MLA Format and Documentation 

For other formats, such as APA or Chicago, scroll to the bottom of the page. 

Sample Papers

The primary source for MLA documentation is the MLA 9th Edition (2019). The MLA 8th Edition (2016) includes an excellent essay in the last few pages that is a helpful example.

Formatting your Paper per MLA

To format your paper, it's best to use Microsoft 2016 or 365, which you can obtain for free as an ACC student. Click here to get it.

To set up your paper in Word, open up a blank document in Microsoft Word, go to the Home tab, scroll slightly to the right, and choose New Times Roman, Arial, or Calibri 12-point font. Next, scroll again to the right and click the small arrow to the right of Paragraph. From the menu, choose left alignment and double spacing. Only center the title of the paper and the title of the Works Cited; the rest of your document will be left justification.

Next, you need to set up your page numbers. Go back to the Home tab and click Insert . Then, scroll to the right and click Header. Scroll down and choose Slice One. Replace the word Page with your last name. Then close the header and footer button. Make sure that there is a space between your last name and the page number.

Finally, type your heading on the left side of the page and center your title. Your MLA-formatted heading, headers, spacing, and title should look something the image below.

If you require audio-visual help, please watch this MLA Formatting Video; for Microsoft 365, try this video. Click here for a video on formatting your paper per MLA in Apple Pages.

If you are using Google Docs, click this video,or this one, and follow the step-by-step directions to formatting your paper per MLA. Also, make sure your document is shareable.

Research Using MLA

In order to write a proper research paper, you need academic, scholarly sources. When you use the words or original ideas of another person, you need to document the sources. If exact words from the original are used, quotation marks are necessary. If you paraphrase, or restate the idea in your own words, quotation marks are not required, but in-text citations must be used.

Research papers must include quotes from primary and secondary sources using MLA documentation. These sources should support your thesis, passing the CRAAP Test. Please use scholarly articles from the library (don't Google and use unacceptable articles found in SparkNotes, Wikipedia, Shmoop, Bookrags, wikis, and Content Farms).

To access the online library databases, go to the ACC Library and click A-Z list of databases, then click Subject. With some topics, you might be able to find useful databases via the Multi-Subject link (such as JSTOR or Academic Search Complete). At some point, you will be prompted to type in your ACCeID and password. Click here to find learn how to find scholarly articles using the ACC Library databases. If you need help, Ask a Librarian (available 24/7).

• Check out this handout and presentation, which will help you conduct literary research via the ACC literary databases. 

• Click here to discover how to find scholarly sources on the internet.

The Works Cited 

Instead of a bibliography, MLA format calls for a Works Cited page. In your Works Cited page, it is important to use hanging indentation, alphabetize, and double space.

• All entries should be double spaced.

• Alphabetize your list of sources by the last name of the author. If there is no author, alphabetize by the first word of the title (articles like a, an, and the do not count).

• The first line of each entry is flushed left to the margin.

• The second and subsequent lines use hanging indentation (and indented one-half inch to the right).

For audio-visual of sources formatted in hanging indentation, check out Hanging Indent in Microsoft Word (video). If you are using Pages, click here.

For Google Docs, watch this helpful video or guide for setting up your Works Cited using hanging indentation. 

Click here to learn how to cite lines of poetry (and music) and create a works cited entry. When citing poetry or song lyrics, provide the line numbers, rather than page numbers. Check out this video for guidance: Citing Poetry, Songs, and Plays

Click here to see how to cite an image using MLA format. 

KnightCite - Easily create citations in MLA, APA, or Chicago/Turabian style using this app.

In longer papers (master's theses, dissertations), a Works Consulted page is often included to cite all the references that you may have referred to or used in your research but were not directly quoted from or paraphrased in your paper. Go here to view a paper that uses headings and subheadings (not allowed in my English classes). 

Parenthetical Documentation (in-text citations)

In MLA, you will need to cite your source whether you are quoting, paraphrasing, or summarizing. In MLA format, "parenthetical documentation" or in-text citations are used to briefly identify the sources of information you have borrowed in writing your paper.  

The general rule is to cite the source in the text of your paper and give the author's last name (or abbreviated title if there is no author), then the page number. The reader can then consult the list of works cited at the end of the paper to get the complete citation. Check out this video for audio/visual help.

Internet sources that lack pagination do NOT require page numbers in the citations.

If the author's name is mentioned in the signal phrase, you only need to put the page number in parentheses at the end of the sentence. For example:

Ross Parke says, "[N]atural fathers aren't the only ones raising children on their own" (52).

When there are three or more authors, use "et al." which is Latin for "and others." 

For example: (Smith et al. 56) is preferable over (Smith, Jones, Miller, Brown 56).

For publications with no author given, you should include the first 2-3 key words from the title and the page number in parentheses (if it's a paginated source). For example:

The majority of fathers today "no longer know who they are or what their wives and children expect from them" ("Fathers Confused" 5).

When paraphrasing or summarizing information derived from several sources, you may document at the end of the paragraph. Separate sources with a semi-colon. For example:

In order to achieve Nirvana, one must follow the Eight Noble Path ("Nirvana"; Ross 92).

Block Quotes

Use the block quote format when prose is more than four typed lines or when poetry is more than three typed lines-- and do not use quotation marks unless the author uses them. Indent one-half inch on the left side, double space, and do not indent on the right. The citation should follow in parentheses (or line nos. in poetry). After each block quote, you should have a comment that ties the quote to the point you are trying to make. Below is an example of a long quote that is introduced with a sentence and colon and is in the block quote format :

Introducing and Integrating Quotes

• Use quotes rarely and only when the writer says something profound. Paraphrase when you can, but be sure to cite sources.

• Each direct quote must be introduced or have a signal phrase or tag (Examples: According to Jane Parker, West contends, Jones says, etc.).

• When you introduce a quote with a sentence, use a colon, not a semi-colon.

• Sandwich longer quotes with a signal phrase (or introductory sentence followed by a colon) and commentary.

Read this lecture about the integration and introduction of quotes.

What if I Still Need Help?

The best place to go for help with research and MLA is via one of the ACC reference librarians on any major campus. However, help is also available through chat, email, and phone. Click here to chat with an ACC librarian now. Click here to schedule a Zoom with a librarian. Check out the latest MLA guide put together by the ACC library

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APA, Chicago, CSE, and Turabian

APA Format with Sample Papers (Click here to format your paper via APA. Check out this video on how to format in-text citations and this video on setting up your reference page.) Click here for ACC's APA guide.

Click this hyperlink for Chicago-Style Format.

For Chicago/Turabian annotated bibliography guidance, click here.

For help with Turabian format, click the ACC guide here or Liberty University's here.

Click here for help with CSE.