MLA Format Guide 1
MLA FORMAT GUIDE
BRIERCREST COLLEGE AND SEMINARY
2014-15
This document provides basic guidelines for formatting in MLA (Modern Languages
Association) style, which is widely used in the humanities, most commonly in writing about
language and literature. More extensive information and guidelines for documenting additional
kinds of sources can be found online at Purdue University’s online writing lab, known as OWL
(http://owl.english.purdue.edu/owl/resource/747/01/), and in most writing handbooks, such as
The Broadview Pocket Guide to Writing (94-121). The most complete and authoritative
information on citing sources is the MLA Guide For Writers of Research Papers, 7th edition; a
printed copy is available in the library’s reference section.
GENERAL
Use 8½” x 11” paper for academic essays and reports.
Do not use file folders or report covers (unless otherwise directed by your professor); simply
staple your pages in the upper left corner.
Margins should be 1 inch (2.54 cm) on all sides. Use left justification for academic papers.
Double-space throughout, including in your Works Cited, notes, and block quotations. If you are
using Microsoft Word, you will likely need to change the default line spacing to get a regular
double-space between paragraphs. The video below shows you how to make that adjustment.
Use the Times New Roman font in its 12-point size in the main body of your paper; use the
corresponding 10-point font for footnotes/endnotes.
A step-by-step guide to formatting a paper in MLA style can be found here:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=24Y31UrG2q4&list=PL4917D9E21FA6EDFF.
INITIAL PAGE
Distance Education students, please follow the initial page sample on page 17. All other
Briercrest students should follow the sample on the following page.
Heading:

Enter your name and box number in the upper left-hand corner.

Double-space down and enter your instructor’s name and professional title (e.g., Dr.
Descartes; Professor Pennywise).
MLA Format Guide 2

Double-space and enter the course name/number (and section number, if applicable).

Double-space once again and enter the due date for the assignment. Always use the
original due date even if you submit the paper early or late (if you have an extension).
Date: The date should be formatted as follows: day month year (e.g., 16 May 2014). There is no
punctuation between elements.
Title:

Double space after the date and centre the title of your paper.

Capitalize the first letter of the following words: (1) the first and last word in the title, (2)
every noun, pronoun, verb, adjective, and adverb in the title, and (3) every preposition in
the title that is longer than four letters long. The only words that won't be capitalized are
short prepositions (of, to, by, etc.) and short articles (the, a, an) that appear in the middle
of the title.

If you are using a subtitle, separate the title from the subtitle with a colon.

For titles longer than one line, break the lines to form an inverted pyramid shape (see
example below). Double-space multi-line titles.

Do not bold, italicize, or underline the title; do not CAPITALIZE all letters in the title.

Begin the first paragraph ONE double-spaced line below the title.
1 inch (2.54 cm)
½ inch (1.27 cm)
1 inch (2.54 cm)
½ inch (1.27 cm)
Double
spacing
throughout
MLA Format Guide 3
Page numbers: Page numbers should appear in the upper right-hand corner of every page
(unless your instructor requests no page number on the first page).

The page number header (your last name and page number) should be ½ inch (1.27 cm)
from the top of the page and ½ inch from the first line of text, lining up with the right
margin.

