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What is MLA?

The Modern Language Association (MLA) style exists to provide consistency amongst writers and

researchers and ensure conventions are followed in a particular manner.

Writers who use MLA format correctly identify their source, thus giving their work more credibility.

Additionally, those who use MLA properly protect themselves from plagiarizing.

MLA has guidelines for formatting papers, referencing sources used through parenthetical

documentation and works cited pages.

Formatting Your Paper

When compiling your paper, there are specific guidelines to stay consistent with MLA formatting. They

are as follows:

• The paper should be typed and printed on standard, white 8 ½ x 11 paper

• Double space the text of your paper and use a 12 point font (including quotations, notes, and

works cited) DO NOT increase spacing between paragraphs

• Choose an easily readable typeface (e.g. New Times Roman)

• Leave only 1 space after punctuation marks

• Margins of the document should be set at 1 inch on all sides

• Use the Tab key to indent the first line of each paragraph

• Number all pages consecutively by using a header in the upper right-hand corner (generally

suggested that the header contain the authors last name, followed by page number)

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Formatting the First Page

A paper using MLA format should not have a separate title page. Instead, in the upper left-hand corner

of the first page, list your name, instructors name, course, and date, followed by a centered title (all

double spaced). Do not italicize, underline, boldface or use caps lock on your title.

Example:

In-Text Citations

In order to appropriately cite your sources used in a paper, both a works cited page and parenthetical

(in-text) citations are required. This process identifies to your readers exactly what information come

from each source. The most common way to document this is to insert parenthesis after using another’s

words, facts, or ideas. The parenthesis should include the original author’s last name and page number.

Example:

You may also choose to cite your source within your text, such as the example below:

In many instances, an author or page number may not be available. In such an occasion, your in-text

source information must be the first thing that appears on the left-hand margin of your Works Cited

page.

The most important thing to remember is that the in-text citations must direct you to the appropriate

source in your Works Cited page.

It may be true that “in the appreciation of medieval art the attitude of the observer is of primary

importance . . .” (Robertson 136).

It may be true, as Robertson maintains, that “in the appreciation of medieval art the attitude of the

observer is of primary importance . . .” (136).

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If you do not have the author or page number, use the following formats:

In-Text Citations: Citing a Work with No Page Number (film, performance, web)

It is preferred to reference the source in the text, rather than in parenthesis; however, you are unable to

acknowledge your source in the text, it is acceptable to just refer to the author in parenthesis.

Example:

In-Text Citations: Citing a Work without an Author

If the work you are using has no author, use the title (or an abbreviated version of the work’s title)

instead.

Example:

In-Text Citations: Citing Authors with the Same Last Name

Occasionally, it will be necessary to add an author’s first initial to delineate between authors who have

the same last name. An author’s full first name may also be necessary if sources share the same first

initial.

Example:

In-Text Citations: Citing a Multi-Volume Work

When citing a multi-volume work (such as an encyclopedia), a page number is required but additional

citation information is helpful. If using a multivolume work, try to include both the page number and

volume in the parenthetical documentation. Separate the volume and page number with colon and a

space.

Example:

The utilitarianism of the Victorians “attempted to reduce decision-making about human actions to a

‘felicific calculus’” (Everett).

The nine grades of mandarins were “distinguished by the color of the button on the hats of office”

(“Mandarin”).

Between 1945 and 1972, the political-party system in the United States underwent profound changes

(Schlesinger, vol. 4: 112).

Although some medical ethicists claim that cloning will lead to designer children (R. Miller 12), others

note that the advantages for medical research outweigh this consideration (A. Miller 46).

In-Text Citations: Citing Multiple Works

To cite multiple works in the same parenthetical reference, separate the citations by a semi

Example:

In-Text Citations: Citing a Work with Multiple Authors

Citing a source with three or fewer authors

Example:

If citing a source with more than three authors

Example:

In-Text Citations: Citing Works by the Same Author

To reference works by the same author, put a comma after the author’s last name and add the title of

the work being referenced and the relevant page reference (if available).

Example:

(Fukuyama 42; McRae 101-33)

Although writings describing utopia have always seemed to take place far from the everyday

fact “all utopian fiction whirls contemporary actors through a costume dance no place else but here”

(Rabkin, Greenberg, and Olander).

Legal experts counter Smith, Yang and Moore’s argument by noting that the current spike in gun

violence in America compels law makers to adjust gun laws (Jones et al. 4).

