MLA Style from the Modern Language Association is a standard for how to format your paper and cite sources that you reference in your writing. There are multiple styles such as MLA, APA, and Chicago. For this class, we will be using MLA, which is often used in literary studies, languages, cultural studies, and several other humanities fields.
Papers constructed according to MLA guidelines should adhere to the following elements:
Double-space all of the text of your paper, and use a clear font (such as Times New Roman, Calibri, or Arial) in 11 or 12-point font size.
Use one-inch margins on all sides.
Indent the first line of a paragraph a half-inch from the left margin. Tip: press the Tab key on your keyboard to automatically indent the first line of a paragraph.
Type your name, your instructor’s name, the course, and the date in the upper left-hand corner of the first page. This is called a heading. There is no cover page.
Insert a header in the upper right-hand corner with your last name, a space, and then a page number. This is called a running header. Pages should be numbered consecutively with Arabic numerals (1, 2, 3, 4, etc.), one-half inch from the top and flush with the right margin. You only need a running header when your paper is longer than one page.
Provide in-text citations for all quoted, paraphrased, and summarized information in your paper.
If you use endnotes, include them on a separate page before your Works Cited page.
Include a Works Cited page at the end of your paper that gives full bibliographic information for each item cited in your paper.
Your Works Cited page at the end of your project should match with the in-text citations in the body of your essay.
Format the Works Cited page with a hanging indent (see example paper at the bottom of this page).
See the Interactive Example Paper at the bottom of this page for more information.
If an author's gender is unknown, use "they" as a singular gender-neutral pronoun when referring to that author.
Use precise and clear wording.
Use words you are familiar and comfortable with.
Other than specific terms we're using in our class (like genre, conventions, discourse communities, etc.), don't use words that you would not otherwise use in your writing and speech.
You can still work on developing an academic voice and style of writing using vocabulary you are comfortable with.
The information in this section follows the MLA Handbook, 9th edition. See more information about formatting papers in the MLA Online Guide.
Refer to the author in the sentence or at the end of the sentence in parentheses.
For most social media, use the username associated with the post's account. For Facebook, use their account name (typically, use their full name if putting the name in the sentence and last name only if putting the citation in parentheses.)
Examples
A video by @CrazyShook39 includes a long caption under the video. The caption includes information such as the release date for the new expansion and links to several places where the game can be purchased.
In a video about a new release of Destiny, the caption includes information such as the release date for the new expansion and links to several places where the game can be purchased (@CrazyShook39).
For more information and specific examples for Reddit and Facebook, see the longer In-Text Citations section below.
A works cited page is the last page of your paper and includes a list of all references in alphabetical order. A works cited entry for social media will typically look like this:
Author and/or username. "Include the title, caption, text, or tweet here." Platform/App. Date. URL.
Examples
@Tiiffxny. "Halter tops worn backwards are now my favorite thing??? What item of clothes should I style next??" YouTube Shorts, 7 Oct. 2022. https://www.youtube.com/shorts/cZ5vgfiFP84
U/douglonious. My water currently here in central Texas. Reddit, 27 Sept. 2024, https://www.reddit.com/r/Wellthatsucks/comments/1fqc9c0/my_water_currently_here_in_central_texas/
For more information and specific examples for other platforms, see the longer Works Cited Page section below.
For formatting your paper, including the Works Cited page, I recommend watching the following videos:
If either of the above links are broken, I recommend searching for MLA formatting in Word (or Google Docs) in YouTube. There are many videos out there.
Additionally, check out the interactive MLA paper at the bottom of this page.
In-text citations are the references to your sources that are in your paper. These citations can follow two main formats:
Part of the sentence
The author's name is included as a part of the sentence. If a page number is known, that is included at the end of the sentence.
Example: A video by Smith includes many of these same conventions as was found in the video by Jones, such as..."
Parenthetical reference
The author's name and page number (if available) are included in parentheses at the end of the sentence.
Example: In one video that reviewed the preview of the game, a long caption is included under the video that explains more information about the release date of the new expansion (Jones).
