BASIC MLA FORMAT GUIDELINES

WHAT IS MLA AND WHY IS IT IMPORTANT?

MLA (Modern Language Association) style is most commonly used to format papers and cite sources
within the liberal arts and humanities disciplines, and specifies guidelines for formatting manuscripts
and using the English language in writing. MLA style also provides writers with a system for referencing
their sources through parenthetical citation in their essays and Works Cited pages.

GENERAL FORMATTING 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 such as Times New Roman or Arial. The
font size should be 11 or 12.
Leave only one space after periods or other punctuation marks.
Set the margins of your document to 1 inch on all sides.
Use the TAB key to Indent the first line of paragraphs one half-inch from the left margin.
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, and include your last name before the page number.

FORMATTING THE FIRST PAGE OF YOUR PAPER

Do not make a title page for your paper unless requested by your instructor.
Beginning on the first line of text, type your name, your instructor's name, the course, and the date.
Double space again and center the title. Do not underline, italicize, or place your title in quotation
marks; write the title in Title Case, not in all capital letters.
Use quotation marks and/or italics when referring to other works in your title
Double space between the title and the first line of the text. Created by Natasha Molet Worthington,
June 2014

GENERAL FORMATTING OF SOURCES USED

The list of sources that you used is the Works Cited page and begins on a new page after the end of
the paper. Put Works Cited (without quotation marks) centered at the top of the page in regular text
(do not underline, italicize, or bold).
Arrange the items on your Work Cited page in alphabetical order by authors last name. If there is no
author, use the first word of the text.
Double space all lines.
Indent the second and following lines one half inch, called a hanging indent.
Abbreviate the names of all months except May, June, and July.
Tips Related to Authors

If the author is unknown or the author is an organization that also published the source, use an
abbreviated title including the appropriate capitalization and quotation marks/italics format. [MLA 55-
56, 117] Example: (MLA Style 4) is a parenthetical citation for this page of this handout, MLA Style for
Academic Work.

For two authors, use and before the last authors name. Example: (Richmond and Smith 3)

For three or more authors, give only the first authors last name followed by et al. [MLA 116]
Example: (Hacker et al. 14)

When stating an authors name for the first time, use first and last names in your sentence. For
subsequent citations, use only the last name in your sentence. [MLA 61-62]