The MLA Style Manual
The MLA Style Manual and Guide to Scholarly Publishing
(2008), first published by the Modern Language Association of America in 1985
is an academic style.
What Is MLA Style?
The Modern Language Association publishes two guides for writing
and documenting research. The MLA
Handbook for Writers of Research Papers provides guidance for high school
and undergraduate students who are preparing research papers for academic
credit. The MLA Style Manual and Guide
to Scholarly Publishing advises graduate students, scholars, and
professional writers on the protocols of advanced research writing, peer
review, and publication.
All fields of research agree on the need to document
scholarly borrowings, but documentation conventions vary because of the
different needs of scholarly disciplines. MLA style for documentation is widely
used in the humanities, especially in writing on language and literature.
Generally simpler and more concise than other styles, MLA style features brief
parenthetical citations in the text keyed to an alphabetical list of works cited
that appears at the end of the work.
The association's guidelines are also used by over 1,100
scholarly and literary journals, newsletters, and magazines and by many
university and commercial presses.
How To Format a
Research Paper (MLA Format)
Recommendations here are based on the MLA Handbook for
Writers of Research Papers.
Paper:
Use white, twenty-pound, 81/2- by 11-inch paper.
Margins:
Except for page numbers leave one-inch margins all around
the text of your paper -- left side, right side, and top and bottom. Paragraphs
should be indented half an inch; set-off quotations should be indented an inch
from the left margin (five spaces and ten spaces, respectively).
Spacing:
The MLA Guide says that "the research paper must be
double-spaced," including quotations, notes, and the list of works cited.
1-inch margins all around
2.0 line height (double-spaced)
no extra spacing after paragraphs
12-point
typeface (usually Times New Roman)
Heading and Title:
Research paper does not need a title page. At the top of the
first page, at the left-hand margin, type name, supervisor's name, the course
name and number, and the date -- all on separate, double-spaced lines. Then
double-space again and center the title above your text. (If your title
requires more than one line, double-space between the lines.) Double-space
again before beginning your text. The title should be neither underlined nor
written in all capital letters. Capitalize only the first, last, and principal
words of the title. Titles might end with a question mark or an exclamation
mark if that is appropriate, but not in a period.
Page Numbers:
Number should be (including the first page) in the upper
right-hand corner of each page, one-half inch from the top.
Type your last name before the page number. MS word provide
for a "running head". Page-number should always be an inch from the
right-hand edge of the paper (flush with the right-hand margin of your text).
Do not use the abbreviation p. or any other mark before the page number.
Tables and Figures:
Tables should be labeled "Table," given an Indian
numeral, and captioned (with those words flush to the left-hand margin). Other
material such as photographs, images, charts, and line-drawings should be
labeled "Figure" and be properly numbered and captioned.
How to Cite Web Resources - MLA and APA Rules.
Author, none
If there is no author of the book or web you would like to
reference, it is acceptable to reference the source by its title:
Oxford English Dictionary. 1989. 2nd ed. Oxford:
Clarendon Press.
In your bibliography, slot the reference into your
alphabetical list according to the title:
Nash, E. L. 2000. Direct marketing: strategy,
planning, execution. 4th ed. New York: McGraw Hill.
Oxford English Dictionary, 1989. 2nd ed. Oxford: Clarendon Press.
Shimp, T.A. 1993. Promotion management & marketing communications. 3rd ed. Forth Worth: Dryden Press.
Oxford English Dictionary, 1989. 2nd ed. Oxford: Clarendon Press.
Shimp, T.A. 1993. Promotion management & marketing communications. 3rd ed. Forth Worth: Dryden Press.
A work with no author would be cited in your text by using
the title and the publication year: (Oxford English Dictionary 1989)
If you are referencing a newspaper article or journal
article which has no author, then use the title of the publication instead:
South Wales Echo. 2012. Students 'more career
driven'. 8 February 2012, p.13.
In your citation use the title of the publication, in
italics, then the year.
e.g. (South Wales Echo 2012)
Be aware, however, if no named person or persons is given as
the author(s) the work may have a corporate author.
Blog
Include the name of the blog author, the title of the
message, the name of the web site and the date the message was posted.
Bradley, P. 2010. Top 100 tools for learning 2010. Phil
Bradley's web log [Online] 12 June 2010. Available at:
http://www.philbradley.typepad.com/ [Accessed: 18 June 2010].
