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MLA FORMATTING AND STYLE GUIDEThe BasicsMLA (Modern Language Association) style is most commonly used to write papers and citesources within the liberal arts and humanities. MLA style specifies guidelines for formattingmanuscripts and using the English language in writing. MLA style also provides writers with asystem for referencing their sources through parenthetical citation in their essays and WorksCited pages.According to MLA style, your paper should be typed and double-spaced; and it should use alegible font like Times New Roman with a standard font size of 12 points. Margins should be setto one inch on all sides, and only one space should be left after periods or other punctuationmarks. Other basic aspects of the MLA style are: Indent the first line of a paragraph one-half inch from the left margin.Create a header that numbers all pages consecutively in the upper right-hand corner, onehalf inch from the top and flush with the right margin. When putting the page number(header) in the upper right-hand of each page, it should include author's last namefollowed by page number.Use italics throughout your essay for the titles of longer works and, only when absolutelynecessary, for providing emphasis.Do not make a title page for your paper unless specifically requested.In the upper left-hand corner of the first page, list your name, your instructor's name, thecourse, and the date. Again, be sure to use double-spaced text. (See example below.)**Please note: this guide has been updated to reflect the changes of the MLA Handbook forWriters of Research Papers, 7th Edition (2009).**Citing the Most Common SourcesAuthors An item with more than three authors can be listed by the first author's name, followedby a comma and then the Latin abbreviation et al. (Penner, Jane N., et al.).Titles Capitalize all important words – first word of the title, first word of the subtitle (rightafter the colon), and all major words. Do not capitalize words such as: a, an, the, against,between, in, of, to, and, but, for, and so, unless they are the first word of the title orsubtitle. Whole book titles are in italics while article or chapter titles are put in “quotation marks.” Leave out initial articles from titles of newspapers, magazines, and journals (Lancet, notThe Lancet, New York Times, not The New York Times).1
Titles of books are taken from the title page (first printed page of the book) and not fromthe cover. If the title on the title page starts with any of the initial articles “A,” “An,” or“The,” include it in your citation but be sure to alphabetize by the second word.Dates For books, just use the year. For newspaper and magazines articles, use Day Month Year format (17 July 2007).Abbreviations Abbreviate all months except for May, June, and July. University Press in the name of a publisher may be shortened to UP.Page numbers Do not put p. or pp. when citing page numbers. Show page numbers as completely as you can (you will need to view the PDF version tofind complete pagination information for some articles). Some databases will have articlecitations that only give the first page number, in which case put a “ ” after the start page(67 ).BooksThere are four parts to each reference: (1) author, (2) title, (3) publication information, and (4)medium of access. Each part is followed by a period and one space.One AuthorLa Naour, Jean-Yves. The Living Unknown Soldier: A Story of Grief and the Great War. NewYork: Metropolitan, 2004. Print.Two or Three AuthorsMcClendon, Ruth, and Leslie Kadis. Reconciling Relationships and Preserving the FamilyBusiness: Tools for Success. New York: Haworth, 2004. Print.Edited BookKinkead, Joyce A., and Jeanette Harris, eds. Writing Centers in Context: Twelve Case Studies.Urbana: NCTE, 1993. Print.2
Electronic BooksTreat electronic books like a print book for the author, title, publisher, and date information, andadd “Web” for web access.One AuthorBaker, Jim. Lawful Order: A Case Study of Correctional Crisis and Reform. New York: Garland,1998. NetLibrary. Genesee Com. Coll. Lib., NY. Web. 4 Aug. 2004.Edited BookYoungblood-Coleman, Denise and Mary Ann Azevedo, eds. Burundi 2007 Country Review:Political Conditions. Houston, TX: CountryWatch, Inc., 2007. CountryWatch.CountryWatch.com. Genessee Com. Coll. Lib., NY. Web. 27 July 2007.Periodical Articles in PrintReferences for periodicals, like those for books, have four major parts: (1) author, (2) title, (3)publication information, and (4) medium of access, each followed by a period.Newspaper ArticleJames, Caryn. “Adding the Power of TV to the Power of the Printed Page.” New York Times 21Nov. 1996, late ed.: C15. Print.Magazine ArticleUpdike, John. “Colonoscopy.” Poetry July/Aug. 2006: 289. Print.Article in a Scholarly Journal That Uses Only Issue NumbersDressler, William W., and James R. Bnidon. “The Health Consequences of Cultural Consonance:Cultural Dimensions of Lifestyle, Social Support, and Arterial Blood Pressure in anAfrican American Community.” American Anthropologist 102 (2000): 244-60. Print.3
