paraphrase if the information has been fully grasped and understood. If you’re having difficulty understanding the information, take a few minutes to read up on tricky words and background information. If all else fails, ask a friend to see if they’re able to make sense of the concepts.
• After analyzing and completely understanding the original text, put it to the side. Take a moment to think about what you’ve read and connect the idea to your own assignment.
• Now that the information is completely understood, take a moment to rewrite what you’ve read, in your own words and writing style. Do not simply substitute words in the original text with synonyms. That’s plagiarism! Show off and demonstrate your ability to process the original information, connect it to the content in your paper, and write it in your own individual and unique writing style.
• Include an in-text reference next to the paraphrase. All paraphrases include references, similar to direct quotes. See the “Quotations” section of this guide to learn how to properly attribute your paraphrased information.
• Give yourself a pat on the back! Paraphrasing is an important part of the research and writing process.

Wondering if it’s better to quote or paraphrase?

An essential part of the research process involves adding direct quotes and paraphrases into projects. Direct quotes provide word-for-word evidence and allow writers to use another author’s eloquent words and language in their own projects. When it comes to paraphrases, writers are able to take a block of text and shrink the scope of it into the their papers. Paper writers can also use paraphrases to demonstrate their ability to analyze and reiterate information in a meaningful and relevant way.

If you’re wondering which one is better to consistently use, quotes or paraphrases, there’s a clear winner. Paraphrases come out on top. Sure, direct quotes are incredibly beneficial, but copying and pasting too many of these into a project can cause a reader to lose sight of the writer’s own voice. Mixing your own voice with another author’s too much can make for choppy and disjointed reading.

The ultimate goal of a research project is to have your voice and research merged together as one. Paraphrases allow just that. When you combine information from outside sources with your own writing style, it demonstrates your ability as a researcher to showcase your understanding and analyzation of a topic.

Remember, whether you’re adding direct quotes or paraphrases into a project, both types of additions need references. References are placed after the quotes and paraphrases, and also at the end of an assignment.

If you’re looking for additional help with your punctuation or grammar, check out the EasyBib plagiarism checker !

Using Abbreviations in MLA

Abbreviations are commonly used in many source types including websites, blog posts, books, and journal articles. It is acceptable to use abbreviations in all of these sources.

When it comes to school and research assignments, however, the MLA   Handbook states that abbreviations should be used rarely in the prose of your paper (293). Spelling out abbreviations into their full words and meanings is recommended. This ensures understanding and avoids any confusion from your reader.

There are times when you may feel it is perfectly acceptable to use an abbreviation rather than its typed out counterpart in a paper. If you do abbreviate, be sure you are using commonly accepted abbreviations, which you can find in the dictionary. You can also review Appendix 1 in the  MLA Handbook .

General Abbreviation Tips

• Human Immunodeficiency Virus can be abbreviated to HIV, not H.I.V.
• United States should be US, not U.S.
• Digital video disc should be DVD, not D.V.D.
• For lower case abbreviations, it is acceptable to include periods between the letters.
• The abbreviation, “For example” = e.g.
• If there is a mix of lower case and upper case letters, do not use periods if the majority of the letters are upper case. Examples include PhD and EdD

Abbreviating Months

Type out entire month names when being used in the body of a research paper or assignment.

She rented out the beach house from May through September

When it comes to references, MLA bibliography format requires months longer than four letters to be abbreviated.

• July = July
• November = Nov.

Other abbreviations that are perfectly acceptable to use in a bibliography (not the body of a project) include:

• p. or pp. for page and page numbers
• ch. for chapter
• ed. for edition
• trans. for translation or translated
• vol. for volume
• no. for number
• rev. for revised

Again, these abbreviations should only be used in the final page(s) of a project, the MLA Works Cited list. They should not be used in the body of a project.

For more information on bibliographies, see our MLA format Works Cited List page.

Abbreviating Publishers

One of the quirkiest things about this particular style is how publisher names are structured on the final page of references. Certain words are abbreviated, some words are omitted, and other words are written in full.

Words describing what type of business the publisher is are omitted from the works cited. Here’s a breakdown of the words that should be excluded:

• Co. (Company)
• Corp. (Corporation)
• Inc. (Incorporated)
• Ltd. (Limited)
• The (when at the beginning of the name)

If a publisher’s name contains the words “University” and “Press” (or the equivalent in another language), the words should be abbreviated to the letters “U” and “P” in your citation. But if only one of the words appears, it should be written out normally.

Here are a few examples:

• University of Delaware
• U College of London P

All other words related to the names of publishers should be written out in full.

Abbreviating Titles

Certain classical and biblical works are abbreviated in a bibliography, but also in any parenthetical references in the text.

The official handbook provides a lengthy list, spanning over multiple pages, of the preferred abbreviations to use for classical and biblical works ( Handbook 295-301), but here’s a quick snapshot of some of the commonly used ones:

Hebrew Bible or Old Testament = OT

• Deut. = Deuteronomy
• Gen. = Genesis
• Lev. = Leviticus
• Num. = Numbers
• Ps. = Psalms

New Testament = NT

• 1 Cor. = 1 Corinthians
• Jas. = James
• Matt. = Matthew

Shakespeare:

• Ado = Much Ado about Nothing
• 3H6 = Henry VI, Part 3
• JC = Julius Caesar
• Mac. = Macbeth
• MND = A Midsummer Night’s Dream
• Oth. = Othello
• Rom. = Romeo and Juliet

Again, the titles above are allowed to be abbreviated both in references in parentheses in the body of a project and also on the final page of references. If you’re wondering why, it’s because they’re cited often and it’s unnecessary to type out the entire title names.

Formatting Numbers in MLA

Use of numerals.

If the project calls for frequent use of numbers (such as a scientific study or statistics), use numerals that precede measurements.

• 247 milligrams

Other items to keep in mind:

In divisions, use numbers, ex: In page 5 of the study

Arabic Numbers

When including a number in a paper, spell out the number if it can be written as one word (such as six ) or two words (such as sixty-two ). For fractions, decimals, or longer numbers, type them out using digits. For larger numbers, write the number itself ( Handbook 82-84).

• twenty-seven
• one hundred

If the number comes before a unit of measurement or label, type the number using digits.

• 8 tablespoons
• 3 July 2018
• 25 King Street

More on Numbers

Starting a sentence with a number is generally frowned upon. Try modifying the sentence so that the number, or number word, is found elsewhere.

Instead of:

225 children were found in the warehouse, some malnourished and diseased.

Use this sentence:

A total of 225 children were found in the warehouse, some malnourished and diseased.

If modifying the sentence is not possible or does not work well with the flow of the assignment or paper, type out the written number:

Two hundred twenty five children were found in the warehouse, some malnourished and diseased.

Do not include any ISBN numbers in your paper.

Outline Format

The Modern Language Association does not have any requirements regarding the structure of an outline. If your teacher asks you to create an MLA outline, we recommend using roman numerals, capital and lowercase letters, and numbers.

Here is an example of a recommended outline structure:

In addition to outlines, use roman numerals for suffixes.

• King George IV

Using Images, Tables, & Musical Scores in MLA

Photographs, data sets, tables, graphs, and other images are often added into projects or papers to promote or aid understanding. They provide meaningful visuals for the reader. If the illustration or visual image does not enhance the quality of the paper, do not include it in the project.

Tables and illustrations should be placed as close as possible to the text that they most closely refer to.

For an image to be significant and easily identifiable, place it as close as possible to the text in the project where it is discussed.

It is not acceptable to simply place an image in a project without including identifiable information. All images must include information about its origin.

Here are the directions to properly attribute an image:

• Assign an Arabic number. The image closest to the beginning of the project should be labeled as Fig. 1. The next image in the project should be Fig. 2. and so on.
• Provide a caption. The caption should be a brief explanation or the title of the contents of the image. Place the caption directly next to the label.
• Immediately following the caption, it is acceptable to include attribution information. If the image is not discussed further in the rest of the paper or project, it is acceptable to include the MLA bibliography format citation below the image and omit it from the bibliography or MLA format works cited page.

In the text of the project or paper where the figure is discussed, include the label in parentheses to ensure the reader knows where to find the figure in your paper.

In the text:

Sarah’s tattoo design was filled with two of her favorite flowers: lilies and daffodils along a thinly curved vine (fig. 1).

Image formatting:

(Image Would Be Here) Fig. 1. Sarah’s Tattoo. barneyWILLIAMSable, Deviant Art , 2011, barneywilliamsable.deviantart.com/art/Sarah-s-Tattoo-design-193048938.

Fig. 1. White Studio. “Houdini and Jennie, the Elephant, Performing at the Hippodrome, New York.” Library of Congress , www.loc.gov/item/96518833/.

When adding a table or data set into a project, it is formatted a little differently. Above the data set, include the label “Table” with an Arabic numeral, and title it. The table number and title should be located flush left and on separate lines. The first table seen in the project is labeled as Table 1. The second table in the project is Table 2, and so on. The table’s title should be written in title case form (the first letter of each word is capitalized, except for small, insignificant words).

Underneath the table, provide the source and any notes. Notes should be labeled with a letter, rather than a numeral, so the reader is able to differentiate between the notes of the text and the notes of the table.

International Scholars from India Enrolled at Yale University a

Source: “International Scholars Academic Year 2015-2016.” Yale University , Office of International Students and Scholars, yale.app.box.com/v/scholar-2015-2016. a. The numbers reflect students who are enrolled full-time.

The information included above and below any images or table should be double spaced, similar to the rest of the project or paper.

Musical Scores

Musical scores need to be labeled as well. When including a musical score in a project, label musical scores with “Ex.” which is short for example. This label should be placed below the musical score. Next to the abbreviation “Ex.”, assign the score an Arabic numeral. The first musical score in the project should be labeled as Ex. 1. The second musical score found in an assignment should be labeled as Ex. 2., and so on.

If possible, provide a caption after to the label. If the caption below the sheet music includes enough information about the source, it is not necessary to include the full reference at the end of the assignment.

Here is an example of a possible label and caption:

Ex. 4. Scott Joplin, The Entertainer, piano, C major.

Another example:

Here’s more on tables and illustrations.

Using Lists in MLA

It’s appropriate to add lists into an MLA format essay as long as the proper rules are followed.

Lists created using MLA essay format look different than a grocery list or any other type of vertical listing of items. Items in a list are included in your prose, rather than the traditional vertical style.

Often, you will use a colon between the introductory sentence and the list. But you should not include a colon if the first item in the list is part of the sentence.

List Example #1

Here is an example of how a list may look incorporated into the prose of a research project or assignment:

William Shakespeare wrote numerous plays, many of which were considered tragedies: Romeo and Juliet , Hamlet , Macbeth , Othello , Julius Caesar , and King Lear .

List Example #2 Here is an example of how a list may look in a research project or assignment when the list is part of the introductory sentence:

Many of William Shakespeare’s were tragedies. Some of his most popular tragedies include Romeo and Juliet , Hamlet , Macbeth , Othello , Julius Caesar , and King Lear.

