MLA Formatting and Style Guide
MLA Formatting and Style Guide
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What is MLA and why do we use it?
What is MLA and why do we use it?
This guide is based on the 8th edition of the MLA Handbook. MLA stands for the Modern Language Association, which is the association that regulates the rules and use of this formatting style.
MLA formatting is often used in English and History and other humanities classes at university. It is the most common citation style used in high schools. This guide will review the general format of an research paper, in-text citations, and the Works Cited page.
Teachers ask students format their papers in the same style so both the writer and reader are not distracted by style choices a student may make. The consistency allows the teacher to focus on the student's work and not on the look of the paper.
MLA formatting is often used in English and History and other humanities classes at university. It is the most common citation style used in high schools. This guide will review the general format of an research paper, in-text citations, and the Works Cited page.
Teachers ask students format their papers in the same style so both the writer and reader are not distracted by style choices a student may make. The consistency allows the teacher to focus on the student's work and not on the look of the paper.
Teachers may adapt these guidelines for their own purposes. Always follow your teacher's requirements.
General Formatting of Papers
General Formatting of Papers
General format
- All papers are typed on letter-sized paper (8 1/2 x 11)
- Double-space everything
- Use 12 pt. Times New Roman font (preferred font and font size)
- Leave only one space after punctuation
- Set all margins to 1 inch on all sides (2.54 cm.) - "Normal" margins
- Indent the first line of paragraphs one half-inch
- Remove extra spaces between paragraphs
- NO TITLE PAGE
- do not use any contractions (which means that you will NEVER use it’s or that's in an essay/research project)
- use Canadian/British spelling of words (i.e. neighbour and NOT neighbor).
- titles in text follow the same rules as they appear in the bibliography/works cited
- Use italics throughout your essay for the titles of longer works referred to in your paper (books, websites, movies)
- Use quotation marks when referring to titles of shorter works in your paper (articles, webpages, short stories)
- in a formal essay, never write in the first person (me, I, my)
First page:
- In the upper left corner of the 1st page list:
- list your full name
- instructor's name
- title of course
- full date (that you are handing in the paper)
- Center the paper title (use standard capitalization but no underlining, italics, quotation marks, or bold)
- Create a header in the upper right corner
- include your last name
- page number
Integrating sources
Integrating sources
Quotations
- Short quotations are added directly to the text of the essay.
Plagiarism can be tricky. According to the MLA Handbook, "It's important to note that you need not copy an author's words to be guilty of plagiarism" (9).
- Long quotations are introduced in the text but the quotation is put into a block format. Use block quotes sparingly. It is often better to paraphrase longer passages or use only the portion(s) you require. Block quotes should be used if a quotation is more than four lines of text. Block quotes are double spaced.
Text of the essay. The author shows this through the use of symbolism when he writes:
The text of the quote is indented from the left edge for the entirety of the quote. Quotation marks are not used. The text of the block quote should be over four lines. (in-text citation)
Condensing quoted material
At times you may choose to omit a portion in the middle of a quote. To show the reader you are doing this, use an ellipsis mark - three periods with spaces between - to indicate that you have omitted something. The shortened quote must still make sense.
"Beginning of the quote . . . end of the quote" (in-text citation).
Adding words to a quote
Square brackets are used to insert your own words into quoted material. This is done to ensure a quote is grammatically correct or to add an explanation.
"Beginning of the quote [addition] end of the quote" (in-text citation).
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