University of Puerto Rico Mayaguez Campus
English Writing Center
Maria Isabel Badillo Méndez
What is MLA?
 MLA stands for Modern Language Association
 The MLA documentation uses “brief parenthetical
citations in the text” that are reference of a text in the
“alphabetical list of works cited that appears at the end
of the work” (Modern Language Association).
 These parenthetical citations allow proper credit to be
given to a person’s ideas as well as reinforce the writer’s
argument.
Who uses MLA and Why?
 MLA style is used in the Humanities. It is especially
used “in writing on Language and Literature” (Modern
Language Association).
 Why use the MLA style:
 Avoid plagiarism
 Builds credibility for the writer by providing sources.
 It is simple to use and organizes your paper coherently.
Basic Format
 All writing must be in a basic and understandable font. The
one that is recommended and usually requested by
professors is Times New Roman 12.
 The alignment is left. Do not justify the paper.
 Margins are one inch from all sides.
 Indentation is half an inch from the margin.
 Page numbers are written plain and placed in the upper left
corner; Last name page number (Gomez 1)
First Page
 MLA doesn’t use a cover page.
 The information that would be presented in a cover page are
placed in the left corner of the first page:
Your Name (Juan Lopez)
Professor and their last name (Professor Gomez)
Full course name and number (English 3201)
day Month year (8 May 2010)
 The title is in the center and it is in plain text. ( not italicized,
underlined or bold)
Example
Parenthetical Citation
 These are used to attribute the original writing when
you summarize, paraphrase and or quote. 1
 In MLA these consist of a open parenthesis [ ( ], the
author’s last name [Austen] the page number, line
number, or act [1] and closed parenthesis [)]
 “It is a truth universally acknowledged, that a single man in
possession of a good fortune, must be in want of a wife”
(Austen 1).
Other Parenthetical In-text Citation
 Prose: Author’s last name and page number

“It is a truth universally acknowledged, that a single man in
possession of a good fortune, must be in want of a wife” ( Austen 1).
 Poetry: Author’s last name and line number

“I have been happy- and I love the theme: / Dreams! in their vivid
coloring of life” (Poe 28-29).
 Plays: Author’s last name, act number, scene number and line
number (if it’s written in verse) or page number (if it’s written
in prose)

“O Romeo, Romeo! wherefore art thou Romeo?” (Shakespeare 2.2.35)
Parenthetical Citations
 When there are more than one work by the same
author being cited one must provide a shorten version
of the title.
 For example Adventures of Huckleberry Finn would be
shorten to Huck Finn.

This is accepted because the reader would still have a clear
idea.
The parenthetical citation then would be:
“ The Widow Douglas she took me for her son, and
allowed she would sivilize me; but it was rough living in
the house all the time”(Twain Huck Finn 2).
In-Text Citation
 Blended
 Are when the text is smaller than three lines of text. The
quotation is joined to the structure of a sentence in
quotation marks .
 During the nineteenth century it was acknowledged that “a single
man in possession of a good fortune, must be in want of a wife” (
Austen 1).
 Blended quotations in Poetry
 A solidus (/) is use to separate lines.

The speaker of “Annabel Lee” declares that “ the moon never
beams without bringing me dreams / Of the beautiful Annabel
Lee” (Poe 34-35).
Block quotations
 Block
 Are when the text is more than four lines. These are set
apart from the paragraph and indented one inch from
the left margin. They are not put in quotation marks.
 Example:
The narrator of “The Tell-Tale Heart” confesses that:
It is impossible to say how first the idea entered my brain,
but, once conceived, it haunted me day and night. Object
there was none. Passion there was none. I loved the old
man. He had never wronged me. He had never given me
insult. For his gold I had no desire. I think it was his
eye!(Poe 303)
Quotation Marks vs. Italics
• Quotation marks are used in titles of short or
minor works:





Songs
Short Stories
Essays
Short Poems
One Act Plays
 Titles of sections
from longer works
 Articles in
newspapers,
magazines, or
journals
• Italics are use for long works that consist of
smaller sections
Novel
Multi-act Play
CD’s
T.V. Series
Movies
Newspapers
Magazines or
journals
Works Cited Page
 Basic Rules:
 The Works Cited page goes on a separate page at the end of
the paper.
 Entries must be of texts cited and/or referenced in your main
text.
 Label the page Works Cited