MLA Works Cited Format

EasyBib.com has a full, comprehensive guide to creating a proper works cited MLA format , but here are a few items to keep in mind when developing this portion of a project:

• The list of citations should be the very last page of a research project or essay.
• The top of the page should include the running head and the page number.
• All entries should be placed in alphabetical order by the first item in the MLA format citation.
• The entire page should be double spaced.

For more detailed information, make sure to check out the EasyBib guide to MLA format Works Cited pages.

MLA Citation Format

The majority of this guide focuses on MLA formatting in regards to MLA paper format rules and guidelines. If you’re seeking information related to the proper formatting of an MLA citation, refer to our individual pages and posts on various types of citations.

If you’re simply looking for the general structure for full references, which are found on the final pages of projects, here’s the proper order:

Author’s Last name, Author’s First name. “Title of Source.”* Title of Container , Names of other contributors along with their specific roles, version of the source (if it differs from the original or is unique), any key numbers associated with the source that aren’t dates (such as journal issue numbers or volume numbers), Name of the Publisher, publication date, location (such as the URL or page numbers).

*Note: A title may be in italics instead of quotation marks, depending of the type of source. The general rule is that works that are self-contained (like books, journals, or television shows) are formatted in italics. Works that are part of a larger work (like articles, chapters, or specific episodes) are formatting in quotation marks. 

MLA Format Citing FAQs:

“What in the world are containers?”

Containers are what hold the source. If you’re creating a reference for a chapter in a book, the title of the chapter is the title of the source , and the container is the title of the book . The book holds the chapter, so it’s the container. If you’re searching for how to cite a website, here’s a tip: the title of the source is the name of the individual page and the title of the container is the name of the full website.

“This seems like a lot of information for a reference. Is it all necessary?”

The short answer is “No!” When citing, only include the components that help the reader locate the exact same source themselves.

It isn’t necessary to go digging for items such as numbers, version types, or names of other individuals or contributors associated with the source if they aren’t applicable. If you think it’s beneficial for the reader, then include it.

Related to citations, here are helpful pages on:

• MLA citation website format
• Citing a book
• Citing a journal
• What is a DOI ?
• More on PDFs

If you’re looking for an MLA citation generator, head to the EasyBib homepage. Our formatter will help you create citations quickly and easily!

Need APA, too? There are also EasyBib tools and an APA citation website reference guide to help you learn the basics.

Edits and Proofreading

Editing and proofreading your assignment prior to submission is an incredibly important step in the research process. Editing involves checking the paper for the following items:

• Spelling : Are all words spelled correctly? Review all proper names, places, and other unique words to ensure correct spelling. When finished, run the project through a spell checker. Many word processing programs, such as Microsoft Word and Google Drive, provide a free spell checking feature. While spell checks are beneficial, they do not always spot every mistake, so make sure you take the time to read through the assignment carefully. If you’re still not sure if your project contains proper spelling, ask a friend to read through it. They may find a mistake you missed!
• Grammar : Check your assignment to make sure you’ve included proper word usage. There are numerous grammar checkers available to review your project prior to submission. Again, take the time to review any recommendations from these programs prior to accepting the suggestions and revisions.
• Punctuation : Check to make sure the end of every sentence has an ending punctuation mark. Also make sure commas, hyphens, colons, and other punctuation marks are placed in the appropriate places.
• Attribution : Do all quotes and paraphrases include a citation? Did you create an in-text citation for each individual piece of information?

Smart idea: running your paper through a paper checker before you turn it in. EasyBib Plus offers a checker that scans for grammar errors and unintentional plagiarism. 

Check out our MLA sample papers . Also, check out the EasyBib MLA Annotated Bibliography Guide.

Don’t forget to use the EasyBib citation generator to develop your Modern Language Association style references.EasyBib.com also has helpful guides on APA format and more styles . Lastly, stay up-to-date on what’s coming by following our EasyBib Twitter account.

Works Cited

“Formatting a Research Paper.” The MLA Style Center , Modern Language Association of America, style.mla.org/formatting-papers/.

MLA Handbook. 9th ed., Modern Language Association of America, 2021.

Published October 31, 2011. Updated July 25, 2021.

Written and edited by Michele Kirschenbaum and Elise Barbeau . Michele Kirschenbaum is a school library media specialist and the in-house librarian at EasyBib.com. You can find her here on Twitter. Elise Barbeau is the Citation Specialist at Chegg. She has worked in digital marketing, libraries, and publishing.

MLA Formatting Guide

MLA Formatting

• Annotated Bibliography
• Bibliography
• Block Quotes
• et al Usage
• In-text Citations
• Paraphrasing
• Page Numbers
• Sample Paper
• MLA 8 Updates
• MLA 9 Updates
• View MLA Guide

Citation Examples

• Book Chapter
• Journal Article
• Magazine Article
• Newspaper Article
• Website (no author)
• View all MLA Examples

How useful was this post?

Click on a star to rate it!

We are sorry that this post was not useful for you!

Let us improve this post!

Tell us how we can improve this post?

The works-cited list provides the reader full information so that a reader can locate the source for further use.

Basic formatting

The works-cited list appears at the end of the paper, after any endnotes if they are present.

Page margins

All margins (top, bottom, left, and right) should be set at 1 inch.

Running head

Write the running head in the top right of the page at 0.5 inch from the top. Use the running head “Surname Page #.”

The font should be clear enough to read. For example, Times New Roman font set to 12 points.

Formatting entries

Entries should be double-spaced, including a double-space between the heading and the first entry. If any entry runs over more than a line, indent the subsequent line(s) 0.5 inch from the left margin.

Formatting the title

The title should be “Works Cited.” Center the title. Do not bold, italicize, or underline the title. If you cite only one source in the list, the title should be “Work Cited.” If you include sources that you only consulted and didn’t cite directly, the title should be changed accordingly to “Works Cited and Consulted.”

Arranging works cited

Works-cited-list entries are arranged alphabetically by the author’s last name (or the editor’s last name for entire edited collections). Double-space all entries. Begin each entry flush with the left margin. If any entry runs over more than one line, indent the subsequent line(s) 0.5 inch from the left margin (sometimes called a hanging indent).

Example works cited

Damasio, Antonio. The Feeling of What Happens: Body, Emotion and the Making of Consciousness . Vintage, 2000.

Hill, R. T. “Legitimizing Colonial Privilege: Native Americans at a Quincentenary of Discourse.” Text and Performance Quarterly , vol. 16, no. 1, 1996, pp. 92–100.

MacDonald, Shauna M. “Performance as Critical Posthuman Pedagogy.” Text and Performance Quarterly , vol. 34, no. 2, 2014, pp. 164–81.

Zilio, M. “Canada Will Not Move Embassy to Jerusalem, Federal Government Says.” The Globe and Mail . 7 Sept. 2017, www.theglobeandmail.com/news/politics/canada-will-not-move-embassy-to-jerusalem-federal-government-says/article37219576/ .

An in-text citation is a short citation that is placed in the text. It is styled in two ways: a citation in prose or a parenthetical citation.

The basic element needed for an in-text citation is the author’s name . The publication year is not required in in-text citations. Sometimes, page numbers or line numbers are also included, especially when directly quoting text from the source being cited. When including a page number, do not include a comma or any other punctuation mark between the author’s surname and the page number.

Parenthetical citations usually add only the author’s surname at the end of the sentence in parentheses. Sometimes they include a page number or other locator. An example of a parenthetical citation is given below:

The spiritual geography of the landscape is explained (Cooper).

If you want to cite a chapter number, a scene, or a line number, follow the abbreviation guidelines below:

When including a more specific locator number rather than a page number, place a comma between the author’s surname and the label.

(Cooper, ch. 2).

Here are a few examples of in-text citations for sources with different numbers or types of authors:

Use only the surname of the author in parenthetical citations. If you want to add a page number (or another indicator of the place in a work), add it after the author’s surname without any punctuation between the surname and the page number.

(Abraham 7).

Two authors

Add only the surnames of the authors. Use “and” to separate the two authors.

(Langmuir and Einstein).

Three or more authors

Add only the surname of the first author followed by “et al.”

(Low et al.).

Corporate author

Shorten the organization name wherever possible, excluding any initial articles and using the shortest noun phrase (e.g., shorten Literary Society of Tamil Culture to Literary Society).

(Literary Society).

If there is no author for the source, use the source title in place of the author’s surname.

When you add such in-text citations, italicize the text of the title. If the source title is longer than a noun phrase, use a shortened version of the title. For example, the title Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them is shortened to Fantastic Beasts .

( Fantastic Beasts 160).

MLA Citation Examples

Writing Tools

Citation Generators

Other Citation Styles

Plagiarism Checker

Upload a paper to check for plagiarism against billions of sources and get advanced writing suggestions for clarity and style.

Get Started

Want to create or adapt books like this? Learn more about how Pressbooks supports open publishing practices.

13.4 Using Modern Language Association (MLA) Style

Learning objectives.

• Identify the major components of a research paper written using MLA style.
• Apply general Modern Language Association (MLA) style and formatting conventions in a research paper.

We have addressed American Psychological Association (APA) style, as well as the importance of giving credit where credit is due, so now let’s turn our attention to the formatting and citation style of the Modern Language Association, known as MLA style.

MLA style is often used in the liberal arts and humanities. Like APA style, it provides a uniform framework for consistency across a document in several areas. MLA style provides a format for the manuscript text and parenthetical citations, or in-text citations. It also provides the framework for the works cited area for references at the end of the essay. MLA style emphasizes brevity and clarity. As a student writer, it is to your advantage to be familiar with both major styles, and this section will outline the main points of MLA as well as offer specific examples of commonly used references. Remember that your writing represents you in your absence. The correct use of a citation style demonstrates your attention to detail and ability to produce a scholarly work in an acceptable style, and it can help prevent the appearance or accusations of plagiarism.

If you are taking an English, art history, or music appreciation class, chances are that you will be asked to write an essay in MLA format. One common question goes something like “What’s the difference?” referring to APA and MLA style, and it deserves our consideration. The liberal arts and humanities often reflect works of creativity that come from individual and group effort, but they may adapt, change, or build on previous creative works. The inspiration to create something new, from a song to a music video, may contain elements of previous works. Drawing on your fellow artists and authors is part of the creative process, and so is giving credit where credit is due.

A reader interested in your subject wants not only to read what you wrote but also to be aware of the works that you used to create it. Readers want to examine your sources to see if you know your subject, to see if you missed anything, or if you offer anything new and interesting. Your new or up-to-date sources may offer the reader additional insight on the subject being considered. It also demonstrates that you, as the author, are up-to-date on what is happening in the field or on the subject. Giving credit where it is due enhances your credibility, and the MLA style offers a clear format to use.

Uncredited work that is incorporated into your own writing is considered plagiarism. In the professional world, plagiarism results in loss of credibility and often compensation, including future opportunities. In a classroom setting, plagiarism results in a range of sanctions, from loss of a grade to expulsion from a school or university. In both professional and academic settings, the penalties are severe. MLA offers artists and authors a systematic style of reference, again giving credit where credit is due, to protect MLA users from accusations of plagiarism.