Page numbers should continue on through to the very end of your paper, including the
Notes and Works Cited pages.
To add the page header in MS-Word (Windows)
1. Insert → Page Number → Top of Page→ Choose the right-justified “Plain Number”
option.
2. The cursor will jump automatically to the right place for you to type your surname.
3. Click “Close” in the menu ribbon or click anywhere in the body of the paper to exit the
header area.
To add the page header in MS-Word (Mac)
1. Insert (in the top menu) → Page Numbers… → Set “Position” to “Top of Page (header)”
and “Alignment” to “Right.”
2. Click just to the left of the new page number, and type your surname.
IN-TEXT CITATION FORMAT
Rather than using footnotes to cite sources, MLA style mandates in-text citations for direct
quotes and paraphrases. The citation contains the last name of the author(s) and the page(s)
where the material can be located, like this: (Parker 178). Note that there is no punctuation
between the name and the page number.
When all citations in the paper are to the same work, for example in a close reading of that work,
you can omit the author’s name and give only the page or act/scene/line references throughout.
Place all in-text citations at the most appropriate point within a sentence, usually as a
parenthetical just before the period or, when using the author’s name to introduce the quote, with
the page number to follow as a parenthetical.
For example: “. . . last words of quote” (Anderson 89).
OR
Anderson claims, “Quoted material” (89).
There are basically three different ways to provide the necessary information for a citation in
MLA style. In all three options, you need to include both the author’s name and a page number.
Example 1: Weedon argues that the “power of fiction lies in its ability to construct for the
MLA Format Guide 4
reader ways of being and of understanding the world” (144).
[Author’s name is given before the quotation, thus it is not required in the parentheses.]
Example 2: Contemporary feminist critics insist that the “power of fiction lies in its
ability to construct for the reader ways of being and of understanding the world”
(Weedon 144).
[Author’s name isn’t mentioned previously, thus it is required in the parentheses.]
Example 3: Weedon promotes the idea that fiction is a powerful political tool that helps
readers understand their place in the world (144).
[Although there is no direct quote, the citation is still required to acknowledge the
author’s idea/claim.]
Use italics to indicate the title of a periodical, book, play, web site, film, TV or radio program,
CD, or dance performance. (Note: A periodical is a work that is published regularly, such as
a newspaper, journal, or magazine.)
Titles of articles, chapters, short poems, pages in a web site, TV or radio episodes, or songs are
not italicized. Use quotation marks around these titles.
QUOTATIONS
Quotations should be typed exactly as they are in the original, including wording, spelling, and
punctuation, although the end punctuation can be changed or dropped, depending on the
structure of the sentence in which the quote appears. When you change the case of a letter, you
should indicate that change in editorial, that is, square brackets. (Note: In this example the
citation is placed just before a comma, an acceptable alternative to delaying the citation until the
end of the sentence.)
Original quotation: “We live, as we dream—alone.”
Integrated quotation: When the narrator claims that “[w]e live, as we dream—alone”
(Conrad 82), he affirms the impossibility of understanding . . .
Block Quotes: (see sample on next page)

Block style is used for quotes that would otherwise occupy more than four complete lines
of text in your paper (not in the source).

The first word of the quote begins on a new line, and quotation marks are not used.

The entire quote is double-spaced and indented 1” (2.54 cm) in from the left margin.

The citation is placed at the end of the quote, outside the closing punctuation.
MLA Format Guide 5
Even if it’s the first time an author is mentioned, if you use key information (author’s last name or
the title of an unsigned work) in your text, do not repeat it in the parentheses. For example, Gibaldi
explains:
The information in your parenthetical references in the text must match the
corresponding information in the entries in your list of works cited. For a typical
works-cited-list entry, which begins with the name of the author (or editor,
translator, or narrator), the parenthetical reference begins with the same name. . . .
If the work is listed by title, use the title, shortened or in full. (238-39)
Notice how the long quote is set off one inch from the left margin (double the half-inch paragraph
indent). No quotations marks are used, and the period goes before the parenthetical citation.
FOOTNOTES AND ENDNOTES
Official MLA style no longer recommends using footnotes or endnotes for citations and
referencing; however, notes may be used to add supplementary comments or additional
references at key points in the text. The only difference between footnotes and endnotes is their
placement: footnotes appear at the bottom of the page on which the citation occurs, while
endnotes appear at the end of your paper.

To use footnotes or endnotes, insert a superscripted number at the end of the sentence,
clause, or phrase containing the material quoted or referred to, placing the number
outside of punctuation marks. Do not leave a space before the superscripted number.

Use that number as the first element in the note reference, followed by a period and a
space, and indent the first line. Do not superscript this number. See the examples below.

Number notes consecutively throughout the paper.

Both endnotes and footnotes should be in a 10-point font and double-spaced.

