Everything You Need to Know about MLA Format
(Use this handout & try to do it yourself BEFORE you ask me for help!)
Creating a works cited page and using correct documentation in your research papers is not, I repeat,
NOT rocket science! This packet has nearly ALL the information you will need to create correctly MLA
formatted Word documents, works cited pages, and correctly use internal citations. Realize, however,
that if you do NOT read this packet and follow the directions, you will lose significant points on your
research papers!
Changes from the Write Source Book:
1. There is no more underlining with MLA. Anything that could have been underlined must now
be italicized.
2. All entries receive either a “Print” or “Web” label near the end of the entry to denote in what
format the source was retrieved.
3. For “Web” sources, including databases, the teacher has the option of requiring the web
address. I want the web address for general websites only; if you have done the database
entry correctly, I can find your source easily.
How do I set-up an MLA formatted Word document?
Use 1” margins
1. Open Word document.
2. Click on “File.”
3. Select “Page Setup.”
4. Be sure that all margins (Left, Right, Top, & Bottom) are set to 1”.
5. Click OK.
Double-space the document
1. Click on “Format.”
2. Select “Paragraph.”
3. Change line spacing to “Double.”
4. Click OK.
Using the correct heading
 The heading should ONLY appear on the first page of the paper and on the first page of the
outline.
 The heading should start on the first line of the document and be double spaced.
 When adding the title, hit return only once and center the cursor. There should only be one line
between the end of the heading and the title.
Your Name
Mr. Palasz
The Class Name
Example: Intensive Writing
Date (in MLA format—month is NOT abbreviated!) Example: 22 October 2008
Add Last Name and page number in upper right of all pages
1. Click on “View.”
2. Select “Header and Footer.”
3. Justify the cursor to the right (FormatAlignmentRight).
4. Type your last name AND A SPACE!
5. On the Header and Footer toolbar, click the icon of a piece of paper with #. (When you put
your arrow over this icon it will read “Insert Page Number.”)
6. Click Close on the toolbar.
How do I write a Works Cited page?
Creating a Works Cited page is not nearly as difficult as many students believe it is. After you follow
the citation format for the source you are documenting, you should follow these steps.
1. Be sure that your document is set up using MLA standard format (see above).
2. Hit “Enter” until you arrive at a blank page in your document.
3. Center justify your cursor and type the wordsWorks Cited (Do NOT bold, underline,
italicize, etc. these words.)
4. Hit “Enter” and justify your cursor left once again.
5. Select “Format” from the tool bar, then select “Paragraph.”
6. Under the “Indentation” section, find the drop-down box labeled “Special” and change
the option from “(none)” to “Hanging.”
7. Type your citations. Be sure to arrange them in alphabetical order according to the first
letter(s) of the citation.
How do I write the Citations that appear on the Works Cited page?
Below you find the BASIC guidelines for MOST of the types of sources you will use during your
research this semester. Remember that this is by no means a comprehensive list. If you have a
source that is not listed here SEARCH ONLINE FOR THE CORRECT FORMAT. Purdue’s Online
Writing Lab (OWL) is a wonderful source. Its URL is
http://owl.english.purdue.edu/owl/resource/557/01/. If you cannot find the correct format online,
come see me and I will help you. 
MLA Works Cited Formats for Basic Sources
Basic format is bold; examples are in regular font.
Hard Copy Sources—Books, chapters of books, periodical articles
Book by One Author
Last Name, First Name. Title. Place of publication: Publisher, Copyright Date. Print.
Jameson, George P. Ellis Island. New York: Icon Press, 2006. Print.
Books by Two or More Authors
 List the names in the order they appear on the title page.
 Only the first author's name should be reversed: Last Name, First Name.
 Use a comma between the authors' names. Place a period after the last author's name.
Last Name, First Name and First Name Last Name. Title. Place of publication: Publisher,
Copyright Date. Print.
Smith, Henry G. and Betty Harmon. Freedom Rides. Chicago: Broad Shoulder Press, 2006. Print.

If there are more than three authors, name only the first and add et al.
Randall, John E., et al. Fishes of the Great Barrier Reef and Coral Sea. Honolulu: U of Hawaii P,
1997. Print.
A Work within a Larger Work (Anthology or Chapter of a Book)
Last Name, First Name. “Title of work.” Title of Anthology. Ed. Editor’s First Name Last Name.
Place of Publication: Publisher, Copyright Date. Page numbers. Print.
Stevens, Wallace. “Sunday Morning.” Modern American Poetry. Ed. Thomas J. Hines. New York:
Holt, Rinehart and Winston, 2003. 20-22. Print.
Newspaper Article
Last Name, First Name. “Title of Article.” Newspaper Name Date: page number(s). Print.
Blake, Terry. “Attack in Bagdad: Two Marines Dead.” The Plain Dealer 20 Jul. 2006: A1. Print.
Magazine Article
Last Name, First Name. “Title of Article.” Title of Magazine Date: page number(s). Print.
Thomasson, Ronald. “Salt Mines of Lake Erie.” Cleveland Magazine 15 May 2004: 23-25. Print.
Electronic Sources—Internet articles, websites, database articles, etc.
Online Database Article
Last Name, First Name. “Title of Article.” Original Print Source Title. Date. Name of Database.
Database Provider. Library used for access. City, State. Web. Date accessed.
Freeman, Gregory A. “Code Alpha: The President is Coming!” American History. Oct. 2006.
Academic Search Premier. Inspire. Lake Central High School Library. St. John, IN. Web 6 Oct.
2006.
Internet Website (Note: it is sometimes very difficult to find all of the information you need to make a
proper citation for a website. Try to find as much information as possible.)