MLA style uses a citation in the body of the essay that links to the works cited page at the end. The in-text citation is offset with parentheses, clearly calling attention to itself for the reader. The reference to the author or title is like a signal to the reader that information was incorporated from a separate source. It also provides the reader with information to then turn to the works cited section of your essay (at the end) where they can find the complete reference. If you follow the MLA style, and indicate your source both in your essay and in the works cited section, you will prevent the possibility of plagiarism. If you follow the MLA guidelines, pay attention to detail, and clearly indicate your sources, then this approach to formatting and citation offers a proven way to demonstrate your respect for other authors and artists.

Five Reasons to Use MLA Style

• To demonstrate your ability to present a professional, academic essay in the correct style
• To gain credibility and authenticity for your work
• To enhance the ability of the reader to locate information discussed in your essay
• To give credit where credit is due and prevent plagiarism
• To get a good grade or demonstrate excellence in your writing

Before we transition to specifics, please consider one word of caution: consistency. If you are instructed to use the MLA style and need to indicate a date, you have options. For example, you could use an international or a US style:

• International style: 18 May 1980 (day/month/year)
• US style: May 18, 1980 (month/day/year)

If you are going to the US style, be consistent in its use. You’ll find you have the option on page 83 of the MLA Handbook for Writers of Research Papers , 7th edition. You have many options when writing in English as the language itself has several conventions, or acceptable ways of writing particular parts of speech or information. For example, on the next page our MLA Handbook addresses the question:

Which convention is preferred in MLA style:

twentieth century Twentieth Century 20th century 20th Century

You are welcome to look in the MLA Handbook and see there is one preferred style or convention (you will also find the answer at end of this section marked by an asterisk [*]). Now you may say to yourself that you won’t write that term and it may be true, but you will come to a term or word that has more than one way it can be written. In that case, what convention is acceptable in MLA style? This is where the MLA Handbook serves as an invaluable resource. Again, your attention to detail and the professional presentation of your work are aspects of learning to write in an academic setting.

Now let’s transition from a general discussion on the advantages of MLA style to what we are required to do to write a standard academic essay. We will first examine a general “to do” list, then review a few “do not” suggestions, and finally take a tour through a sample of MLA features. Links to sample MLA papers are located at the end of this section.

General MLA List

• Use standard white paper (8.5 × 11 inches).
• Double space the essay and quotes.
• Use Times New Roman 12-point font.
• Use one-inch margins on all sides
• Indent paragraphs (five spaces or 1.5 inches).
• Include consecutive page numbers in the upper-right corner.
• Use italics to indicate a title, as in Writing for Success .
• On the first page, place your name, course, date, and instructor’s name in the upper-left corner.
• On the first page, place the title centered on the page, with no bold or italics and all words capitalized.
• On all pages, place the header, student’s name + one space + page number, 1.5 inches from the top, aligned on the right.

Depending on your field of study, you may sometimes write research papers in either APA or MLA style. Recognize that each has its advantages and preferred use in fields and disciplines. Learn to write and reference in both styles with proficiency.

Title Block Format

You never get a second chance to make a first impression, and your title block (not a separate title page; just a section at the top of the first page) makes an impression on the reader. If correctly formatted with each element of information in its proper place, form, and format, it says to the reader that you mean business, that you are a professional, and that you take your work seriously, so it should, in turn, be seriously considered. Your title block in MLA style contributes to your credibility. Remember that your writing represents you in your absence, and the title block is the tailored suit or outfit that represents you best. That said, sometimes a separate title page is necessary, but it is best both to know how to properly format a title block or page in MLA style and to ask your instructor if it is included as part of the assignment.

Course number

                                                                        Title of Paper

Paragraphs and Indentation

Make sure you indent five spaces (from the left margin). You’ll see that the indent offsets the beginning of a new paragraph. We use paragraphs to express single ideas or topics that reinforce our central purpose or thesis statement. Paragraphs include topic sentences, supporting sentences, and conclusion or transitional sentences that link paragraphs together to support the main focus of the essay.

Tables and Illustrations

Place tables and illustrations as close as possible to the text they reinforce or complement. Here’s an example of a table in MLA.

As we can see in Table 13.2 , we have experienced significant growth since 2008.

This example demonstrates that the words that you write and the tables, figures, illustrations, or images that you include should be next to each other in your paper.

Parenthetical Citations

You must cite your sources as you use them. In the same way that a table or figure should be located right next to the sentence that discusses it (see the previous example), parenthetical citations, or citations enclosed in parenthesis that appear in the text, are required. You need to cite all your information. If someone else wrote it, said it, drew it, demonstrated it, or otherwise expressed it, you need to cite it. The exception to this statement is common, widespread knowledge. For example, if you search online for MLA resources, and specifically MLA sample papers, you will find many similar discussions on MLA style. MLA is a style and cannot be copyrighted because it is a style, but the seventh edition of the MLA Handbook can be copyright protected. If you reference a specific page in that handbook, you need to indicate it. If you write about a general MLA style issue that is commonly covered or addressed in multiple sources, you do not. When in doubt, reference the specific resource you used to write your essay.

Your in-text, or parenthetical, citations should do the following:

• Clearly indicate the specific sources also referenced in the works cited
• Specifically identify the location of the information that you used
• Keep the citation clear and concise, always confirming its accuracy

Works Cited Page

After the body of your paper comes the works cited page. It features the reference sources used in your essay. List the sources alphabetically by last name, or list them by title if the author is not known as is often the case of web-based articles. You will find links to examples of the works cited page in several of the sample MLA essays at the end of this section.

As a point of reference and comparison to our APA examples, let’s examine the following three citations and the order of the information needed.

In Chapter 13 “APA and MLA Documentation and Formatting” , Section 13.1 “Formatting a Research Paper” , you created a sample essay in APA style. After reviewing this section and exploring the resources linked at the end of the section (including California State University–Sacramento’s clear example of a paper in MLA format), please convert your paper to MLA style using the formatting and citation guidelines. You may find it helpful to use online applications that quickly, easily, and at no cost convert your citations to MLA format.

Please convert the APA-style citations to MLA style. You may find that online applications can quickly, easily, and at no cost convert your citations to MLA format. There are several websites and applications available free (or as a free trial) that will allow you to input the information and will produce a correct citation in the style of your choice. Consider these two sites:

• http://www.noodletools.com
• http://bibcitation.com/

Hint: You may need access to the Internet to find any missing information required to correctly cite in MLA style. This demonstrates an important difference between APA and MLA style—the information provided to the reader.

Useful Sources of Examples of MLA Style

Arizona State University Libraries offers an excellent resource with clear examples.

• http://libguides.asu.edu/content.php?pid=122697&sid=1132964

Purdue Online Writing Lab includes sample pages and works cited.

• http://owl.english.purdue.edu/owl/resource/747/01

California State University–Sacramento’s Online Writing Lab has an excellent visual description and example of an MLA paper.

• http://www.csus.edu/owl/index/mla/mla_format.htm

SUNY offers an excellent, brief, side-by-side comparison of MLA and APA citations.

• http://www.sunywcc.edu/LIBRARY/research/MLA_APA_08.03.10.pdf

Cornell University Library provides comprehensive MLA information on its Citation Management website.

• http://www.library.cornell.edu/resrch/citmanage/mla

The University of Kansas Writing Center is an excellent resource.

• http://www.writing.ku.edu/guides

* (a) is the correct answer to the question at the beginning of this section. The MLA Handbook prefers “twentieth century.”

Key Takeaways

• MLA style is often used in the liberal arts and humanities.
• MLA style emphasizes brevity and clarity.
• A reader interested in your subject wants not only to read what you wrote but also to be informed of the works you used to create it.
• MLA style uses a citation in the body of the essay that refers to the works cited section at the end.
• If you follow MLA style, and indicate your source both in your essay and in the works cited section, you will prevent the possibility of plagiarism.

Writing for Success Copyright © 2015 by University of Minnesota is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International License , except where otherwise noted.

MLA 9th Edition Formatting

A Simple, Step-by-Step Guide + Free Template

By: Derek Jansen (MBA) | Reviewer: Eunice Rautenbach (DTech) | July 2023

Formatting your paper in MLA style can feel like a pretty daunting task . In this post, we’ll show you exactly how to set up your paper for MLA (9th edition), as quickly and easily as possible. We’ll also share our popular free MLA template , to help you fast-track your writing.

Overview: MLA 9th Edition Formatting

• Structure and layout
• General page setup
• The opening section
• The main body
• Works cited (reference list)
• Free MLA 9 template

MLA Structure and Layout

Let’s start by looking at the overall structure of a typical student paper formatted for MLA 9th edition, before diving into the details of each section. For the most part, MLA papers follow a standardised structure, consisting of the following parts:

The opening section : While MLA doesn’t require a dedicated title page (unlike APA ), it does require an opening section that details some important information about yourself, your university and the paper itself.

The main body : The main body begins directly after the opening section on the first page. This is the “heart” of your paper and there are a very specific requirements regarding how you present and format this content.

The appendix (or appendices):  While using an appendix in a student paper is relatively uncommon, you’ll place this section directly after the main body section, if required by your university.

The “Works Cited” list : This section is equivalent to what we’d usually call a references page and it’s where you’ll detail all the reference information corresponding to the in-text citations in the main body of your paper.

These four sections form the standard structure and order of a student paper using MLA 9th edition. As we mentioned, not all sections are always required , so be sure to double check what your university expects from you before submitting. Also, it’s always a good idea to ask your university if they have any  style requirements in addition to the standard MLA specification.

Now that we’ve got a big-picture view of the typical paper structure, let’s look at the specific formatting requirements for each of these sections.

Generic Page Setup

Before you jump into writing up your paper, you’ll first need to set up your document to align with MLA’s generic page requirements. Alternatively, you can download our MLA paper template (which comes fully preformatted).

MLA 9th edition requires a 1-inch margin on all sides , for all pages. That said, if you’re writing a dissertation, thesis or any document that will ultimately be printed and bound, your university will likely require a larger left margin to accommodate for physical binding.

Fonts & sizing

MLA does not require that you use any specific font, but we do recommend sticking to the tried and tested , well-accepted fonts. For example, you might consider using one of the following:

• Sans serif fonts : Calibri (11), Arial (11), or Lucida Sans Unicode (10)
• Serif fonts : Times New Roman (12), Georgia (11), or Computer Modern (10)

Whichever font you opt for, be sure to use it consistently throughout your paper . Don’t chop and change, or use different fonts for different parts of the document (e.g., different fonts for the body text and the headings). Also, keep in mind that while MLA does not have a specific font requirement, your university may have its own preference or requirement. So, be sure to check with them beforehand regarding any additional specifications they may have.

In general, all text throughout your document needs to be left-aligned and should not be justified (i.e., leave an uneven right edge). You might consider using a different alignment for section headings, but in general, it’s best to keep things simple .

