MLA TIPS
Compiled from UWF Writing Lab Handouts and the
MLA Handbook for Writers of Research Papers,
Seventh Edition
PowerPoint designed by Jeni Senter
January 2010
Basic Formatting Rules
If you have been asked to write a
paper using MLA format, there are
numerous rules that you must follow
in order to produce a paper that
conforms properly to MLA format.
This PowerPoint will serve as an
overview of the different requirements
for formatting an MLA style research
paper.
MLA Paper Formatting Rules:

Margins
Margins should be set to one inch at the
top, bottom, and both sides of the text.

Indentation
Indent the first word of a paragraph
one-half inch from the left margin. Also,
indent set-off quotations, like block
quotations of prose, poetry, and drama,
one inch from the left margin.

Text Formatting
Text should be written in a clear and readable font;
you should preferably use Times New Roman, 12
point font.

Format and Spacing
The entire document should be double-spaced,
including quotations, notes, and the list of Works Cited. If
using the newest editions of MS Word or a like word
processing program, you will need to reset your default
settings so that the program does not automatically add
extra spacing between paragraphs. Use one space after a
period or other concluding punctuation mark.
Heading and Title Format
**According to the guidelines listed in the
MLA Handbook, no title page is needed in
strict MLA formatting; however, if your
instructor asks for a title page, you should
format it according to the instructions
your instructor provides.**

Beginning one inch from the top of the first page and flush
with the left margin, type your name, your instructor’s name,
the course number, and the date on separate lines, doublespacing between lines.

The date that is displayed on the paper is the date that the
paper is due, not the day that it is written; in addition, the
date is displayed in military style with no commas: 01 January
2010.

Double-space again and center the title.

Double-space between the lines of the title, and doublespace between the title and the first line of the text.

Do not italicize or underline your title; do not put it in
quotation marks or boldface; and do not type it in capital
letters.

Follow the standard rules for capitalization in titles and for
italicization.

Do not use a period after your title or after any heading in
the paper.
Illustration of the Top of an MLA
Research Paper
Page Numbering

Number all pages consecutively throughout
the research paper in the upper right-hand
corner, one-half inch from the top and flush
with the right margin. Type your last name
before the page number. Inserting this
information into the header and using the
automatic page numbering feature of your
word processing program will save you the
time and effort of numbering every page
manually. Do not use abbreviations, periods,
hyphens, or any other mark or symbol.
Illustration of a Running Head of
an MLA Paper
Works Cited Formatting

The list of Works Cited appears at the end of the paper.

Begin the list on a new page and number each page, continuing the page numbers of the text. For
example, if the text of your research paper ends on page 10, the Works Cited list begins on page
11.

The page number appears in the upper right-hand corner, half an inch from the top and flush with
the right margin.

Center the title, Works Cited, an inch from the top of the page.

Double-space between the title and the first entry.

Begin each entry flush with the left margin; if an entry runs more than one line, indent the
subsequent line or lines one-half inch from the left margin. This format is sometimes called
hanging indention, and you can set your word processor to create it automatically for a group of
paragraphs. Hanging indention makes alphabetical lists easier to use.

Double-space the entire list, both between and within entries. Continue the list on as many pages
as necessary.
Illustration of Works Cited
Annotated Bibliographies
The annotated bibliography for a paper written in MLA format
follows the basic format of the Works Cited page. The typical title,
Annotated Bibliography, is centered one inch from the top of the
page, and it is neither italicized nor surrounded by quotation
marks.
 The first entry will appear one double-spaced line below the title,
and all entries should be in alphabetical order. Annotated
Bibliography citations contain the same information that Works
Cited citations do, and the hanging indention is used when an
entry’s information exceeds one line. The entry for each citation
is usually brief, a few sentences to a paragraph, and immediately
follows the citation. All of the entries must be approximately
equal in length.

Illustration of an Annotated
Bibliography
Quotations and Citations

When quoting an author for the first time in your
text, be sure to give the author’s first and last names
as well as the full title of the work to which you are
referring. From that initial point on, the author may
be referred to by only his or her last name only. In
addition, if you refer to the author in the sentence,
you need to add only a page number at the end of
the quotation, but if you do not, then you must
include the author’s last name and page number in
the parenthetical reference. Further, for parenthetical
citations for works that do not have an author, the
first few words of the title should be included in the
citation:
Book: (The Book of Common Prayer)
Article: (“The Art of Rhetoric”)
Prose Quotations

Prose: If a prose quotation runs no more than four lines and
requires no special emphasis, put it in quotations marks, and
incorporate it into the text. You may put a quotation at the
beginning, middle, or end of your sentence or, for the sake of
variety or better style, divide it by your own words. Place the
citation information for the quoted material in parentheses at the
end of the sentence. Place the sentence period after the
reference citation.

Author mentioned in the sentence: “He was obeyed,” writes
Joseph Conrad of the company manager in Heart of Darkness,
“yet he inspired neither love nor fear, nor even respect” (87).

