See the examples below for more information.
Use the templates below to format your papers and annotated bibliographies in MLA 9th style.
Note that some elements (like an appendix) are not necessary for certain papers. Omit pieces of the template when necessary and at the discretion of your instructor.
Use the templates below to format your papers and annotated bibliographies in MLA 9th style.
Note that some elements (like an appendix) are not necessary for certain papers. Omit pieces of the template when necessary and at the discretion of your instructor.
MLA should be on regular-sized white paper with margins set to 1-inch and paragraphs set to double-spaced. Font type and size should be legible, between 11 and 13 points, and consistent throughout the paper.
Some recommended styles and sizes include but are not limited to: 11-point Calibri, 11-point Ariel, 10-point Lucida Sans Unicode, 12-point Times New Roman, 11-point Georgia, and 10-point Computer Modern.
In Google Docs: File → Page setup to check that all margins are set at 1". Format → Line & paragraph spacing to select Double Spaced for the document. Font and font size can be changed in the ribbon menu at the top of the screen.
In Microsoft Word: Layout → Margins → Normal to ensure all margins are set at 1". Paragraph → Spacing → Line spacing dropdown menu, choose Double. Font and font size can be changed in the ribbon menu at the top of the screen.
Important! Check with your instructor if they require a running head for your paper. The running head will be your last name and the page number in the upper right corner of the paper.
If they do NOT, then you only need the page number added to the right side of the header. Your word-processing program will then number each subsequent page.
If they require a running head, it should contain your last name typed in before the page number.
MLA Style requires papers begin with a title page the contains the information about the name of the paper and author(s) before the body of the paper begins. Everything should be double spaced with no extra spaces after you hit enter. Starting from the top of the page, flush with the left margin, you should type in:
Your Name
Professor/Dr. Name
Course Name and Number
Day Month Year
The Title of Your Paper: A Descriptive but Concise Subtitle
Example:
Paragraphs should be aligned to the left with the right side uneven (not justified), and the first line of each new paragraph indented by 0.5". Your word-processing program will automatically move words to the next line - do not manually break up or hyphenate a word at the end of a line.
Once you ensure that the paper is left aligned, you can use the tab key to indent at the start of each new paragraph. Or, you can set up your word processing program to automatically indent at the start of each new paragraph.
MLA allows the use of headings to help you organize your paper. In most shorter works, headings should not be necessary. If you need to use headings in your project, follow these basic guidelines.
Level 1 Headings Are For the Main Sections of Your Paper
Level 2 Headings Are For Subsections of Level 1 Sections
Level 3 Headings Are For Any Level 2 Subsections
Example:
The Works Cited list should start on a new page after any endnotes. The heading, “Works Cited” should be centered on the first line at the top of the page. Double space between the heading and the first reference. Each entry should start flush to the left. If the reference is more than one line long, it should go into a hanging indent for each subsequent line.
List references alphabetically and doubled spaced. If you are citing more than one work by the same author/s, list them in alphabetical order by title. After the first reference with the Last Name, use three em dashes or hyphens followed by a period to indicate that it is the same name as the one above it. Use a comma instead if you need to include a different role for the person (i.e. editor, director, etc instead of author).
Do not use extra lines to separate individual citations. The hanging indent will indicate a separate citation.
See pages 219-226 of the MLA Handbook 9th ed.Links to an external site. for more information on ordering references in your Works Cited page.
Example:
Citing or documenting the sources used in your research serves three purposes:
Whenever you paraphrase or directly quote something in your paper that comes from an information source found in print, online, or through a personal communication, you need to cite that source at its point of use in your paper. This is done by using the author's name or title of the work (whatever it is listed by in your works cited section) and sometimes a location indicator. To keep your paper from becoming monotonous, you can change the way you present your citations by switching between narrative (Prose) or parenthetical citations (see below).
It is important to add these in-text citations AS YOU WRITE YOUR PAPER so you do not accidentally plagiarize material by forgetting to do it later.
When paraphrasing in the narrative, if it is the first instance that you mention the author, use both the first and last name. If there is a page number or other location indicator, include it in parentheses at the end of the sentence followed by a period. In each subsequent citation of the author, you should use only the last name.
In the parenthetical, use just the last name and a location indicator (if there is one) in parentheses at the end of the statement before the period.
Examples:
Thomas Mougios found that CK levels were statistically higher in athletes that participated in basketball. (narrative)
In 2007, Mougios' study revealed discrepancies in CK levels based on age. (narrative)
Males consistently had higher upper limits than females (Mougios 14). (parenthetical)
When using a direct quote in the narrative, if it is the first instance that you mention the author, use both the first and last name. If there is a page number or other location indicator, include it in parentheses directly after the quote in the sentence. In each subsequent citation of the author, you should use only the last name and page number.
In the parenthetical, the author's last name and location indicator (i.e. page number) should be in parentheses directly after the end of the quote.
