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MLA Format | Complete Guidelines & Free Template

Published on December 11, 2019 by Raimo Streefkerk . Revised on May 6, 2024 by Jack Caulfield.

The MLA Handbook provides guidelines for creating MLA citations and formatting academic papers. This includes advice on structuring parenthetical citations, the Works Cited page, and tables and figures. This quick guide will help you set up your MLA format paper in no time.

Cite your MLA source

Start by applying these MLA format guidelines to your document:

• Use an easily readable font like 12 pt Times New Roman
• Set 1 inch page margins
• Use double line spacing
• Include a ½” indent for new paragraphs
• Include a four-line MLA heading on the first page
• Center the paper’s title
• Use title case capitalization for headings
• Cite your sources with MLA in-text citations
• List all sources cited on a Works Cited page at the end

Alternatively, you can automatically apply the formatting with our MLA docx or Google Docs template.

Table of contents

How to set up mla format in google docs, header and title, running head, works cited page, creating mla style citations, headings and subheadings, tables and figures, frequently asked questions about mla format.

The header in MLA format is left-aligned on the first page of your paper. It includes

• Your full name
• Your instructor’s or supervisor’s name
• The course name or number
• The due date of the assignment

After the MLA header, press ENTER once and type your paper title. Center the title and don’t forget to apply title-case capitalization. Read our article on writing strong titles that are informative, striking and appropriate.

For a paper with multiple authors, it’s better to use a separate title page instead.

At the top of every page, including the first page, you need to include your last name and the page number. This is called the “running head.” Follow these steps to set up the MLA running head in your Word or Google Docs document:

• Double-click at the top of a page
• Type your last name
• Insert automatic page numbering
• Align the content to the right

The running head should look like this:

The Works Cited list is included on a separate page at the end of your paper. You list all the sources you referenced in your paper in alphabetical order. Don’t include sources that weren’t cited in the paper, except potentially in an MLA annotated bibliography assignment.

Place the title “Works Cited” in the center at the top of the page. After the title, press ENTER once and insert your MLA references.

If a reference entry is longer than one line, each line after the first should be indented ½ inch (called a hanging indent ). All entries are double spaced, just like the rest of the text.

Generate accurate MLA citations with Scribbr

Prefer to cite your sources manually? Use the interactive example below to see what the Works Cited entry and MLA in-text citation look like for different source types.

Headings and subheadings are not mandatory, but they can help you organize and structure your paper, especially in longer assignments.

MLA has only a few formatting requirements for headings. They should

• Be written in title case
• Be left-aligned
• Not end in a period

We recommend keeping the font and size the same as the body text and applying title case capitalization. In general, boldface indicates greater prominence, while italics are appropriate for subordinate headings.

Chapter Title

Section Heading

Tip: Both Google Docs and Microsoft Word allow you to create heading levels that help you to keep your headings consistent.

Tables and other illustrations (referred to as “figures”) should be placed as close to the relevant part of text as possible. MLA also provides guidelines for presenting them.

MLA format for tables

Tables are labeled and numbered, along with a descriptive title. The label and title are placed above the table on separate lines; the label and number appear in bold.

A caption providing information about the source appears below the table; you don’t need one if the table is your own work.

Below this, any explanatory notes appear, marked on the relevant part of the table with a superscript letter. The first line of each note is indented; your word processor should apply this formatting automatically.

Just like in the rest of the paper, the text is double spaced and you should use title case capitalization for the title (but not for the caption or notes).

MLA format for figures

Figures (any image included in your paper that isn’t a table) are also labeled and numbered, but here, this is integrated into the caption below the image. The caption in this case is also centered.

The label “Figure” is abbreviated to “Fig.” and followed by the figure number and a period. The rest of the caption gives either full source information, or (as in the example here) just basic descriptive information about the image (author, title, publication year).

Source information in table and figure captions

If the caption of your table or figure includes full source information and that source is not otherwise cited in the text, you don’t need to include it in your Works Cited list.

Give full source information in a caption in the same format as you would in the Works Cited list, but without inverting the author name (i.e. John Smith, not Smith, John).

