MLA stands for Modern Language Association and is the citation style most commonly used for humanities subjects such as language, literature, composition and arts.
Basic MLA Formatting Guidelines:
- A Works Cited list should be organized alphabetically by author’s last name. If the last name is not available use the title.
- A Works Cited list should be double spaced with a hanging 1/2 inch indent.
- In-Text citations should be placed directly after the quote or paraphrase. Information needed: (Author’s Last Name page number)
- Parenthetical citation: “Direct quote” (Furlong 25).
- Narrative citation, if the author is mentioned in the sentence, only provide the page #. Example: Furlong found that “direct quote” (25)
- Publication date should be formatted day month year with the month abbreviated. It could also be: month year or season year. Examples:
- 26 July 2016
- Dec. 2015
- spring 2016
- Abbreviations: If the month is more than 4 letters, abbreviate as follows: Jan. Feb. Mar. Apr. Aug. Sep. Oct. Nov. Dec.
MLA Style Center provide citation guideline for common titles of online works.
