A Guide to
Using
MLA Format
Modern Language Association
Liberty Christian School
English Department
MLA Format
Table of Contents
v Paper and binding……………………………………………………3
v Margins, line spacing, and paragraphs………………………………3
v Printing and fonts……………………………………………………3
v Page numbers ……………………………………………………….3
v Spaces between sentences………………………………… ..……...3
v Heading ……………………………………………………… .. …..4
v Title …………………………………………….…………… ..……4
v Page one example ……………………………. . …………………..5
v Late corrections ……………………… ..……….………………….5
v Basic MLA citation style…………… ……….……………...... …6
Ø In-text citations………………………… ….…… ..…..…….6
Ø Works Cited list……………………… ..…….… ……..……7
§ Bibliographic references……….. …….…………..….8
§ Titles……………………………… . ………….……8
§ Alphabetization………………… . .……….…………8
§ Capitalization……………………….……… …...…...8
§ Underlining/italics and quotation marks….….. …… ...8
§ Titles in titles…………………………….….…… ..…9
§ Exceptions…………………………….……….…… ...9
v MLA citation and reference details………………….……………...10
Ø 1-19…………………………………….…………… …10 - 16
v MLA Internet citations and references……………… ……………..17
MLA Format
v Paper and binding
Use white, unlined 8.5" by 11" paper. Reports should be stapled or paper-clipped in the upper left corner. You may use binders or plastic covers if your teacher wants them.
v Margins, line spacing, and paragraphs
Use one inch margins on all four sides, except for page numbers (see below). The report should be double-spaced throughout (including quotations, notes, and the list of works cited). Do not leave blank lines after the title or between paragraphs. The first line of each new paragraph is indented one-half inch on the left (or five spaces if you use a typewriter). Block/set-off quotations are indented one inch on the left.
v Printing and fonts
Type the report; do not turn in handwritten formal work. Print on only one side of the page in black ink. Use a plain font—no cursive fonts. Good choices are Times Roman and Arial. Do not use a courier font.
Use italics for emphasis if your teacher allows.
v Page numbers
Begin page numbers on the first page. Place page numbers half an inch from the top edge of the paper, aligned with the right margin. Type your last name before the page number (Smith 1), in case the page comes loose. Do not put any punctuation between the last name and the page number.(Word processors can automate this process.)
v Spaces between sentences
You should put just one space after the ending punctuation between sentences.
v Heading
On the first line of page one (below the top margin and aligned with the left margin), type your heading to include the following each on a separate line with double-spacing throughout:
1) your name
2) your professor's name
3) the course name or number (including section number if the course has multiple sections)
4)the date you're turning in the paper
v Title
Research papers do not need title pages. Place your title on the first page of the essay, separated from the heading by a blank line. Center the title and use the same font used throughout the rest of your paper. Do not italicize or underline your title (however, if you include a book title in your paper's title, you should italicize or underline it).
Make sure your essay has an interesting and meaningful title that is more than a simple identifier. Your title should reflect what your essay is about. A common writing tool used to create sophistication is to use a title and subtitle, separating them with a colon. Typically the titles are balanced so that one is general while the other narrows or focuses the topic.
See two examples below:
Mysteries of State: An Absolute Concept and its Late Medieval Origins[1]"Hell Strives With Grace": Reflections on the Theme of Providence in Marlowe[2]
v Page one example
Below is an example of how the first page of a MLA format paper should appear:
[3]
v Late corrections
Editing for mistakes in your report should be done ahead of time and changed on your computer before you print out your final draft. However, if you find an error on your final draft (when you no longer have the time to print out a corrected version), you should hand-correct the printed version. When you must make a hand correction, cross out your error with one single horizontal line. Mark the insertion point for your correction with a caret (^), and neatly print your correction above. (Do not write below the line or in the margin.) Note: This should only be done for minor, last minute corrections. If you have an extensive correction or more than a couple of minor corrections, you will need to print a revised copy.
[4]v Basic MLA citation style
Basic MLA citations consist of a concise in-text citation keyed to a works cited reference page to be found at the end of the paper. An inclusive citation has two parts: (1) an in-text citation in the body of the paper, and (2) a bibliographic reference in the list of works cited.
(1) In-text citationThe novel opens evocatively, with a beginning that sounds almost like an ending: "So the beginning of this was a woman and she had come back from burying the dead" (Hurston 9).
