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MLA Formatting Guidelines

Alignment

  • Align to the left margin
  • Leave the right margin uneven
  • Do not use full justification 
  • Do not insert manual breaks 

Font

  • Use an easily readable font [such as Times New Roman] in a standard size [12 point]

Indentation

  • All paragraphs should be indented by 0.5 inches from the left
  • Indent any block quotations by 0.5 inches from the left 

Line Spacing 

  • Double space the entire paper 

Margins

  • Except for the running head, use a margin of 1 inch on each side

Page Numbers 

  • Should be located in the top right corner 
  • Include your last name followed by a space before the page number

Headings

  • Avoid overusing headings 
  • No heading level should only have one instance 
  • All headings should be flush with the left margin, except the title, which is centered 
  • Be consistent in heading style 
  • All headings should use title case heading 
  • Boldface headings indicate highest prominence while italics indicates lowest prominence 

Title Page

  • Title pages are generally not required for students 
  • In the top left of the page, include the following on a new double-spaced line: Your name, instructors' name(s), course number, and date submitted 
  • Follow with a new double-spaced centered line with the page title using title case heading
  • The text of your paper should begin on a new double-spaced page 

In-Text citations and Works-Cited

Purdue OWL has an in-depth guide on how to correctly create in-text citations for MLA. 

  • To refer to your sources in-text, you use parenthetical citations 
  • You should include relevant source information in your parenthetical citations 
  • Any relevant source information you include in your parenthetical citations must correspond to your works-cited page 
  • The easiest way to do in-text citations is by including the relevant source information in parentheses at the end of the sentence
    • You can also include in-text citations via the author-page style. If you include the authors name in the sentence, you only need to include the page number in parentheses. 

Purdue OWL has an in-depth guide on how to correctly format your Works Cited page. 

  • Located at the end of your paper/project/etc. on a separate page 
  • One inch margins 
  • Include your header [with last name and page number]
  • Do NOT put quotation marks around or italicize Works Cited 
  • Title the page Works Cited 
  • Only the title [Works Cited] will be centered 
  • Citation entries must be aligned to the left margin 
  • Double space your entries 
  • Have a hanging indent 
  • All entries should end with a period 
  • Capitalize each word in the titles of articles, books, etc. but do NOT capitalize articles, prepositions, or conjunctions unless it is the first word of the title 
  • Italics should be used for titles of larger works such as books or magazines [The Buffalo Hunter Hunter]
  • Quotation marks should be used for titles of shorter works such as poems or articles ["Song of Myself"]
  • Entries are listed alphabetically by authors last name 
  • Do NOT include author titles [Sir, Dr., Saint] or degree [PhD, MA, MSLIS]

MLA Examples

Online Journal Article with DOI

Works-Cited Structure
Author last name, first. "Title of journal article." Name of journal, vol. #, no. #, Date year, pp. #-#. DOI link.

When citing online journal articles, you should use the DOI as opposed to the URL. If your source has no DOI you may use the URL. Conversely, if you are citing a PDF, you should note it as PDF file or PDF download.

 
Example

Andreff, Wladimir. "The Evolving European Model of Professional Sports Finance." Journal of Sports Economics, vol. 1, no. 3, Sept. 2000, pp. 257-276. https://doi.org/10.1177/15270020000100304.

(Wladimir 267).

Online Journal Article with DOI from Database

Works-Cited Structure
Author last name, first. "Title of journal article." Name of journal, vol. #, no. #, Date year, pp. #-#. Database name, DOI link.

Similar to citing journals with a DOI, citing a journal from a database requires you to add in the name of the database. 

 

Example

Geidel, Molly. "Building the Counterinsurgent Girl." Feminist Studies, vol. 44, no. 33, 2018, pp. 635-665. JSTOR, www.jstor.org/stable/10.15767/feministstudies.44.3.0635.

(Geidel 643).

Journal Articles with multiple authors

Structure for a Journal Article with Two Authors
Author last name, Author first name last name. "Article title." Journal name, vol. #, no. #, Month Year, page range. DOI or URL. 
(Author last name and Author last name page number). 

 

Example

Author last name, first name, et al. "Article title." Journal name, vol. # [volume], no. # [Issue], Month Year, page range. DOI or URL.

Sillick, Thomas J., and Norman Schutte. "Emotional Intelligence and self-esteem Mediate between Perceived Early Parental Love and Adult Happiness." E-Journal of Applied Psychology, vol. 2, no. 2, pp. 38-48. JSTOR, www.jstor.org/stable/23358832.

(Sillick and Schutte 40).

 

Structure for a Journal Article with Three or More Authors
Author last name, first name, et al. "Article title." Journal name, vol. # [volume], no. # [Issue], Month Year, page range. DOI or URL.
(Authors last name, et al. page number) 

 

Example

Westhues, Adam, et al. "A SWOT Analysis of Social Work Education in Canada." Social Work Education, vol. 20, no. 1, pp. 35-56. doi:10.1080/02615470020028364

(Westhues, et al. 42). 