Author not mentioned in the sentence: According to the narrator
in Heart of Darkness, the company manager was “obeyed, yet he
inspired neither love nor fear, nor even respect” (Conrad 87).
Block Quotations

If a quotation extends to more than four lines when run into the text, set it off
from your text by beginning a new line, indenting one inch from the left
margin, and typing it double-spaced, without adding quotation marks:
A colon generally introduces a quotation displayed in this way. If your
quotation is lifted from the beginning of a paragraph, do not indent the
quotation. The quoted material is written in 12 pt font; the period, in
this instance, is positioned at the end of the quotation, with the citation
after; and no quotation marks are used.
Example of a Block Quotation
Quoting Poetry


If you quote part of all of a single line of verse that does
not require special emphasis, put it in quotation marks
within your text. You may also incorporate two or three
lines in this way, using a slash with a space on each side ( /
) to separate them. At the end of the quotation, indicate
the lines of the poetry in parentheses, not the page
number.
Verse quotations of more than three lines should begin on
a new line. Unless the quotation involves unusual spacing,
indent each line one inch from the left margin and doublespace between lines, adding no quotation marks that do
not appear in the original. A parenthetical reference for a
verse quotation set off from the text follows the last line of
the quotation (as in quotations of prose); a parenthetical
reference that will not fit on the line should appear on a
new line, flush with the right margin of the page.
Examples of Poetry Quotation
Altering a Quotation . . .



If omitting material from the original sentence or sentences
leaves a quotation that appears to be a sentence or a
series of sentences, you must use an ellipsis to indicate
that your quotation does not completely reproduce the
original. Whenever you omit words from a quotation, the
resulting passage—your prose and the quotation integrated
into it—should be grammatically complete and correct.
When the ellipsis coincides with the end of your sentence,
use three periods with a space before each following a
sentence period—that is, four periods.
If a parenthetical reference follows the ellipsis at the end of
your sentence, however, use three periods with a space
before each, and place the sentence period after the final
parenthesis.
Quotation with an Ellipsis in the
Middle

In surveying various responses to plagues in the Middle
Ages, Barbara W. Tuchman writes, “Medical thinking . . .
stressed air as the communicator of disease, ignoring
sanitation or visible carriers” (101-02).
Quotation with an Ellipsis at the End
Followed by a Parenthetical Reference

In surveying various responses to plagues in the Middle
Ages, Barbara W. Tuchman writes, “Medical thinking,
trapped in the theory of astral influences, stressed air as
the communicator of disease . . .” (101-02).
Now, Here are the Significant
Changes From the Sixth Edition to
the Seventh Edition of the MLA
Handbook for Writers of Research
Papers:
HTML addresses are no longer required in
citations
 The format of the source (print or web) is
required in the citation

Example of a Web-based Source
Citation
Example of a Print-based Source
Citation
Citation Formats
PERIODICAL PRINT PUBLICATIONS:
Entries for publications in print periodicals consist of several elements in a
prescribed sequence. This list shows most of the possible components of an
entry for an article in a print periodical and the order in which they are
normally arranged:
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
8.
9.
10.
Author’s name
Title of the article (in quotation marks)
Name of the periodical (italicized)
Series number or name (if relevant)
Volume number (for a scholarly journal)
Issue number (if available, for a scholarly journal)
Date of publication (for a scholarly journal, the year; for other periodicals,
the day, month, and year, as available)
Inclusive page numbers
Medium of publication consulted (Use the word Print to indicate this
information)
Supplementary information
NONPERIODICAL PRINT PUBLICATIONS:
Entries for nonperiodical print publications, such as books
and pamphlets, consist of several elements in a prescribed
sequence. This list shows most of the possible components
of a book entry and the order in which they are normally
arranged:
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
Name of the author, editor, compiler, or translator
Title of the work (italicized)
Edition used
Number(s) of the volume(s) used
City of publication, name of the publisher, and year of
publication
Medium of publication consulted (Use the word Print to
indicate this information)
Supplementary bibliographic information and annotation
Nonperiodical Web Publications:
An entry for a nonperiodical publication on the Web usually
contains most of the following components, in sequence:
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
8.
Name of the author, compiler, director, editor, narrator,
performer, or translator of the work
Title of the work (italicized if the work is independent; in
roman type and quotation marks if the work is part of a
larger work)
Title of the overall Web site (italicized), if distinct from
item 2
Version or edition used
Publisher or sponsor of the site; if not available, use N.p.
Date of publication (day, month, and year, as available);
if nothing is available, use n.d.
Medium of publication (Web)
Date of access (day, month, and year)
Web-based Periodical Publication:
To cite a work from a periodical in an online database,
such as an article, a review, an editorial, or a letter to
the editor, begin the entry by following the
recommendations in 5.4 for citing works in print
periodicals, but drop the medium of original
publication (Print). A periodical article on the Web
may not include page numbers. If possible, give the
inclusive page numbers or, when pagination is not
continuous, the first page number and a plus sign; if
pagination is not available, use n. pag. Conclude the
entry with the following items:



Title of the database (italicized)
Medium of publication consulted (Web)
Date of access (day, month, and year)
Closing Tips

When you have a question, look up the
answer! Never just take the chance of
guessing, and never, ever fabricate an
answer or style!

If you are a student with questions and
you cannot find the answer, utilize the
Writing Lab or ask your professor.
Any Questions?