(2) Reference in the list of works cited
Hurston, Zora Neale. Their Eyes Were Watching God (Urbana: U of Illinois P, 1978).[5]
Ø In-text citations
An in-text citation (often called a parenthetical citation) includes two components: 1) an author and 2) a page number or reference (with no addition like page or pg. or p.)
EX: Symbolism plays the most important literary role in weaving the theme throughout the short story (Jones 146).
Generally, you will not need to reiterate the author’s name or page number if it is already included within the sentence.
EX: Jones believes symbolism played the most important literary in weaving the theme throughout the short story (146).
Or
EX: Jones states on page 146 that symbolism played the most important literary role in weaving the theme throughout the short story.
If you refer to the work as a whole rather than a specific passage, then the author’s last name is sufficient as a reference.
EX: Symbolism plays an important literary role in weaving theme throughout a short story (Jones).
However, it is appropriate to repeat information if additional material between a inner sentence reference and the parenthetical citation might make for confusion or ambiguity.
EX: Jones believes symbolism played the most important literary role in weaving the theme throughout the short story, which is very unlike Smith’s perspective (Jones 146).
Ø Works Cited list
MLA format necessitates a list of sources with complete bibliographic information at the end of the paper entitled Works Cited. The Works Cited page begins on a new page and continues the paper's page numbers. Center the title an inch from the top of the page. Double-space between title and the first entry. Each entry begins flush with the left margin, and is then indented half an inch for each additional line. The whole list is double-spaced with no blank line between entries. See the example below:
Roberts 12
Works Cited
"Beginner Tip: Presenting Your Page with Style." Webmaster Tips Newsletter.
July 2000. NetMechanic. 13 Sept. 2004 <http://www.netmechanic.com/
news/vol3/beginner_no7.htm>.
Collins, Ronald K.L., and David M. Skover. The Trials of Lenny Bruce: The
Fall and Rise of an American Icon. Naperville, IL: Sourcebooks, 2002.
Continelli, Louise. "A Place for Owls to Heal." Buffalo News 12 Jan. 2003: C2.
"Ho Chi Minh." Encyclopaedia Britannica. 2004. Britannica.com.
15 Sept. 2004 <http://www.britannica.com>. [6]
§ Bibliographic references
The point of a bibliographic reference is to allow your readers to track down your sources. As the examples in the list of works cited above show, you need to include standard bibliographic information: author, title, place of publication, publisher, and year of publication.[7]
§ Titles
Type the title as it appears the title page rather than the cover of the book or source. Spell out symbols such as &. When a title contains two phrases on separate lines, join them with a colon. For example, this title page would be listed as Shakespeare Reread: The Texts in New Contexts.
SHAKESPEARE REREADThe texts in new contexts[8]
§ Alphabetization
Organize the Works Cited page in alphabetical order by author, organization name or, for sources not including an author, by title (ignoring but not deleting articles such as A, An, and The).
§ Capitalization
Capitalize all significant words, regardless of how the original source is capitalized. Capitalize most words except articles (a, an, the), prepositions (of, to, in, against), coordinating conjunctions (and, but, for, nor, or, so, yet), and the to in infinitives. But if any of these occurs as the first or last word of a title or subtitle, capitalize it.
§ Underlining/italics and quotation marks
The titles of works published independently (not within another volume) are typically formatted with underlining (or italics). These include books, plays, long poems published as books, pamphlets, newspapers, magazines, journals, films, radio and television programs, web sites, CDs, software, ballets, operas, paintings, and other works and artifacts that stand on their own.
Place the titles of works published within other works inside quotation marks. These include articles, essays, stories, short poems, chapters, Encyclopedia entries, portions of online documents, songs, and individual episodes of broadcast programs.
§ Titles within titles
Underlined (or italicized) titles in quoted titles. Retain the underlining: "Death in Death in Venice."
Quoted titles in quoted title. Switch to single quotation marks for the inner title: "Ironic reversal in Nirvana's 'Smells Like Teen Spirit.'"
Underlined titles in underlined titles. Don't underline or use quotation marks: Stowe's Trumpet: Uncle Tom's Cabin and the Civil War.
Quoted title in underlined title. Keep the quotation marks: "Sailing to Byzantium" and “Modern Memory.”