Endnotes should appear on a new page immediately following the main body of the
paper. Title the page Notes (centred, no formatting). Use Note (as your heading) if there
is only one note. The Notes page should appear before the Works Cited page(s). Insert a
double-space and begin the first note.
MLA Format Guide 6
The In-text Citation (for both footnotes and endnotes)
. . . others have strongly disagreed with Johnson’s point of view.1
. . . . Many studies have found similar results.2
The Corresponding Footnote or Endnote
1. For a comprehensive discussion in opposition to Johnson, see Lewis 5–15.
2. For a sampling of studies that have been conducted, see Simpson 3; Jones 24–38; Armstrong, Wilson, and
Cuneo 124–25; and Yu 67.
LIST OF WORKS CITED
Please see sample Works Cited list on page 16.
The Works Cited page comes at the end of your paper and provides the full bibliographic
information for materials you have cited in your paper.
All bibliographic references should be listed in alphabetical order by author’s last name with the
first line of an entry flush left and subsequent lines indented (this is called a hanging indent). Use
standard double-spacing throughout, including within entries. Do not place an extra doublespaced line between entries. For a short tutorial on creating a hanging indent, check out this
YouTube video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=__h9NrgPOys.
The MLA Handbook offers the following guidance for shortened forms of publishers’ names in
the Works Cited.

It is usually sufficient to give “Harcourt” as the publisher’s name even if the title page
shows “Harcourt Brace” or “Harcourt Brace Jovanovich.” (If you are preparing a
bibliographic study, use the full name of the publisher.)

Omit articles (A, An, The), business abbreviations (Co., Corp., Inc., Ltd.), and descriptive
words (Books, House, Press, Publishers). When citing a university press, always add the
abbreviation UP (Ohio State UP).

If the publisher’s name includes the name of one person (Harry N. Abrams, W.W.
Norton), cite the surname alone (Abrams, Norton). If the publisher’s name includes the
names of more than one person (Farrar, Straus and Giroux; Simon and Schuster), cite
only the first of the surnames (Farrar; Simon).