Shakespeare’s King Lear has been called a “comedy of the grotesque” (Frye,

Text Citations: Citing Multiple Works

To cite multiple works in the same parenthetical reference, separate the citations by a semi

Text Citations: Citing a Work with Multiple Authors

three or fewer authors requires you to list the last name of each author.

more than three authors, provide the first author’s last name followed by

Text Citations: Citing Works by the Same Author

ence works by the same author, put a comma after the author’s last name and add the title of

the work being referenced and the relevant page reference (if available).

Although writings describing utopia have always seemed to take place far from the everyday

fact “all utopian fiction whirls contemporary actors through a costume dance no place else but here”

(Rabkin, Greenberg, and Olander).

Legal experts counter Smith, Yang and Moore’s argument by noting that the current spike in gun

violence in America compels law makers to adjust gun laws (Jones et al. 4).

has been called a “comedy of the grotesque” (Frye, Anatomy

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To cite multiple works in the same parenthetical reference, separate the citations by a semi-colon.

requires you to list the last name of each author.

, provide the first author’s last name followed by “et al.”

ence works by the same author, put a comma after the author’s last name and add the title of

Although writings describing utopia have always seemed to take place far from the everyday world, in

fact “all utopian fiction whirls contemporary actors through a costume dance no place else but here”

Legal experts counter Smith, Yang and Moore’s argument by noting that the current spike in gun

Anatomy 237).

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In-Text Citations: Citing the Bible

Each version of the bible varies in its translation; therefore, when citing references to the Bible, you

need to distinguish which version you are using. The name of the Bible should be italicized, followed by

the book, then chapter and verse.

Example:

Once establishing the Bible edition, all future references to the same Bible can just cite book, chapter,

and verse.

Example:

In-Text Citations: Citing an Indirect Source

The definition of an indirect source is a source cited within another source. It is recommended that you

try to find the original source; however, sometimes citing an indirect source may be necessary. In order

to do so, use “qtd. in” to indicate the source you actually consulted.

Example:

Ezekiel saw “what seemed to be four living creatures,” each with faces of a man, a lion, an ox, and an

eagle (New Jerusalem Bible, Esekiel 1.5-10)

(Esekiel 1.5-10)

Samuel Johnson admitted that Edmund Burke was an “extraordinary man” (qtd. in Boswell 2: 450).

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Formatting Quotations

It is common to quote sources word-for-word when completing a paper. When directly quoting the

words of others, it is necessary to format differently, based on the length of the quote.

Short Quotations

For short quotations (less than three typed lines), enclose a quotation mark around the statement and

provide the author and page number immediately afterwards or cite within your text. Question marks

and exclamation points should appear within the quotation marks if it is part of the quoted passage;

however, the punctuation should appear after the parenthetical citation if they are a part of your text.

Example:

Long Quotations

A free-standing block should be used for longer quotations (more than three typed lines). Follow these

guidelines: 1) omit quotation marks 2) start the quote on a new line 3) indent the entire quote one inch

from the left margin 4) maintain double spacing 5) only indent first line of the quotation by a half inch if

you are citing multiple paragraphs 6) the citation should come at the end after the closing punctuation

mark.

Example:

“He was obeyed,” writes Joseph Conrad of the company manager in Heart of Darkness, “yet he

inspired neither love nor fear, nor even respect” (87).

At the conclusion of Lord of the Flies, Ralph and the other boys realize the horror of their

actions:

The tears began to flow and sobs shook him. He gave himself up to them now for the

first time on the island; great, shuddering spasms of grief that seemed to wrench his

whole body. His voice rose under the black smoke before the burning wreckage of

the island; and infected by that emotion, the other little boys began to shake and sob

too. (186)

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Adding or Omitting Words In Quotations

If you must add or delete any verbiage from a quotation, it is required that you indicate as such.

If you add words, you must put brackets around the words to indicate they are not a component of the

original text.

Example:

If you omit (delete) word/words from a quotation, you should signify this by using ellipsis marks (. . . ) in

the portion that was deleted.

Example:

Outlining

It is common for instructors to require an outline to accompany the final draft of your paper. If it is a

requirement to turn in an outline of your paper, the labeling should conform to MLA format.

Example:

I.

A.

1.

a.

(1)

(a)

(b)

II.

A.

1.

a.

(1)

(a)

(b)

He claimed he could provide “hundreds of examples [of court decisions] to illustrate the historical

tension between church and state.”

In surveying various responses to plagues in the Middle Ages, Barbara W. Tuchman writes, “Medical

thinking . . . stressed air as the communicator of disease, ignoring sanitation or visible carriers” (101-

02).

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Works Cited Page

A works cited page is a requirement for any paper containing information from another source. All

entries within the Works Cited page must correspond to the works cited in the text of your paper.