Line spacing

MLA 9th edition requires double line spacing throughout the document . There should also be no extra space before and after paragraphs . This applies to all sections of the paper, including the “Works Cited” page (more on this later).

Page header

Last but not least, you’ll need to set up a running header for your document. This should contain your last name, followed by the page number. Both of these should be positioned in the top right corner of all pages (even the first page). On a related note, there’s no need for you to include any footer content unless your university specifically requests it.

Now that we’ve looked at the generic formatting considerations, let’s dive into the specific requirements for each section of your paper.

The Opening Section

While MLA-formatted papers typically don’t require a title page, there are very specific requirements regarding the opening section of the first page .

Here’s how you can set your first page up for MLA 9th edition.

• On the first line, write your full name (flush left)
• On a new line, write your professor or instructor’s full name
• On a new line, write the course code and course name
• On a new line, write the full date spelt out (e.g., 15 June 2023)
• On a new line, write the full title of your paper , centre-aligned and using title case (consider using a title case converter if you’re not familiar with this)
• On a new line, begin your body content

All of the above should be in plain, unformatted font – in other words, you don’t need to apply any boldfacing, underlining , etc. That said, you should use italics whenever you’re writing out the titles of other works (for example, titles of books or articles).

To make it all a little more tangible, below is an example of a first page formatted according to the MLA specifications that we just covered.

The Main Body

While the formatting requirements for the body section are relatively light for MLA (at least when compared to APA ), there are still quite a few important things to pay attention to. Here’s what you need to know to get started.

Each of your paragraphs needs to start on a new line , and the first sentence of each paragraph requires a half-inch indent (while the rest of the paragraph is flush left aligned). Note that each paragraph simply starts on a new line and doesn’t require an additional blank line.

MLA 9th edition is fairly flexible in terms of heading formatting. There is no specified formatting, so you can decide what works best for you. However, there are still a few basic rules you need to follow:

• All your headings should be written in title case – never use all caps
• There should be no period following a heading
• Each heading level needs to be uniquely formatted and easily distinguishable from other levels (for example, a distinct difference in terms of boldfacing, underlining or italicisation)
• You can have as many heading levels as you need, but each level must have at least two instances

Abbreviations

When using abbreviations, you’ll need to make sure that you’re using the MLA version of the abbreviation . Below we’ve listed a few common ones you should be aware of:

• Appendix: app.
• Circa: c. or ca.
• Chapter: ch.
• Column: col.
• Definition: def.
• Department: dept.
• Example: e.g.
• Edition: ed.
• Figure: fig.
• Foreword: fwd.
• That is: i.e.
• Journal: jour.
• Library: lib.
• Manuscript(s): MS
• Number: no.
• Quoted in: qtd. in
• Revised: rev.
• Section: sec. or sect.
• Series: ser.
• Translation: trans.
• Version: vers.
• Variant: var.
• Volume: vol.

If you’re interested, you can find a more comprehensive list here . Alternatively, if you have access to the MLA 9th edition handbook, you can find the full list in the first appendix.

In-text citations

MLA 9 has a very specific set of requirements regarding how to cite your sources within the body of your paper. Here are some of the most important things to help you get started with MLA citations.

Author-page number system: in-text citations consist of (at a minimum) the lead author’s last name, followed by the page number of the paragraph you are citing. There is no comma between the two components (only a space).

Types of citations: MLA allows two types of in-text citations: parenthetical and narrative . Parenthetical citations feature the author and page number in parentheses (brackets) at the end of the respective sentence. Here’s an example:

MLA 9th edition is easy to grasp if you visit the Grad Coach blog (Jansen 13).

Narrative citations, on the other hand, weave the author’s name into the flow of the sentence and then present the publication date in parentheses at the end of the sentence. Here’s an example:

Jansen states that MLA 9th edition is easy for students to grasp if they visit the Grad Coach blog (13).

In general, it’s a good idea to utilise a mix of both in your writing. Narrative citations are particularly useful when you want to highlight or contrast authors or their viewpoints, while parenthetical citations are useful when you want to strengthen your own academic voice. In other words, both formats have their respective strengths and weaknesses, so try to use citation format strategically in your writing.

Quotations: when quoting text verbatim from a source, there is no need to do anything differently in terms of the citation itself, but do remember to wrap the verbatim text in quotation marks. Here’s an example:

Jansen proposes that MLA 9th edition is “easy to grasp if you visit the Grad Coach blog” (13).

Multiple authors: when citing resources that were authored by three or more people, you only need to list the lead author, followed by “et al.”. Here’s an example:

MLA 9th edition is easy to grasp if you visit the Grad Coach blog (Jansen et al. 13).

 Below are a few more examples from our free MLA template .

Please keep in mind that this is not an exhaustive list of all the MLA 9th edition citation-related requirements – just a shortlist of the most commonly relevant ones. If you’d like to learn more, consult the MLA handbook .

The Works Cited (Reference List)

The final section that you’ll need to pay close attention to is the “Works Cited” page, which should contain a list of reference information for all the sources cited in the body of the paper. Again, MLA has a quite a meaty set of specifications regarding the content and formatting of this list, but we’ll cover the basics here to get your started on the right foot. 

Basic setup

Your reference list needs to start on a new page and should be titled “Works Cited”. The title should be unformatted and centred . The reference list should then start on the next line. As with the rest of your document, you should use double line spacing throughout.

When it comes to the reference list itself, you’ll need to keep the following in mind:

• All the sources that you cited in the body of your document should feature in the reference list. Make sure that every citation is accounted for .
• The references should be ordered alphabetically , according to the lead author’s last name .
• The exact information required within each entry depends on the type of content being referenced (e.g., a journal article, web page, etc.)
• Components that may need to feature (other than the author) include the title of the source, the title of the container, other contributors, the article version or number, the publisher, the publication date, and the location.
• All references should be left-aligned and should use a hanging indent – i.e., the second line of any given reference (if it has one) should be indented a half inch.

We have to stress that these are just the basics. MLA 9th edition requires that your references be structured and formatted in a very specific way , depending on the type of resource. If you plan to draft your reference list manually, it’s important to consult your university’s style guide or the MLA manual itself. This leads us to our next point…

In general, it’s a bad idea to write your reference list manually . Given the incredibly high level of intricacy involved, it’s highly likely that you’ll make mistakes if you try to craft this section yourself. A better solution is to use (free) reference management software such as Mendeley or Zotero . Either of these will take care of the formatting and content for you, and they’ll do a much more accurate job of it too. 

If you’re not familiar with any sort of reference management software, be sure to check out our easy-to-follow Mendeley explainer video below.

Wrapping Up

In this post, we’ve provided a primer covering how to format your paper according to MLA 9th edition. To recap, we’ve looked at the following:

• The structure and layout
• The general page setup
• The “Works Cited” page (reference list)

Remember to always check your university’s style guide to familiarise yourself with any additional requirements they may. Also, if your university has specified anything that contrasts what we’ve discussed here, please do follow their guidance . 

If you need any help formatting your paper for MLA 9, take a look at our “done for you” language editing and proofreading service . Simply send us your document and we’ll take care of all the MLA formatting intracies on your behalf. 

You Might Also Like:

Very well recounted!

Submit a Comment Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Save my name, email, and website in this browser for the next time I comment.

• Print Friendly

College-wide MLA Citation Guide: 9th edition

• MLA RESEARCH PAPER
• CITING AN ANTHOLOGY
• CITING BOOKS & eBOOKS
• CITING PRINT ARTICLES
• CITING DIGITAL ARTICLES
• CITING POETRY
• CITING NEWSPAPERS
• CITING WEBSITES
• IN-TEXT CITATIONS
• MLA Formatting This link opens in a new window
• Was this MLA Guide helpful? This link opens in a new window

MLA's Official Site

A print copy of this manual is available at your campus library's reference desk.

Ref LB 2369.G52 2021

Components of a MLA-Style Research Paper

Your MLA-style research paper should have the following (confirmed by your professor).

     1. MLA-style title on the first page

     2. Properly formatted header

     3. Correct margins, in-text citations, spacing, etc.

     4. Works Cited page

Note: This guide represents MLA Style as published in the MLA Handbook , 9th Edition (2021) .

Example of an MLA-Style Paper

Please use the papers only for examples of  MLA-style formatting. Check with your professor for assignment requirements and any additional specifics. Remember, your professor has the final say on how the formatting should be done, regardless of the style.

Sample MLA Papers:

MLA Sample Paper #1

MLA Sample Paper #2 - English literature

Note: This post relates to content in the eighth edition of the  MLA Handbook . For up-to-date guidance, see the ninth edition of the  MLA Handbook .

CONFUSED? ASK-A-LIBRARIAN!

CLICK TO CHAT LIVE!

Mon - Thur: 10 a.m. to Midnight

Fri - Sat: 10 a.m. to 5 p.m.

MLA Formatting and Style Guide (9th Ed.) - Purdue OWL

• Next: CITING AN ANTHOLOGY >>
• Last Updated: May 2, 2024 11:52 AM
• URL: https://libguides.easternflorida.edu/MLA8

• Research by Subject
• All Databases (A-Z)
• Course Reserves
• Journals by Title
• A book on the shelf
• Digital Collections
• Interlibrary Loan
• Make Appointment with Librarian
• Schedule a Class (faculty)
• Poster Production / Media
• Online / Distance Services
• Book a Study Room
• Special Collections
• Study Rooms
• All Policies
• Support the Library
• BuleyWise Blog
• Buley Bulletin
• Floor Plans
• Library Directory
• Library Hours
• The Director's Page
• Library Impact Dashboard

MLA Style Guide Eighth Edition

• MLA Style Guide Home
• Interactive Practice Template
• Automatically Generate Citations within the Databases!
• Free citation Software on the Web
• What's new in MLA 8th Edition?
• Title of Container
• Other Contributors
• Publication Date
• In-text Citation
• Annotated Bibliography
• Model MLA Paper
• EasyBib MLA 8th Edition

Core Elements

The core elements of a citation are listed below in their order of appearance along with the punctuation that follows each element. Any element that is not relevant should be omitted from the citation.

Author. Title of Source. Title of Container, Other Contributors, Version, Number, Publisher, Publication date, Location .

Each of these elements is discussed in greater detail with specific examples in the relevant tabs above.

Citation Examples

Note: Omit any information that does not apply to your source.  

Print book Author's Last Name, First Name. "Title of Chapter or Section." Title of the Work . Translated by or Edited by First Name Last Name, Vol. number, Publisher, year the book was published, page number(s). Crichton, Michael. Jurassic Park . Random House Publishing Group, 1991.

