MLA

Modern Language Association Style Guide

MLA Format and Citation Help

MARGINS: one inch on top, bottom, and both sides
HEADER: include your last name and page number on each page, flush with right margin
SPACING: Double space, including Works Cited
INDENT: Indent first word of each paragraph one tab or 5 spaces. Indent long quotations two tabs or 10 spaces.
FONT: 12-point plain font
HEADING: Include Full Name, Teacher's Name, Class Name, and Date, flush with left margin
TITLE: No title page, Center Title below Heading. No extra spacing before your text begins

Maintain MLA paper format (margins, spacing, header)
Center title: Works Cited
Do not indent the first line of each citation but do indent the 2nd line and all that follow
Alphabetize each entry (do not group them in any way, such as, by format, works without an author, etc.)
Capitalize all words in a title of a work except for articles (the, a), prepositions (to) or conjunctions (unless the first word)
Include the URLs of websites
Do your best to include all of the information each type of citation requires, but frequently information is missing - skip it and move on

Anytime you use somebody's original idea or exact words, you must include a parenthetical citation

Create your Works Cited page first
Put citations in parentheses at the end of the sentence you are quoting or paraphrasing before the period (order = " (citation). )
Ideally, you will list the author's last name and page number with no comma between: (McMann 25)
Often your sources do not have authors or page numbers. Use the first word you included in your Works Cited page citation: (Robertson) or ("Medieval Women")
Your goal is to give your reader enough information to find your source on your Works Cited page. If you mention the author in your paper, then only include the page number in your citation

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