Examples:
Simmons found that "permanent damage could occur within months of first use" (34) if the dosage was too high. (narrative)
"Our study found middle school children at most risk of regression" (Anderson line 25). (parenthetical)
For large quotations that are longer than 4 lines in your paper, do not use quotation marks. Instead, start a block quotation on the next line and indent the entire block by .5 inch from the left. Provide an introductory statement for the quote followed by the correct form of punctuation (i.e. colon, comma, etc depending on use). If you use the name or title of the source in that introduction, then only include a location indicator in parentheses at the end of the block. No punctuation should come after the parentheses. If you did not use the author's name, include it in the parentheses at the end.
Examples:
The same rules apply to two authors as for one.
In the narrative, if it is the first instance that you mention the authors, use both the first and last name for both of them. If there is a location indicator, include it in in parentheses a the end of sentence. In each subsequent citation, you should use only the last names.
In the parenthetical, use their last names only connected by "and" followed by the location indicator if there is one.
Examples:
As Donald Randolf and John Keefe demonstrated in their study... (narrative)
The inconclusive findings may be due to poor research design (Matthews and Burke 205). (parenthetical)
When using a direct quote, be sure to follow this same format, but add the parenthetical information directly after the quote rather than at the end of the sentence.
Examples:
Harding and Massey hypothesized that "particulate distribution would be uniform" (34) throughout the experiment. (narrative)
"The introduction of a third control had unexpected results" (Jordan and McGuire 56) for the participants. (parenthetical)
For three or more authors in the narrative, you can either list all their names in your prose, or provide the first author's last name followed by "and others" or "and colleagues."
For three or more authors in the parenthetical, list the last name of the first author followed by "et al.".
For corporate authors, shorten the name to the shortest noun phrase by cutting out initial articles and additional information. Do not use abbreviations in your in-text citations.
Examples:
Ferguson and others argued in favor of a more democratic structure. (narrative)
"Higher doses did not influence efficacy" (Ferguson et al. 124). (parenthetical)
More In-Text Style Examples
| Number of Authors | In-Text Citations Paraphrasing | In-Text Citations for Quoting |
| One Author | (Jones) | (Jones 231) |
| Two Authors | (Jones and Smith) | (Jones and Smith 132-133) |
| Three or More Authors | (Walters et al.) | (Walters et al. 54) |
|
Group Author shortened
|
Modern Language Association of America (Modern Language Association) |
Modern Language Association of America (Modern Language Association 34) |
When citing multiple works at the same time parenthetically, list them in alphabetical order, separated by semicolons. If there are multiple works by the same author, include the last name with a comma and then the title in alphabetical order.
Examples:
None of the authors found links between the description of the flower and the struggling life of the child in the story (Davis; Kirkpatrick and Phillips; Reynolds). (parenthetical)
If citing two or more works by the same author in your paper, you need to include the title (or shortened version of the title) in your narrative or in the parenthetical citation. This can be done with:
The title should be shortened to the smallest noun phrase and italicized. If both author and title are in parentheses, separate them with a comma.
Examples:
In writing a paper that looks at the fictional portrayal of Victorian childhood, we might use two books by Charles Dickens; Hard Times, and Oliver Twist. This is what those citations might look like if used in three different ways:
In Hard Times, Dickens addresses the hardships of Victorian childhood.
We get a sense of how the welfare of children in the Victorian era depended on the goodwill of their caregivers (Dickens, Oliver Twist).
Dickens' opening statement that one "can only form the minds of reasoning animals upon Facts" (Hard Times 1) sets the tone for the destruction of childhood innocence in the school environment.
MLA citations are composed of 3 elements -- Author, Title of the Source, and the Container.
Author
If no author is listed, skip this element and begin the citation with the Title of the Source.
Title of the Source
If no title is available, provide a short and informative description of the work. You may also use text from the work itself if it is the clearest way to identify a titled work.
The Container
Include in your citation whichever elements are available from your source. If information is not available about your container, simply do not include it in your citation.
Cowley, Jason, and Katy Shaw. "Three Lions and a Unicorn." New Statesman, vol. 148, no. 5499, 29 Nov. 2019, pp. 20-25. EBSCOhost, search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=edsglr&AN=edsgcl.608501953&site=eds-live&scope=site.
Journal from a Database, with a DOI
Bockelman, Brian. "Buenos Aires Bohème Argentina and the Transatlantic Bohemian Renaissance, 1890-1910." Modernism/Modernity, vol. 23, no. 1, Jan. 2016, pp. 37-63. Project Muse, doi.org/10.1353/mod.2016.0011.
Journal from a Database, with a Permalink
Goldman, Anne. "Questions of Transport: Reading Primo Levi Reading Dante." The Georgia Review, vol. 64, no. 1, spring 2010, pp. 69-88. JSTOR, www.jstor.org/stable/41403188.
Journal Article from an Online Journal
Alpert-Abrams, Hannah. "'Machine Reading the Primeros Libros." Digital Humanities Quarterly, vol. 10, no. 4, 2016, www.digitalhumanities.org/dhq/vol/10/4/000268.html.
Mack, Eric. "Elusive Narwhals, Once Mistaken for Unicorns and Mermaids, Now Heard on Rare Recordings." Forbes, 26 May 2020, www.forbes.com/sites/ericmack/2020/05/26/elusive-narwhals-once-mistaken-for-unicorns-and-mermaids-now-heard-on-rare-recordings/#1406f652302b. Accessed 1 June 2020.