Different version or edition The Bible . Authorized King James Version, Oxford UP, 1998. Cheyfitz, Eric. T he Poetics of Imperialism: Translation and Colonization from The Tempest to Tarzan . Expanded ed.,              U of Pennsylvania P, 1997. Miller, Casey and Kate Swift.  Words and Women . Updated ed., HarperCollins Publishers, 1991. Newcomb, Horace, editor.  Television: The Critical View . 7th ed., Oxford UP, 2007.     E-Book Author's Last Name, First Name. "Title of Chapter or Section." Title of the Work . Translated by or Edited by First Name, Last Name, Vol. number, Publisher, year the book was published, page number(s). Title of the Web Site or Database , URL. Walker, Greg, and Elaine M. Treharne. The Oxford Handbook of Medieval Literature in English . Oxford UP,              2011, EBSCOhost eBookCollection, http://scsu.idm.oclc.org/login?url=http:// eds.a.ebscohost.com/ehost/ebookviewer/ebook/              bmxlYmtfXzM4MTAzMF9fQU41? sid=7ed1249f-d0cd-4ad8-8957- 7ea0b3c9391c@sessionmgr              4009&vid=5&format=EB&rid=15 

Anthology (Short story, poem, play, essay) Last Name, First Name of author. "Title of Piece."  Title of Book . Editor, Publisher, Date of publication, pp. Baraka, Amiri. "Norman's Date."  The Jazz Fiction Anthology . Edited by Sascha Feinstein and David Rife,               Indiana UP, 2009, pp.66-77.

Graphic Novel Author's Last Name, First Name.  Title of Book . Illustrated by First Name Last Name of artist, Publisher, Date of Publication. Loeb, Jeph.  Batman: The Long Halloween . Illustrated by Tim Sale, Warner, 1998. Additional examples for book citations can be found under the Author and Title tabs (source with no author, translator, editor as translator, corporate author, etc.) .

Print Journal Article Author's Last Name, First Name. "Title of the Article." Title of the Journal , vol, number, issue number, date, page (p. 28) or page range (pp. 28-35). Aspiz, Harold.  “Walt Whitman: The Spermatic Imagination.”  American Literature , vol. 56, no. 3, 1984, pp. 379-95.

Journal Article in a Database Author's Last Name, First Name. "Title of the Article."  Title of the Journal , vol, number, issue number, page (p. 28) or page range (pp. 28-35). Name of Database . DOI or URL. Gay, Peter. “On Not Psychoanalyzing Virginia Woolf." American Scholar, vol. 71, no. 2            Spring 2002, pp. 71-75. Academic Search Premier .             http://0eds.a.ebscohost.com/ehost/pdfviewer/pdfviewer?             vid=3&sid=1e2d2e10-5be4-4c11-b2e1-92b8a12ca6fc%40sessionmgr4010&hid=4102

Print Newspaper Article Author's Last Name, First Name. "Title of the Article."  Title of the Newspaper . First Name, Last Name of any other contributors, Version, Numbers, Date of publication, location. Feder, Barnaby J.   "For Job Seekers, a Toll-Free Gift of Expert Advice."   New York Times , late edition,              30 Dec. 1993,D1+. (Note: If an article is not printed on consecutive pages, write only the first page number and a plus sign, leaving no intervening space).

Newspaper Article in a Database Author's Last Name, First Name. "Title of the Article."  Title of the Newspaper . First Name, Last Name of any other contributors, Version, Numbers, Date of publication, Location. Database , URL. Hayes, Bryant. "Why Bush Failed."  New York Times ,15 Nov.1992, E18​               Proquest . http://0search.proquest.com/docview/108991468/fulltextPDF/               F42CFCAB01FE4A52PQ/1?accountid=13743

Web Site Author's Last Name, First Name. "Title of the Article or Web Page."  Title of the Website , Name of the publisher, Date of publication, URL. Actman, Jani. "Baby Elephant's Death a Grim Reminder of Lack of Wilderness."  Wildlife Watch , National Geographic,              August 14, 2016, http://news.nationalgeographic.com/2016/08/wildlife-elephant-india-explosives-crop-raiding-              shrinking-habitat/

Government Publication Author (Government agency), Name of the Agency. "Title of Source".  Title of Container , edition/version, publication date. Begin the entry with the name of the government, followed by a comma and then the name of the agency. (e.g., California, Department of Industrial Relations) New York State, Committee on State Prisons.  Investigation of the New York State Prisons . 1883. Arno Press, 1974.

Government Website Author (Government agency). "Title of Source."  Title of Container , edition/version, publication date, URL United States. Department of Labor. Bureau of Statistics. "Sales Managers." Occupational Outlook               Handbook , 2010/2011 ed., http://www.bls.gov/ooh/management/sales-managers.htm

Book/Film Review Last Name, First Name of reviewer. "Title of Review Article." (If there is no title, skip this). Review of  Title that is being reviewed , by First Name, Last Name of author.  Name of Publication in which review appears . Number, Date, page, database, URL. Watt, Ian.  Jane Austen: A Study in Fictional Conventions , by Henrietta Ten Harmsel.  Nineteenth-Century Fiction , Vol. 31,                No.1, 1976, p. 275. JSTOR, 0-www.jstor.org/stable/2932763.

Digital Image Digital images are pictures that can be viewed electronically by a computer or digital device. They can include photographs, illustrations, or graphics found on a website, database, or scanned or saved to your computer.

Creator’s Last Name, First Name. “Title of the Digital Image.”  Title of the Website , First Name Last Name of any contributors, Version (if applicable), Number (if applicable), Publisher, Publication date, URL. 

Example for citing a photo from MLA 8 edition Vasquez, Gary A. Photograph of Coach K with Team USA.  NBC Olympics , USA Today Sports, 5 Aug. 2016,               www.nbcolympics.com/news/rio-olympics-coach-ks-toughest-test-or-lasting-legacy.

Painting Goya, Francisco.  The Family of Charles IV . 1800. Museo Nacional del Prado, Madrid.  Museo Macional del Prado ,              www.museodelprado.es/en/the-collection/art-work/the-family-of-carlos-iv/f47898fc-aa1c-48f6-a779- ​             71759e417e74.

Martin, Agnes.  Morning . 1965. Painting. Tate Gallery, London.  Oxford Reference ,              www.oxfordreference.com/view/10.1093/acref/9780195335798.001.0001/acref-9780195335798-e-1302.

Digital Image from a Database Creator’s last name, first name. “Title of the image.”  Title of the journal or container that the image was found on , First name Last name of any other contributors responsible for the image, Version of the image (if applicable), Any numbers associated with the image (such as a volume and issue number, if applicable), Publisher, Publication date, Location.  Title of the database or second container , URL or DOI number.

Example of a citation for a digital image found on a database in MLA 8: Huanca Barrantes, Angela. “Questions and statements posted on the wall are reminders for Ms. Huanca’s students."           English Teaching Forum , U.S. Department of State, vol. 53, no. 2, 2015, p. 41.  ERIC ,          eric.ed.gov/?q=english+teaching+forum&id=EJ1065702.

DVD/Video Title of DVD/Video . Director, Performed by/Narrated by/Created by, Publisher/Distributor, Date of publication.

William Shakespeare: A Life of Drama . Directed by Rebecca Jones, A&E Home Video, 1996.

Little Women . Directed by Gillian Armstrong, Produced by Denise DiNovi, Columbia/Tristar Home Video, 1997. Click on "Other Contributors" tab for additional help .

Streaming Video Creator's Last Name, First Name. "Title of Video".  Title of Container , Date, URL. Robinson, Ken. "Do Schools Kill Creativity?"  TED , Jan. 2006.               www.ted.com/talks/ken_robinson_says_schools_kill_creativity

Interview Last Name, First Name of person being interviewed. Interview type (personal, e-mail, phone), Date or range of dates Doe, John. Personal Interview, August 15, 2016.

E-mail Last Name, First Name of sender. Subject of email message. First Name, Last Name of person who received the message. Date. Doe, John. "Re: Why Citing Matters." Received by Jane Doe, Aug 15, 2016.

Tweet Username (Author). "Use Full Text of Tweet as Title". Container Name . Date, Time, URL. @persiankiwi. “We have report of large street battles in east & west of Tehran now - #Iranelection.” Twitter , 23 June 2009,                 11:15 a.m., twitter.com/persiankiwi/status/2298106072.

Speech/Lecture/Conference/Oral Presentation Author's Last Name, First Name. "Title of Presentation". Title of Event , Publisher/Institution, Date. Description (Unpublished Conference Paper, Speech, Lecture, etc.).  Stein, Bob. "Reading and Writing in the Digital Era."  Discovering Digital Dimensions , Computers and Writing Conference,               Indiana, 23 May 2003. Keynote Address.

• << Previous: What's new in MLA 8th Edition?
• Next: Author >>
• Last Updated: Dec 15, 2023 1:48 PM
• URL: https://libguides.southernct.edu/mla

Module 4: Research Process

Mla documentation, introduction, learning objectives.

• identify reasons for the use of MLA formatting and documentation
• identify MLA document formatting, including page layout
• identify the components of MLA Works Cited citations
• identify the components of MLA in-text citations

Checklist for documenting sources.

“MLA” stands for Modern Language Association. This is a professional organization for scholars of language and literature.

But why does this group of people have so much influence on the appearance of papers you write in college?

The MLA, like many other academic organizations, publishes a scholarly journal and has done so for decades. In years before computers were common, the editors of this journal required typed submissions for publication to follow a common formatting template.

The professors who were following this format to write their own work recognized the value of having some standard of uniform appearance. They started asking their students to follow the same format when they typed essays for class projects.

Fast forward to now, and we have a thick set of guidelines for how the first page of an essay should look, what margins and font are appropriate, and what a Works Cited entry for a blog post should look like.

The ultimate goal for MLA formatting and citation standards is so that everyone has a common template to draw from. While they may feel like unbreakable rules, try to remember that they were created to serve a common need, with your interests in mind.

Overview of MLA Documentation

MLA style is one of the most common citation and formatting styles you will encounter in your academic career. Any piece of academic writing can use MLA style, from a one-page paper to a full-length book. It is widely used by in many high school and introductory college English classes, as well as scholarly books and professional journals. If you are writing a paper for a literature or media studies class, it is likely your professor will ask you to write in MLA style.

The Purpose of MLA Style

The MLA style guide aims to accomplish several goals:

• to ensure consistent use of the English language in academic writing;
• to ensure consistent formatting and presentation of information, for the sake of clarity and ease of navigation; and
• to ensure proper attribution of ideas to their original sources, for the sake of intellectual integrity.

Citation Resources

There are many fantastic resources out there that can make the formatting and citation process easier. Some common style guides are found at:

• The Purdue Online Writing Lab : this is a popular resource that concisely explains how to properly format and cite in various academic styles.
• EasyBib : in addition to having a style guide, this website allows you to paste in information from your research and will create and save citations for you.