MLA recommends using 12-point Times New Roman , since it’s easy to read and installed on every computer. Other standard fonts such as Arial or Georgia are also acceptable. If in doubt, check with your supervisor which font you should be using.

The main guidelines for formatting a paper in MLA style are as follows:

• Apply double line spacing
• Indent every new paragraph ½ inch

The fastest and most accurate way to create MLA citations is by using Scribbr’s MLA Citation Generator .

Search by book title, page URL, or journal DOI to automatically generate flawless citations, or cite manually using the simple citation forms.

The MLA Handbook is currently in its 9th edition , published in 2021.

This quick guide to MLA style  explains the latest guidelines for citing sources and formatting papers according to MLA.

Usually, no title page is needed in an MLA paper . A header is generally included at the top of the first page instead. The exceptions are when:

• Your instructor requires one, or
• Your paper is a group project

In those cases, you should use a title page instead of a header, listing the same information but on a separate page.

Cite this Scribbr article

If you want to cite this source, you can copy and paste the citation or click the “Cite this Scribbr article” button to automatically add the citation to our free Citation Generator.

Streefkerk, R. (2024, May 06). MLA Format | Complete Guidelines & Free Template. Scribbr. Retrieved August 23, 2024, from https://www.scribbr.com/mla/formatting/

Is this article helpful?

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English Education & English Writing: MLA Sample Paper from OWL Purdue

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Sample Paper Formatted in MLA Style from OWL Purdue

• Sample MLA Paper Below is a sample paper from OWL Purdue formatted to MLA Standards

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MLA Research Paper Formatting

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MLA Style (9th Edition)

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You are going to love this! Save this template somewhere safe or e-mail it to yourself. Then resave it immediately with the name of your new document. This will keep your template safe and ready to reuse again for future assignments.

This template will be sufficient for most student MLA papers. For more information on formatting your paper, consult the official MLA Style website:  https://mlahandbookplus.org/books/book/5/chapter/56247/Introduction-to-Formatting-Your-Research-Project  or pages 1-14 in the MLA Manual. 

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Citation Guides

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MLA Sample Paper

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The following PDF provides a sample paper written in the MLA style to demonstrate visually how the guidelines work in action. This PDF is used with thanks and full credit to the Purdue OWL (Online Writing Lab) , which maintains a robust online guide to a variety of style guides, avoiding plagiarism, and writing at the academic level in general. They are strongly recommended as a resource if you need something more in depth than this guide provides.

“MLA Sample Paper.” MLA Sample Paper - Purdue OWL® - Purdue University , Purdue OWL / Purdue University, 21 Oct. 2019, owl.purdue.edu/owl/research_and_citation/mla_style/mla_formatting_and_style_guide/mla_sample_paper.html. Accessed on 28 Sept. 2023.

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Paper Format

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Sample Papers

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General Formatting (MLA 1.1, 1.2)

• Margins are 1" from both side, top, and bottom. 
• Use Times New Roman size 12 font. 
• Double space all lines. 
• Running head: in the right corner, one-half inch from the top, put the last name of the author(s) and the page number (Ex. Smith 1). 

Heading (MLA 1.3)

• Writer's Name(s)
• Instructor's Name(s)
• Course Number (Ex.: English 5)
• Date (Number Month Year; Ex.: 2 April 2020)
• NOTE: your instructor may prefer that you use a title page, in which case move all the information in the header and title to its own page starting one-quarter of the way from the top of the page. 

Title (MLA 1.3)

• On the line immediately after the date in the header. 
• Centered. 
• Use plain text (not bold, italicized, underlined, or in quotation marks).
• Capitalize all words except articles and prepositions. 
• NOTE: your instructor may prefer that you use a title page, in which case move all the information in the header and title to its own page starting one-quarter of the way from the top of the page. 

Text (MLA 1.2)

• Indent the first line of every paragraph by a half-inch. 
• Short quotes can be surrounded by quotation marks and inserted in the lines of the text.
• Long quotes do not use quotation marks and are separated out onto their own lines, all of which begin one-half inch from the left margin. 
• Do not hyphenate words in order to separate them onto two separate lines. This often happens because your document is not set to left justify or because you have auto-hyphenate on. 
• The punctuation mark at the end of a sentence is followed by a single space. 

