MLA 9 Citation Style: Formatting

MLA Style has specific formatting requirements for documents.  You should set up your Word document according to these requirements.  Your document should: 

• have 1 inch margins for the entire paper

• be double spaced

• should be in a readable font (usually recommended is either Times New Roman or Ariel) that is a standard size (normally size 12)

• include an indentation at the beginning of each paragraph

• have a "Works Cited" page as the last page(s)

On the first page of your MLA style paper, you should include the following:

• Your name

• Your professor's name

• Class the assignment is for  (exp: ENG141)

• Date the assignment is due

• The title of your paper

This is what it should look like:

The Works Cited list must be on a separate page from the text of your paper (use page break in Word).

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Alphabetize all types of sources in one list by the author’s last name or first word of the citation (other than the, a, or an).

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Double space the Works Cited page and use a hanging indent for all entries.

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If a core element of a Works Cited entry does not exist or cannot be found, omit it. Do not use n.p. (no publisher) or n.d. (no date).

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If a DOI (digital object identifier) is available for an electronic source, include it using the prefix https://doi.org/ and remove the hyperlink.

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Include the URL for digital sources, but remove the hyperlink and do not include the http:// part of the URL.

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For in-text citations, if an author is not given, use the first item that is listed on your Works Cited entry (e.g. book title, article title, web page title).

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For in-text citations, place the parenthetical citation at the end of the sentence(s) where the source is used. Place the sentence’s end punctuation after the final parenthesis.

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When citing digital sources, you must include the date you accessed the source in the form of “Accessed day month year” at the end of the citation on the Works Cited page.

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Abbreviate most months in Works Cited entries:

Jan.                  July

Feb.                 Aug.

Mar.                 Sept.

Apr.                 Oct.

May                 Nov.

June                 Dec.

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When citing page numbers in Works Cited entries, use p. before a single page (p. 46). Use pp. before a page range (pp. 46-54).

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When citing page numbers in in-text citations, the in-text citation should be just the page number itself and should not include the p. or pp. before the page number.