Basic Rules

• The Works Cited page must be on a separate sheet of paper, removed from the body of your

essay

• Continue the same one-inch margin and header as the rest of your paper

• Title the page Works Cited (do not italicize or place in quotation marks) and make sure the title

is centered

• Double space all citations; however, do not skip spaces between citation entries

• Indent the second (and all subsequent) lines of the entry (1/2 inch or 5 spaces)

• The works cited page must be alphabetized by the first word of the citation entry

Example:

***NEW TO MLA***

• For EVERY REFERENCE in your works cited page, you must determine the medium of the

publication. You must indicate that the source is one of the following: Print, Web, Film, CD-ROM,

DVD, Radio, Television, CD, Performance, Photograph, Interview, Address, Lecture, Keynote

speech, Reading, E-mail, PDF file, Microsoft Word file, JPEG file, MP3 file, XML file

• URLs are no longer required for website entries. You must provide enough information in the

citation that it can be located without the URL. If you are unable to provide enough information,

you should likely opt not to use the source.

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• If you are citing an article from an online database, you should name the database (in italics) but

you need not provide the subscription information.

• Use italics (instead of underlining) for titles and quotation marks for shorter works (poems,

articles)

• If you are citing an article or publication that was originally issued in print format but that was

retrieved electronically, you should provide enough information that the reader can locate it in

its original print form or online.

• Abbreviations are expected for electronic sources in the following instances:

o n.p. to indicate the lack of publisher or sponsor name

o n.d. to indicate when a webpage does not have a publication date

o n. pag. to indicate no page (as in the case of online-only journals or periodicals)

Citation Formats

Print Resources

Print resources are all the publications that are tangible or a “hard copy.”

Print: Basic Entry

Author’s last name, First name. Title of the book. Place of Publication: Publisher, Year of Publication.

Medium of Publication.

Example:

Print: Book with More Than One Author

Author’s last name, First name, and Subsequent Author(s) Name. Title of Book. Place of Publication:

Publisher, Year of Publication. Medium of Publication.

Example:

Note: If there are more than three authors, you may choose to list only the first author followed by the

phrase et al.

Franke, Damon. Modernist Heresies: British Literary History, 1883-1924. Columbus: Ohio State UP,

2008. Print.

Booth, Wayne C., Gregory G. Colomb, and Joseph M. Williams. The Craft of Research. 2nd ed.

Chicago: U of Chicago P, 2003. Print.

Broer, Lawrence R., and Gloria Holland. Hemingway and Women: Female Critics and the Female

Voice. Tuscaloosa: U of Alabama P, 2002. Print.

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Example:

Print: Two or More Books by the Same Author

Give the name of the author in the first entry only. Thereafter, in place of the author’s name, place three

hyphens, followed by a period.

---. Title of the Book. Place of Publication: Publisher, Year of Publication. Medium of Publication.

Example:

Print: Book with No Author

For books with no author or editor listed, list the book on your works cited page by the title of the book.

Title of the Book. Place of Publication: Publisher, Year of Publication. Medium of Publication.

Example:

Print: Poem or Short Story (Anthology)

Author’s last name, First name. “Title of Poem.” Title of Book. Ed. Editor Name. Place of Publication:

Publisher, Year of Publication. Page Number. Medium of Publication.

Plag, Ingo, et al. Introduction to English Linguistics. Berlin: Mouton, 2007. Print.

Borroff, Marie. Language and the Poet: Verbal Artistry in Frost, Stevens, and Moore. Chicago: U of

Chicago P, 1979. Print.

---, trans. Pearl. New York: Norton, 1977. Print.

---. “Sound Symbolism as Drama in the Poetry of Robert Frost.” PMLA 107.1 (1992): 131-44. JSTOR.

Web. 13 May 2008.

---, ed. Wallace Stevens: A Collection of Critical Essays. Englewood Cliffs: Prentice, 1963. Print.

American Heritage Guide to Contemporary Usage and Style. Boston: Houghton, 2005. Print.

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Example:

Print: Article in a Reference Book

“Title of Article or Entry.” Name of Reference Book. Edition. Year of Publication. Medium of Publication.

Example:

Print: The Bible

Specific Name of the Edition. Ed. Editor Name. Place of Publication: Publisher, Year of Publication.

Medium of Publication.

Example:

Dictionary Definition

“Word looked up.” Definition number. Dictionary Name. Edition. Year. Medium of Publication.

Example:

Periodicals

Periodicals are publications printed on a regular basis, such as magazines, newspapers, and scholarly

journals. Periodicals are considered print resources, the same as books, however are cited differently to

designate the differences that exist between periodicals and books.

