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Writing Support

About MLA

This guide is a quick introduction to the Modern Language Association 9th edition citation style. Be sure to consult the MLA Handbook or the online MLA Style Center for detailed standards and procedures. 

In-text Citations

When you reference another source use an in-text citation in the body of your paper. 

Basic Format:
(Author's Last Name(s) or "Abbreviated Title" Page Number).

I'm using...

Always include the last name(s) of the author(s) and the page of the paraphrased source, so your reader can find the full citation in the reference list.

As conceived, American exceptionalism was based on the country's domestic identity, which foreign policy did not shape but merely guarded (McDougall 189).
 

In-text citations differ depending on the number of authors listed for a work, and if there is a group author.

I'm citing a work with...

Work Cited

Include the complete citation at the end of your paper in a works cited section. Works cited are organized by the author's last name (or title in the case of no author) in alphabetic (A-Z) order. Use an hanging indent to separate each list item.

Basic Format:
Author Last Name, First Name Middle Name or Initial. Title of Longer Work or "Title of Shorter Work." Publisher, Year. URL or DOI.

This Interactive Practice Template and Quick Guide can help with the basics of creating a works cited entry.

I'm citing a...

 

Citing a letter, photograph, text document, graphic material, or ephemera? Consult the Gerth Archives MLA Citation Guide for Archival Materials.

Citing Ai-generated Content

Sample Papers

The following 2019 MLA Student Paper Contest winning essays provide examples of writing in the MLA format:

Formatting Tips

How do I make a hanging indent in Word?

1. Highlight the citaiton with your cursor. 

2. Right click. 

3. Select Paragraph.

4. Under Indentation, select Special and Hanging.

How can I save time formatting my paper? 

Microsoft Word and Google Docs have a Format Painter tool that will copy and apply basic formatting to any text! 

1. Highlight the formatting you want to apply. 

2. Select Format Painter

3. Highlight the text you want to change. 

Note: If using the Format Painter on the Reference List, you'll need to go back and add italics. 

CC Attribution

Creative Commons License CC by NC 4.0 This guide was adapted from one created by Tessa Withorn, Carolyn Caffrey Gardner, Maggie Clarke, and Jillian Holt Eslami at CSUDH Library and licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-Share Alike 4.0 International License.