Modern Language Association Style
The dominant style within the humanities
If you are an English instructor or student, the MLA
style applies to your papers and manuscripts. The MLA is the Modern
Language Association. Most language and literature scholarship is published
in MLA style.
Founded in 1883, the Modern Language Association of America provides
opportunities for its members to share their scholarly findings and
teaching experiences with colleagues and to discuss trends in the academy.
MLA members host an annual convention and other meetings, work with
related organizations, and sustain one of the finest publishing programs
in the humanities. For over a hundred years, members have worked to
strengthen the study and teaching of language and literature.The Modern Language Association does not publish its
documentation guidelines on the Web. For an authoritative explanation
of MLA style, see the MLA Handbook for Writers of Research
Papers (for high school and undergraduate college students)
and the MLA Style Manual and Guide to Scholarly Publishing (for
graduate students, scholars, and professional writers).
— http://www.mla.org/about (May
2004)
We recommend most high school and college students purchase a “pocket
guide” to MLA style, instead of the MLA Handbook. While
the handbook includes a great deal of information, it is too complex
and detailed for most students taking a class or two within language
arts. If you are a language or writing student or instructor, then you
need to own the MLA Handbook.
General Grammar
The MLA grammar guidelines appear in the MLA Handbook.
Verb Tense
Use present tense when citing a source or referring to another individual’s
research. In the MLA format, even a dead author “writes” or “states”
something.
Formatting
MLA offers minimal formatting guidelines.
Typefaces
Though the MLA once insisted on monospaced fonts, today the MLA suggests
any readable 12-point Times or Courier. Avoid “sans serif” faces,
such as Arial or Helvetica.
Spaces and Punctuation
Use one space after punctuation unless preparing the manuscript in a
monospaced font, such as Courier. Publications are to use one space.
Underlining, Italics, and Quotes
The
“old-fashioned” approach of underlining still applies to
titles of books.
The following types of works are underlined in MLA, italicized in APA:
books, newspapers, magazines, plays, films, television shows, paintings,
sculptures, and complete music albums.
As part of works, the following items are placed within quotation marks
in MLA and APA: chapters, articles, essays, short stories, poems, television
episodes, and song titles.
Citations within Text
Only the most common citation forms appear in this
guide. Students need a pocket guide to the MLA Handbook.
All works referenced directly should be mentioned and cited within an
MLA formatted text. If you consult a work while researching, but do not reference
it then that work is not cited in the text nor in the bibliography.
MLA style calls for a single space between the author’s last name and
the page number(s) cited. Do not include “p.” or any other abbreviation
for “page” in citations. For page numbers within citations, you can abbreviate
the end of a range. Always use at least two digits in MLA ranges: 110-15,
1005-15.
Brief Paraphrasing or Quote from a Work
Begin a brief paraphrase with the author’s
name and a clear reminder to the reader of the work being cited. End
with the page number enclosed by parentheses, inside any punctuation.
Anything taken directly from a text should be enclosed in quotation marks.
Alan Author writes that “books are fun” (123). Amy Writer, in her essay
on books, agrees they are fun to read (456).
If you do not begin with a reference to the author, you should enclose
the author’s last name and a page number in parentheses, inside
any final punctuation.
- One author: (Lastname PG).
- Two authors: (Lastname and Lastname PG).
- Three or more: (Lastname et al. PG).
Long Paraphrase or Quote of a Book
Quotations longer than three lines should appear apart from the document
body. Indent long quotations one inch on the left. MLA style does not
indent long quotes on the right hand side, but many institutions indent
both left and right margins for longer quotations. MLA also calls for
the citation to appear after the final punctuation of a longer quotation. Some
institutions prefer this citation appear on its own line without parentheses,
but that is not an MLA format.
Quoted within Another Work
If a work or author is quoted within a secondary source, use the following
format:
(qtd. in Lastname PG).
Several Works by the Same Source
Especially when writing about an author, you will have citations
of several works by the same individual. To clarify sources, use a clear but shortened
version of the title within citations. Choose two or three words that make
the full title obvious when consulting the bibliography.
(Lastname, Short Title PG).
Interviews
Reference the interview within the text.
Complete Web Site
Use “at”
followed by the URL, unless instructed to use parentheses.
Bibliographies
Only works directly cited in the text of an MLA formatted
document should be included in the bibliography. Bibliographic entries
should be as complete as possible to aid in the location of any external
sources.
Formatting
The bibliography in an MLA manuscript is titled “Works Cited.” This
title should be at the top of the first page of the bibliography, one
inch from the top and centered. Page margins and other settings, such
as headers and footers, should be consistent with the body of the manuscript.
Citations
Citations are listed in alphabetical order, first by author and then
by work title. When alphabetizing titles, ignore the articles a, an,
and the. Do not move or drop articles that begin titles; merely
ignore articles when sorting the bibliography.
Every entry in an MLA bibliography ends with a period. If more than
one work by an author is cited, use three hyphens and a period in place
of the author’s name for additional works. Some publications use five
hyphens, while others use three em-dashes to overcome shorter hyphens
in some digital fonts.
Hanging indents are used within citations. The first line is not indented
from the left margin, while subsequent lines are indented a half inch.