“Ginsburg, Ruth Bader.” Who’s Who in America. 62nd ed. 2008. Print.

More, Hannah. “The Black Slave Trade: A Poem.” British Women Poets of the Romantic Era. Ed. Paula

R. Feldman. Baltimore: Johns Hopkins UP, 1997. 472-82. Print.

The English Standard Version Bible: Containing the Old and New Testaments with Apocrypha.

Oxford: Oxford UP, 2009. Print.

“Noon.” Def. 4b. The Oxford English Dictionary. 2nd ed. 1989. Print.

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Print: Magazine

Author(s). “Title of Article.” Title of Periodical Day Month Year: Pages. Medium of Publication.

Example:

Print: Newspaper

When citing a newspaper, you should eliminate the introductory article (i.e. New York Times vs. The New

York Times). If the newspaper is national, you need not include the city of publication.

Author(s). “Title of Article.” Newspaper Name Day Month Year, Edition (if available): Pages. Medium of

Publication.

Example:

If the newspaper is less well-known or a local publication, include the city name and state in brackets

after the title of the newspaper

Example:

Print: Anonymous Articles

Cite the article title first, and finish the citation as you would any other for that kind of periodical.

Print: Article in a Scholarly Journal

Author(s). “Title of Article.” Title of Journal Volume. Issue (Year): pages. Medium of Publication.

Weintraub, Arlene, and Laura Cohen. “A Thousand-Year Plan for Nuclear Waste.” Business Week 6

May 2002: 94-96. Print.

Jeromack, Paul. “This Once, a David of the Art World Does Goliath a Favor.” New York Times 13 July

2002, late ed.: B7+. Print.

Alaton, Salem. “So, Did They Live Happily Ever After?” Globe and Mail [Toronto] 27 Dec. 1997: D1+.

Print.

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Example:

Electronic Sources and Web Publications

Remember that not every web page will provide all the source information. Instead, you must use the

appropriate abbreviation to indicate when source information is not available (n.p. if no publisher name

is available and n.d. if a publishing date is not given).

Web: Web Site

Author, Editor or Compiler Name. “Title of Page.” Name of Entire Site. Name of Institution

or Organization Affiliated With the Site (use n.p. if not available), Date of Creation (use n.d. if no

date). Medium of Publication. Date of Access.

Example:

Web: Teacher, Course, or Department Web Site

Instructor’s Last Name, First Name. Title of the Course. Department and/or School Name, Day Month

Year. Medium of Publication. Date of Access.

Example:

Web: An Image (including Painting, Sculpture, Photograph)

Artist’s name. Name of the Work. Date of Creation. Institution, City Where the Art is Housed. Name

Of the Website. Medium of Publication. Date of Access.

Example:

Piper, Andrew. “Rethinking the Print Object: Goethe and the Book of Everything.” PMLA 121.1 (2006):

124-38. Print.

Quade, Alex. “Elite Team Rescues Troops Behind Enemy Lines.” CNN.com. Cable News Network, 19

Mar. 2007. Web. 15 May 2008.

Felluga, Dino. Survey of the Literature of England. Purdue U, Aug. 2006. Web. 31 May 2007.

Klee, Paul. Twittering Machine. 1922. Museum of Modern Art, New York. The Archive. Web.

22 May 2006.

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Web: Article in a Web Magazine

Author’s Name. “Article Name.” Title of Web Magazine. Publisher Name, Day Month Year. Medium

of Publication. Date Accessed.

Example:

Web: Article from an Online Database (or Other Electronic Subscription Service)

An article from an online database should be cited just as it would be in print (refer to specific source in

Print section of this guide). Additionally, add the title of the database, the medium of publication, and

the date of access.

Examples:

Web: eBook

Author’s Name. Title of Book. Edition. Place of Publication: Publisher, Year. Name of Database. Medium

of Publication. Date of Access.

Web: eBook (encyclopedia)

“Article Title.” Title of Encyclopedia. Editor Name. Volume. City of Publication: Publisher, Year. Page(s).

Name of Database. Medium of Publication. Date of Access.

Bernstein, Mark. “10 Tips on Writing the Living Web.” A List Apart Magazine. 16 Aug. 2002. Web.

4 May 2009.

Evangelista, Stefano. Rev. of Victorian and Edwardian Responses to the Italian Renaissance, ed. John

E. Law and Lene Østermark-Johansen. Victorian Studies 46.4 (2006): 729-31. Academic Search

Premier. Web. 12 Mar. 2007.

Tolson, Nancy. “Making Books Available: The Role of Early Libraries, Librarians, and Booksellers in the

Promotion of African American Children’s Literature.” African American Review 32.1 (1998):

9-16. JSTOR. Web. 5 June 2008.