The MLA website has resources for citing anthologies, audiobooks, e-books, edited collections, translations, and more. You can also check out Purdue OWL for more direction and examples on MLA formatting.

Book with One Author

Structure
Last name, First. Title. Publisher, year of publication.
(Authors last name page number).

 

Example

Mantel, Hilary. Wolf Hall. Picador, 2010. 

(Mantel 27) 

Book with Multiple Authors 

Structure for Two Authors
Author last name, first name and Author first last name. Title. Publisher, Date.
(Author last name and Author last name page number). 

 

Example

Burley, John and Jeremiah Harris. A Companion to Genetics. Blackwell, 2007.

(Burley and Harris 153).  

 

Structure with Three or More Authors
Author last name, first name, et al. Title. Publisher, Date.
(Author last name, et al. page number). 

 

Example

Johnson, Norine G., et al. Beyond Appearance: A New Look at Adolescent Girls. American Psychology Association, 2009.

(Johnson, et al. 172). 

Books with Unknown Author

Structure
Title or "Title." Translated by, edited by, Publisher, year of publication. 
(Title or "Title" Page number).

For citating a book with an unknown author in-text, use the title. If the title of the book is short, you can place it in quotation marks [same can be applied to short articles]. If it is a longer work such as a play or television show, you should italicize the title.

For citating a book with an unknown author in-text, use the title. If the title of the book is short, you can place it in quotation marks [same can be applied to short articles]. If it is a longer work such as a play or television show, you should italicize the title.

Likewise, if the author is a corporate source, you can include the name of the corporation [National Geographic].

You should also include page numbers in your in-text citations if applicable.

 

Example

Beowulf. Translated by Alan Sullivan and Timothy Murphy, edited by Sarah Anderson, Pearson, 2004.

(Beowulf).

The MLA website has resources on how to cite databases, digital sources, news sites, social media, and many other online sources.

Website Content with Primary Creator or Author 

Structure
Author last name, first. "Title." Title of the website, Day Month Year. URL. 
(Primary Creator or Author). 

 

Example

Deresiewick, William. "The Death of the Artist-and the Birth of the Creative Entrepreneur." The Atlantic, 28 Dec. 2014. theatlantic.com/magazine/archive/2015/01/the-death-of-the-artist-and-the-birth-of-thecreative-entrepreneur/383497/.

(Deresiewick). 

Missing Citation Information

 

No Author

If no author or primary creator is evident, use the title of the source.

 

No Date 

If no date is evident, you do not have to include anything indicating that the source does not have a date. 

 

No Page Number

If the source you are citing does not have page numbers, do not add any yourself. You do not have to include anything indicating that the source does not have page numbers.

The MLA website has multiple examples on citing TV episodes on YouTube, interviews on YouTube, citing other online videos, and how to format titles for uploaded videos. 

YouTube Video with Primary Creator or Author

 

Structure
Primary Creator or Author. "Video title exactly as it appears." YouTube, Day Month Year, URL.
(Primary Creator or Author last name, Time in video).

 

Example

Beyoncé. "Beyoncé - Pretty Hurts (Video)." YouTube, 24 Apr. 2014, www.youtube.com/watch?v=LXXQLa-5n5w

(Beyoncé, 00:01:15 - 00:02:00).

YouTube Video without a Primary Creator or Author

 

Structure
"Video title exactly as it appears." YouTube, uploaded by Primary Creator/Author, Day Month Year, URL. 
("Video title exactly as it appears," Time in video).

 

Example

“Capybara Eat Huge Pumpkin.” YouTube, uploaded by Alex Smith, 12 Jan. 2021, www.youtube.com/watch?v=8YNwxZnABzA.

("Capybara Eat Huge Pumpkin," 00:01:15 - 00:02:00).

You can find guidance on citing images from Scribbr, the MLA website for a variety of image types, and Purdue OWL for tables and figures.

Image with a Primary Creator or Author

 

Structure
Primary Creator or Author last name, first name. Image Title. "Title of article/section of webpage," Day Month Year. Title of website, URL.
(Primary Creator or Author last name).

 

Example

Sharron, Ed. The Red Fox of the Northeast: Vulpes vulpes fulva. “Species Spotlight: Red Fox,” 2 Mar. 2023. National Parks Service, https://www.nps.gov/articles/species-spotlight-red-fox.htm.

(Sharron). 

Image Without a Primary Creator or Author 

Structure
Title of Image. "Title of article/webpage," Day Month Year. Title of webpage, URL. 
(Title of Image [include quotation marks] or descriptive phrase [does not need quotation marks]).

 

Example

Fox. "Foxes." PBS, https://www.pbs.org/wnet/nature/group/mammals/fox.

(Fox).