You should not right-justify a bibliography.
In most cases, publisher names and common journals
should be abbreviated for space. The MLA suggests dropping Books, Company, Inc.,
and similar words appearing at the end of a publisher’s corporate name. Shorten University to U and Press to P in
most instances, too.
Use the abbreviated ordinal for edition numbers, in Arabic numerals:
1st, 2nd, 3rd….
Citation Information Order
The MLA citation formats provide information in the following
order:
(1) Author, (2) Title, (3) Volume/Issue, (4) Editor, (5) Edition,
(6) Number of Volumes, (7) Place of Publication, (8) Publisher, (9) Date,
(10) Page.
Book, Simple Entry
Lastname, Firstname. The Book’s Title.
Xth ed. City: Publisher, YEAR.
Book, Two Authors
Lastname, Firstname, and Firstname Lastname. The
Book’s Title. Xth ed. City: Publisher, YEAR.
Note: Notice the second author is listed in “First Last” order.
Book, Three or More Authors
There are two formats permitted for three or more others. The more common
format uses “et al.” for three or more authors. Always use
“et al.” for books with four or more authors.
Lastname, Firstname, et al. The Book’s Title.
Xth ed. City: Publisher, YEAR.
Translated Work
Lastname, Firstname. The Book’s Title. Trans. Translator. City: Publisher, YEAR.
Edited Works with Multiple Contributors
Lastname, Firstname, ed. Anthology Title. City:
Publisher, YEAR.
Work from Collection
Often collections of essays and articles are among primary sources.
The individual works appear as “chapters” within the larger work.
Lastname, Firstname.
“Article Title.” Anthology Title. Ed. Firstname
Lastname. City: Publisher, YEAR. PAGE-PG.
Reference Books (Encyclopedia)
Lastname, Firstname.
“Article Title.” Reference Name. Xth ed. YEAR.
The Bible or Holy Texts
Do not underline or italicize the phrase “The Bible” or
books of the Bible. Do italicize or underline the names of special editions
and indicate publication information.
The Bible. King James Version.
The Newest Translation of the Bible.
City: Publisher, YEAR.
Magazine Article
Lastname, Firstname.
“Article Title.” Magazine Name day Mon. YEAR: PAGE-PG.
Journal Article
Lastname, Firstname.
“Title: Subtitles Are Common.” Journal Name VOL
(Mon. YEAR): PAGE-PG
Note: The volume and edition formats differ by journal. Use Arabic
numerals when possible.
Newspaper Article
Lastname, Firstname.
“Article Headline.” Newspaper Name day Mon. YEAR:
SN.
Note: The date format is: 15 May 2004. After the
year, put the page number and section designation, which varies by newspaper:
12A, 3-II, 2-OP/ED.
Organization Papers
Organization. Report Title. City, ST: Org,
YEAR.
Note: The full legal name of the organization is used on first
reference in the text, while a common acronym or abbreviation may be
used as the publisher within the bibliography.
Website
Citing websites is problematic for two reasons: websites vanish and
websites change. Vanishing is a much bigger problem for scholars, since
at least an altered site can be searched. No matter how much information
a citation provides, there is no guarantee that another scholar can
locate the website at a later date.
“Article Title.” Online Publication.
day Month YEAR. Author or Organization. day Month YEAR.<http://www.site.com/page.html>.
Note: The first date refers to the date of the article. The second
date indicates when the site was viewed by the manuscript author. MLA
uses < > to enclose URL syntax.
Web Article from a Printed Professional Journal
Lastname, I. “Title of Work.” Publication,
Issue, (YEAR): PAGE-PG. day Month YEAR from http://www.site.com/page.html.
Note: The first date is refers to the date of the article. The
second date indicates when the site was viewed by the manuscript author.
MLA uses < > to enclose URL syntax.
Online Newspaper Article
Lastname, Firstname.
“Article Headline.” Newspaper Name day Mon. YEAR.
day Month YEAR <
http://www.site.com/page.html.>
Note: The first date is refers to the date of the article. The
second date indicates when the site was viewed by the manuscript author.
MLA uses < > to enclose URL syntax.
EMail to Author
Lastname, Firstname.
“Subject.” E-mail to the author. day Month YEAR.
Sources
Amato, Carol J. World’s Easiest Guide to Using the MLA. Westminster, CA: Stargazer, 1999. (ISBN: 0964385368)
Chicago Manual of Style, The.
15th ed. Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 2003.
Gibaldi, Joseph. MLA Handbook
for Writers of Research Papers. 6th ed. New York: Modern
Language Association of America, 2003. (ISBN: 0873529863)
Hacker, Diana. Pocket Style Manual.
4th ed. Boston: Bedford, 2004. (ISBN: 0312406843)
American
Psychological Association. Publication Manual of the American
Psychological Association. 5th ed. Washington, DC: American
Psychological Association, 2001. (ISBN: 1557988102)
Turabian, Kate L., John Grossman,
and Alice Bennett. A Manual for Writers of Term Papers, Theses,
and Dissertations. 6th ed. Rev. by John Grossman and Alice Bennett.
Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 1996. (ISBN: 0226816273)