The basic format for in-text citations in MLA is (Author's Last Name Page #). For example: (Smith 14) would be used if the author's last name is Smith and the quote or paraphrase is from page 14.
If you refer to the author in your sentence, then just the page number would be included in the parenthetical reference. (i.e. inside the parenthesis).
Since we're focusing on online discourse communities in our class, these will likely look a little different. You often won't have page numbers and might not have an author's name.
For most social media platforms, use the user name of the author as the author's name. For Facebook, use the account name, which is often a full name.
If you include the name or username of the author in your sentence, you do not also need to include it in a parenthetical referenceI
Examples:
Instagram, YouTube, TikTok, and most other social media:
A video by @CrazyShook39 includes a long caption under the video. The caption includes information such as the release date for the new expansion and links to several places where the game can be purchased.
In a video about a new release of Destiny, the caption includes information such as the release date for the new expansion and links to several places where the game can be purchased (@CrazyShook39).
A video by u/CrazyShook39 includes a long caption under the video. The caption includes information such as the release date for the new expansion and links to several places where the game can be purchased.
In a video about a new release of Destiny, the caption includes information such as the release date for the new expansion and links to several places where the game can be purchased (u/CrazyShook39).
In a post about the new game release, James Jackson includes a photo of the game's splash screen in the post.
In a video about a new release of Destiny, the poster included an image of the game's splash screen in the post (Jackson).
If the author's name and username are both unknown, include the title of the page/post/video instead. For long titles, you can abbreviate.
For example, for a Reddit post that is titled "On the Up Side..." where the author has deleted their account, either of the following citations can be used:
In the post "On the Up Side..." by an author who has since deleted their account, the tone of the post is casual and supportive.
OR
Some posts are more supportive than others, such as one recent post that included phrases like "Hang in there!" and "You've got this!" ("On the Up Side...").
A works cited page is the last page of your paper and includes a list of all references in alphabetical order.
The basic works cited entry for a book looks like this:
Last Name, First Name. Title of Book. City of Publication, Publisher, Publication Date.
Since our class focuses on online discourse communities, the following formats are likely what you'll need to use instead of the basic book format above.
Typically the format is something like this:
Author and/or username. "Include the title, caption, text, or tweet here." Platform/App. Date. URL.
TikTok VideoD.G. Walker is Board [@dgwalkerisboard]. "Replying to @Ashley Blois It’s a tough choice because they’re all really good, but I did my best at ranking the Everdell expansions #boardgames #expansion #everdell #bgg #ranking" TikTok, 2024, https://www.tiktok.com/@dgwalkerisboard/video/7324173465290951982
More Info: Citing TikTok Videos
Reddit PostU/douglonious. My water currently here in central Texas. Reddit, 27 Sept. 2024, https://www.reddit.com/r/Wellthatsucks/comments/1fqc9c0/my_water_currently_here_in_central_texas/
More Info: Citing Reddit Posts and Comments
YouTube Video@Tiiffxny. "Halter tops worn backwards are now my favorite thing??? What item of clothes should I style next??" YouTube Shorts, 7 Oct. 2022. https://www.youtube.com/shorts/cZ5vgfiFP84
More Info: Citing YouTube Videos
Facebook PostObama, Barack. Obama meeting Greta Thunberg. Facebook, 17 Sep. 2019, 10:27 pm, facebook.com/barackobama/.
More info: Citing Social Media
Discord or other Chat App Message(s)JaneIsHere. Message posted in the #Real Talk channel of the YA Book Club server. Discord, 19 Sept. 2024.
For a conversation with multiple authors:
BooksLuv23, DarieX | BookConnoisseur, and JaneIsHere. Messages posted in the #Real Talk channel of the YA Book Club server. Discord, 19 Sept. 2024.
More Info: Citing a Conversation in a Chat Tool
Note: While this example paper uses MLA 8th edition, these example pages are still accurate. The items that have changed in the 9th edition are not used in these examples.
Adapted from "How to Format a Paper" and "Example Paper" from MLA in Minutes by Sami Lange; Vicki Brandenburg; and Leila Palis is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.