McQuade LibGuides: Marketing: Write & Cite

MLA Formatting & Citations (8th edition)

Modern Language Association documentation guidelines are often used in the humanities fields, including English, comparative literature, literary criticism, and foreign-languages. The most recent edition is the ninth, published in 2021.

Learn more here:

The general format for any MLA citation:

Author. Title. Title of container (do not list container for standalone books, e.g. novels), Other contributors (translators or editors), Version (edition), Number (vol. and/or no.), Publisher, Publication Date, Location (pages, paragraphs URL or DOI). 2^ndcontainer’s title, Other contributors, Version, Number, Publisher, Publication date, Location, Date of Access (if applicable).

MLA Examples

Last Name, First Name. Title of Book. Publisher, Year of Publication.

The City of Publication should only be used if the book was published before 1900, if the publisher has offices in more than one country, or if the publisher is unknown in North America.

Author(s). "Title of Article." Title of Journal, Volume, Issue, Year, pages

Dolby, Nadine. “Research in Youth Culture and Policy: Current Conditions and Future Directions.” Social Work and Society: The International Online-Only Journal, vol. 6, no. 2, 2008, www.socwork.net/sws/article/view/60/362. Accessed 20 May 2009.

For all online scholarly journals, provide the author(s) name(s), the name of the article in quotation marks, the title of the publication in italics, all volume and issue numbers, and the year of publication. Include a DOI if available, otherwise provide a URL or permalink to help readers locate the source.
MLA requires a page range for articles that appear in Scholarly Journals. If the journal you are citing appears exclusively in an online format (i.e. there is no corresponding print publication) that does not make use of page numbers, indicate the URL or other location information.

Author. "Title of Webpage." Title of Entire Site. Distributor of Website, Date Published, URL (without http://).

In-text citations provide a means for you to give credit when using others' words, facts, or ideas.

MLA style uses parenthetical notations to identify the source (author's surname) and the specific location (page reference) from which you borrowed material.
Place the parenthetical reference where a natural pause would occur, as near as possible to the material documented. In-text citations are typically placed at the end of a quote, sentence, or paragraph.
You can provide the author's last name and page number at the end of the sentence enclosed in parenthesis, or the author's last name can appear as part of the sentence with the page number at the end of the sentence enclosed in parenthesis. If the author's last name was used in the sentence, do not repeat the author's name in the in-text citation.

Example:

According to B.F. Skinner, behavior analysis is necessary for society because "almost all major problems involve human behavior" (24).

Behavior analysis is necessary for society because "almost all major problems involve human behavior" (Skinner 24).

MLA Formatting

Typography

MLA recommends using 12-point Times New Roman font or another readable typeface (e.g. serif).

Line Spacing & Margins

Use double-spacing throughout the entire paper.
Leave 1 inch margins on the top, bottom, and each side.
Indent the first line of each paragraph half an inch from the left margin.
Quotes longer than 4 lines should be written as a block of text a half an inch from the left margin.

Heading & Title

An MLA research paper does not need a title page, but your instructor may require one. If no instructions are given, follow the MLA guidelines below:
Type the following one inch from the top of the first page, flush with the left margin (double spacing throughout):

Your Name

Your Instructor's Name

Course Number or Name

Date

Center the title on the next line. Follow capitalization rules. Do not italicize, underline, or bold the title. An exception is when your title includes a title. Example: The Attitude toward Violence in A Clockwork Orange
Indent the next line and begin typing your text.

Include your last name and page numbers in the upper right-hand corner of every page. The page numbers will be one-half inch from the top and flush with the right margin. If your instructor prefers no page number on the first page, begin numbering from 2 on the second page.

Style Headings & Subheadings

According to the MLA Style Center website, writers should avoid using headings in shorter papers. If you are writing a longer research paper, you may want to include headings and subheadings to help organize the sections of your paper. See advice from the MLA Style Center

The Works Cited Page

The Works Cited page is the list of sources used in the research paper. It should be its own page at the end of the paper.

Center the title, Works Cited, at the top of the page. If only one source was consulted, title the page "Work Cited".
Double-space the entire list of sources.
Use hanging indention for each entry. Begin each entry flush with the left margin; indent all subsequent lines one-half inch.
Arrange entries in alphabetical order by the first term in each entry (the first author's last name or the title of the work when there is no author).
Continue with the numbering convention used throughout the paper by including your last name and the page number in the upper right-hand corner of the Works Cited page.