Works Cited (MLA 1.6)

• Begin on a new page. 
• Center the title "Works Cited" (if there is only one entry, title "Work Cited"). 
• The first line of a citation is flush left and any subsequent lines are indented one-half inch from the left (a.k.a. a "hanging indent"). 
• Alphabetize the list by first word in the citation.
• See more guidelines in the Works Cited tab. 
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• Free Tools for Students
• MLA Citation Generator

Free MLA Citation Generator

Generate accurate citations in MLA format automatically, with MyBib!

😕 What is an MLA Citation Generator?

An MLA citation generator is a software tool designed to automatically create academic citations in the Modern Language Association (MLA) citation format. The generator will take information such as document titles, author, and URLs as in input, and output fully formatted citations that can be inserted into the Works Cited page of an MLA-compliant academic paper.

The citations on a Works Cited page show the external sources that were used to write the main body of the academic paper, either directly as references and quotes, or indirectly as ideas.

👩‍🎓 Who uses an MLA Citation Generator?

MLA style is most often used by middle school and high school students in preparation for transition to college and further education. Ironically, MLA style is not actually used all that often beyond middle and high school, with APA (American Psychological Association) style being the favored style at colleges across the country.

It is also important at this level to learn why it's critical to cite sources, not just how to cite them.

🙌 Why should I use a Citation Generator?

Writing citations manually is time consuming and error prone. Automating this process with a citation generator is easy, straightforward, and gives accurate results. It's also easier to keep citations organized and in the correct order.

The Works Cited page contributes to the overall grade of a paper, so it is important to produce accurately formatted citations that follow the guidelines in the official MLA Handbook .

⚙️ How do I use MyBib's MLA Citation Generator?

It's super easy to create MLA style citations with our MLA Citation Generator. Scroll back up to the generator at the top of the page and select the type of source you're citing. Books, journal articles, and webpages are all examples of the types of sources our generator can cite automatically. Then either search for the source, or enter the details manually in the citation form.

The generator will produce a formatted MLA citation that can be copied and pasted directly into your document, or saved to MyBib as part of your overall Works Cited page (which can be downloaded fully later!).

MyBib supports the following for MLA style:

Daniel is a qualified librarian, former teacher, and citation expert. He has been contributing to MyBib since 2018.

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MLA Style Guide, 8th Edition

• Formatting Your MLA Paper
• Works Cited Entries: What to Include
• Title of Source
• Title of Container
• Other Contributors
• Publication Date
• Optional Elements
• Book with Personal Author(s)
• Book with Editor(s)
• Book with Organization as Author
• Parts of Books
• Government Publication
• Journal Article
• Magazine Article
• Multivolume Works
• Newspaper Article
• Other Formats
• Websites, Social Media, and Email
• Works Cited Practice
• About In-Text Citations
• In-Text Examples
• How to Paraphrase and Quote

Line Spacing & Margins

Heading and title, sample papers from mla, sample mla paper, mla format setup in word 2013.

• Formatting Your Works Cited List
• MLA Annotated Bibliography
• MLA 8th Edition Quick Guide
• How to Paraphrase
• MLA recommends using 12-point Times New Roman font or another readable typeface (e.g. serif ).
• 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.

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:

• Your Instructor's Name
• Course Number or Name
• Center the title on the next line. Follow the rules for capitalization. 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.

There are three sample papers available in the MLA Style Center. Check them out to see the correct formatting.

• MLA Research Paper Template Properly formatted MLA Style research paper. Download and save to your computer so that you will always have the correct format for writing.

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MLA Style Guide at OWL

• MLA Style at the Purdue Online Writing Lab (OWL) These OWL resources will help you learn how to use the Modern Language Association (MLA) citation and format style. This section contains resources on in-text citations and Works Cited pages, as well as MLA sample papers, slide presentations, and the MLA classroom poster.
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Learn more and peruse specific examples at the MLA Blog .

When citing a generative-AI chatbot, like ChatGPT, adhere to the criteria and format outlined by the MLA

• i.e. “Describe the symbolism of the green light in the book  The Great Gatsby  by F. Scott Fitzgerald” prompt.  ChatGPT , 13 Feb. version, OpenAI, 8 Mar. 2023, chat.openai.com/chat.

