MLA & APA Citation Guide 

About MLA Style

MLA (Modern Language Association) Style is a set of guidelines for formatting academic manuscripts and citing materials used by other writers. It is most often used by writers in the humanities and liberal arts.

Formatting Your Paper in MLA Style

In general, the format of your paper should include the following:

• Typed manuscript on letter-sized (8.5x11in.) paper
• Standard font size (e.g., 12 point) in an easily readable typeface (e.g., Times New Roman)
• 1-inch margins on all sides of text (top, bottom, left, right)
• Double-spacing of all text
• A double-spaced Works Cited list beginning on a new page at then end of your manuscript
• Page numbers should be placed in the upper right-hand header, preceded by your last name
• No title page is needed - include information like your name, course number, professor, and date in the upper left-hand corner of the first page. (These should be on separate lines, double-spaced.)
• Title should be centered directly above the text of your paper. (Do not italicize, underline, or place title in quotations.)

Sample page in MLA Style

Citing Sources in MLA Style

Citing sources you've consulted gives your paper credibility, and adhering to MLA's citation guidelines protects you from unintentional plagiarism.

The Works Cited List

Your Works Cited list should begin on a separate page. Entries should appear in alphabetical order and be double-spaced. 

Sample Works Cited list

Guidelines for specific citation formats:

•  Books
•  Newspapers
•  Magazines
•  Scholarly Articles
•  Web Sites
•  Multimedia

In-Text Citiation

In addition to the Works Cited page, sources are also cited parenthetically (like this) in the text of your manuscript. Find more information about in-text citiation here.

The MLA Handbook for Writers of Research Papers, 7th edition, is available at all PSTCC libraries.

Additional MLA citation guides:

Check out NoodleTools to help you perform smart research.

NoodleTools can assist you in the following ways:

1. Search intelligently
2. Assess the quality of results
3. Record, organize and synthesize information using online notecards
4. Format a bibliography in MLA or APA style