MLA Format Guide
Table of Contents
I.
Introduction to MLA
a. What is the Purpose?
1
II. Formatting
a. How to set up an MLA paper
2
III. Parenthetical Citations
a. What are Sources?
3
b. Citing Books
3-4
c. Citing the Web
4-5
d. Citing Other Common Sources
5
e. Quoting
4-6
IV. Works Cited
a. Formatting the Page
6
b. Format for a Book
7
c. Format for a Magazine Article
7
d. Format for a Website
8
e. Format for an Article in a Scholarly Journal 8
f. Some Extra Rules
9
V. Conclusion
a. Where to Find Further Help
9
VI. Works Cited
10
VII. Appendix A
a. Worksheet for Practicing Citations
11-15
Last Name 1
Student Name
Professor Name
Course Name
Date
Title of Paper
The different formats that are created for the writing process can seem overly tedious and
frustrating when students first set out to learn them. For MLA format the MLA Handbook for
Writers of Research Papers (Seventh Edition) is the usual resource for learning the rules and
formats that MLA requires, but reading through the whole thing can be quite daunting. The
purpose of this overview is to help with the process of learning how to use MLA format by
laying out some of the more general rules that will be most often encountered when writing the
average undergraduate assignment. Some of the main topics that are among the most important
to understand are formatting the paper, incorporating parenthetical citations, and creating a
Works Cited page. Before addressing these topics, a quick word on the purpose of MLA format.
Writing formats such as MLA, APA, and Chicago have all been created for three main
reasons. The first and most obvious reason is they provide organization and structure. Secondly,
because of the citation process, they help direct readers to the sources a writer uses to support
their thesis. Thirdly, and most importantly, using a writing format helps the writer to uphold the
highest moral standard in their writing. Citing sources is a preventative measure against
plagiarism which is one of the worst crimes to commit in the world of academia. Ideas should
always be attributed to their original author because failing to do so is creative stealing. As
Christians, writing formats such as MLA help us to better worship our Creator in that we are able
to uphold the highest ethical standard in our writing.
Last Name 2
Formatting the Paper
Before the actual writing begins, there are five main formatting rules that need to be
followed and applied to the document. The following are the five main rules:
(1) The margins need to be set at 1-Inch on all sides. The margin settings in Word are
found under the Page Layout Tab.
(2) Make sure to Double-Space the entire document and that the Spacing setting (Before
and After) is set at 0. For the font type it is best to stick with Times New Roman.
(3) The in-text heading is placed in the upper left-hand corner and it is here that Student
Name, Professor Name, Course Title, and Date are listed. (See the first page of this
document for an example of how this looks).
(4) For the Header in the upper right corner, the student’s Last Name and the Page
Number are positioned ½ inch from the top. (Again, see first page to see example).
This heading should appear on each consecutive page. The Heading setting is found
under the Insert Tab.
(5) Every new paragraph is indented from the left, ½ Inch, which is done with the Tab
key.
These rules will need to be observed throughout the entire paper. Headings are commonly
used in MLA format, but unlike other writing formats like APA they are not a requirement – they
simply help aid structure. If the writer wants to use them there are a few specific rules that need
to be observed which can be found at https://owl.english.purdue.edu/owl/resource/747/01/. This
overview will not cover headings, but the way to use them has been demonstrated throughout.
Parenthetical Citations
Last Name 3
Parenthetical citations, or more simply “citations,” are notations that are used whenever
information other than the writer’s own thoughts is incorporated into his or her paper. This
“information” is considered source material and can be found in a wide range of mediums
including books, websites, journals, movies, and interviews. This information can take three
different forms in a paper: quotes, paraphrases, and summaries. In order to give the original
author credit for his or her work and to protect the writer from plagiarizing, a citation will come
at the end of any sentence that uses source material. A citation is written within parentheses and
usually contains the name of the author of the outside source and the page number that the
specific information was found on. Because there are many types of sources used in research and
there are multiple ways of writing about these sources, a citation can take several different forms.
Citing Books. To demonstrate the different ways a book can be
cited, The Picture of Dorian Gray by Oscar Wilde and The Elements
of Style (Fourth Edition) by Willian Strunk Jr. and E.B White are used.
SOURCES
When talking about sources
there is a distinction between
(1) When using a book with one author where there is no
mention of the author’s name in-text, the author’s name
and the page number are used: It was stated once that art
cannot be called moral in and of itself but must instead be seen
as either well done or poorly done (Wilde 21).
Primary and Secondary
sources. A Primary Source
implies that the material being
written or spoken about is from
the person who did the research
(2) When using a book with one author where the author is
mentioned in-text, just the page number is used: In Oscar
Wilde’s novel The Picture of Dorian Grey he asserts that
“There is no such thing as a moral or an immoral book. Books
are well written, or badly written. That is all” (21).