If a quotation-mark title ends a sentence, put the period (but not other punctuation marks like question marks) inside the quotation mark. [9]
§ Exceptions
Titles of sacred writings like the Koran or Bible (and all books therein) are not underlined or italicized: "The story of Moses is told mainly in Exodus and Deuteronomy."
Also, do not underline or italicize the names of laws or other political documents (the U.S. Constitution), musical compositions like symphonies or concertos (Beethoven's Symphony no. 3), series, societies, buildings, conferences, and courses.
The divisions of a work (preface, introduction, foreword, act, scene, canto, section, etc.) are not underlined or put in quotation marks; nor are they capitalized when used in the text of a paper: "Claudius dominates act 4 of the play."[10]
v MLA citation and reference details
The following gives examples of MLA citation and reference details for non-electronic/internet sources.
- 5 -
1. Basic book format
Citation
(Doe 86).
Reference
Doe, John. Shakespeare’s Greatest Tragedies. New York: Lippe Books, 1994.
2. Basic article format
Citation
(Doe, 15).
Reference
Doe, John. "Shakespeare’s Greatest Tragedies." Shakespeare Monthly 47.1 (2000): 1-23.
3. Two or more works by the same author
Citation.
Smith’s critique created much disagreement between the scholars (Doe, "Shakespeare’s Tragedies" 183).
OR
In "Shakespeare’s Tragedies" Doe explains how Smith’s critique created much disagreement between the scholars
OR
In his explanation Doe singles out Smith for this criticism ("Shakespeare’s Tragedies" 183).
Reference.
*For more than one entry by the same author(s) type three hyphens instead of the name. Sort alphabetically by title.
Doe, John. "Shakespeare’s Tragedies.” Shakespeare Monthly 47.1 (2000): 167-186.
---. Shakespeare Unearthed. New York: Lippe Books, 1994.
4. A chapter from an anthology
Citation.
*Cite the author of the specific text you wish to refer to in the citation, not the editor of the whole book (unless you're referring to the whole book, of course).
(Doe 201).
Reference
Doe, John Elliot. "The Shakespeare’s Greatest Tragedies." Shakespeare Anthology. Ed. Teresa del Valle. London and New York: Lippe publishing, 1994. 193-204.
5. An anonymous work
Citation.
*Cite a shortened version of the title.
(Geneva Bible xv).
Reference
The Geneva Bible: A facsimile of the 1560 edition. Introd. Lloyd E. Berry. Madison: U of Wisconsin P, 1969. [11]
6. An article from an anonymous reference book
Citation.
*Cite a shortened version of the title.
Split infinitives became more common in the 19th century ("Split Infinitive").
Reference
"Split Infinitive." The Merriam-Webster Dictionary of English Usage. Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster, 1989.[12]
7. An introduction to a book
Citation.
*Cite the author of the introduction.
(Doe xii).
Reference
Doe, John. Introduction. Shakespeare’s Greatest Tragedies. New York: Lippe Books, 1994. vii-xxxv.
8. Two authors with the same last name
Citation.
(J. Doe 113-114).
Reference.
Doe, John. "Shakespeare’s Tragedies." Shakespeare Monthly 47.1 (2000): 167-186.
Doe, Marvin. Shakespeare Unearthed. New York: Lippe Books, 1994.
9. A work by two or three authors
Citation.
(Jones and Smith 86).
Reference.
*The second and third names are formatted first-name first.
Jones, Emily and Johanna Smith. Shakespeare Unearthed. New York: Lippe Books, 1994.
10. A work by more than three authors
Citation.
(Jones et al. 198).
Reference.
Jones, Emily et al. Shakespeare Unearthed. New York: Lippe Books, 1994.
11. A work by a corporate author
Citation.
*Treat the organization as the author, and cite the name or a short version of it:
(Modern Language Association)
Reference
Modern Language Association of America. MLA Directory of Scholarly Presses in Language and Literature. New York: Modern Language Association of America, 1991.[13]
12. A multivolume work—referencing the whole work
Citation.
* For a citation from a particular volume include the volume number, separated from the page reference by a colon. Don't use volume, vol., page, or p.:
(Churchill 6: 269).
Reference
Churchill, Winston S. The Second World War. 6 vols. Boston: Houghton Mifflin, 1948- 1953. [14]
13. The Bible
Citation.
*Cite chapter and verse, not page number.
(Genesis 1:1).
Reference.
Bible. King James Version.
14. A magazine article
Citation.
(Doe 44).
Reference