Consider AI as Wikipedia v.2 -  we should never copy/paste Wikipedia information straight into our paper and claim it as our own. Similarly, we can use generative AI to learn more about a topic, brainstorm, and refine our ideas, but we should never copy/paste AI content into our assignments and say they are our own words.

According to the Modern Language Association (MLA):we should cite a generative-AI chatbot when we...

• paraphrase, quote, or incorporate into your own work any content (whether text, image, data, or other) that was created by it 
• acknowledge all functional uses of the tool (like editing your prose or translating words) in a note, your text, or another suitable location 

ChatGPT in particular will invent (or hallucinate) plausible-looking sources. This is why you should always double-check and vet the secondary sources the chatbot cites.

Basic Books Format

Last Name, First Name.  Title of Book . City of Publication, Publisher, Publication Date.

Book by Multiple Authors

Gillespie, Paula, and Neal Lerner.  The Allyn and Bacon Guide to Peer Tutoring . Allyn and Bacon, 2000.

Electronic Book

Silva, Paul J.  How to Write a Lot: A Practical Guide to Productive Academic Writing.  E-book, American Psychological Association, 2007.

Electronic Book from a Scholarly Database

Hohle, Randolph. The American Housing Question: Racism, Urban Citizenship and the Privilege of Mobility. Lexington Books, 2021. Proquest Ebook Central,  https://ebookcentral.proquest.com/lib/lbcc/reader.action?docID=6786939.

Basic Article Format

Author. Title. Title of container (self contained if book), Other contributors (translators or editors), Version (edition), Number (vol. and/or no.), Publisher, Publisher Date, Location (pp.). 2nd container’s title, Other contributors, Version, Number, Publisher, Pub date, Location (pp.).

Electronic Article

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.

Electronic Article from a Scholarly Database

Hallion, Madeleine, et al. "Exploring the Association Between Physical Activity Participation and Self-Compassion in Middle-Aged Adults." Sport, Exercise, and Performance Psychology , vol. 8, no. 3, 2019, pp 305-16. APA PsychNet,  https://doi.org/10.1037/spy0000150 .

Brubaker, Bill. "New Health Center Targets County's Uninsured Patients."  Washington Post,  24 May 2007, p. LZ01.

Webpage with Known Author and Date

Lundman, Susan. “How to Make Vegetarian Chili.”  eHow , www.ehow.com/how_10727_make-vegetarian-chili.html. Accessed 6 July 2015.

A YouTube Video

McGonigal, Jane. “Gaming and Productivity.”  YouTube , uploaded by Big Think, 3 July 2012, www.youtube.com/watch?v=mkdzy9bWW3E.

Speed Racer . Directed by Lana Wachowski and Lilly Wachowski, performances by Emile Hirsch, Nicholas Elia, Susan Sarandon, Ariel Winter, and John Goodman, Warner Brothers, 2008.

"The One Where Chandler Can't Cry."  Friends: The Complete Sixth Season , written by Andrew Reich and Ted Cohen, directed by Kevin Bright, Warner Brothers, 2004.

Musical Recording

Music can be cited multiple ways. Reference the MLA OWL Guide for various detailed citations.

Speeches, Lectures, Or Other Oral Presentations (Including Conference Presentations)

Stein, Bob. “Reading and Writing in the Digital Era.” Discovering Digital Dimensions, Computers and Writing Conference, 23 May 2003, Union Club Hotel, West Lafayette, IN. Keynote Address.

Personal Interview

Smith, Jane. Personal interview. 19 May 2014.

Published Interview

Gaitskill, Mary. Interview with Charles Bock.  Mississippi Review , vol. 27, no. 3, 1999, pp. 129-50.

