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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]