Chapter in an edited book or reader
A single chapter within, say, an edited book of essays by
different individuals, would be referenced as follows:
Knudsden, H. 2003. European works councils: a difficult
question for trade unions. In: Foster, D. and Scott, P. eds. Trade
unions in Europe: meeting the challenge. Brussels: Peter Lang, pp. 145-166.
In your text, you would cite this using the author of the
chapter you are referring to: (Knudsden 2003)
Citation — definition
Briefly, citing means referring within
your text to sources which you have used in the course of your
research. In the Harvard style, this means providing the author's surname and
the date of publication e.g.
It has been argued (Harris 2001) that the main
considerations are...
It has been argued by Harris (2001) that the main considerations are...
It has been argued by Harris (2001) that the main considerations are...
Conference proceedings and papers
The first element of a reference to a conference proceeding
should be the person or organisation responsible for editing the proceedings.
The place and date of the conference should also be included:
Redknap, M. et al. eds. 2001. Fourth International
Conference on Insular Art. National Museum & Gallery, Cardiff, 3-6
September 1998. Oxford: Oxbow.
If no editor is traceable, substitute this with the name of
the conference:
Building on the evidence: proceedings of the second
conference on evidence-based Practice. 1999. 16-17 April 1999. Norwich:
Norfolk Healthcare Trust.
This should be cited within your text as (Building on the
evidence, 1999)
If you are citing an individual paper within the conference
proceedings, the author of the paper should be the first element of the
reference. The page numbers of the paper, within the proceedings as a whole,
should be included:
Fledelius, H.C. 2000. Myopia and significant visual
impairment: global aspects. In: Lin, L.L.-K. et al. eds. Myopia Updates
II: Proceedings of the 7th International Conference on Myopia. Taipei,
17-20 November, 1998. Tokyo: Springer, pp. 31-37.
Corporate author
An organisation may be the 'author' of a work, instead of a
named individual:
Office of the Deputy Prime Minister. 2004. Planning
and pollution control. London: TSO.
Discussion board message
When referencing a message on a discussion board in the
virtual learning environment, include the following details:
Author. Year. Title of message. Title of discussion
board. In: Name of academic module [Online] Day Month Year
of post. Available at: URL of virtual learning environment [Accessed: Day Month
Year].
For example:
Smith, A. 2010. Quality of Wikipedia articles. Wikipedia
debate discussion board. In: Study Skills [Online] 12 June
2010. Available at: http://cue.cf.ac.uk [Accessed: 18 June 2010].
DVD / Video
As a minimum provide the title, director, distributor and
date:
Super size me. 2005. Directed by Morgan Spurlock
[DVD]. London: Tartan Video.
Electronic book
eBooks accessed via the Voyager Library Catalogue or
eLibrary may be referenced in the same way as their print equivalents.
If you have downloaded an eBook from a web site e.g.
eBooks.com or Amazon onto your computer, eReader or mobile device, then reference
it as follows:
Author. Year of edition you used. Title [eBook
version]. Place: Publisher. Available at: URL [Accessed: day month year].
Howson, C. 2007. Successful business intelligence:
secrets to making BI a killer app [PDF for Digital Editions version].
New York: McGraw Hill. Available at:
http://www.ebooks.com/330687/successful-business-intelligence/howson-cindi/
[Accessed: 6 October 2011].
Roubini, N. and Mihm, S. 2011. Crisis economics: a crash course in the future of finance [Kindle version]. London: Penguin. Available at: http://www.amazon.co.uk/Crisis-Economics-Course-Finance-ebook/dp/B004Y4WMHW/ref=sr_1_7?s=digital-text&ie=UTF8&qid=1317896488&sr=1-7 [Accessed: 6 October 2011].
Roubini, N. and Mihm, S. 2011. Crisis economics: a crash course in the future of finance [Kindle version]. London: Penguin. Available at: http://www.amazon.co.uk/Crisis-Economics-Course-Finance-ebook/dp/B004Y4WMHW/ref=sr_1_7?s=digital-text&ie=UTF8&qid=1317896488&sr=1-7 [Accessed: 6 October 2011].