• In-Text Citations

Formatting the Title Page

• Do not make a title page for your paper unless specifically requested or the paper is assigned as a group project. In the case of a group project, list all names of the contributors, giving each name its own line in the header, followed by the remaining MLA header requirements as described below. Format the remainder of the page as requested by the instructor.
• In the upper left-hand corner of the first page, list your name, your instructor's name, the course, and the date. Again, be sure to use double-spaced text.
• Double space again and center the title. Do not underline, italicize, or place your title in quotation marks. Write the title in Title Case (standard capitalization), not in all capital letters.
• Use quotation marks and/or italics when referring to other works in your title, just as you would in your text. For example:  Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas  as Morality Play; Human Weariness in "After Apple Picking"
• Double space between the title and the first line of the text.
• Create a header in the upper right-hand corner that includes your last name, followed by a space with a page number. Number all pages consecutively with Arabic numerals (1, 2, 3, 4, etc.), one-half inch from the top and flush with the right margin. (Note: Your instructor or other readers may ask that you omit the last name/page number header on your first page. Always follow instructor guidelines.)

https://owl.purdue.edu/owl/research_and_citation/mla_style/mla_formatting_and_style_guide/mla_general_format.html

General Guidelines

• Type your paper on a computer and print it out on standard, white 8.5 x 11-inch paper.
• Double-space the text of your paper and use a legible font (e.g. Times New Roman). Whatever font you choose, MLA recommends that the regular and italics type styles contrast enough that they are each distinct from one another. The font size should be 12 pt.
• Leave only one space after periods or other punctuation marks (unless otherwise prompted by your instructor).
• Set the margins of your document to 1 inch on all sides.
• Indent the first line of each paragraph one half-inch from the left margin. MLA recommends that you use the “Tab” key as opposed to pushing the space bar five times.
• Create a header that numbers all pages consecutively in the upper right-hand corner, one-half inch from the top and flush with the right margin. (Note: Your instructor may ask that you omit the number on your first page. Always follow your instructor's guidelines.)
• Use italics throughout your essay to indicate the titles of longer works and, only when absolutely necessary, provide emphasis.
• If you have any endnotes, include them on a separate page before your Works Cited page. Entitle the section Notes (centered, unformatted).

In-Text MLA Citations

"In MLA Style, referring to the works of others in your text is done using parenthetical citations. This method involves providing relevant source information in parentheses whenever a sentence uses a quotation or paraphrase. Usually, the simplest way to do this is to put all of the source information in parentheses at the end of the sentence (i.e., just before the period)."

Author-Page Style

"MLA format follows the author-page method of in-text citation. This means that the author's last name and the page number(s) from which the quotation or paraphrase is taken must appear in the text, and a complete reference should appear on your Works Cited page. The author's name may appear either in the sentence itself or in parentheses following the quotation or paraphrase, but the page number(s) should always appear in the parentheses, not in the text of your sentence. For example:

Wordsworth stated that Romantic poetry was marked by a "spontaneous overflow of powerful feelings" (263).

Romantic poetry is characterized by the "spontaneous overflow of powerful feelings" (Wordsworth 263).

Wordsworth extensively explored the role of emotion in the creative process (263).

Both citations in the examples above, (263) and (Wordsworth 263), tell readers that the information in the sentence can be located on page 263 of a work by an author named Wordsworth. If readers want more information about this source, they can turn to the Works Cited page, where, under the name of Wordsworth, they would find the following information:"

More Information

See the OWL Guide for in-text citations for other detailed examples, including 

• In-Text Citations for Print Sources by A Corporate Author
• In-Text Citations for Sources with Non-Standard Labeling Systems
• In-Text Citations for Print Sources with No Known Author
• Author-Page Citation for Works In An Anthology, Periodical, Or Collection
• Citing A Work by Multiple Authors
• Citing Multiple Works by The Same Author  

https://owl.purdue.edu/owl/research_and_citation/mla_style/mla_formatting_and_style_guide/mla_in_text_citations_the_basics.html

