MLA Style: The Nuts and Bolts
1. What is MLA style?
MLA (Modern Language Association) style is used for formatting and documenting research papers within the humanities field. Although generally simpler and more concise than other documentation styles, MLA style shares with most others its central feature: parenthetical citations keyed to a works-cited list. If you learn MLA style at an early stage in your school career, you will probably have little difficulty in adapting to other styles.
Although we don’t generally think of English papers as research papers, the analysis of literature does involve primary research: the study of a subject (e.g., a novel or play) through firsthand investigation. A literary analysis is essentially an argument that your interpretation of a literary work is supported by evidence from the text itself.
2. What are the basic rules for formatting my papers?
• Double-space the text of your paper, and use a standard twelve-point font.
• Set the margins of your document to one inch on all sides.
• Indent the first line of paragraphs a half-inch from the left margin.
• Italicize the titles of longer works (e.g., books, films, and plays); put the titles of shorter works (e.g., short stories and poems) in quotation marks.
3. How do I format the first page of my papers?
• In the upper left-hand corner of the first page, list your name, your instructor's name, the course, and the date. Again, be sure to use double-spaced text.
• Double space again and center the title. Do not underline, italicize, or place your title in quotation marks; write the title in Title Case (standard capitalization), not in all capital letters.
• Use quotation marks and/or italics when referring to other works in your title, just as you would in your text: Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas as Morality Play
• Double space between the title and the first line of the text.
• Create a header in the upper right-hand corner that includes your last name, followed by a space with a page number; number all pages consecutively with Arabic numerals (1, 2, 3, 4, etc.), one-half inch from the top and flush with the right margin.
(Note: You may omit your last name/page number header on the first page of your paper.)
• The following is an example of the top of the first page of a paper in MLA style:
Josephson 1
Laura Josephson
Ms. Eileen Fender
British Literature
24 September 2012
The Attitude toward Violence in A Clockwork Orange
4. How do I select quotations to cite in my papers?
When writing about a literary work, citing evidence from the text itself is essential in order to prove your thesis. However, be sure to select quotations carefully; use only those passages that allow you to analyze the text and that work to support your arguments. Avoid quotations that simply describe or summarize the plot of the literary work; assume that your reader is already familiar with the work.
5. How do I introduce a quotation?
Be sure to briefly explain the context of your evidence before introducing the quotation – not afterward. To explain the context, provide the answers to questions such as these: Who is speaking? To whom is he or she speaking? What is happening, when is it happening, and/or where are the characters while they are speaking?
Example: While speaking with Susan at the Amphitheatre, Henchard says, “These things, as well as the dread of the girl discovering our disgrace, make it necessary to act with extreme caution” (83).
Important Note: Use the literary present tense throughout your essay (e.g., “Henchard says”; not “Henchard said”).
6. What punctuation do I use when introducing quotations?
a. If you weave the quotation into your own sentence, you shouldn’t need any punctuation before the quoted material, and you do not need to begin the quotation with a capital letter.
Example: Amy explains to Sethe her belief that “velvet is like the world was just born” (33).
b. Be sure to use a comma before a direct “spoken” quotation, and begin the quotation with a capital letter.
Example: Amy says, “Well, Lu, velvet is like the world was just born” (33).
c. If you use a complete sentence to introduce a quotation, place a colon before the quoted material, and begin the quotation with a capital letter.
Example: Amy explains to Sethe the significance of velvet: “Well, Lu, velvet is like the world was just born” (33).
7. How do I format and punctuate quotations with in-text citations?
If the passage that you are quoting ends with a period, comma, or semicolon, you must omit it from inside your quotation marks; however, you must leave a question mark or exclamation point inside the quotation marks (to stay true to the meaning of the quotation). After the closing quotation mark, place the page number in parentheses (just use the number; do not use “page,” “pg.,” or “p.”). There is no need to include the author’s name in the citation unless you are writing about more than one literary work or if the author’s name has not been previously mentioned in your paper. In those cases, you must place the author’s last name before the page number without placing a comma in between. To end your sentence, be sure to add a period after the parenthetical citation (even if you have a question mark or exclamation mark inside your quotation marks).
Examples:
Jem suggests that if Dill wants to get himself killed, then all he needs to do is “go up and knock on the front door” (16).
When speaking with Nick about the birth of her daughter, Daisy reveals her disillusionment: “Listen, Nick; let me tell you what I said when she was born. Would you like to hear?” (21).
8. How do I format and punctuate long quotations?
If a quotation is more than four typed lines of prose or more than three typed lines of poetry, indent the entire quotation in block form (ten spaces or one inch from the left margin). Do not use quotation marks, and place the period before the parenthetical page reference. Do not use another period after the page reference. Double-space the passage just as the body of your essay is double-spaced. Generally, this type of quotation is introduced by a complete sentence followed by a colon.
Example:
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)
9. How do I introduce my analysis?
Be sure to provide your analysis after the quotation. Your analysis should provide an insightful interpretation or explanation that demonstrates how the evidence supports your argument. Generally, you should have at least twice as much analysis as evidence.
Note: Do not write, “In this quotation . . .” or “This quotation shows . . .”; you should assume that your reader knows that you are discussing quotations from the text.
10. How do I remove unnecessary portions of a quotation?
Do not burden your reader with unnecessarily lengthy quotations. Use ellipsis points
(i.e., three periods, each preceded and followed by a space [ . . . ]) to indicate that you have removed portions of the passage not relevant to your point.
Example: Hamlet tells Ophelia, “You jig, you amble, and you lisp, . . . and make your wantonness your ignorance” (3.1.140-142).
11. How do I change or substitute material within a quotation?
Use brackets when you change or substitute material within your quotation for clarity or proper sentence structure. For example, you might need to replace a lower case letter with a capital letter, change the verb tense, substitute a character’s name for a pronoun, etc. Note: You may alter the form, but never alter the meaning of the text. Be sure to use this technique sparingly, so that you do not make the evidence appear specious.
Example: “[S]he [comes] forth into the sunshine, which, falling on all alike, [seems], to her sick and morbid heart, as if meant for no other purpose than to reveal the scarlet letter on her breast” (55).
12. How do I format a quotation within a quotation?
Use single quotation marks to punctuate a quotation within a quotation.
Example: After his interview with Hester, Dimmesdale sinks into self-doubt: “‘Have I then sold myself,’ [thinks] the minister, ‘to the fiend whom . . . this velveted old hag has chosen for her prince and master!’” (237).
13. How do I quote a common phrase?
Use double quotation marks if you are quoting a common or frequently used phrase (from within or outside of the text); however, you do not need to cite a page number. As is true whenever there is no parenthetical citation, be sure to place commas and periods inside the quotation marks.
Examples: Dr. Manette has been “recalled to life,” but nothing can save Carton.
14. How do I quote from plays and poetry?
When quoting from plays, cite the act, scene, and line (if your edition doesn’t provide line numbers, use the page number instead). For short quotations of verse (in plays or poetry), use a slash ( / ) preceded and followed by a space, to show where each new line of verse begins. For poetry, cite the line numbers only.
Example: When she discovers Romeo’s identity, Juliet exclaims, “My only love, sprung from my only hate! / Too early seen unknown, and known too late!” (1.5.22).
Adapted from the following sources: (1) Gibaldi, Joseph. MLA Handbook for Writers of Research Papers (7th ed.). New York: MLA, 2009. Print; (2) The Purdue OWL. 10 May 2006. Purdue University Online Writing Lab. Web. 20 July 2012.