Author (if given). “Title of Web Page/Article.” Title of Website. Date last updated. Name of
organization that sponsors the site. Web. Date accessed. <URL link>.
Flannery O’Connor Collection. 7 Jul. 2006. Georgia College and State University. Web. 31 Aug. 2006.
<http://library.gcsu.edu/~sc/foc.html>.
Walker, Gary. "The Effects of Radiation." Hiroshima Atom Bomb. 15 Mar. 2000. Los Alamos
Research Facility. Web. 14 Oct. 2008. <http://www.larf.org/hiroshima/radiationeffects.htm>.
Important reminders about the Works Cited page:
1. The “Works Cited” page is always going to be the last page of your essay or report. You
should type the words “Works Cited” and center it on the page.
2. Each entry must be complete and accurate.
3. Each entry reads like one long sentence. What this means is that it does not matter where the
second line begins in an entry; it begins on the second line only because you ran out of room
on the first line.
4. The second and subsequent lines are always indented five spaces.
5. The sources are listed alphabetically by the first word or name of the entry. This first word or
name should be what you use in your parenthetical citation.
6. Use correct MLA date format and abbreviations in all citations. Format: Day Month Year
Abbreviations: Jan. Feb. Mar. Apr. May Jun. Jul. Aug. Sept. Oct. Nov. Dec.
EXAMPLES: 23 Feb. 1998 2 May 2000 17 Jul. 1990 13 Aug. 2008
What are parenthetical/internal/in text/embedded citations?
In MLA style, in-text citations, called parenthetical citations, are used to document any external
sources used within a document (unless the material cited is considered general knowledge). The
parenthetical citations direct readers to the full bibliographic citations listed in the Works Cited,
located at the end of the document. In most cases, the parenthetical citations include the author's last
name and the specific page number for the information cited.
Where do I put parenthetical/internal/in text/embedded citations?
Place a citation as close to the quoted or paraphrased material as possible without disrupting the
sentence.
When material from one source and the same page numbers is used throughout a
paragraph, use one citation at the end of the paragraph rather than a citation at the end of
each sentence.
Parenthetical citations usually appear after the final quotation mark and before the period.
If the next citation being used is from the most recently cited source, omit the author’s
name/article title and merely use the page or paragraph number in the parenthesis.
How do I write parenthetical/internal/in text/embedded citations?
General Rules:
If the information is presented in quotes, cite the (author’s last name and page number).
If the author’s name is used in the sentence, cite the (page number).
If an introductory sentence includes the author’s name, cite the (page number).
If the information is paraphrased using the author’s name, cite the (page number).
If the information runs longer than four lines of text, use block quotes, that is, indent the
margins of the text . Place the citation after the period. (author’s last name and page number)
6. If the information has no given author, use an abbreviated title instead. Use italics or underline
book titles; use quotes for article titles. (Architecture of Migration 16) or (“Architecture of
Migration” 16)
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
Single author named in parentheses.
The tendency to come to terms with difficult experiences is referred to as a "purification process"
whereby "threatening or painful dissonances are warded off to preserve intact a clear and articulated
image of oneself and one’s place in the world" (Sennett 11).
Single author named in a signal phrase.
Social historian Richard Sennett names the tendency to come to terms with difficult experiences a
"purification process" whereby "threatening or painful dissonances are warded off to preserve intact a
clear and articulated image of oneself and one’s place in the world" (11).
Two or more authors.
Certain literacy theorists have gone so far as to declare that "the most significant elements of human
culture are undoubtedly channeled through words, and reside in the particular range of meanings and
attitudes which members of any society attach to their verbal symbols" (Goody and Watt 323).
Corporate author (organization, association, etc.).
The federal government has funded research concerning consumer protection and consumer
transactions with online pharmacies (Food and Drug Administration 125).
Works with no author
Several critics of the concept of the transparent society ask if a large society would be able to handle
the complete loss of privacy ("Surveillance Society" 115).
Two or more works by the same author.
In his investigation of social identity, The Uses of Disorder, Sennett defines adulthood as a stage
where people "learn to tolerate painful ambiguity and uncertainty" (108).
In a surprising move, Richard Sennett combines the idea of power with that of virtue: "the idea of
strength is complex in ordinary life because of what might be called the element of its integrity"
(Authority 19).
Work found in an anthology or edited collection.
For an essay, short story, or other document included in an anthology or edited collection, use the
name of the author of the work, not the editor of the anthology or collection, but use the page
numbers from the anthology or collection.
Lawrence Rosenfield analyzes the way in which New York’s Central Park held a socializing function
for nineteenth-century residents similar to that of traditional republican civic oratory (222).
Secondary source of a quotation (someone quoted within the text of another author).
As Erickson reminds us, the early psychoanalysts focused on a single objective: "introspective
honesty in the service of self enlightenment" (qtd. in Weiland 42).
Web page
Abraham Lincoln's birthplace was designated as a National Historical Site in 1959 (National Park
Service par.3).
What about Plagiarism?
Students may find themselves confused about what constitutes plagiarism when they are
assigned to write a paper that incorporates their own ideas those gathered from other sources.
Plagiarists have been sued, lost jobs, and been discredited among their peers.
Intentional plagiarism involves knowingly turning in a paper or information as one’s own work
when it is not. This includes using another’s ideas, specific language or sentence structure, or
paraphrasing ideas to imply they are the student’s own.
Unintentional plagiarism occurs when students paraphrase or fail to attribute ideas they have
taken from other sources thinking they are common knowledge.
The best rule is to cite sources when in doubt. Plagiarism is contrary to Lake Central’s
Academic Honesty policy and is subject to disciplinary action.