Basic Rules for the Reference Page

• Begin your Works Cited page on a separate page at the end of your research paper. It should have the same one-inch margins and last name, page number header as the rest of your paper.
• Only the title should be centered. The citation entries themselves should be aligned with the left margin.
• Double space all citations, but do not skip spaces between entries.
• Indent the second and subsequent lines of citations by 0.5 inches to create a hanging indent.
• List page numbers of sources efficiently, when needed. If you refer to a journal article that appeared on pages 225 through 250, list the page numbers on your Works Cited page as pp. 225-50 (Note: MLA style dictates that you should omit the first sets of repeated digits. In our example, the digit in the hundreds place is repeated between  2 25 and  2 50, so you omit the 2 from 250 in the citation: pp. 225-50). If the excerpt spans multiple pages, use “pp.”  Note that MLA style uses a hyphen in a span of pages.
• If only one page of a print source is used, mark it with the abbreviation “p.” before the page number (e.g., p. 157). If a span of pages is used, mark it with the abbreviation “pp.” before the page number (e.g., pp. 157-68).
• If you're citing an article or a publication that was originally issued in print form but that you retrieved from an online database, you should type the online database name in italics. You do not need to provide subscription information in addition to the database name.
• For online sources, you should include a location to show readers where you found the source. Many scholarly databases use a DOI (digital object identifier). Use a DOI in your citation if you can; otherwise use a URL. Delete “http://” from URLs. The DOI or URL is usually the last element in a citation and should be followed by a period.
• All works cited entries end with a period.

New to MLA 2021

• Apps and databases  should be cited only when they are containers of the particular works you are citing, such as when they are the platforms of publication of the works in their entirety, and not an intermediary that redirects your access to a source published somewhere else, such as another platform. For example, the  Philosophy Books  app should be cited as a container when you use one of its many works, since the app contains them in their entirety. However, a PDF article saved to the  Dropbox  app is published somewhere else, and so the app should not be cited as a container.
• If it is important that your readers know an author’s/person’s  pseudonym, stage-name, or various other names,  then you should generally cite the better-known form of author’s/person’s name. For example, since the author of  Alice's Adventures in Wonderland  is better-known by his pseudonym, cite  Lewis Carroll  opposed to  Charles Dodgson  (real name).
• For  annotated bibliographies , annotations should be appended at the end of a source/entry with one-inch indentations from where the entry begins. Annotations may be written as concise phrases or complete sentences, generally not exceeding one paragraph in length.

https://owl.purdue.edu/owl/research_and_citation/mla_style/mla_formatting_and_style_guide/mla_works_cited_page_basic_format.html

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• Last Updated: May 10, 2024 12:51 PM
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MLA Citation Guide

• Paper Format
• Books/eBooks
• Generative AI (ChatGPT, Gemini, etc.)
• Annotated Bibliography

What Is Required for MLA Citation?

MLA formats features  rules and guidelines that make papers and writing projects consistent. They cover the following:

• Layout of the paper (margins, spaces between lines, font size, etc.)
• Citations (source documentation) at end of paper  - titled  Works Cited
• In-Text  citations near quoted or paraphrased information

Two Types of Citations Needed

With MLA format, each information source  you use — such as a website you directly quote or an article idea you paraphrase (put into your own words) — must have the following:

1. a Works Cited citation

2. an In-Text citation .

1. Works Cited Citations

Works Cited citations provide details about sources used for your research project. Your Works Cited list goes at the end of your project or paper and includes information about each source that must be in a specific order. MLA calls this information Core Elements . Here is the list of Core Elements in order, including the punctuation that must be included after each element ( MLA Handbook , 8th Edition, page 20):

• Title of source .
• Title of the container ,
• Other contributors ,
• Publisher ,
• Publication date ,

Some sources don't require all of these elements. Click on the link below for more details.

2. In-Text Citations

In-Text citations (also called parenthetical documentation or citation) goes in your paper or project near the information you are using. In-text citations are required when you do the following:

• Directly quote  from a source by putting exact wording in quotation marks
• Paraphrase  from a source by putting ideas into your own words
• Summarize   from a source

Your in-text citation consists of the first item (or Core Element) in your Works Cited citation and a page number , if the source you used has page numbers. Often the first element you use is the author of the source. Click on the link below for more details.

MLA Format Examples

Changes in mla 9th edition.

