MLA

Modern Language Association Referencing Style

There are several referencing styles that are used in the academic world. At AISZ, we use MLA 8 (Modern Language Association).

MLA is often used in humanities subjects, including languages and literature. In MLA, the emphasis is put on the Author’s last name (if not available, the title of the source).

You might be asked to use other styles for specific subjects in high school, such as APA (American Psychological Association) for Psychology, or Chicago for History.

MLA style calls for:

a brief in-text documentation - Author's last name and page number (Austen 69).
a complete bibliographic information of all sources used in a list of works cited at the end of your assignment in alphabetical order.

MLA Citation Format

According to a Complete Guide to the MLA 8th Edition, a major change was made in how full citations are created. There is now one universal citation format that can be used for all source types. It does not matter if it is a book, a website, or a YouTube video, all sources use the same citation format.

These core elements are placed in the citation, usually in this format:

Author. Title. Title of the container, Other contributors, Version, Number, Publisher’s Name, Date of publication, Location.

Go to a detailed MLA Style 2016 Guide with examples of in-text citations, works cited page, as well as formatting a research paper.

Go to the MLA Style Center to see great visual examples and guidelines for both in-text and Works Cited page citations for sources in various formats.
Go to Easy Bib's Guide - How to Cite Anything in MLA8 with links for citing different formats.

How to Format Your Paper in MLA Style?

If you are using Google Docs, choose a template for papers MLA format. It will properly format your paper in MLA style.

If you need more help, go to EasyBib's Visual Formatting Guide for papers in MLA 8.

Online Citation Generators

You may also use various online citation generators, which can help you with the formatting of your sources for the work cited page at the end of your assignment:

MLA (8) Paper Checklist- final

How To Do an Annotated Bibliography (MLA8)

Works Cited

Baggett, Sally. “How to Format a Paper in MLA 8: A Visual Guide.” EasyBib, Chegg, 12 May 2017, www.easybib.com/guides/how-to-format-a-paper-in-mla8/.Keep Calm and Cite Your Sources. Digital image. Simon Fraser University, n.d. Web. 30 May 2017. Creative Commons Attribution 2.0 (BY-NC)MLA Style. wwnorton.com/college/english/write/writesite/research/Documentation_PDFs/DOC_GUIDE LINES_MLA_2016.pdf."Works Cited: A Quick Guide." The MLA Style Center: Writing Resources from the Modern Language Association. Modern Language Association (MLA), 2016,https://style.mla.org/works-cited-a-quick-guide/.

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