DOIs, Permalinks, and URLs are important markers to help your readers find the online materials you have accessed. Be sure to check with your instructor about the inclusion of DOIs, Permalinks, and URLs. Some instructors may prefer you add them to the end of all of your online references, while others may want to keep them out unless they are vital to locating the materials.
DOIs and Permalinks are preferred because they are permanent links to an object's location online. URLs can be changed or broken. However, if no DOI or Permalink is available, use the URL.
MLA does not encourage the use of URL shortening services. Instead, one should drop the protocol (https://) and, if necessary, drop the path if it is overly long, keeping only the host address so readers can evaluate the source and locate the material through their own search on the site.
If you need to break a long URL for hanging indentation, try to do so after a punctuation or symbol (e.g. ., _, /, @)
For a quick overview of core elements and containers, see the following from the MLA Style Center:
MLA uses parenthetical citations consisting of the author's last name and the page number, where one exists. If there is no known author, use a portion of the title--which is what appears first in the full bibliography entry.
Fascinating sentence... (Cowley and Shaw 21).
Narwhals use echolocation, like bats, to find food (Mack).
Spary noted... (1052).
Note: No page number is needed for online articles that don't have them.
Author last name, First name. Book Title. E-book, Publisher, Year.
Editor last name, First name, editor. Book Title. Xth ed., Publisher, Year.
Author last name, First name. "Chapter Title." Book Title, edited by Editor First name Last Name, Xth ed., Publisher, Year, pp. x-xx.
Author first name, Last name. "Chapter Title." Title of Volume, edited by Editor first name Last name, Publisher, Year, pp. x-xx.
Author first name, Last name. "Chapter Title." Title of Volume, edited by Editor first name Last name, pp. x-xx. Title of Series/Multivolume Work, general editor, General Editor first name Last name, Xth ed., vol. x, Publisher, Year.
Montanari, Massimo. Cheese, Pears, and History in Proverb. Translated by Beth Archer Brombert, E-book, Columbia University Press, 2010.
Zipes, Jack, editor. The Oxford Companion to Fairy Tales. 2nd ed., Oxford University Press, 2015.
Samarawickrama, Sumudu. "Adora." Global Dystopias, edited by Junot Díaz, Boston Review, 2017, pp. 11-19.
Fox, Michael V. "Part IV: Proverbs 24:23-34 - More Words of the Wise." Proverbs 10-31. Yale University Press, 2009, pp. 770-774.
Fox, Michael V. "Part IV: Proverbs 24:23-34 - More Words of the Wise." Proverbs 10-31, 2009, pp. 770-774. The Anchor Yale Bible, general editor, John J. Collins, vol. 18B, Yale University Press, 2008-.
Davis, Angela Y. Blues Legacies and Black Feminism: Getrude "Ma" Rainey, Bessie Smith, and Billie Holiday. Panthenon, 1998.
Dorris, Michael, and Louise Erdrich. The Crown of Columbus. HarperCollins Publishers, 1999.
Charon, Rita, et al. The Principles and Practice of Narrative Medicine. Oxford UP, 2017.
Baron, Sabrina Alcorn, et al., editors. Agent of Change: Print Culture Studies after Elizabeth L. Eisenstein. U of Massachusetts P / Library of Congress, Center for the Book, 2007.
Milton, John. The Riverside Milton. Edited by Roy Flannagan, Houghton Mifflin, 1998.
Pevear, Richard, and Larissa Volokhonsky, translators. Crime and Punishment. By Fyodor Dostoevsky, e-book ed., Vintage Books, 1993.
Stendhal. The Red and the Black. Translated by Roger Gard, Penguin Books, 2002.
MLA uses parenthetical citations consisting of the author's last name and the page number, where one exists. If there is no known author, use a portion of the title--which is what appears first in the full bibliography entry.
Fascinating sentence... (Cowley and Shaw 21).
Narwhals use echolocation, like bats, to find food (Mack).
Spary noted... (1052).
Author. "Webpage Title." Website Title, URL. Accessed Day Month Year.
Folgerpedia. Folger Shakespeare Library, 17 July 2018, folgerpedia.folger.edu/Main_Page.
"About the Museum." National Museum of the American Indian. Smithsonian Institution, americanindian.si.edu/about. Accessed 8 June 2020.
"Phyllis Wheatley." Poetry Foundation, www.poetryfoundation.org/poets/phillis-wheatley. Accessed 8 June 2020.
Social Media
Thomas, Angie. Photo of The Hate U Give cover. Instagram, 4 Dec. 2018, www.instagram.com/p/Bq_PaXKgqPw/.
Chaucer Doth Tweet [@LeVostreGC]. "A daye wythout anachronism ys lyke Emily Dickinson wythout her lightsaber." Twitter, 7 Apr. 2018, twitter.com/LeVostreGC/status/982829987286827009.
The National Museum of the American Indian has two facilities that house exhibitions, the museum in Washington, D.C., and the George Gustave Heye Center in New York City ("About the Museum").