Reference management websites and applications can also assist you in tracking and recording your research. Most of these websites will even create the works cited page for you! Some of the most popular citation tools are:

The New Edition

The newest edition of the MLA Handbook, the 8th Edition, was released in April 2016. This text will focus on the newest changes, but you should be aware that some institutions or instructors may still utilize the previous 7th edition of the handbook. While the overall principles of creating a works cited page and using in-text citations remains the same, there are a few key changes and updates that make the citation process easier for our modern uses. For example, the guidelines now state that you should always include a URL of an internet source, you can use alternative author names, such as Twitter handles, and you no longer need to include the publisher (in some instances), and you don’t need to include the city where a source was published. These new changes are less nit-picky and allow for a more streamlined citation process that will work with the wide variety of source locations (i.e., YouTube videos, songs, clips from TV episodes, websites, periodicals, books, academic journals, poems, interviews, etc.).

Document Formatting

Overall structure of an mla paper.

Your MLA paper should include the following basic elements:

• ( If applicable ) Endnotes
• Works Cited

Sample Paper

Visit the Modern Language Association website to see an example of a student paper following MLA guidelines.

General MLA Formatting Rules

• Font : Your paper should be written in 12-point text. Whichever font you choose, MLA requires that regular and italicized text be easily distinguishable from each other. Times and Times New Roman are often recommended.
• Line Spacing : All text in your paper should be double-spaced.
• Margins : All page margins (top, bottom, left, and right) should be 1 inch. All text should be left-justified.
• Indentation : The first line of every paragraph should be indented 0.5 inches.
• Page Numbers : Create a right-justified header 0.5 inches from the top edge of every page. This header should include your last name, followed by a space and the page number. Your pages should be numbered with Arabic numerals (1, 2, 3…) and should start with the number 1 on your title page. Most word-processing programs have the ability to automatically add the correct page number to each page so you don’t have to do this by hand.
• Use of Italics:  In MLA style, you should italicize (rather than underline) the titles of books, plays, or other standalone works. You should also italicize (rather than underline) words or phrases you want to lend particular emphasis—though you should do this rarely.
• Sentence Spacing : Include just one single space after a period before the next sentence: “Mary went to the store. She bought some milk. Then she went home.”
• on the first line, your first and last name
• on the second line, your instructor’s name
• on the third line, the name of the class
• on the fourth line, the date
• The title:  After the header, the next double-spaced line should include the title of your paper. This should be centered and in title case, and it should not be bolded, underlined, or italicized (unless it includes the name of a book, in which case just the book title should be italicized).
• The Oxford Comma:  The Oxford comma (also called the serial comma) is the comma that comes after the second-to-last item in a series or list. For example:  The UK includes the countries of England, Scotland, Wales, and Northern Ireland.  In the previous sentence, the comma immediately after “Wales” is the Oxford comma. In general writing conventions, whether the Oxford comma should be used is actually a point of fervent debate among passionate grammarians. However, it’s a requirement in MLA style, so double-check all your lists and series to make sure you include it!

MLA Formatting

Watch this video to review all of the basic formatting recommendations:

Formatting the Works Cited Section

In MLA style, all the sources you cite throughout the text of your paper are listed together in full in the Works Cited section, which comes after the main text of your paper.

• Page numbers: Just as the rest of your paper, the top of the page should retain the right-justified header with your last name and the page number.
• Title: On the first line, the title of the page—“Works Cited”—should appear centered, and not italicized or bolded.
• Spacing: Like the rest of your paper, this page should be double-spaced and have 1-inch margins (don’t skip an extra line between citations).
• Alphabetical order: Starting on the next line after the page title, your references should be listed in alphabetical order by author. Multiple sources by the same author should be listed chronologically by year within the same group.
• Hanging indents: Each reference should be formatted with what is called a hanging indent. This means the first line of each reference should be flush with the left margin (i.e., not indented), but the rest of that reference should be indented 0.5 inches further. Any word-processing program will let you format this automatically so you don’t have to do it by hand. (In Microsoft Word, for example, you simply highlight your citations, click on the small arrow right next to the word “Paragraph” on the home tab, and in the popup box choose “hanging indent” under the “Special” section. Click OK, and you’re done.)

Creating Works Cited Entries

Although there are still distinct rules you need to follow to create a citation, the rules in MLA 8 are less rigid than before and allow for you to look for the main components of a citation and construct it yourself. This means you will need to think about the source and its information, select the appropriate components, and organize it in a logical and useful manner.

Regardless of the source type, you are now asked to locate the same “core elements” from your sources and place them in a standard order in order to create citations. These core elements are explained in detail below. Note that you do not need to memorize every step of this process , but should take this opportunity to understand how citations are created. You can always return to this page, to the MLA handbook, or to online resources to help you create the citations you need for your paper.

You can also download the presentation here .

Click on the image below to take you to a video explanation on how to identify the core elements of a citation.

MLA 8th edition – UWF from Joshua Vossler on Vimeo .

Click “Get Started” at the MLA Style Center to practice creating citations.

In-Text Citations

In your paper, when you quote directly from a source in its words, or when you paraphrase someone else’s idea, you need to tell the reader what that source is so the author gets credit. When you tell the reader the author’s name in the text of your paper, this is called an in-text citation.

In-Text citations are placed in parentheses, and have two components:

• The first word found in the full citation on the Works Cited page (usually the last name of the author)
• The location of the direct quote or paraphrase (usually a page number)

In-Text citations should be placed directly after the direct quote or paraphrase, or in a place that is a natural pause and does not cause the reader to become distracted while reading the body of your work.

When using the author’s name in the sentence, only include the page number in the parentheses.

Seuss’s use of words such as “lurk” and “dank” help students understand the type of character that the Once-ler is (6).

Write author (last name) and page number in parentheses. If the author is already mentioned in the statement, just put the page number in parentheses. If there are two authors, name them both with “and” in the middle. Use commas if there are more than two authors. Place the citation before a punctuation mark. E.g. Leaving the ground in sod increases the organic matter of the soil by 15% in 10 years (Alison 45).

When to Use a Block Quotation

A typical quotation is enclosed in double quotation marks and is part of a sentence within a paragraph of your paper. However, if you want to quote more than four lines of prose (or three lines of verse) from a source, you should format the excerpt as a block quotation, rather than as a regular quotation within the text of a paragraph. Most of the standard rules for quotations still apply, with the following exceptions: a block quotation will begin on its own line, it will not be enclosed in quotation marks, and its in-text citation will come after the ending punctuation, not before it. It should be indented one inch from the left margin.

For example, if you wanted to quote the entire first paragraph of Lewis Carroll’s Alice in Wonderland , you would begin that quotation on its own line and format it as follows:

Alice was beginning to get very tired of sitting by her sister on the bank, and of having nothing to do: once or twice

she had peeped into the book her sister was reading, but it had no pictures or conversations in it, ‘and what is the

use of a book,’ thought Alice, ‘without pictures or conversations?’ (Carroll 98)

The full reference for this source would then be included in your Works Cited section at the end of your paper.

• Outcome: MLA Documentation. Provided by : Lumen Learning. License : CC BY: Attribution
• Documenting sources checklist. Authored by : Kim Louie for Lumen Learning. License : CC BY: Attribution
• When and How to Use MLA Citations graphic. Authored by : Kim Louie for Lumen Learning. License : CC BY: Attribution
• Self-Check. Provided by : Lumen Learning. License : CC BY: Attribution
• Image of MLA book. Authored by : Kristian Bjornard. Located at : https://flic.kr/p/7jhJtz . License : CC BY-SA: Attribution-ShareAlike
• When to Use MLA Style. Authored by : Catherine McCarthy. Provided by : Boundless. Located at : https://www.boundless.com/writing/textbooks/boundless-writing-textbook/writing-a-paper-in-mla-style-humanities-255/introduction-to-mla-style-299/when-to-use-mla-style-300-16888/ . Project : Boundless Writing. License : CC BY-SA: Attribution-ShareAlike
• Citation: A (Very) Brief Introduction. Authored by : libnscu. Provided by : NC State University. Located at : https://youtu.be/IMhMuVvXCVw . License : CC BY-NC-SA: Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike
• MLA 8. Provided by : EasyBib. Located at : http://www.easybib.com/guides/citation-guides/mla-8/mla-7-vs-mla-8/ . License : CC BY-NC-SA: Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike
• Overall Structure and Formatting of an MLA Paper. Provided by : Boundless. Located at : https://www.boundless.com/writing/textbooks/boundless-writing-textbook/writing-a-paper-in-mla-style-humanities-255/introduction-to-mla-style-299/overall-structure-and-formatting-of-an-mla-paper-301-16889/ . Project : Boundless Writing. License : CC BY-SA: Attribution-ShareAlike
• How to Format Your Paper in MLA Style. Authored by : Memorial University Libraries. Located at : https://youtu.be/4edLWc-elyQ?t=58s . License : CC BY: Attribution
• MLA: The Works Cited Section. Provided by : Boundless. Located at : https://www.boundless.com/writing/textbooks/boundless-writing-textbook/writing-a-paper-in-mla-style-humanities-255/mla-citations-and-references-303/mla-the-works-cited-section-319-16905/ . Project : Boundless Writing. License : CC BY-SA: Attribution-ShareAlike
• MLA 8th edition - UWF. Authored by : Joshua Vossler. Provided by : Vimeo. Located at : https://vimeo.com/174219606 . License : All Rights Reserved
• MLA: In-Text Citations and Parentheticals. Authored by : Catherine McCarthy. Provided by : Boundless. Located at : https://www.boundless.com/writing/textbooks/boundless-writing-textbook/writing-a-paper-in-mla-style-humanities-255/mla-citations-and-references-303/mla-the-works-cited-section-319-16905/ . Project : Boundless Writing. License : CC BY-SA: Attribution-ShareAlike
• Image of How to Cite Sources. Provided by : WikiHow. Located at : http://www.wikihow.com/Cite-Sources . License : CC BY-NC-SA: Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike
• What Are In-Text Citations?. Authored by : Imagine Easy Solutions. Located at : https://youtu.be/R5igNRmKLug . License : All Rights Reserved . License Terms : Standard YouTube License

Want to create or adapt books like this? Learn more about how Pressbooks supports open publishing practices.

C.1.4 Using Modern Language Association (MLA) Style

Learning objectives.

• Identify the major components of a research paper written using MLA style.
• Apply general Modern Language Association (MLA) style and formatting conventions in a research paper.

We have addressed American Psychological Association (APA) style, as well as the importance of giving credit where credit is due, so now let’s turn our attention to the formatting and citation style of the Modern Language Association, known as MLA style.

MLA style  is often used in the liberal arts and humanities. Like APA style, it provides a uniform framework for consistency across a document in several areas. MLA style provides a format for the manuscript text and parenthetical citations, or in-text citations. It also provides the framework for the works cited area for references at the end of the essay. MLA style emphasizes brevity and clarity. As a student writer, it is to your advantage to be familiar with both major styles, and this section will outline the main points of MLA as well as offer specific examples of commonly used references. Remember that your writing represents you in your absence. The correct use of a citation style demonstrates your attention to detail and ability to produce a scholarly work in an acceptable style, and it can help prevent the appearance or accusations of plagiarism.