Use standard abbreviations whenever possible (Acad., Assn., Soc., UP). See Section 7 of
the Handbook for detailed lists of abbreviations. The most recent edition of the MLA
MLA Format Guide 7
Handbook for Writers of Research Papers is available in Archibald Library (call number
= 808.027 G437).
The following examples show the order and format of elements for some basic types of Works
Cited entries. For more detailed information, go the Purdue’s OWL website:
http://owl.english.purdue.edu/owl/resource/747/01/. Click on the links in the left sidebar to find
information on how to format various kinds of sources.
BOOK
Last, First. Title of Work. Place of Publication: Publisher, Date. Medium of Publication.
(Medium of publication can include print, web, radio, television, CD, film, performance, etc.)
Pennee, Donna Palmateer. Moral Metafiction: Counterdiscourse in the Novels of Timothy
Findley. Toronto: ECW, 1991. Print.
AN EDITION
For classics or works that appear in multiple editions, include the edition number and/or editor’s
name after the title of the work.
Last, First. Title of Work. Edition Information. Place of Publication: Publisher, Date.
Medium of Publication.
Rae, Douglas W. The Political Consequences of Electoral Laws. Rev. ed. New Haven, CT: Yale
UP, 1971. Print.
Austen, Jane. Sense and Sensibility. Ed. Claudia Johnson. New York: Norton, 2001. Print.
PART OF AN ANTHOLOGY OR COLLECTION
If the part is a short poem, story, or chapter, place it in quotation marks.
Last, First. “Title of Part.” Title of Anthology. Editor. Edition/Volume. Place of
Publication: Publisher, Date. Pages of the part. Medium of Publication.
Joyce, James. “From Ulysses.” The Norton Anthology of English Literature. Ed. M. H. Abrams.
4th ed. Vol. 2. New York: Norton, 1996. 2374-413. Print.
MLA Format Guide 8
If the part is a longer poem or play and/or has been published independently (not in an
anthology), format it like a book title (in italics), followed by the name of the anthology (in
italics). You can also provide the year of original publication after the title of the part.
Hansberry, Lorraine. A Raisin in the Sun. 1959. Black Theater: A Twentieth-Century Collection
of the Work of Its Best Playwrights. Ed. Lindsay Patterson. New York: Dodd, 1971. 221–
276. Print.
MULTIVOLUME WORK
If you cite from only one volume, provide only the publication information for that volume.
Scrimgeour, J. D. “Langston Hughes.” The Oxford Encyclopedia of American Literature. Ed. Jay
Parini. Vol. 2. New York: Oxford UP, 2004. Print.
If you cite from multiple volumes, indicate the total number of volumes just before the
publication information. Make sure your in-text citation specifies the correct volume.
Nairn, Bede, Geoffrey Serle, and Russel Ward, eds. Australian Dictionary of Biography. 13 vols.
Melbourne: Melbourne UP, 1972. Print.
BOOK IN A SERIES
Last, First. Title of the book. Place of publication: Publisher, Date. Medium of Publication.
Name of series [not italicized or in quotation marks].
Anderson, Danny, and Jill S. Kuhnheim, eds. Cultural Studies in the Curriculum: Teaching Latin
America. New York: MLA, 2003. Print. Teaching Langs., Lits., and Cultures.
(Note: Use common abbreviations for words in the series name. See Section 7.4 in the MLA
Handbook).
MLA Format Guide 9
ARTICLE IN A JOURNAL
Last, First. “Article Title.” Journal Title Volume.Issue (Date): page-page. Medium of
Publication.
Pesciarelli, Enzo. “Aspects of the Influence of Francis Hutcheson on Adam Smith.” History of
Political Economy 31.3 (1999): 525–45. Print.
ELECTRONIC SOURCES
Web Site Document
Use the template below for a basic format guide. Note all items are followed by a period, except
for the publisher’s name. Date of access (the date you looked at the source) follows the
“medium” information. If you cannot find an author’s name, begin with the title of the document.
MLA no longer requires URLs in Works Cited entries, unless a reader cannot be reasonably
expected to find the source without it. If you include the URL, place it after the period following
“Date accessed,” in angled brackets: . . . 20 Jul. 2014. <http://www.blakearchive.org/blake/>. If
the URL has to break over a line, break it after a slash (/). Do not allow a hyphen to be inserted at
the break.
Last, First. “Title of Document.” Name of Web site. Name of Web site publisher or
organization, date published. Medium of publication. Date accessed (day month
year).
Danielson, Stentor, and David Braun. “Shark ‘Photo of the Year’ Is E-Mail Hoax.”
National Geographic News. National Geographic Society, 8 Mar. 2005. Web. 29
Jul. 2014.
Article In An Online Journal