if you are only listing the works cited. Label Works Cited and
Consulted
if you include all the works you have referenced
 List Alphabetically
 Double space, but do not skip spaces between entries.
 Indent, half an inch, the second and fallowing lines of
citations creating a hanging indent.
Works Cited Page
 The Medium of Publication, form, must be provided.
Example: Print, Web and etc.
 URLs for Web entries are optional and depend on the
professors preference.
 Most months are abbreviated:
January - Jan.
February - Feb.
March - Mar.
April - Apr.
May - May
June - June
November - Nov.
July - July
December - Dec.
August - Aug.
September - Sept.
October - Oct.
Common Works Cited
 Book:
 Author’s last name, First name. Title of Book. Place of
Publication: Publisher, Year of Publication. Medium of
Publication.
Austen, Jane. Pride and Prejudice. New York; Penguin, 2005.
Print.
 When there are more than one work by the same author one
will use ---.
Austen, Jane. Emma. New York: Barnes and Nobles Classic,
2004. Print.
---. Pride and Prejudice. New York; Penguin, 2005. Print.
Publications on the Web:
 Editor, author, or compiler name (if available). “Name of
Webpage (if applicable).” Name of Site. Version number.
Name of institution/organization affiliated with the site
(sponsor or publisher), date of resource creation (if
available). Medium of publication (Web). Date of access.
 Example of a Webpage on a Website:
Russell, Tony, Allen Brizee, and Elizabeth Angeli. "MLA
Formatting and Style Guide." ThePurdue OWL.
Purdue U Writing Lab, 4 Apr. 2010. Web. 8 Mar.
2011.
Note: If the date of publication is not available use n.d.
If a publisher or sponsor is not available use n.p.
 Work in an Anthology or Reference Book:
 An anthology is a compilation of text arranged by an
editor.
 A reference book is a group of concise entries. Example:
Dictionary, Atlas, Encyclopedia and etc.
 Author’s last name, First name. "Title of Essay." Title of
Anthology. Ed. Editor's Name(s). Place of
Publication: Publisher, Year. Page range of entry.
Medium of Publication.
 Poe, Edgar A. “The Tale-Tell Heart.” The Collected Tales
and Poems of Edgar Allan Poe. New York:
Modern Library, 1992. 303-306. Print.
 Recorded Films or Movies
Title. Dir. Name of director. Perf. Name of main performers. the
distributor, the release year. Medium.(DVD, VHS, laserdisc).
Inception. Dir. Christopher Nolan. Perf. Leonardo DiCaprio, Kent
Watanabe, Joseph Gordon-Levitt, Marion Cotillard, Tom Hardy,
Ellen Page and Michael Caine. Warner Bros., 2010. DVD.
 Sound Recordings
 Generally, the artist name but it might begin with the composers
(comp.) or performers (perf.). Otherwise, list composer and
performer information after the album title.

Song titles go in quotation marks and album names are italicized.
Artist name or composer or performer. “song.” Album title. recording
manufacturer, publication date (or n.d., if date is unknown).
Medium. (e.g. CD, LP, Audiocassette).
The Beatles. “Strawberry Fields Forever.” Love. Capitol Records, 20 Nov.
2006. CD.
Translations:
 Official Translations:
 It is when the text used is a translation from the original.
Author’s last name, First name. Trans. Translator’s name.
Title of Book. Place of Publication: Publisher, Year of
Publication. Medium of Publication.
Sturluson, Snorri. Trans. Jesse Byock. The Prose Edda:
Norse Mythology. New York: Penguin, 2005. Print.
 If you are citing the translators word choice or notes his
name goes before the authors.
Jesse Byock, trans. The Prose Edda: Norse Mythology. By
SnorriSturluson. New York: Penguin, 2005. Print.
Painting, Sculpture, or Photograph
 Artist's name. title of the artwork. the date of
composition. (if the date is unknown, place n.d.).name
of the institution that houses the artwork, the location
of the institution.
Van Gogh, Vincent. The Starry Night. 1889. Museum of
Modern Art, New York.
 (If the work is cited on the web only:
name of the artist, the title of the work, the medium of
the work (Photograph etc.). then follow the
citation format for a website.)
Translations:
Unofficial Translation:
 It is when the text used is in its original language and the
person writing the essay makes their own translation. In these
cases the translation is not recognized by MLA and the
citation would be as if it were an ordinary book.
 MLA mandates that the original text should not be
manipulated when citing. Any changes must be done
trough brackets []. Therefore, if a person wishes to
translate a section they can make a note with the
translation or add the translation in brackets.
Additional Reference
 For more information on Summarizing, Paraphrasing
and/or Quoting view the “Quoting, Paraphrasing, and
Summarizing” (Driscoll and Brizee) at OWL Purdue.
Van Gogh, Vincent. The Starry Night. 1889. Museum of Modern Art, New York.