(e.g. Peer Reviewed Article). A
Secondary Source is one that
reports the findings of others
(e.g. Wikipedia). When doing
research it is almost always
best to use Primary Sources.
Last Name 4
(3) When using a book with two authors where neither are mentioned in-text: Many
undergraduate freshmen who begin writing essays forget the rule that “…the active voice
is more concise than the passive voice…” (Strunk Jr. and White 24).
(4) When using a book with two authors where both are mentioned in-text: According
to Strunk Jr. and White, the best way to keep writing precise and to the point is to use the
active voice (24).
Before moving on, two very simple but important rules for formatting citations need to be
addressed. First, the punctuation mark of the sentence that the citation is in will always follow
the citation. This is seen in the examples above. Second, when using quotation marks, the
punctuation mark for the quote will follow the citation UNLESS the quote is a long quote. When
the quote is long, it is set apart from the rest of the text and the punctuation mark precedes the
citation. Formatting long quotes will be addressed further in another section.
Citing Web Sources. Citing for web sources follows the same basic outline as citing for
books, but often webpages do not include page numbers. When a page number is lacking, the
title of an article or web page can be substituted. The following examples cite an article entitled
“Christian Community Doesn’t Require our Blind Trust” by Maureen Garcia:
(1) When the web source has an author and a title and the author’s name is used
within the sentence, the author of the article and the first few words of the title of
the article are used: An article from Christianity Today argues that there should be a
distinction between judging and discerning when it comes to determining people’s
character (Garcia, “Christian Community”).
(2) When the web source has an author and a title and the article title is used within
the sentence, just the author’s name is used: The article “Christian Community
Last Name 5
Doesn’t Require our Blind Trust” argues that there should be a distinction between
judging and discerning when it comes to determining people’s character (Garcia).
Sometimes websites don’t have a specific author but have a corporate author. The only
difference in citing this is in place of the author’s name, the corporation’s name is used. For
example, if Pew Research Center’s article “U.S. Becoming Less Religious” is used as a source
the citation would look like this: (Pew Research Center, “U.S. Becoming”).
Other possible types of citations: Some of the other potential citation circumstances are
sources without any kind of author, sources with over three authors, and Biblical sources.
(1) When a source has no author use the title of the source and the page number (if
available) as the citation. e.g.: (“Article Name” 34) or (Title 34).
(2) When a source has three or more author’s, either all authors can be listed or the
first author can be listed followed by the notation “et al.”. e.g.: (Burke, Jones,
Smith and Brown 34) or (Burke et al. 34).
(3) When quoting the Bible, list the version being used, followed by the verse
information the first time it is quoted; all successive times use the verse only if
the same version is being referenced. e.g.: (ESV, Mark 8:34-38)….. (Mark 8:39).
Citing for long quotes. When a quote is going to be longer than four lines, it needs to be
set apart from the rest of the text. To demonstrate this, further instructions will be put in the long
quote format:
A long quote is set apart from the rest of the text by starting a new line that is
indented 1-inch from the left. Each new line is also indented 1-inch. Quotation
marks are NOT used to enclose this quote. At the end of the quote, the
Last Name 6
punctuation mark will precede the citation as opposed to following it as is done in
all other instances of citing. (Author 1)
Final notes on citing. The most important thing to remember when determining what
information needs to be included in a parenthetical citation is that it needs to match up with the
way that source is recorded in the Works Cited page. The purpose of citations is to not only show
that information used in-text is someone else’s, but to direct the reader to that source if they wish
to further research the topic being discussed.
Works Cited
The Works Cited page is where all the sources that are parenthetically cited in-text are
listed. It is here that extra information is given about the source so that readers can know where
exactly a source was found. There are three formatting rules that must be followed before this list
of sources can be created:
(1) Start on a new page and title it Works Cited.
(2) In the Paragraph settings, change the Indentation Settings to Hanging.
(3) List the sources alphabetically by last names or by the first letter of the title of a
source if there is no author.
Formatting Sources. There are so many different variations of how to cite a source that it is
hard to create a general format to follow. The goal is to record the main information about a
source which usually consists of the author’s name, the title, the year it was published, publisher
city, name of the publisher, and the type of medium being used (e.g. print, web, e-mail etc.).
Because books, webpages, articles, and scholarly journals are some of the most commonly used
source materials the following list is a basic outline of how each is formatted:
Last Name 7
(1) Format for a book with one author:
Author’s last name, first name. Title of the book. Publisher City: Publisher, Date Published.
Medium.
Example:
Frankl, Victor E. Man’s Search for Meaning: An Introduction to Logotherapy. New York:
Pocket Books, 1963. Print.
(2) For a book with two or more authors the format is the same except for when listing
the author names. The first author is always be listed last name first, but the
successive authors are listed first name first. If there are over three authors, use et
al. after listing the first author.