Last, First. “Title of Article.” Name of Journal Volume:Issue (Year): page-page.
Medium of publication. Date accessed.
MLA Format Guide 10
Butler, Darrell L., and Martin Sellbom. “Barriers to Adopting Technology for Teaching and
Learning.” Educause Quarterly 24.2 (2002): 22–28. Web. 29 Jul. 2014.
If the journal does not number pages, use “n. pag.” instead of page numbers. Example:
Smith, J. “Writing About Sports.” Writing Matters 2.2 (2006): n. pag. Web. 29 Jul. 2014.
Article In A Database
Last, First. “Article Title.” Name of Journal Volume.Issue (Year): page–page. Title of
Database. Medium of publication. Date accessed.
Chan, Evans. “Postmodernism and Hong Kong Cinema.” Postmodern Culture 10.3 (2000): 97–
115. Project Muse. Web. 23 February 2014.
A Book Accessed Online (Ebook)
Author Last Name, First name. Title of Book. Location of publisher: Name of publisher,
year of publication. Title of database or Web site where book is hosted. Medium of
publication. Date of access.
Allen, David Elliston. The Naturalist in Britain: A Social History. Princeton, NJ: Princeton UP,
1976. ACLS Humanities E-Book. Web. 22 Sept. 2014.
MLA Format Guide 11
PUNCTUATION
Double Quotation Marks1
Use the following guidelines when using punctuation with double quotation marks:
.” ,” ”? ”! ”: ”;
”? ”!—If the punctuation mark pertains to the entire sentence of which the quotation is part.
?” !”—If the punctuation mark is part of the quoted material.
If quoted material ends in a semicolon or colon in the original, the punctuation can be changed to
a comma or period to fit with the structure of your sentence.
When you quote from the Bible, the punctuation is placed after the parentheses. Example:
“Jesus wept” (John 11:35).
Single Quotation Marks
.’ ,’ Generally, single quotation marks come after the punctuation marks.
Spacing After Punctuation
Leave one space after all punctuation, (e.g., , ; : . ? !)
Do not leave a space after colons when used in Scripture references or between hours and
minutes (e.g., Rom 3:23; 6:30 p.m.).
Do not leave a space after periods in abbreviations such as: i.e., e.g., a.m., p.m.
Leave a single space after periods following initials in names (e.g., J. R. R. Tolkien).
Hyphens and Dashes
A hyphen is made with one stroke of the hyphen key. A dash is made with two conjoined
hyphens (or one e-m dash, to be technical).
Do not leave a space before or after hyphens or dashes. Examples:
1. The placement of quotation marks in relation to punctuation differs between countries. For example,
North American usage places commas and periods inside quotation marks and semicolons and colons outside
quotation marks. UK usage reverses these conventions.
MLA Format Guide 12
Vancouver is a fast-growing city.
The proposal may—in fact, does—meet all the requirements.
Ellipses . . .
Ellipses show that you have omitted part of the material you are quoting. Ellipsis points are made
by using the period key. In most cases there will be three ellipses points, each of which is
followed by a space. Ellipses before or after quotations are unnecessary.
If omitting material from the beginning of a sentence, do not capitalize the first word of your
quotation if it is not capitalized in your source. Example:
The Apostle John indicates that God “gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes
in him shall not perish but have eternal life” (John 3:16).
If you are omitting words from the middle of a sentence, place the ellipsis points in the space the
material would normally occupy. Example:
“[W]hoever believes . . . shall not perish” (John 3:16).
If you are omitting material after a complete sentence, use four ellipsis points (the first point is
the period belonging to the first sentence). Example:
“The family may fairly be considered an ultimate human institution. . . . It has been the
main cell and central unit of almost all societies hitherto.”
MLA Format Guide 13
ABBREVIATIONS AND CONTRACTIONS
Scholarly abbreviations, such as e.g. and i.e., should be used sparingly and within parenthetical
expressions.
Example: “Restrictions on the sulphur content of fuel oil are already in effect in some cities (e.g.,
Paris, Milan, and Rome), and the prospect is that limits will be imposed sooner or later in most
cities.”
(Note the difference in meaning between i.e., “in other words,” and e.g., “for example.”)
Contractions (e.g., isn’t, don’t) are not typically used in academic papers.
ABBREVIATIONS OF PROVINCES AND TERRITORIES OF CANADA
AB
BC
MB
NB
NF
Alberta
British Columbia
Manitoba
New Brunswick
Newf’d and Labrador
NT
NS
NU
ON
PE
Northwest Territories
Nova Scotia
Nunavut
Ontario
Prince Edward Island
QC
SK
YT
Quebec
Saskatchewan
Yukon