If the eReader version of the book does not include page
numbers, use the chapter and then paragraph numbers in your citation:
(Smith 2007, chapter 2, para. 4)
Electronic journal articles
Use this if the journal is only available online or differs
from its printed equivalent:
Paulussen, S. 2004. Online news production in Flanders: how
Flemish online journalists perceive and explore the internet's potential. Journal
of Computer-Mediated Communication [Online] 9(4). Available at: http://jcmc.indiana.edu/vol9/issue4/paulussen.html
[Accessed: 12 September 2006].
Include the url, date when you accessed the article and the
volume and issue numbers, if available.
Image / Table
Provide the title of the image, figure or table followed by
the citation:
Fig. 14. Dwelling prices, London compared with UK, 1993-1999
(ONS, GOL and LC 2000)
Or, if there is no title, state the source underneath it:
Source: Indiana University School of Education (2004)
Then, in your bibliography, provide a full reference
appropriate to the type of source the item is from. For example, if referencing
an image found in a book, follow the guidelines for referencing a book.
Newspaper article
The format required is similar to that of an academic
journal article, except that there will be a precise day of publication, and
volume numbers are not usually available or necessary:
Benoit, B. 2007. G8 faces impasse on global warming. Financial
Times 29 May 2007, p. 9.
Personal communication
Smith, K. 2004. Email to B. Robertson 14 April 2004.
Young, Z. 2007. Letter to S. Nicholas 28 September 2007.
Young, Z. 2007. Letter to S. Nicholas 28 September 2007.
Report
If there is no identifiable author use the name of the
organisation which produced the report:
(European Commission 2004)
European Commission. 2004. First report on the implementation of the internal market strategy 2003-2006. Luxembourg: Office for Official Publications of the European Communities.
European Commission. 2004. First report on the implementation of the internal market strategy 2003-2006. Luxembourg: Office for Official Publications of the European Communities.
Television programme
Include the title, television channel and time and date of
airing.
Top gear. 2007. BBC2, 14 October. 20.00hrs.
Thesis or Dissertation
Be sure to indicate the level (e.g. MA, MSc, or PhD) of the
thesis and the institution at which it was presented:
Boyce, P. J. 2003. GammaFinder: a Java application
to find galaxies in astronomical spectral line datacubes. MSc Dissertation,
Cardiff University.
Bin Omar, A. 1978. Peasants, institutions and development in Malaysia: the political economy of development in the Muda region. PhD Thesis, Cornell University.
Bin Omar, A. 1978. Peasants, institutions and development in Malaysia: the political economy of development in the Muda region. PhD Thesis, Cornell University.
Web pages
For an Internet-based work by an individual the reference
should be given as follows:
Lane, C. et al. 2003. The future of professionalised
work: UK and Germany compared [Online]. London: Anglo-German
Foundation for the Study of Industrial Society. Available at:
http://www.agf.org.uk/pubs/pdfs/1232web.pdf [Accessed: 3rd December 2004].
The publisher and place of publication can be thought of as
the organisation responsible for hosting the site, although can be left out if
unavailable.
As well as the complete URL to the page, always give the
date at which you accessed it. Web sites appear and disappear so often that it
is vital to indicate that the information was accurate at the date given.
Wiki
There is usually no discernable author of a wiki entry and
so this information can be excluded from the reference if unavailable. Instead,
begin your reference with the title of the wiki article, then provide the year
the page was last updated followed by the title of the web site:
A map of our own: Kwun Tong culture and histories. 2009. Creative
commons wiki [Online]. Available at:
http://wiki.creativecommons.org/Case_Studies/A_Map_of_Our_Own:Kwun_Tong_Culture_and_Histories
[Accessed: 18 June 2010].
Please note that as it is often difficult to tell who has
authored a wiki post, it is essential that you verify the accuracy of the
information provided using scholarly sources such as books or journal articles.
Check with your lecturer or tutor before referencing sources such as Wikipedia.
YouTube film
Libncsu. 2009. Wikipedia: beneath the surface [Online].
Available at: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QY8otRh1QPc [Accessed: 21 June
2010].
Source: Wikipedia,
mla.org, ilrb.cf.ac.uk
Tips: do you know MS Word shortcuts to insert:
Footnote- Ctrl + Alt + F
Endnote- Ctrl + Alt + D
Double Space- Ctrl + 2
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