If you are taking an English, art history, or music appreciation class, chances are that you will be asked to write an essay in MLA format. One common question goes something like “What’s the difference?” referring to APA and MLA style, and it deserves our consideration. The liberal arts and humanities often reflect works of creativity that come from individual and group effort, but they may adapt, change, or build on previous creative works. The inspiration to create something new, from a song to a music video, may contain elements of previous works. Drawing on your fellow artists and authors is part of the creative process, and so is giving credit where credit is due.

A reader interested in your subject wants not only to read what you wrote but also to be aware of the works that you used to create it. Readers want to examine your sources to see if you know your subject, to see if you missed anything, or if you offer anything new and interesting. Your new or up-to-date sources may offer the reader additional insight on the subject being considered. It also demonstrates that you, as the author, are up-to-date on what is happening in the field or on the subject. Giving credit where it is due enhances your credibility, and the MLA style offers a clear format to use.

Uncredited work that is incorporated into your own writing is considered plagiarism. In the professional world, plagiarism results in loss of credibility and often compensation, including future opportunities. In a classroom setting, plagiarism results in a range of sanctions, from loss of a grade to expulsion from a school or university. In both professional and academic settings, the penalties are severe. MLA offers artists and authors a systematic style of reference, again giving credit where credit is due, to protect MLA users from accusations of plagiarism.

MLA style uses a citation in the body of the essay that links to the works cited page at the end. The in-text citation is offset with parentheses, clearly calling attention to itself for the reader. The reference to the author or title is like a signal to the reader that information was incorporated from a separate source. It also provides the reader with information to then turn to the works cited section of your essay (at the end) where they can find the complete reference. If you follow the MLA style, and indicate your source both in your essay and in the works cited section, you will prevent the possibility of plagiarism. If you follow the MLA guidelines, pay attention to detail, and clearly indicate your sources, then this approach to formatting and citation offers a proven way to demonstrate your respect for other authors and artists.

Five Reasons to Use MLA Style

• To demonstrate your ability to present a professional, academic essay in the correct style
• To gain credibility and authenticity for your work
• To enhance the ability of the reader to locate information discussed in your essay
• To give credit where credit is due and prevent plagiarism
• To get a good grade or demonstrate excellence in your writing

Before we transition to specifics, please consider one word of caution: consistency. If you are instructed to use the MLA style and need to indicate a date, you have options. For example, you could use an international or a US style:

• International style: 18 May 1980 (day/month/year)
• US style: May 18, 1980 (month/day/year)

If you are going to the US style, be consistent in its use. You’ll find you have the option on page 83 of the MLA Handbook for Writers of Research Papers , 7th edition. You have many options when writing in English as the language itself has several conventions, or acceptable ways of writing particular parts of speech or information. For example, on the next page our MLA Handbook addresses the question:

Which convention is preferred in MLA style:

twentieth century Twentieth Century 20th century 20th Century

You are welcome to look in the MLA Handbook and see there is one preferred style or convention (you will also find the answer at end of this section marked by an asterisk [*]). Now you may say to yourself that you won’t write that term and it may be true, but you will come to a term or word that has more than one way it can be written. In that case, what convention is acceptable in MLA style? This is where the MLA Handbook serves as an invaluable resource. Again, your attention to detail and the professional presentation of your work are aspects of learning to write in an academic setting.

Now let’s transition from a general discussion on the advantages of MLA style to what we are required to do to write a standard academic essay. We will first examine a general “to do” list, then review a few “do not” suggestions, and finally take a tour through a sample of MLA features. Links to sample MLA papers are located at the end of this section.

General MLA List

• Use standard white paper (8.5 × 11 inches).
• Double space the essay and quotes.
• Use Times New Roman 12-point font.
• Use one-inch margins on all sides
• Indent paragraphs (five spaces or 1.5 inches).
• Include consecutive page numbers in the upper-right corner.
• Use italics to indicate a title, as in Writing for Success .
• On the first page, place your name, course, date, and instructor’s name in the upper-left corner.
• On the first page, place the title centered on the page, with no bold or italics and all words capitalized.
• On all pages, place the header, student’s name + one space + page number, 1.5 inches from the top, aligned on the right.

Depending on your field of study, you may sometimes write research papers in either APA or MLA style. Recognize that each has its advantages and preferred use in fields and disciplines. Learn to write and reference in both styles with proficiency.

Title Block Format

You never get a second chance to make a first impression, and your title block (not a separate title page; just a section at the top of the first page) makes an impression on the reader. If correctly formatted with each element of information in its proper place, form, and format, it says to the reader that you mean business, that you are a professional, and that you take your work seriously, so it should, in turn, be seriously considered. Your title block in MLA style contributes to your credibility. Remember that your writing represents you in your absence, and the title block is the tailored suit or outfit that represents you best. That said, sometimes a separate title page is necessary, but it is best both to know how to properly format a title block or page in MLA style and to ask your instructor if it is included as part of the assignment.

Course number

                                                                        Title of Paper

Paragraphs and Indentation

Make sure you indent five spaces (from the left margin). You’ll see that the indent offsets the beginning of a new paragraph. We use paragraphs to express single ideas or topics that reinforce our central purpose or thesis statement. Paragraphs include topic sentences, supporting sentences, and conclusion or transitional sentences that link paragraphs together to support the main focus of the essay.

Tables and Illustrations

Place tables and illustrations as close as possible to the text they reinforce or complement. Here’s an example of a table in MLA.

Table C.1.4.1

As we can see in Table C.1.4.1 , we have experienced significant growth since 2008.

This example demonstrates that the words that you write and the tables, figures, illustrations, or images that you include should be next to each other in your paper.

Parenthetical Citations

You must cite your sources as you use them. In the same way that a table or figure should be located right next to the sentence that discusses it (see the previous example), parenthetical citations, or citations enclosed in parenthesis that appear in the text, are required. You need to cite all your information. If someone else wrote it, said it, drew it, demonstrated it, or otherwise expressed it, you need to cite it. The exception to this statement is common, widespread knowledge. For example, if you search online for MLA resources, and specifically MLA sample papers, you will find many similar discussions on MLA style. MLA is a style and cannot be copyrighted because it is a style, but the seventh edition of the MLA Handbook can be copyright protected. If you reference a specific page in that handbook, you need to indicate it. If you write about a general MLA style issue that is commonly covered or addressed in multiple sources, you do not. When in doubt, reference the specific resource you used to write your essay.

Your in-text, or parenthetical, citations should do the following:

• Clearly indicate the specific sources also referenced in the works cited
• Specifically identify the location of the information that you used
• Keep the citation clear and concise, always confirming its accuracy

Works Cited Page

After the body of your paper comes the works cited page. It features the reference sources used in your essay. List the sources alphabetically by last name, or list them by title if the author is not known as is often the case of web-based articles. You will find links to examples of the works cited page in several of the sample MLA essays at the end of this section.

As a point of reference and comparison to our APA examples, let’s examine the following three citations and the order of the information needed.

In Appendix C.1.1 “Formatting a Research Paper” , you created a sample essay in APA style. After reviewing this section and exploring the resources linked at the end of the section (including California State University–Sacramento’s clear example of a paper in MLA format), please convert your paper to MLA style using the formatting and citation guidelines.

You may find it helpful to use online applications that quickly, easily, and at no cost convert your citations to MLA format, such as  Citation Machine ®.

Please convert the APA-style citations to MLA style. You may find that online applications can quickly, easily, and at no cost convert your citations to MLA format. There are several websites and applications available free (or as a free trial) that will allow you to input the information and will produce a correct citation in the style of your choice. Consider these two sites:

• http://www.noodletools.com
• http://citationmachine.net

Hint: You may need access to the Internet to find any missing information required to correctly cite in MLA style. This demonstrates an important difference between APA and MLA style—the information provided to the reader.

Useful Sources of Examples of MLA Style

Arizona State University Libraries offers an excellent resource with clear examples.

• http://libguides.asu.edu/content.php?pid=122697&sid=1132964

Purdue Online Writing Lab includes sample pages and works cited.

• http://owl.english.purdue.edu/owl/resource/747/01

California State University –Sacramento’s Online Writing Lab has an excellent visual description and example of an MLA paper.

• https://libguides.csudh.edu/citation/mla

SUNY offers an excellent, brief, side-by-side comparison of MLA and APA citations.

• https://www.smsu.edu/resources/webspaces/campuslife/writingcenter/MLA%20APA%20Compare.pdf

Cornell University Library provides comprehensive MLA information on its Citation Management website.

• https://www.library.cornell.edu/research/citation

The University of Kansas Writing Center is an excellent resource.

• https://writing.ku.edu/writing-guides

* (a) is the correct answer to the question at the beginning of this section. The MLA Handbook prefers “twentieth century.”

Key Takeaways

• MLA style is often used in the liberal arts and humanities.
• MLA style emphasizes brevity and clarity.
• A reader interested in your subject wants not only to read what you wrote but also to be informed of the works you used to create it.
• MLA style uses a citation in the body of the essay that refers to the works cited section at the end.
• If you follow MLA style, and indicate your source both in your essay and in the works cited section, you will prevent the possibility of plagiarism.

Putting the Pieces Together Copyright © 2020 by Andrew Stracuzzi and André Cormier is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International License , except where otherwise noted.

Share This Book

• school Campus Bookshelves
• menu_book Bookshelves
• perm_media Learning Objects
• login Login
• how_to_reg Request Instructor Account
• hub Instructor Commons

Margin Size

• Download Page (PDF)
• Download Full Book (PDF)
• Periodic Table
• Physics Constants
• Scientific Calculator
• Reference & Cite
• Tools expand_more
• Readability

selected template will load here

This action is not available.

13.3: Formatting a Literature Essay (MLA)

• Last updated
• Save as PDF
• Page ID 40523

• Heather Ringo & Athena Kashyap
• City College of San Francisco via ASCCC Open Educational Resources Initiative

\( \newcommand{\vecs}[1]{\overset { \scriptstyle \rightharpoonup} {\mathbf{#1}} } \)

\( \newcommand{\vecd}[1]{\overset{-\!-\!\rightharpoonup}{\vphantom{a}\smash {#1}}} \)

\( \newcommand{\id}{\mathrm{id}}\) \( \newcommand{\Span}{\mathrm{span}}\)

( \newcommand{\kernel}{\mathrm{null}\,}\) \( \newcommand{\range}{\mathrm{range}\,}\)

\( \newcommand{\RealPart}{\mathrm{Re}}\) \( \newcommand{\ImaginaryPart}{\mathrm{Im}}\)

\( \newcommand{\Argument}{\mathrm{Arg}}\) \( \newcommand{\norm}[1]{\| #1 \|}\)

\( \newcommand{\inner}[2]{\langle #1, #2 \rangle}\)

\( \newcommand{\Span}{\mathrm{span}}\)

\( \newcommand{\id}{\mathrm{id}}\)

\( \newcommand{\kernel}{\mathrm{null}\,}\)

\( \newcommand{\range}{\mathrm{range}\,}\)

\( \newcommand{\RealPart}{\mathrm{Re}}\)

\( \newcommand{\ImaginaryPart}{\mathrm{Im}}\)

\( \newcommand{\Argument}{\mathrm{Arg}}\)

\( \newcommand{\norm}[1]{\| #1 \|}\)

\( \newcommand{\Span}{\mathrm{span}}\) \( \newcommand{\AA}{\unicode[.8,0]{x212B}}\)

\( \newcommand{\vectorA}[1]{\vec{#1}}      % arrow\)

\( \newcommand{\vectorAt}[1]{\vec{\text{#1}}}      % arrow\)

\( \newcommand{\vectorB}[1]{\overset { \scriptstyle \rightharpoonup} {\mathbf{#1}} } \)

\( \newcommand{\vectorC}[1]{\textbf{#1}} \)

\( \newcommand{\vectorD}[1]{\overrightarrow{#1}} \)

\( \newcommand{\vectorDt}[1]{\overrightarrow{\text{#1}}} \)

\( \newcommand{\vectE}[1]{\overset{-\!-\!\rightharpoonup}{\vphantom{a}\smash{\mathbf {#1}}}} \)

Formatting Your Essay

The first step towards starting your essay, or putting on the finishing touch, is formatting. This helps give your essay a professional appearance. It also serves a practical purpose: instructors are better able to keep track of student essays with clear identifying information.