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Citation Guides: MLA: Citation & Formatting

• APA: Citation & Formatting
• MLA: Citation & Formatting
• Chicago: Citation & Formatting

Citation Style Handbooks

MLA Sample Paper by Purdue OWL

• MLA Sample Paper (Purdue OWL)

MLA 9th Edition Resources

• MLA 9th Tip Sheet An overview of MLA style 9th edition with citation examples and formatting guidelines.
• MLA Handbook Plus This link opens in a new window Full text access of the Ninth edition of the MLA Handbook.
• MLA Style Center: Quick Guide The MLA Style Center provides a quick guide to creating citations in the new 8th edition of the style.
• MLA Style Center: Interactive Practice Template Use this template to help you build your citations for your paper.
• OWL Purdue- MLA 9th Edition This site from Purdue University provides a thorough guide to the 8th edition of MLA Handbook.
• MLA 9th Edition: EasyBib guide This guide is broken down into multiple sections to help provide greater details on how to use the current edition.

MLA Style Tutorials

• MLA Style 9th Edition: Module 1- Style Basics Covers the basics of the MLA 8th edition, including its overall scope, how to format your research paper, and how to format the layout of a Works Cited page.
• MLA Style 9th Edition: Module 2- In-Text Citation Covers how to cite sources within your text following MLA Style 8th edition guidelines.
• MLA Style 9th Edition: Module 3- Works Cited Basics Reviews formatting issues that are common across multiple elements of an MLA citation, including how to deal with names, dates, capitalization, and more. Also provides an introduction to the MLA Practice Template.
• MLA Style 9th Edition: Module 4- Citing Books, Articles, and More Provides specific examples on how to format a Works Cited page citation using the MLA Practice Template and the formatting rules learned in Module 3.
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English Comp 1 -- Locating Articles: Cite Your Research-MLA

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Why You Need to Cite Your Research

Have you ever told a story, a really good story, and then you heard someone else tell your story and not give you credit? That was your story. You told it. You made it funny or sad or memorable. This is why citation matters.

Professors need you to cite the information you find for research papers and presentations so that they know where you found the sources you used, what that information was updated, and when you used them - you are essentially showing your professor all of the hard work you did to find the facts you used to make your points.  

How To Avoid Plagiarism

What is Plagiarism? Plagiarism is when you take someone's ideas and you do not give that person credit. Like the story above, the person who told your story did not give you credit as the original story teller. Research works the same way. If you take ideas from a book or journal article and do not cite it, that is plagiarism. Plagiarism can be taking the exact words of a text and citing them without quotes or paraphrasing the idea and forgetting to put in a citation. To avoid plagiarism, you need to keep track of where you found your information, include parenthetical citations within your paper, and cite all of the sources you used in your Works Cited / References at the end of your project. For more tips about avoiding plagiarism, see Purdue OWL's Plagiarism Overview -  https://owl.purdue.edu/owl/avoiding_plagiarism/index.html .

For great tips about how to write in your own words to avoid plagiarism, check out Purdue OWL's Paraphrase: Write It in Your Own Words tips:  https://owl.purdue.edu/owl/research_and_citation/using_research/quoting_paraphrasing_and_summarizing/paraphrasing.html .

The MLA Handbook is available in the CCM Library both as a reference book (REF LB2369 .M52 2021) and at the Circulation Desk as a Reserve item for 3-hour (ask at the desk for the MLA Handbook). Both items are for in-library use only.

Many of our databases offer a cite link that gives you an MLA citation. Caution: use the citation only as a draft. Many database generated citations contain errors in spelling, formatting, order, and more. Do not blindly trust these citations. Always refer to the manual above or to the MLA Style Center website:   https://style.mla.org/works-cited/citations-by-format/ .

The Online Writing Lab at Purdue University also has a user-friendly guide to MLA style: 

https://owl.purdue.edu/owl/research_and_citation/mla_style/mla_formatting_and_style_guide/mla_formatting_and_style_guide.html .

Purdue's 1-page MLA Style Guidelines Overview is a great document to print and keep next to you as you write: 

https://owl.purdue.edu/owl/research_and_citation/mla_style/mla_formatting_and_style_guide/20211015MLA9Poster.jpg .

The CCM Writing Center

The CCM Writing Center is a great place to get help with writing your paper or preparing for a presentation. They offer subject specific sessions and individual appointments. All appointments must be scheduled at least 24 hours before the session. For more information, visit them in DeMare Hall, DH 156 inside the Tutoring Center or online at  https://www.ccm.edu/admissions/placement-testing-2/testing-center/writing-center/ .

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