Randolph-Henry’s
Writing Style Sheet 1
Randolph-Henry Writing Style Sheet
(MLA style)
Part I: The Format of the Research Paper
 Papers are typed on white, 8 ½ - by – 11 inch paper.
 Margins are one inch at the top, bottom, and sides.
 Indent the first word of a paragraph one-half inch (5 spaces).
 Indent set-off quotations one inch (10 spaces).
 Papers are double-spaced throughout, including quotations, notes, and the
list of works cited.
 Do not submit papers with a title page. Instead, use a double-spaced
heading: type your name, your instructor’s name, the course, and the date
on separate lines flush with the left-hand margin.
 The title should be centered on the line following the heading. Do not
underline your title, put it in quotation marks, use a different font, or type
it all in capital letters.
 Number all pages beginning with the first page. Type your last name
before the page number ½ inch from the top and flush with the right.
(This can be easily done in Microsoft Word by going to “View” and
“Header.”)
 Font size should be 10 or 12 point. If you are using a computer, do not
use an unusual “font” type. (Stick to Times New Roman, Courier, or
Arial).
II. Parenthetical documentation: “acknowledge your sources by keying brief
parenthetical citations in your text to an alphabetical list of works that appears at the end
of the paper” (MLA Handbook for Writers of Research Papers. 5th ed., 114).
 The first time you use a source in your paper, refer to the author and work in the
text.
o In The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, Mark Twain claims that “Persons
attempting to find motive in this narrative will be prosecuted; persons
attempting to find a moral in it will be banished; persons attempting to
find a plot in it will be shot” (2).
 After the first time you use a source, usually the author’s last name and page
number are sufficient.
o Huck Finn states that Mark Twain “told the truth, mainly. There was
things which he stretched, but mainly he told the truth” (Twain 3).
 If you use the author’s name in text, just include the page number in parenthesis.
o Twain’s characters tell numerous “stretchers” (3).
 Preferably put the parenthesis at the end of a sentence but as close to the
documented material as possible. If you must put a parenthetical notation in text,
place it at a “pause” in the sentence.
 If you quote, paraphrase, use a specific passage in a book or article, or use any
information, you must document the source and the page number (MLA 211).
Randolph-Henry’s
Writing Style Sheet 2
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In electronic sources, where page numbers do not always exist, you may cite
paragraphs (par.) or use nothing.
o “Parenthetical documentation is easy for the reader to understand”
(Gaines, par. 6). (Gaines)
If the citation does not have an author, use the full title (if brief) or a shortened
version of the title (unless the title appears in your text). Make sure your
shortened version of the title would refer the reader to the alphabetized entry in
your works cited page.
o “According to recent IQ studies, today’s students are actually smarter than
their parents” (Report 76).
o President Nixon avoided impeachment by resigning (“President” A1)
If you are using two or more books by the same author, put a comma after the
author’s last name followed by a shortened version of the title and the page
number.)
o “I reckon I got to light out for the Territory ahead of the rest, because aunt
Sally she’s going to adopt me and sivilize me and I can’t stand it. I been
there before” (Twain, Adventures 362).
 Please note, in the above case, if the other book by Mark Twain
was The Adventures of Tom Sawyer, you could not use Adventures
to indicate the book for The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn. You
would have to use H. F.
Whenever possible, take material from the original source, not a secondhand
source. If this is not possible, put the abbreviation qtd. in (quoted in) before the
indirect source.
o Mark Twain once said that “a person who could spell a word only one way
was an idiot” (qtd. in “Quotable” np).
When quoting the Bible, identify the scriptural passage.
o “Be quick to listen, slow to speak, and slow to anger” (James 1:19).
Try to limit each citation to one passage. If you must use two or more works in a
single reference, cite each work normally but separate them with a semicolon.
o (Twain 58; Faulkner 72).
If your passage was written by two authors or three authors, include all names.
o (Twain and Faulkner 88).
o (Twain, Faulkner, and Lee 77).
If your passage was written by more than three authors, include only the name
that appears in your works cited page.
Randolph-Henry’s
Writing Style Sheet 3
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If you quote more than 4 typed lines, you must change your format. Set up your
quote with a complete explanatory sentence that ends with a colon. Indent each
line 10 spaces. Do not use quotations. At the end of the quote, place the
parenthetical documentation. In this case, the period comes BEFORE the
parenthetical documentation.
o The turning point of The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn occurs when
Huck decides to free Jim:
It was a close place. I took it up, and held it in my hand. I was a
trembling, because I’d got to decide, forever, betwixt two things,
and I knowed it. I studied a minute, sort of holding my breath, and
then says to myself:
“All right then, I’ll go to hell” --- and tore it up. (Twain 270-71)
****The Modern Language Association published a 7th edition of its style guide MLA Handbook
forWriters of Research Papers in March 2009. One of the biggest changes to MLA is with the use
of italics. Formerly, MLA underlined titles of publications and other media sources (e.g. plays,
databases, recordings), as well as other elements that needed specification (e.g. words). However,
in the new style, italics replace underlining. Italics are required both in the text and in the works
cited list for the names of books, plays, poems published as books, pamphlets, periodicals, Web
sites, databases, films, broadcasts, audio recordings (compact discs, cassettes, albums),
performances (dance or opera), musical compositions, works of visual art, and the names of
vessels (ships, aircraft, spacecraft).
Tea in the Harem (book)
The Doll House (play)
The Song of Roland (poem published as book)
Signs (journal)
Economist (magazine)
JSTOR (online database)
MLA now also dictates the use of italics instead of underlining for designating words used as
words.
III. Format of the Works Cited Page
 Appears at end of paper
 Header and page number appears in top right hand corner (right aligned)
 The title Works Cited is centered at the top of the page.
 All entries are alphabetized using the first word in the entry.
 The Works Cited page is double-spaced.
 No extra spaces appear between entries.
 The Works Cited page utilizes hanging indentation.
IV. Common Citations: For unusual citations, please consult the MLA style book.
BOOKS
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Book with a single author
Randolph-Henry’s
Writing Style Sheet 4
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o Twain, Mark. The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn. Los Angeles:
University of California Press, 1985. Print.
Sometimes more information is required. Following is a list that shows the order
of all of the possible parts of a book and the order in which they appear.
o Author’s name. Title of part of the book. Title of the book. Name of the
editor, translator, or compiler. Edition used. Numbers of the volumes
used. Name of the series. Place of publication: Name of publisher, date
of publication. Page numbers. Supplementary information. Print.
An anthology that was edited by an individual whose name appears on the title
page.
Abrams, M. H., ed. The Norton Anthology of English Literature. 5th ed.
Vol. 2. New York: W. W. Norton and Company, 1986. Print.
Two or more books by the same author: place the name in the first entry only.
o Twain, Mark. The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn. Los Angeles:
University of California Press, 1985. Print.
---. A Connecticut Yankee in King Author’s Court. Los Angeles:
University of California Press, 1985. Print.
A book by two or three authors: List their names in the same order as the title
page. Only reverse the name of the first author.
o Twain, Mark, and Harper Lee. (rest of info)
o Twain, Mark, William Faulkner, and Harper Lee. (rest of info)
A book by four or more authors: List only the first author, followed by et al.
o Twain, Mark, et al. (rest of info)
Editor or translator needed in citation:
o Twain, Mark. The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn. Ed. Michael Smith.
Los Angeles: University of California Press, 1985. Print.
o Currins, Muriel. The History of Speech in Dutch Wizardry. Trans. Albus
Dumbledore. London: Diagon Alley Press, 2003. Print.
A book, play, poem, article, or short story that appears in a larger collection.
o Twain, Mark. The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn. The Norton
Anthology of American Literature. Ed. M. H. Abrams. 5th ed. Vol.
2. New York: W. W. Norton and Company, 1986. 1002-1212. Print.
An article in an encyclopedia.
o “Merlin.” The Encyclopedia Britanica. 15th ed. 1984. Print.
o Smith, Marvin. “Celtic Mythology.” The Encyclopedia of Mythology.
Ed. Julia Smith. 2 vols. New York: Micropress, 1978. Print.
o “America.” The Encyclopedia America. 1997 ed. Print.
An introduction, a preface, a foreword, or an afterword: Begin with the name of
the author and then give the name of the part being cited, capitalized but neither
underlined nor enclosed in quotation marks. If the writer of the piece is different
from the author of the work, cite the author of the work after its title, giving the
full name (normal order) preceded by the word By. Continue with full publication
information.
o Blair, Walter and Victor Fischer. Foreword. The Adventures of
Huckleberry Finn. By Mark Twain. Los Angeles: University of
California Press, 1985. ix – xxii. Print.
Randolph-Henry’s
Writing Style Sheet 5
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o King, Stephen. Introduction. The Dead Zone. By King. New York:
Penguin Press, 1987. ix – xi. Print.
A multivolume work
o Abrams, M. H., ed. The Norton Anthology of English Literature. 5th ed.
Vol. 2. New York: W. W. Norton and Company, 1986. Print.
Periodicals
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Basic Newspaper entry:
o Smith, John. “The Art of War.” Richmond Times Dispatch 12 December
2002: A1+. Print.
Basic journal entry (publication information should include the volume number,
the year of publication in parentheses, a colon, the inclusive page numbers, and a
period.)
o Scotto, Peter. “Censorship, Reading, and Interpretation: A Case Study
From the Soviet Union.” PMLA 109 (1994): 61-70. Print.
Basic magazine entry:
o Smith, John. “The Art of War.” Newsweek 18 Jan. 2003: 18-25. Print.
An editorial
o Smith, John. “The Art of War.” Editorial. Richmond Times Dispatch 12
December 2002: A18. Print.
A Letter to the Editor
o Smith, John. Letter. Richmond Times Dispatch 12 December 2002: A18.
Print.
o Smith, John. Reply to letter of Margaret Smith. Richmond Times
Dispatch 12 December 2002: A18. Print.
CD-Roms and Portable Databases
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Material with Publication Information for a Printed Source: Include the following
in order: Author, All original publication information, Underlined title of the
Database, Publication Medium (CD-ROM), Name of the vendor, Electronic
publication date.
o Smith, Robert. “Why T. V. Harms Kids.” Newsweek 21 Nov. 1999: 4252. SIRS. CD-ROM. Dataquest. Nov. 2000.
Material with no printed source should include: Author, Title of the Material in
quotations, Date of the material, Underlined title of the database, publication
medium (CD-ROM), Name of the vendor, Electronic publication date.
Smith, Robert. “Why T. V. Harms Kids.” SIRS. CD-ROM. Dataquest.
Nov. 2000.
A Nonperiodical publication of CD-ROM: Author, Title of the work underlined
or in quotes, Title of the product, Edition or release date, Publication medium
(CD-ROM), City of publication, Name of the publisher, Year of publication.
(PLEASE NOTE, if you are only citing part of the CD-ROM, then you must state
what part before the title of the CD-ROM)
o The CIA World Factbook. CD-ROM. Minneapolis: Quanta, 1992.
o The Best English Short Stories. Rel. 4. CD-ROM. New York:
Discworld, 2003.
o “Whales.” Animal Facts. CD-ROM. Boston: Discworld, 2002.
Randolph-Henry’s
Writing Style Sheet 6
ONLINE SOURCES
(In the past, MLA has required the use of the URL as a means of identification. The seventh
edition has changed that. The justification is that most items are easily found through a simple
web or database search. If there is a possibility that the article or other source material may be
difficult to locate through a search, writers should include the URL.
When in doubt regarding the need for a URL, consult with the instructor or use the URL form.)
 Electronic book with print publication data
o Burke, Seâan. The Death and Return of the Author: Criticism and Subjectivity in
Barthes, Foucault,and Derrida. Edinburgh: Edinburgh UP, 1998. NetLibrary.
Web. 20 May 2009.
 Online database – book review
o Gordon, Linda. Rev. of Gender and the Politics of History, by Joan Wallach
Scott. Signs 15.4 (1990): 852-53. JSTOR. Web. 1 May 2009.
 Online journal
o Sewell, Said. “African American Religion: The Struggle for Community
Development in a Southern City.” Journal of Southern Religion 4 (2001): n. pag.
Web. 29 Jan. 2008.
***When a URL is added to an online source, it should be placed following the access date. The
full URL (starting with http:) should be enclosed in angle brackets and should be followed by a
period. If the URL must be divided between two lines, it should be done where a slash (/) occurs
with no hyphen used to indicate the break.
 House of Bishops of the Episcopal Church. “The Sin of Racism: A Pastoral Letter from
the House of Bishops of the Episcopal Church.” Episcopal Church Center. Web. 1 Nov.
2007. <http://www.episcopalchurch.org/social-justice_7388ENG_HTM.htm>.
 “Trade Unions in Venezuela: Socialism v Labour.” The Economist. The Economist,
2009. Web. 26 May 2009. <http://www.economist.com/world/americas/
displaystory.cfm?story_id 13611592>. (Magazine article online – no author)
MISC.
 Interview: Name of the person being interviewed, the kind of interview (Personal
interview/Telephone interview) and the date.
o Smith, Robert. Personal interview. 22 December 2003.
 Original Art
o Gauguin, Paul. Portrait of the Artist with the Idol. 1893. Oil on canvas.
McNay Art Museum, San Antonio.
 Recording
o Biafro, Jello. Machine Guns in the Clown’s Hand. Alternative Tentacle,
19 Nov. 2002. CD.
 Film
o The Usual Suspects. Dir. Bryan Singer. Perf. Kevin Spacey, Gabriel
Byrne, Chazz Palminteri, Stephen Baldwin, and Benecio del Toro.
Polygram, 1995. Film.