There are several ways to achieve the MLA essay format.

• The simplest way is to use an MLA template provided by your Word processor. For example, Google docs, Pages, and Microsoft Word all have preset templates for MLA Essays. Use the search bar in the program to find "MLA" templates.
• If your Word processor does not have an MLA template, or the MLA template is out of date, or you already wrote your essay, use the following parameters to manually format your essay.

Formatting Requirements

• 8 1/2 x 11" white paper (standard printer paper)
• 1-inch margins (most word processors do this automatically)
• 12 font Times New Roman (or any legible font -- no comic sans or symbols!)
• First name and last name
• Professor name (i.e. Professor Juanita Robledo)
• Class name (i.e. ENGL 1)
• Date of writing (i.e. 22 September 2019)
• Centered title

Formatting Your Essay Slideshow

Mla essay formatting template.

Studentfirstname Studentlastname

Professor Firstname Lastname

Class Title (i.e. English 110)

Day Month Year

Title of Essay

This is the body of the essay.This is the body of the essay.This is the body of the essay.This is the body of the essay.This is the body of the essay.This is the body of the essay.This is the body of the essay.This is the body of the essay.This is the body of the essay.This is the body of the essay.This is the body of the essay.This is the body of the essay.This is the body of the essay.This is the body of the essay.This is the body of the essay.This is the body of the essay.This is the body of the essay.This is the body of the essay.This is the body of the essay.This is the body of the essay.This is the body of the essay.This is the body of the essay.This is the body of the essay.This is the body of the essay.This is the body of the essay.This is the body of the essay.This is the body of the essay.This is the body of the essay.This is the body of the essay.This is the body of the essay.This is the body of the essay.This is the body of the essay.This is the body of the essay.This is the body of the essay.This is the body of the essay.This is the body of the essay.

Works Cited

Authorlastname, Firstname. "Title of Poem or Short Work." Container Title. Date published.

Authorlastname, Firstname. Book Title. C ity of publication: Publisher, Date published.

Sample MLA Formatted Essay

Todd Goodwin

Professor Stan Matyshak

English 110

17 September 2019

Poe’s “Usher”: A Mirror of the Fall of the House of Humanity

Right from the outset of the grim story “The Fall of the House of Usher,” Edgar Allan Poe enmeshes us in a dark, gloomy, hopeless world, alienating his characters and the reader from any sort of physical or psychological norm where such values as hope and happiness could possibly exist. He fatalistically tells the story of how a man (the narrator) comes from the outside world of hope, religion, and everyday society and tries to bring some kind of redeeming happiness to his boyhood friend, Roderick Usher, who not only has physically and psychologically wasted away, but is entrapped in a dilapidated house of ever-looming terror with an emaciated and deranged twin sister. Roderick Usher embodies the wasting away of what once was vibrant and alive, and his house of “insufferable gloom” (273), which contains his morbid sister, seems to mirror or reflect this fear of death and annihilation that he most horribly endures. A close reading of the story reveals that Poe uses mirror images, or reflections, to contribute to the fatalistic theme of “Usher”: each reflection serves to intensify an already prevalent tone of hopelessness, darkness, and fatalism. It could be argued that the house of Roderick Usher is a “house of mirrors,” whose unpleasant and grim reflections create a dark and hopeless setting. For example, the narrator first approaches “the melancholy house of Usher on a dark and soundless day,” and finds a building which causes him a “sense of insufferable gloom” which “pervades his spirit and causes an iciness, a sinking, a sickening of the heart, an undiscerned dreariness of thought” (273). The narrator then optimistically states: “I reflected that a mere different arrangement of the scene, of the details of the picture, would be sufficient to modify, or perhaps annihilate its capacity for sorrowful impression” (274). But the narrator then sees the reflection of the house in the tarn and experiences a “shudder even more thrilling than before” (274). Thus the reader begins to realize that the narrator cannot change or stop the impending doom that will befall the house of Usher, and maybe humanity. The story cleverly plays with the word reflection : the narrator sees a physical reflection that leads him to a mental reflection about Usher’s surroundings.

The narrator’s disillusionment by such grim reflection continues in the story. For example, he describes Roderick Usher’s face as distinct with signs of old strength but lost vigor: the remains of what used to be. He describes the house as a once happy and vibrant place which, like Roderick, lost its vitality. Also, the narrator describes Usher’s hair as growing wild on his rather obtrusive head, which directly mirrors the eerie moss and straw which cover the outside of the house. The narrator continually longs to see these bleak reflections as a dream, for he states: “Shaking off from my spirit what must have been a dream, I scanned more narrowly the real aspect of the building” (276, emphasis in original). He does not want to face the reality that Usher and his home are doomed to fall, regardless of what he does.

Although there are almost countless examples of these mirror images, two others stand out as important. First, Roderick and his sister, Madeline, are twins. The narrator aptly states just as he and Roderick are entombing Madeline that there is “a striking similitude between brother and sister” (288). Indeed, they are mirror images of each other. Madeline is fading away psychologically and physically, and Roderick is not too far behind! The reflection of “doom” that these two share helps intensify and symbolize the hopelessness of the entire situation; thus, they further develop the fatalistic theme. Second, in the climactic scene where Madeline has been mistakenly entombed alive, there is a pairing of images and sounds as the narrator tries to calm Roderick by reading him a romance story. Events in the story simultaneously unfold with events of the sister escaping her tomb. In the story, the hero breaks out of the coffin. Then in the story, the dragon’s shriek as he is slain parallels Madeline’s shriek. Finally, the story tells of the clangor of a shield, matched by the sister’s clanging along a metal passageway. As the suspense reaches its climax, Roderick shrieks his last words to his “friend” the narrator: “Madman! I tell you that she now stands without the door” (296).

Roderick, who slowly falls into insanity, ironically calls the narrator the “Madman.” We are left to reflect on what Poe means by this ironic twist. Poe’s bleak and dark imagery, and his use of mirror reflections, seem only to intensify the hopelessness of “Usher.” We can plausibly conclude that indeed the narrator is the “Madman,” for he comes from everyday society, which is a place where hope and faith exist. Poe would probably argue that such a place is opposite to the world of Usher because a world where death is inevitable could not possibly hold such positive values. Therefore, just as Roderick mirrors his sister, the reflection in the tarn mirrors the dilapidation of the house, and the story mirrors the final actions before the death of Usher. “The Fall of the House of Usher” reflects Poe’s view that humanity is hopelessly doomed.

Poe, Edgar Allan. “The Fall of the House of Usher.” 1839. Electronic Text Center, University of Virginia Library . 1995. Web. 1 July 2012. < http://etext.virginia.edu/toc/modeng/public/PoeFall.html >.

Contributors and Attributions

• Adapted from "Student Sample Papers..." Creating Literary Analysis by Ryan Cordell and John Pennington CC BY-NC-SA 4.0
• "MLA Formatting Guide" Excelsior Online Writing Lab CC BY 4.0

Purdue Online Writing Lab Purdue OWL® College of Liberal Arts

MLA Sample Paper

Welcome to the Purdue OWL

This page is brought to you by the OWL at Purdue University. When printing this page, you must include the entire legal notice.

Copyright ©1995-2018 by The Writing Lab & The OWL at Purdue and Purdue University. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, reproduced, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed without permission. Use of this site constitutes acceptance of our terms and conditions of fair use.

This resource contains a sample MLA paper that adheres to the 2016 updates. To download the MLA sample paper, click this link .

• Robertson Library

MLA Citation Guide

Mla 9th edition.

MLA 9th edition was released in the spring of 2021. Make sure that any resources or citation generators you use are for the correct edition.

We do not currently have online access to the MLA Handbook, but we do have a copy on reserve at the Library Service Desk. You can borrow it by asking at the desk.

Tutors in the Writing Centre can help you with MLA formatting and citations.

Official MLA Style Center resources for MLA 9th Edition:

• A quick guide to works cited
• Sample papers in MLA Style format
• An interactive practice template for works cited
• Formatting your paper
• "How do I cite generative AI in MLA style?"

Basics of MLA Citations

If you are citing sources in an MLA style paper, you'll have brief in-text citations throughout your paper as well as longer full citations on your Works Cited list.

In-text citations in MLA are usually parenthetical citations that include the author's surname and, if relevant, a page number. Usually, there are no commas or years. (If you're reading a paper that routinely has commas and/or years in its parenthetical citations, it might be in APA , Chicago , or another style.)

Full citations in MLA are based on the idea that works have an author or authors, a title , and one or more containers . The container could be something like a journal (for a journal article), a TV series (for a television episode), an anthology (for a short story), a scholarly book (for a book chapter), or a concert (when discussing the performance of a single work). Some works, like novels or films, are usually their own containers. If you're citing a journal article that you accessed through a library database, you'll need to include information for two containers (the journal and the database).

For examples, see " MLA Style Quick Guide " or " Poetry, Songs, and Plays " from the libraries at Memorial University of Newfoundland.

Last updated 29 November 2023

MLA Style Guide, 7th Edition: Parts of Books or Anthologies

• About In-text Citations
• In-text Examples
• How to Paraphrase and Quote
• What to Include
• Editors, Translators, etc.
• Publication Date
• Volume/Issue
• Place of Publication
• Date of Access (when needed)
• Book with Personal Author(s)
• Book with Editor(s)
• Book with Organization as Author
• Work with No Author

Parts of Books or Anthologies

• Multi-Volume Works
• Journal Article
• Newspaper Article
• Magazine Article
• Government Publication
• Web Publications
• Other Common Sources
• Formatting Your Paper
• Formatting Your 'Works Cited' List
• Annotated Bibliography
• << Previous: Work with No Author
• Next: Multi-Volume Works >>
• Last Updated: Dec 11, 2020 4:39 PM
• URL: https://irsc.libguides.com/mla7