Guide to MLA Style
(printable version here)
The Modern Language Association (MLA) style is the most commonly used format for citing research sources in academic writing. Here are the guidelines for formatting a paper according to MLA style.
Requirements
If your paper does not include a title page, your first page should resemble the following model from Purdue OWL
Formatting in Microsoft Word 2007
Featured below is a tutorial explaining how to properly format Microsoft Word 2007 to MLA style. Note that the default settings of Microsoft Word 2007 are not in accordance with MLA requirements and must be edited in order to fit this format.
Work Cited Format
MLA style formatting demands that a work cited page be included at the end of a research paper. Before jumping into the specifics of different source type formatting, note the following general rules:
Formatting Source Citations
Books
(a) Single Author
General Format:
Author. Title of Book. City of Publication: Publisher, Year.
Example:
Hasset, Constance W. Christina Rossetti: Patience of Style. Charlottesville: University of Virginia, 2005.
(b) Two or More Authors
Example:
Majors, Richard M, and Janet M. Billson. Cool Pose: The Dilemmas of Black Manhood in America. New York: Macmillan Inc., 1992.
Smaller Works in Anthologies
General Format:
Author of Smaller Work (Last name, First name). "Title of Smaller Work." Title of Book. Name of Editor. Edition. City of Publication: Publisher, Year. Page number range of smaller work.
Example:
Hill, Marylu. "Eat Me, Drink Me, Love Me: Eucharist and the Erotic Body." Augustine and Literature. Edited by John Doody, Kim Paffenroth, and Robert F. Kennedy. Oxford: Lexington Books, 2006. 215-232.
Article in a Scholarly Journal (Print)
General Format:
Author. "Title of Article." Title of Journal, Volume Number, Issue number, Date of Issue, Page number range.
Example:
Peterson, Randall S. and Charlan J. Nemeth. "Focus Versus Flexibility: Majority and Minority Influence Can Both Improve Performance." Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin, vol. 22, no. 1, 1996, pp. 14-23.
Article in a Scholarly Journal (Online-Only Journal)
General Format:
Author. "Title of Article." Title of Journal Volume Number. Issue number (Year): Page number range. Web. Date accessed (Day Month Year).
Example:
Grass, Sean C. "Nature's Perilous Variety in Rossetti's 'Goblin Market.'" Nineteenth-Century Literature, Vol.
51, no. 3, 2009, pp.129-54. doi:10.2307/2934015Grass, Sean C. "Nature's Perilous Variety in Rossetti's 'Goblin Market.'" Nineteenth-Century Literature, Vol.
51, no. 3, 2009, pp.129-54. doi:10.2307/2934015. Accessed 11 February 2021.
Films
Herzog, Werner, director. Grizzly Man. Real Big Films, 2005.
Useful Resources for MLA Style Citations
Above is listed the general format of the most commonly cited source types. For further clarification on how to cite a variety of different source types visit the Writer's Web page on MLA Citation Style; to access a citation generator visit EasyBib. Note that for the second site you will need to create a user name and password in order to use its services. If you do choose to use a citation generator, be certain to review the citations and correct any mistakes the automatic generator may have made--DO NOT simply copy and paste the information without checking its accuracy.
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Content updated to reflect MLA 8th Edition, Spring 2021