Citation Guides

Setting up your title page

For the vast majority of projects within the MLA style, you will not have a true "Title Page" before the body of your paper begins. Rather, you will use a brief block of text identifying your project, a simple title line, and then the body of your project will begin immediately. In the case that your paper is a group project, or if your professor requires a title page, consult the MLA Handbook or visit the online MLA Style Center for guidance.

1. On the first line of your document, you will have four lines of Identifying Text in this order:
   • Your Name (first and last fully spelled out, middle name/initial are optional)
   • Your Professor's name (Include their honorific, such as Dr., Professor, or Instructor, as applicable. Ask your professor how they would like to be addressed, if they do not specify themselves. An easy check is to see how they are listed on the class syllabus.)
   • The Class Name (the full name of the class, not the class code)
   • The date of submission (Organize them in order of Day Month Year, with no punctuation)
     • Michaela Schaff
       Dr. Sarah Clark
       Young Adult Literature
       11 November 2023
2. After the identification lines described above, type your paper's Title on the next double-spaced line. Do not add any extra spaces between the header and your title. Make sure your title is:
   • Centered on the page,
   • Following the standard Title Casing (the first letter of the title and all important words are upper-cased, and connecting words like "and" "the" "with" are lower-cased),
   • Following the same font and size as the rest of your paper, and
   • Not underlined or italicized in any way.
3. The Body of your paper then begins on the next double-spaced line, without any extra space between it and the title.

Formatting the body of your project

1. Follow all of the "Overall Formatting" guidelines on the first tab of this page (justify left, do not hyphenate, double-space everything, etc.).
2. The first line of each paragraph should have a 1/2 inch indent, with subsequent lines lying flush with the left margin.
   • Most word processors will already have this as a default setting, but it can be adjusted if not.
3. The entirety of Block Quotes should be indented by 1/2 inch.
4. There should only be a single space following punctuation before the next sentence starts.
   • Older typing programs often required two spaces between sentences, and most smart phones have a built-in shortcut to add a period after hitting space twice, so this may take some practice.
5. Internal Headings and Subheadings should be used sparingly, but can be used in longer papers to designate sections within the project's structure and aid in organization. Use the following guidelines for internal headings:
   • Generally, check with your professor before using headings on undergraduate-level projects, as those are typically shorter in length and less complex. Papers longer than twelve to fifteen pages in length may or may not benefit from internal headings. It is up to your best judgement if a project will be improved by using them.
   • There is not a standard formatting system for headings in the MLA system, but headings should visually indicate their hierarchy through use of size and style. Generally, boldface and/or larger fonts indicate prominence, while smaller fonts, italics, or lack of bold would fall below.
   • Headings should never have a single instance at any level. If a section is not long enough/complex enough to warrant multiple headings, don't use them at all.
   • Use title casing for headings, avoid using all capital letters for readability.
   • Headings should be flush with the left margin.
   • Unless it is a standard within your field, do not use numbers or letters to designate headings.

Setting up your Works Cited page

This page is for the visual formatting of your Works Cited page as a whole. For examples of how to write entries for specific source types, see the "MLA Citation Examples" page.

1. Your Works Cited page should be the very last section in your project (following tables, indexes, notes, etc.).
2. On the first line of the page, the label "Works Cited" should be centered one inch from the top of the page (the normal margin). The font type, size, and style should be the same as the rest of your project, similar to how the title of the project is formatted on the first page.
   • If you only have a single source for a project, such as a book review, make the heading singular (Work Cited).
3. On the very next double-spaced line, immediately begin your first entry following the heading.
4. The first line of each entry should be flush with the left margin, with each subsequent line indented 1/2 inch. (This is known as a "hanging indent.")
5. For the vast majority of projects, entries should be organized alphabetically, regardless of the importance they played in your project. Projects that may be an exception would typically be complex works at the doctorate level, and should only be done with the approval of your professor.

