MLA Citation Style

An MLA paper should be formatted with these elements:

• 1" margins on all sides of the paper (top, bottom, left & right)

• 12 point, sans serif font, examples include Times New Roman and Calibri

• Double-spaced lines throughout the entire paper

The first page of your paper should include:

• • A running header with the writer’s last name and page number in the top-right of the header 

  • The writer’s name, professor’s name, course name and number, and the date that the assignment is due at the top-right section of the document. The date should be formatted as day, month, year, without commas 

  • A title, centered in the document, before the paper begins

The Works Cited list goes at the end of your paper and should include:

• • A full list of all the sources you cited and used in your paper, listed in alphabetical order by author’s last name 

  • Double-spaced lines

  • Every line of each entry after the first should be indented, so if a citation entry is more than one line, each line after the first should be indented 0.5 inch 

Our example paper includes the correct MLA formatting, along with examples of in-text citations and a Works Cited list.

In-text citations go inside parentheses at the end of a sentence when you are quoting or paraphrasing a source. MLA style requires you to put the author name and page number of the information you're using in your paper. 

Citing a source with one author:
Use the author's last name and the page number you are quoting or paraphrasing. Put them in parentheses at the end of your sentence before punctuation. 

• Example: (LastName 11). 

Two authors:
When there are two authors list both their last names, connected with the word "and," followed by the page number. 

• Example: (LastName and LastName 11). 

Three or more authors:
For texts with three or more authors, list the first author's last name, followed by "et al.," which means "and others." 

• Example: (LastName et al. 11). 

No author:
If no author is listed in the source, list the organization or publication as the author. If the organization is commonly known as an acronym, or has a long name, use their full name the first time you mention the organization then as their acronym after that. 

• Example: The University of Maine at Augusta (UMA) is part of the University of Maine System (UMS).

• Example:  The University has over 30 years of distance education experience (UMA 12).
  
  

Short quotations:
Quotations are cited at the end of a sentence in the same way you would site other sources. Be sure to indicate the author of the quote alongside the page numbers in the in-text citation so the reader can find the location of the quote. If page numbers are unavailable, add a comma and then include other locators such as sections, chapters, or paragraphs only if these are demarcated by the source. These are abbreviated where possible, (secs., chpts., para., etc.). 

• Example: The main character was “naïve, but eager to learn” (Gracília 18).

• Example: The author describes her writing as “illustrative and illustrious” (Gracília, para. 2).

Periods and commas will be placed after the citation (even when they are moved from within the quote). The citation comes after the closing quotation mark.

Block quotations:

When using a quote that is more than four lines, you will need to format the quote differently. Long quotes are indented 0.5" from the rest of the text, on all sides. Unlike short quotes, the citation comes after all punctuation. 

• For an example of a block quotation, see our sample MLA blockquote handout, or see our Sample MLA paper. 

Editing quotations:

Sometimes quotes need to be shortened or slightly edited for grammar or context. To ensure readers know that a quote has been slightly edited, you will need to include either ellipses or brackets. 

• Ellipses (...) are used when words have been removed from a quote. 

  • Example: Brinley claimed “. . . I consider true knowledge to be out of reach . . .” but she believes we should strive for it regardless (86). 

• Brackets ([ ]) are used when a word is changed to provide better clarity or context to a quotation. 

  • Example: The 2021 Aspen Institute Report describes the effects of misinformation saying, "when bad information becomes as prevalent, persuasive, and persistent as good information, it creates a chain reaction of harm… [that] makes any health crisis more deadly."

Your Works Cited list should begin on a new page of your paper.

• Include the words "Works Cited" at the top and center of the page 

• Different types of sources will be cited in different ways. See our list below of how to cite common types of resources

Citation formatting by resource type