MLA+Style+Guide


 * Modern Language Association Citation Style Guide **

Your paper must be type in Times New Roman 12 pt font and double-spaced. You must have 1-inch margins on all sides. Leave two spaces after punctuation of sentences. Number all pages except the cover. For titles of works, use italics or underlines consistently throughout your paper.

In MLA style, referring to the works of others in your text is done by using what's known as parenthetical citation. Immediately following a quotation from a source or a paraphrase of a source's ideas, you place the author's name followed by a space and the relevant page number(s).
 * Basic In-Text Citation Rules **

Example: Human beings have been described as "symbol-using animals" (Burke 3).

When a source has no known author, use a shortened title of the work instead of an author name. Place the title in quotation marks if it's a short work, or italicize or underline it if it's a longer work. Your in-text citation will correspond with an entry in your Works Cited page, which, for the Burke citation above, will look something like this: Burke, Kenneth. __Language as Symbolic Action: Essays on Life, Literature, and Method__. Berkeley: U of California P, 1966.

Lastname, Firstname. __Title of Book__. Place of Publication: Publisher, Year of Publication.
 * Books **

Magazines Author(s). "Title of Article." __Title of Periodical__ Day Month Year: pages.
 * Periodicals **

Journals Author(s). "Title of Article." __Title of Journal__ Volume.Issue (Year): pages.

Basic format: __ Name of Site __. Date of Posting/Revision. Name of institution/organization affiliated with the site (sometimes found in copyright statements). Date you accessed the site [electronic address].
 * An Entire Web Site **

Here are some common features you should try and find before citing electronic sources in MLA style. Always include as much information as is available/applicable:
 * Basic Style for Citations of Electronic Sources **

Author and/or editor names - Name of the database, or title of project, book, article - Any version numbers available - Date of version, revision, or posting - Publisher information - Date you accessed the material - Electronic address, printed between carets ([<, >]).

For an individual page on a Web site, list the author or alias if known, followed by the information covered above for entire Web sites. Make sure the URL points to the exact page you are referring to, or the entry or home page for a collection of pages you're referring to:
 * A Page on a Web Site **

"Caret." __Wikipedia: The Free Encyclopedia__. 28 April 2006. 10 May 2006 <[]>.

For works housed outside of an online home, include the artist's name, the year the work was created, and the institution (e.g., a gallery or museum) that houses it (if applicable), followed by the city where it is located. Include the complete information for the site where you found the image, including the date of access. In this first example, the image was found on the Web site belonging to the work's home museum:
 * An Image, Including a Painting, Sculpture, or Photograph **

Goya, Francisco. __The Family of Charles IV__. 1800. Museo del Prado, Madrid. 22 May 2006 <[].>.

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