Example:
Markway, Barbara G., Cheryl N. Carmin, C. Alec Pollard, Teresa Flynn. Dying of
Embarassment: Help for Social Anxiety & Phobia. Oakland: New Harbinger
Publications, Inc., 1994. Print.
OR: Markway, Barbara G., et al……
(3) Format for an article in a magazine:
Author. “Title of Article.” Publication Name Full Date: Pages. Medium.
Example:
Weintraub, Pamela. “The 10-Second Take.” Psychology Today 3 Nov. 2015: 7-11. Print.
Last Name 8
(4) Format for a website (if no publisher or date is given use the symbols n.p. or n.d.,
respectively):
Author or editor (if available). Title of website. Publisher, date the site was created. Medium.
Date Accessed.
Example:
Simmons, Robin L. Grammar Bytes! Grammar Instruction with Attitude. n.p., 1997. Web. 10
Nov. 2015.
(5) Format for an article from an online scholarly journal:
Author. “Title of Article.” Title of the Journal Volume number. Issue Number (Publication
Year): Page numbers. Medium. Date Accessed.
Example:
Wolf, Shannon M. “The Shaping of a Professional Worldview in the Classroom: A Christian
Psychology Project.” Journal of Psychology and Christianity 30.4 (2011): 329-338.
Web. 25 Oct. 2015.
A couple extra rules. One of the major rules to remember when writing out sources
(and within the body of the paper) concerning titles of books and articles is that book titles and
names of magazines or websites are italicized and chapters or articles are put in quotations.
Something to note concerning websites, URLs can be included in a website’s citation, but it is no
longer required unless it is the only way to find a particular webpage. Lastly, when writing page
numbers in the hundreds remember that the second number in the page range is shortened. For
example, if an article is from pages 300 to 345 of a journal, then the pages are written 300-45 in
the citation.
Last Name 9
Conclusion
Though format, parenthetical citation, and Works Cited are some of the main focuses of
MLA format there are many other rules and details that are not covered in this overview. The
goal of this overview was to explain the basic rules of MLA by using them in the form of a MLA
formatted paper. For further information on MLA format students should look to the MLA
Handbook for Writers of Research Papers (Seventh Edition) and Purdue OWL. At the end of this
document is a Works Cited page which cites all the sources used as examples above.
Parenthetical citations are not used directly in this document because all the information comes
from one source (The Purdue OWL), but it should be noted that all sources listed in a Works
Cited page must be parenthetically cited in-text somewhere and vice versa.
Last Name 10
Works Cited
English Standard Version. Ed. The Translation Oversight Committee. Illinois: Crossway Bibles,
2003. Print.
Garcia, Maureen. “Christian Community Doesn’t Require our Blind Trust.” Christianity Today.
A Global Media Ministry, 11 Nov. 2015. Web. 11 Nov. 2015.
Strunk Jr., William, E.B. White. The Elements of Style. 4th ed. Massachusetts: Longman, 2000.
Print.
The Purdue OWL. Purdue U Writing Lab, 2010. Web. 10 Nov. 2015.
“U.S. Becoming Less Religious.” Pew Research Center. The Pew Charitable Trust, 3 Nov. 2015.
Web. 11 Nov. 2015.
Wilde, Oscar. The Picture of Dorian Gray. Ed. Peter Ackroyd. London: Penguin Group, 1985.
Print.
Last Name 11
Appendix A
MLA Format Practice Worksheet
The following are examples of sources that might be used in writing a paper. In the space below
the example, write out the full citation as it would look in your Works Cited page. After you
have finished, use the quote to create two sentences in which you parenthetically cite the source
in two different ways. To see answers click on the blue dialogue bubble icon to the right of each
problem.
1. “I love to give charity, but I don’t want to be charity. This is why I have so much trouble
with grace.” Quote on page 84.
Works Cited Citation[AO1]:
Examples[AO2]:
Last Name 12
2. “The Heman Sweatt Courthouse is overcrowded, dilapidated, dangerous, [and] obsolete
for modern judicial purposes…” Quote on page 10.
Works Cited Citation[AO3]:
Examples[AO4]:
Last Name 13
3. “When individuals attributed a transgression to a core aspect of self, greater experiences
of divine struggle were a likely result.” Quote on page 315.
Works Cited Citation[AO5]:
Examples[AO6]:
Last Name 14
4. Create a sentence using the whole website as your source. Only one sentence is required.
Works Cited Citation[AO7]:
Examples[AO8]:
Last Name 15
5. “The purpose of dating is to practice and experiment. The end goal of dating is generally
to decide, sooner or later, whether or not to marry. Dating is a means to find out what
kind of person we complement and with whom we are spiritually and emotionally
compatible. It’s a training ground for marriage.” Quote on page 153.
Works Cited Citation[AO9]:
Examples[AO10]: