Making Sense of MLA Format
Proper citation & styling for the study
of English
Why do I have to do this?
 Once upon a time in a boring land far, far
away, the Powers That Be gathered atop
Mount Finicky to decide how each academic
discipline would cite its sources. Some
disciplines, like history and psychology,
chose footnoting. English, however, felt it
was too special for footnotes. It selected
MLA format and the Powers that Be
declared that all those who study English
must cite using MLA format
The Internet has Information!
 Stuck? Google “MLA format”
 No excuse for inaccuracies
Part One
Titles and 1st Page
A good title is interesting AND
informative
 NOT “Formal Essay” or “Essay #2”
 Try a two-parter title  interest
catcher: informative piece
 “Death Becomes Her: A Psychological
Examination of Lady MacBeth’s
Homicidal Tendencies
First Page of Essay
Last Name Page #
Your Name
Teacher’s Name
Course & Section
Due Date
Title of Essay
Start typing essay here
More Rules
 The essay must be double spaced and
written in Times New Roman or Arial
11pt or 12pt font
 The title is not bolded, underlined or
written in a larger font
 Simply center it
Part Two
Works Cited
Works Cited
 Works cited = work is CITED (quoted) in the
essay
 Must start on a new page and include the same
header as every other page of the essay
 The title is centered (as above)
 Alphabetical list
 All second and subsequent lines are indented
Citing a Book
Last name, first name. Complete Title.
Place of publication: publisher’s
name, year. Print.
This is new! For EVERY
source, you must indicate
its medium!
Italics, not underline! MLA has
stopped using underline!
Example: To Kill A Mockingbird
Lee, Harper. To Kill A Mockingbird.
New York: Grand Central, 1982.
Print.
You might also need to cite…
A book with more than one author
A website
A movie
An article in an online journal or
newspaper
 TV or radio program
 Work of art
 A government publication
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Amazing Websites
 Concordia university  has help
guides for all styles, including MLA &
Chicago
 http://library.concordia.ca/help/howto/ci
tations.html
 Purdue University Online Writing Lab
 http://owl.english.purdue.edu/