An introduction to MLA Formatting

What is MLA?

MLA=Modern Language Association One of the tasks of this association is to publish formatting

guidelines. This organization of scholars was founded in 1883 and

developed a series of formatting rules used in over 1,100 publications

MLA is considered the style of choice by academic programs

across the world (especially in the humanities).

Works Cited

In a works cited page, MLA style looks like this:

Bieber, Justin. Justin Bieber: First Step 2 Forever: My Story. New York: Harper Collins, 2010. Print.

Part I

Part one is the author’s name or editor’s name (last name first) followed by a period:

Bieber, Justin.

Part II

Part two is the entire title of the work written in italics and followed by a period:

Justin Bieber: First Step 2 Forever: My Story.

Part III

Part three is the publication information (City of publication: Name of publishing house, Year of publication) This information is followed by a period:

New York: Harper Collins, 2010.

Part IV

The last part of a citation is what type of source the piece is (Print or Web). This information is followed by a period:

Print.

All together again, it looks like this:

Bieber, Justin. Justin Bieber: First Step 2 Forever:

My Story. New York: Harper Collins, 2010.

Print.

Notice that the second (and any subsequent) lines of the citation are indented five spaces.

Online Sources

Online sources still have distinct parts separated by periods; however, the formatting is somewhat different (notice the second line is still indented):

Smith, Sadie. “Justin Bieber is the rare celebrity that’s a good role model.” 11 Aug. 2011. Web. <http://justinbieber.info/>. 16 Sept. 2011.

Part I

The first part is the author’s information (if available) followed by a period:

Smith, Sadie.

Part II

The second part is the name of the article (or web page) where the information was found. Put this in quotation marks with a period at the end:

“Justin Bieber Is The Rare Celebrity Who’s a Good Role Model.”

Part III

Part III is the name of the website, as a whole, in italics and followed by a period:

USA Today Online.

Part IV

Part four is the date when the website was last updated (usually found at the bottom of a web page, or in the informational section of the site) with the number first, then the month abbreviation, followed by the year and a period:

11 Aug. 2011.

**If this information is not available, use n.d. for no date.**

Part V

Part five is the type of publication the source is. For online sources, use the following, followed by a period:

Web.

Part VI

The next portion of the citation is the actual URL address where you found the information, surrounded by digital carrots and ending in a period:

<http://justinbieber.info/>.

Part VII

The last part of your citation is the date when you viewed the website with the number first, then the month abbreviation, followed by the year and a period:

16 Sept. 2011.

For online citations use the following, followed by a period:

Web.

All together again, it looks like this:

Smith, Sadie. “Justin Bieber Is The Rare Celebrity Who’s a Good Role Model.” USA Today Online. 11 Aug. 2011. Web. <http://justinbieber.info/>. 16 Sept. 2011.

A works cited page for these sources then would look like this:

Works Cited

Bieber, Justin. Justin Bieber: First Step 2 Forever: My

Story. New York: Harper Collins, 2010. Print.

Smith, Sadie. “Justin Bieber Is The Rare Celebrity who’s a

Good Role Model.” USA Today Online. 11 Aug. 2011.

Web. <http://justinbieber.info/>. 16 Sept. 2011.

MLA Within Writing

We will also be working with in-text MLA formatting, which is referred to as a parenthetical citation.

An overview of in-text Citations

Within a piece of writing, MLA style calls for the use of a parenthetical citation to show where information was found.

Justin Bieber was first discovered via You-Tube (Bieber 26).

This parenthetical citation (or part in parenthesis) consists of the author’s last name as well as the page number of the work the information was found followed by a period:

Justin Bieber was first discovered via You-Tube (Bieber 26).

Why MLA?

The purpose of all MLA citations is to give your reader information about how to check your sources for clarification or more information. MLA citations also help you to avoid plagiarism.