MLA

MLA is the favored style for research papers. References are listed alphabetically by author and all lines are double spaced. The reference page must be titled, “Works Cited.” Use a hanging indent, in other words indent the second and following lines of each citation five spaces or one half inch. Where the author is unknown begin the citation with the title. Month names excepting May, June and July should be abbreviated. MLA requires 12 point font. Each new paragraph line should be indented. The medium, for example print or electronic, should be stated at the end of the citation.

Endnotes and footnotes are provided in-text with superscript Arabic numbers after the punctuation of the phrase or clause cited. The extensive use of explanatory notes including the use of footnotes is discouraged in MLA. MLA style only allows the use of endnotes or footnotes for bibliographic notes which refer the reader to other publications. Endnotes should be listed on a separate page before the Works Cited page. Entitle the section Notes (centered, unformatted).

In text citations are done using parenthesis and must match the reference information on the bibliography page. MLA format follows the author-page method of in-text citation. Therefore the author’s last name and the page number(s) from which the quotation or paraphrase is taken must appear in the text with a complete and corresponding reference appearing on the Works Cited page. Either the author’s name may appear in the sentence itself or in parentheses after the quotation or paraphrase, but the page number must always appear in parentheses and not in the sentence text.

Related Links and Resources

• MLA Citation Style – Cornell University Library
• MLA Citation Generator – palomar.edu
• MLA Citation Examples – honolulu.hawaii.edu