ABBREVIATIONS OF STATES AND TERRITORIES OF THE UNITED STATES
AL
AK
AS
AZ
AR
CA
CO
CT
DE
DC
FL
GA
GU
HI
ID
IL
IN
IA
KS
Alabama
Alaska
American Samoa
Arizona
Arkansas
California
Colorado
Connecticut
Delaware
Washington, D.C.
Florida
Georgia
Guam
Hawaii
Idaho
Illinois
Indiana
Iowa
Kansas
KY
LA
ME
MD
MA
MI
MN
MO
MS
MT
NE
NV
NH
NJ
NM
NY
NC
ND
OH
Kentucky
Louisiana
Maine
Maryland
Massachusetts
Michigan
Minnesota
Missouri
Mississippi
Montana
Nebraska
Nevada
New Hampshire
New Jersey
New Mexico
New York
North Carolina
North Dakota
Ohio
OK
OR
PA
PR
RI
SC
SD
TN
TX
UT
VT
VA
VI
WA
WV
WI
WY
Oklahoma
Oregon
Pennsylvania
Puerto Rico
Rhode Island
South Carolina
South Dakota
Tennessee
Texas
Utah
Vermont
Virginia
Virgin Islands
Washington
West Virginia
Wisconsin
Wyoming
MLA Format Guide 14
Biblical Abbreviations
Briercrest College and Seminary has certain formatting expectations when citing the Bible that
vary from those found in the MLA Guide. For instance, in MLA format, a period follows the
biblical book’s abbreviation. Briercrest students, however, should abbreviate biblical books as
follows. (Please note that no punctuation follows the abbreviated name.)
Gen, Exod, Lev, Num, Deut, Josh, Judg, Ruth, 1 Sam, 2 Sam, 1 Kgs, 2 Kgs, 1 Chr, 2 Chr, Ezra,
Neh, Esth, Job, Ps (Pss), Prov, Eccl, Song, Isa, Jer, Lam, Ezek, Dan, Hos, Joel, Amos, Obad,
Jonah, Mic, Nah, Hab, Zeph, Hag, Zech, Mal, Matt, Mark, Luke, John, Acts, Rom, 1 Cor, 2 Cor,
Gal, Eph, Phil, Col, 1 Thess, 2 Thess, 1 Tim, 2 Tim, Titus, Philm, Heb, Jas, 1 Pet, 2 Pet, 1 John, 2
John, 3 John, Jude, Rev
Abbreviate these common English-language Bibles as follows:
JB
KJV
LB
RSV
NCB
ESV
NEB
NIV
NKJV
NLT
NRSV
NASV
Jerusalem Bible
King James Version
Living Bible
Revised Standard Version
New Century Bible
English Standard Version
New English Bible
New International Version
New King James Version
New Living Translation
New Revised Standard Version
New American Standard Version
The following abbreviations are acceptable when followed by a number (except at the beginning
of a sentence). Example:
chap(s). = chapter(s)
v(v). = verse(s)
Do not write out the words ‘chapter’ or ‘verse’ when citing.
Incorrect:
Matthew chapter 5 verse 13
Correct:
Matthew 5:13 or Matt 5:13
Abbreviated biblical references are not permitted in the middle of a sentence.
Incorrect:
In Matt 5:13 Jesus says . . .
Correct:
In Matthew 5:13 Jesus says . . .
MLA Format Guide 15
Quoting the Bible
There are two ways to cite the Bible:
(1) in the body of the text. Example:
In Matthew 5:8 Jesus says, “Blessed are the pure in heart, for they will see God.”
(2) within parentheses prior to the final period. Example:
“Blessed are the pure in heart, for they will see God” (Matt 5:8).
If study-Bible notes are consulted, the Bible must appear in the references. Otherwise, do not
include the Bible.
Indicate which version of the Bible you are referencing in your paper. The first citation should
indicate the version. Example:
“Jesus wept” (John 11:35 NIV).
Subsequent references need not note the version unless another version is being cited.
MLA Format Guide 16
Works Cited [Sample]
Allen, David Elliston. The Naturalist in Britain: A Social History. Princeton, NJ: Princeton UP,
1976. ACLS Humanities E-Book. Web. 22 Sept. 2014.
Austen, Jane. Sense and Sensibility. Ed. Claudia Johnson. New York: Norton, 2001. Print.
Butler, Darrell L., and Martin Sellbom. “Barriers to Adopting Technology for Teaching and
Learning.” Educause Quarterly 24.2 (2002): 22–28. Web. 29 Jul. 2014.
Chan, Evans. “Postmodernism and Hong Kong Cinema.” Postmodern Culture 10.3 (2000): 97–
115. Project Muse. Web. 23 February 2014.
Danielson, Stentor, and David Braun. “Shark ‘Photo of the Year’ Is E-Mail Hoax.”
National Geographic News. National Geographic Society, 8 Mar. 2005. Web. 29
Jul. 2014.
Hansberry, Lorraine. A Raisin in the Sun. 1959. Black Theater: A Twentieth-Century Collection
of the Work of Its Best Playwrights. Ed. Lindsay Patterson. New York: Dodd, 1971. 221–
276. Print.
Joyce, James. “From Ulysses.” The Norton Anthology of English Literature. Ed. M. H. Abrams.
4th ed. Vol. 2. New York: Norton, 1996. 2374-413. Print.
Pennee, Donna Palmateer. Moral Metafiction: Counterdiscourse in the Novels of Timothy
Findley. Toronto: ECW, 1991. Print.
Pesciarelli, Enzo. “Aspects of the Influence of Francis Hutcheson on Adam Smith.” History of
Political Economy 31.3 (1999): 525–45. Print.
Rae, Douglas W. The Political Consequences of Electoral Laws. Rev. ed. New Haven, CT: Yale
UP, 1971. Print.
MLA Format Guide 17
Sample Initial Page
(Distance Education students only)
1 inch (2.54 cm)
½ inch (1.27 cm)
1 inch (2.54 cm)
½ inch (1.27 cm)
Double
spacing
throughout