Tables and Illustrations

1. Visual components like tables and illustrations should appear within the text of the project, and as close to the relevant text as possible. They do not need to be relegated to an index or appendix.
2. The entire item should be double-spaced throughout. If double-spacing interferes with the readability of the table, that may be single-spaced, but the title and caption should always be double-spaced.
3. Use division lines as needed for visual distinction between the heading, item, and caption.
4. Typically, the source of the item is considered supplementary and should be completely cited within the caption rather than given an entry on the Works Cited page. Only include an entry in the Works Cited list if you specifically cite the source within the text.
   • Note: The citation for a table should mirror the standard Works Cited entry with the author/creator's name inverted (Last name, First name), as usual. The Citation for an illustration, however, should not have the author's name inverted, and should leave it in the traditional First name Last name order.
5. Label with a caption and/or heading, depending on type:
   • Tables: Labeled with a heading in two lines, both flush left.
     • The first line should be labeled as "Table" with a number, even if it is the only table in the project. (Do not use alphabetic characters to designate tables).
     • The second line should be the title or name of the table, using title casing.
     • Notes on the table should appear in a caption below the table, and enumerated with lower-case alphabetic characters rather than numbers. 
   • Illustrations: Only use a caption below the image, do not include a header.
     • The caption should start with the label "Figure" (Often abbreviated as "Fig.") with a number.
     • The citation for an illustration should not have the author's name inverted (Twain, Mark) at the beginning, and should leave it in the typical First Last order (Mark Twain).
   • Musical Examples: Follow the guidelines for illustrations, but instead of labeled as Figure or Fig., They are identified as Example or Ex.

Lists

Lists can be done a few different ways in the MLA style. They can be incorporated into the text itself (the preferred method in MLA style), or set vertically in a bullet-style list. Either way, MLA warns that you should use lists sparingly. When overused, they end up actually distracting from the information they are trying to convey, so be cautious.

When using a list within the text..

1. Use a colon to introduce the list, unless the list flows naturally from the grammar of the sentence. Other than the colon, you should punctuate just as you would a typical sentence.

   • Though best known for her fiction, Toni Morrison wrote three stage plays in her lifetime: N'Orleans: The Storyville Musical, Dreaming Emmett, and Desdemona.

   • Toni Morrison's most well-known works include The Bluest Eye, Tar Baby, and Beloved.

2. If needed to designate order, you may use numerals in an embedded list. Use commas and to separate items and precede the final item with a conjunction (and/or/but) as you would a typical sentence. Numbers should be enclosed in parentheses, like so:

   • Rather than the American progression of Elementary, Middle, then High School systems, the British school system breaks its students into five categories: (1) Lower School, (2) Middle School, (3) Upper School, (4) Secondary School, and (5) 6th Form or College.

When styling a list vertically...

Vertical, or bullet-style, lists are best used with lengthy lists that would be hard to make sense of as part of a paragraph, or if the information itself is strengthened by separating it from the main text. Vertical lists may be unnumbered, numbered, or bulleted, depending on the purpose of the list. Each has slightly different formatting styles, based on whether or not your items are complete sentences or fragments.

• How to format the sentence that introduces the list.

1. When introducing a vertical list with a complete sentence (see example 2 below), end the sentence with a colon, and then begin the list on the next double-spaced line.
2. If the introducing sentence is incomplete without the items in the list, no colon should appear before the list. The list begins on the next double-spaced line.

• How to format the items themselves.

1. If the list items are complete sentences, you should capitalize and punctuate each item normally as if it was a typical sentence. This applies for unnumbered, numbered, or bulleted lists.
   • Example from the MLA Handbook (Section 1.11)
     Students were asked to address one of the following questions in their group presentation:
               What signs of the ancien régime continue to influence the social mores of characters in the novel?
               How is realism evinced in the novel, and when does the novel retreat from realism?
               How are workers depicted in the novel's urban scenes?
               How do the moments of magical realism in the novel relate to the subplot of the dictator's coup?
2. If the items are bulleted and not complete sentences, each item begins with a lowercase letter and has no end punctuation.
   • Example from the MLA Handbook (Section 1.11)
     The MLA Style Center (style.mla.org), a free companion to the MLA Handbook, is the only official website devoted to MLA style and provides a number of useful features:
               • the opportunity to submit questions about MLA style
               • sample research papers
               • teaching resources
               • tools for creating works-cited entries
3. If the items are not bulleted and not complete sentences, whether numbered or not, you use a blend of the above formats.
   • Each item should begin with a lowercase letter.
   • Punctuate each item like parts of a sentence, but end them with a semicolon.
   • Add and or or before the final item.
   • The final item ends in a period.
   • Example from the MLA Handbook (Section 1.11)
     The specific contexts influencing the author's work fall into four main areas:
               1. ideas about free will and the change and mutability that attend human decision-making, derived from Boethius;
               2. teachings about the importance of translating the Bible into English;
               3. humanism's founding precepts and, especially, the writings of Petrarch; and
               4. the political insurrection that took place as a result of heavy taxation to continue funding of the Hundred Years' War.