MLA Formatting and Style Guide

Overview

The MLA (Modern Language Association) formatting and style guide is a set of rules for formatting, citing sources, and structuring academic papers. It is widely used in the humanities, literature, and arts.

General Format

The MLA format has a general structure that applies to most academic papers. The key elements include:

1. Header: The header should be in the upper right corner of the first page, and should include your last name, a space, and the page number.
2. Title Page: If you are writing a longer paper, you may have a title page, which should include the title of the paper, your name, and the name of your instructor.
3. Idea/ Topic: Your paper should start with a clear and concise thesis statement that summarizes the main idea or topic of your paper.
4. Body: The body of your paper should be divided into sections or paragraphs, each with a clear topic sentence that introduces the main idea of that section.
5. Conclusion: The conclusion should summarize the main points of your paper and reiterate your thesis statement.
6. References: The references page should list all the sources you have cited in your paper, in a standard format.
7. Bibliography: A bibliography is similar to a references page, but it includes all sources you have read and consulted, not just those you have directly cited.

In-Text Citations

In-text citations are used to acknowledge the sources of your information in the text of your paper. There are two types of in-text citations:

1. Author-Page Style: If you are citing a source with an author, use the author's name and the page number(s) of the relevant text.
2. Parenthetical Citations: If you are citing a source without an author, use a parenthetical citation with the source's publication date or a shortened title.

Format of In-Text Citations

1. Author-Page Style: (Author's Last Name Page Number)
2. Parenthetical Citations: (Date or Shortened Title)

Working with Sources

Sources can be of various types, including:

1. Books: Books can be a combination of physical and digital.
2. Journals: Journals can be online or in print.
3. Web pages: Web pages can be accessed through a URL and have a title and author.
4. Other sources: Other sources include images, graphs, tables, figures, and charts.

Formatting for Different Types of Sources

Books:

• Use the author's last name and page number (Author's Last Name Page Number)
• Use the title and publication date (Title. eds)

Journals:

• Use the author's last name and page number (Author's Last Name Page Number)
• Use the title and publication date (Title. Volume Number, Issue Number)

Web pages:

• Use the author's last name and page number (Author's Last Name Page Number)
• Use the title and URL (Title. URL)

Other sources:

• Use the creator's name and page number (Creator's Name Page Number)
• Use the title and publication date (Title. Publication Date)

In-Text Citations for Different Types of Sources

Books:

• Use the author's last name and page number (Author's Last Name Page Number)
• Use the title and publication date (Title. Publication Date)

Journals:

• Use the author's last name and page number (Author's Last Name Page Number)
• Use the title and publication date (Title. Volume Number, Issue Number)

Web pages:

• Use the author's last name and page number (Author's Last Name Page Number)
• Use the title and URL (Title. URL)

Other sources:

• Use the creator's name and page number (Creator's Name Page Number)
• Use the title and publication date (Title. Publication Date)

Conclusion

The MLA formatting and style guide is a widely used set of rules for formatting, citing sources, and structuring academic papers. It is essential to understand the key elements of MLA formatting, including the header, title page, idea/topic, body, conclusion, references, and bibliography, as well as in-text citations for different types of sources.