Stevenson, Robert Louis. Treasure Island. McHenry, Ill: Follett Digital Press, 2005. Follett Digital

Reader. Web. 1 Feb. 2010.

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Web: E-mail (including Interviews)

Author of the Message. “Subject Line.” Receiver of the Message. Date E-mail was Sent. Medium of

Publication.

Example:

Web: A Listserve, Discussion Group, or Blog

Citing Web postings should follow the guidelines of a standard web page entry. It is acceptable to

include screen names as author names; however, if both an author name and screen name are available,

place the author’s name in brackets.

Example:

Kunka, Andrew. “Re: Modernist Literature.” Message to the Author. 15 Nov. 2000. E-mail.

Salmar1515 [Sal Hernandez]. “Re: Best Strategy: Fenced Pastures vs. Max Number of Rooms?”

BoardGameGeek, 29 Sept. 2008. Web. 5 Apr. 2009.

“Ray Charles. ”UXL Encyclopedia of World Biography. Laura B. Tyle, ed. Detroit: UXL, 2003. 1989. p

431-433. Gale Virtual Reference Library. Web 13 Jan. 2010.

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Other Common Sources

Personal Interview

Interviewee Name. Descriptor of Type of Interview. Day Month Year of Interview.

Examples:

Published Interviews (Print or Broadcast)

Interviewee Name. “Title of the Interview.” Source of Interview. Medium of Publication. Complete the

Remainder With Information Required for that Medium.

Examples:

Speeches, Lectures and Other Oral Presentations

Speaker’s Name. “Title of Speech.” (if known) Meeting and Sponsoring Organization. Location. Day

Month Year. Medium of Publication.

Example:

Films or Movies

Title of Film. Director Name. Distributor, Year of Release. Medium of Publication.

Note: additional information, such as performers or producers can be added between the title and

distributor if considered pertinent.

Example:

Pei, I. M. Personal interview. 22 July 1993.

Reed, Ishmael. Telephone interview. 10 Dec. 2007.

Alter, Robert, and Marilynne Robinson. “The Psalms: A Reading and Conversation.” 92nd Street Y,

New York. 17 Dec. 2007. Reading.

Matuozzi, Robert. “Archive Trauma.” Archive Trouble. MLA Annual Convention. Hyatt Regency,

Chicago. 29 Dec. 2007. Address.

It’s a Wonderful Life. Dir. Frank Capra. Perf. James Stewart, Donna Reed, Lionel Barrymore, and

Thomas Mitchell. 1946. Republic, 2001. DVD.

Gordimer, Nadine. Interview. New York Times 10 Oct. 1991, late ed.: C25. Print.

Wiesel, Elie. Interview by Ted Koppel. Nightline. ABC. WABC, New York. 18 Apr. 2002. Television.

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Broadcast Television or Radio

“Title of the Episode or Segment.” Title of the Program or Series. Name of Network (if any). Call Letters

and City of the Station (if any), Broadcast Date. Medium of Publication.

Example:

Sound Recording

Artist, Performer or Composer Name. “Song Title.” Album Name. Recording Manufacturer, Date.

Medium of Publication.

Note: Use abbreviations of (comp.) for composer, (narr.) for narrator and (perf.) for performers. Treat

spoken word recordings as sound recordings.

Examples:

Due to the varied formats of today’s sources, the likelihood of having multiple means of citation is

increased. Oftentimes, sources will fit into more than one category. Remember that your goal is to guide

your reader to sources; you choose which citation is best for such a task.

References:

Brizee, Allen. “MLA 2009 Formatting and Style Guide.” OWL at Purdue. Perdue University, 7 Oct. 2009. Web. 21 Oct. 2009.

Hacker, Diana. The Bedford Handbook: Seventh Edition. Boston: Bedford/St. Martin’s, 2009. Print

MLA Handbook for Writers of Research Papers. Seventh Ed. New York: Modern Language Association of America. 2009. Print.

Examples Used:

MLA Handbook for Writers of Research Papers. Seventh Ed. New York: Modern Language Association of America. 2009. Print.

Ellington, Duke, cond. First Carnegie Hall Concert. Duke Ellington Orch. Rec. 23 Jan. 1943. Prestige,

1977. LP.

Hermann, Edward, narr. John Adams. By David McCullough. Simon, 2001. Audiocassette.

Holiday, Billie. The Essence of Billie Holiday. Columbia, 1991. CD.

“Death and Society.” Weekend Edition Sunday. Natl. Public Radio. WUWM, Milwaukee, 25 Jan. 1998.

Radio.