Article in a Scholarly Journal with More Than One SeriesMeuter, Matthew L., et al. “Self-Service Technologies: Understanding Customer Satisfactionwith Technology- Based Service Encounters.” Journal of Marketing 64.3 (2000): 50-66.Print.Internet SourcesThe basic format for citing an Internet source is:Author, “Title of Article or Page Within a Website.” Name of Website or Database. Name ofOrganization Responsible for the Website. Publication date (or last update). Web. Accessdate.Note 1: Any one website may not provide all of the listed items; you can’t put what you don’thave – use the MLA abbreviations for any missing information [N.p. No publisher, N.pag. No page number, and n.d. no date given].Note 2: Begin a citation with the author's name. If no author is given, begin the citation with thetitle of the web page or name of the website. (The first example below shows an entry fora page without an author.)Note 3: Leave out the name of the organization responsible for the website if it is the same as thename of the website or database.Note 4: No URL needs to be given, simply “Web” as the medium of access.Citing an Entire WebsiteThe Purdue OWL Family of Sites. The Writing Lab and OWL at Purdue and Purdue U, 2008.Web. 2 Jan. 2013.Maguire, Sharon. “Training Your New Puppy or Dog.” Dog Breed Info Center. 2007. Web. 16Feb. 2007.4
Citing a Page on a Website“How to Make Vegetarian Chili.” eHow. Demand Media, n.d. Web. 2 Jan. 2013.Quade, Alex. “Elite Team Rescues Troops behind Enemy Lines.” CNN.com. Cable NewsNetwork, 19 Mar. 2007. Web. 14 May 2008.Article from an Online DatabaseLanghamer, Claire. “Love and Courtship in Mid-Twentieth-Century England.” HistoricalJournal 50.1 (2007): 173-96. ProQuest. Web. 2 Jan. 2013.Article in an Electronic JournalMorken, Gunnar, and Olav M. Linaker. “Seasonal Variations of Violence in Norway.” AmericanJournal of Psychiatry 157 (2000): 1674-1678. Web. 20 July 2007.Images/Works of Art Accessed OnlineCurrin, John. Blond Angel. 2001. Indianapolis Museum of Art. IMA: It’s My Art. Web. 2 Jan.2013.Lange, Dorothea. The Migrant Mother. 1936. Prints and Photographs Div., Lib. of Cong.Dorothea Lange: Photographer of the People. Web. 2 Jan. 2013.Film/Video Recording Accessed OnlineThe Great Train Robbery. Dir. Edward Porter. Thomas Edison, 1903. Internet Archive. Web. 5June 2008.Parenthetical (In-Text) CitationThe MLA style of parenthetical citation includes the author’s last name and page number(s).Parenthetical citations do not include the word "page" or "pages" or the abbreviations "p." or"pp."— just the page numbers.5
Direct Quotations and ParaphrasesA page number is always included, whether material is copied word for word (presented inquotation marks) or paraphrased (presented in your own words, without quotation marks) from asource. If an electronic source does not provide page numbers, leave them out. Some electronicsources (e.g., General OneFile) will include a PDF version of the text. If so, use the page numberfrom the PDF version of the document.In in-text citations, give the author's last name and the page number of the source within thesentence (before the period). For in-text citations that occur after long quoted material that isindented, the citation comes after the sentence and after the period.Work with One Authora.) Dust plays a larger role in our lives than we realize (Holmes 5).ORb.) Holmes points out that, “between 1 and 3 billion tons of desert dust fly up into the skyannually” (5).Work with Two or Three Authorsa.) Many changes occurred during the Renaissance (Kerrigan and Smith 57).ORb.) Kerrigan and Smith found that many changes occurred during the Renaissance (57).If a source is not listed here, or if you have questions, you can find more information in the MLAHandbook for Writers of Research Papers (7th ed., 2009). One is available at the main desk ofthe Cannon Memorial library. Help is also available at the SLU’s online library help.html, or you can visit the MLA website athttp://www.mla.org.6
Lucyk 1Stephanie LucykProfessor CarterENG 0024 January 2005Plastic GirlsAsk a child who the president of the United States is, and you are bound to get amultitude of replies ranging from the accurate to the hysterical. Ask a child who Barbie is, andyou are sure to a get 7
Lucyk 9Works Cited“Babes in Toyland What’s a Feminist Mom to Do?” Herizons 31 Jan. 1997. Web. 9 Dec.2004.“Barbie in the Nineties.” Barbie: The Image of Us All. Web. 20 Nov. 2004.Borger, Gloria. “Barbie’s Newest Values.” US News and World Report 1 Dec. 1997: 40. Print.Cunningham, Kamy. “Barbie Doll Culture and the American Waistland.” Symbolic Interaction16.1 (1993): 79-83. Print.McQuade, Donald, and Christine McQuade. “Figuring the Body.” Seeing and Writing. Eds.Donald McQuade and Christine McQuade. Boston: Bedford, 2000. 230-321. Print.Norton, Kevin I., et al. “Ken and Barbie at Life Size.” Sex Roles 34 (1996): 287-94. Print.Rand, Erica. Barbie’s Queer Accessories. Durham: Duke UP, 1995. Print.Rogers, Mary F. Barbie Culture. London: Sage, 1999. Print.Saltzberg, Elayne, and Joan C. Chrisler. “The pursuit of the Perfect Female Body.” Women: AFeminist Perspective. Ed. Jo Freeman. Mountain View: Mayfield, 1993. 301-17. Print.“The Secret Lives of Barbie: Bad Girl.” ABC News. 30 Oct. 2002. Web. 2 Dec. 2004.“The Secret Lives of Barbie: Career Girl.” ABC News. 30 Oct. 2002. Web. 2 Dec. 2004.This guide was modified by the Saint Leo University Instructional Design Department according toThe Academic Writing Guide to Good English, Custom Edition, with the MLA Handbook for Writers of ResearchPapers, Seventh Edition, using examples.8
Writers of Research Papers, 7th Edition (2009).** Citing the Most Common Sources Authors An item with more than three authors can be listed by the first author's name, followed by a comma and then the Latin abbreviation et al. (Penner, Jane N., et al.). Titles Capitalize all important words – first word of the title, first word of the subtitle (right after the colon), and all major words. Do .
