You might have read a book of short stories on Google Booksor watched a television series on Netflix. min top,staticLimitBottom-o. Henley, Patricia. Daniels, Greg and Michael Schur, creators. You should also make sure to cite the work if you are using it for school. floor Math. If you're writing a dissertation, mla formatting for essays, the MLA style will have different rules.
MLA format is similar to APA format but has some special rules that make it different
This page is brought to you by the OWL at Purdue University. When printing this page, you must include the entire legal notice. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, reproduced, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed without permission. Use of this site constitutes acceptance of our terms and conditions of fair use. MLA Modern Language Association style is most commonly used to write papers and cite sources within the liberal arts and humanities. This resource, updated to reflect the MLA Handbook 9 th ed. The following overview should help you better understand how to cite sources using MLA 9 th edition, including how to format the Works Cited page and in-text citations.
Please use the example at the bottom of this page to cite the Purdue OWL in MLA. See also our MLA vidcast series on the Purdue OWL YouTube Channel. MLA is a style of documentation that may be applied to many different types of writing. Since texts have become increasingly digital, and the same document may often be found in several different sources, following a set of rigid rules no longer suffices. Thus, the current system is based on a few guiding principles, rather than an extensive list of specific rules. While the handbook still describes how to cite sources, it is organized according to the process of documentation, rather than by the sources themselves, mla formatting for essays. This gives writers a flexible method that is near-universally applicable.
Once you are familiar with the method, you can use it to document any type of source, for any type of paper, in any field. When deciding how to cite your source, start by consulting the list of core elements. These are the general pieces of information that MLA suggests including in each Works Cited entry. In your citation, the elements should be mla formatting for essays in the following order:. Each element should be followed by the corresponding punctuation mark shown above. Earlier editions of the handbook included the place of publication and required different punctuation such as journal editions in parentheses and colons after issue numbers depending on the type of source.
In the current version, punctuation is simpler only commas and periods separate the elementsand information about the source is kept to the basics, mla formatting for essays. End this element mla formatting for essays a period. Bhabha, Homi K. The Location of Culture. Routledge, Depending upon the type of source, it should be listed in italics or quotation marks. Henley, Patricia, mla formatting for essays. The Hummingbird House. MacMurray, An individual webpage should be in quotation marks.
The name of the parent website, which MLA treats as a "container," should follow in italics:. Lundman, mla formatting for essays, Susan. Bagchi, Alaknanda. A song or piece of music on an album should be in quotation marks. The name of the album should then follow in italics:. The eighth edition of the MLA handbook introduced what are referred to as "containers," which are the larger wholes in which the source is located. For example, if you want to cite a poem that is listed in a collection of poems, the individual poem is the source, while the larger collection is the container.
The title of the container is usually italicized and followed by a comma, since the information that follows next describes the container. Kincaid, Jamaica. Wise, DeWanda. Accessed 3 June In some cases, a container might be within a larger container. You might have read a book of short stories on Google Booksor watched a television series on Netflix. You might have found the electronic version of a journal on JSTOR. It is important to mla formatting for essays these containers within containers so that your readers can find the exact source that you used. Netflix, www. Langhamer, Claire. ProQuest, doi Accessed 27 May In addition to the author, there may be other contributors to the source who should be credited, such as editors, illustrators, translators, etc. If their contributions are relevant to your research, or necessary to identify the source, include their names in your documentation.
Foucault, Michel. Madness and Civilization: A History of Insanity in the Age of Reason. Translated by Richard HowardVintage-Random House, Woolf, Virginia, mla formatting for essays. Annotated and with an introduction by Vara Neverow, Harcourt, Inc. The Bible. Authorized King James Version, mla formatting for essays, Oxford UP, Crowley, Sharon, and Debra Hawhee. Ancient Rhetorics for Contemporary Students. If a source is part of a numbered sequence, such as a multi-volume book or journal with both volume and issue numbers, those numbers must be listed in your citation. Dolby, Nadine. Accessed 20 May Institutio Oratoria. Translated by H.
Butler, vol. The publisher produces or distributes the source to the public. Klee, Paul. Twittering Machine. Museum of Modern Art, New York. The Artchive, www. Accessed May Women's Health: Problems of the Digestive System. American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists, Daniels, Greg and Michael Schur, creators. Parks and Recreation. Deedle-Dee Productions and Universal Media Studios, The same source may have been published on more than one date, such as an online version of an original source. For example, a television mla formatting for essays might have aired on a broadcast network on one date, but released on Netflix on a different date. When the source has more than one date, it is sufficient to use the date that is most relevant to your writing.
Below is a general citation for this television episode:. However, if you are discussing, for example, the historical context in which the episode originally aired, you should cite the full date. Adiche, Chimamanda Ngozi, mla formatting for essays. Knopf,pp. The location of an online work should include a URL. Wheelis, Mark. Accessed 8 Feb. When citing a physical object that you experienced firsthand, identify the place of location. Matisse, Henri. The Swimming Pool. The ninth edition is designed to be as streamlined as possible. The author should include any information that helps readers easily identify the source, without including unnecessary information that may be distracting. If a source has been published on more than one date, the writer may want to include both dates if it will provide the reader with necessary or helpful information.
Erdrich, Louise. Love Medicine. Perennial-Harper, The seventh edition handbook required the city in which a publisher is located, but the eighth edition states that this is only necessary in particular instances, such as in a work published before Thoreau, Henry David.
examples of a descriptive essay about a person
Most importantly, the use of MLA style can protect writers from accusations of plagiarism, which is the purposeful or accidental uncredited use of source material produced by other writers. If you are asked to use MLA format, be sure to consult the MLA Handbook 9th edition. Publishing scholars and graduate students should also consult the MLA Style Manual and Guide to Scholarly Publishing 3rd edition. The MLA Handbook is available in most writing centers and reference libraries. It is also widely available in bookstores, libraries, and at the MLA web site. See the Additional Resources section of this page for a list of helpful books and sites about using MLA Style. The preparation of papers and manuscripts in MLA Style is covered in part four of the MLA Style Manual. Below are some basic guidelines for formatting a paper in MLA Style :.
These sections may include individual chapters or other named parts of a book or essay. MLA recommends that when dividing an essay into sections you number those sections with an Arabic number and a period followed by a space and the section name. MLA does not have a prescribed system of headings for books for more information on headings, please see page in the MLA Style Manual and Guide to Scholarly Publishing , 3rd edition. If you are only using one level of headings, meaning that all of the sections are distinct and parallel and have no additional sections that fit within them, MLA recommends that these sections resemble one another grammatically. For instance, if your headings are typically short phrases, make all of the headings short phrases and not, for example, full sentences.
Otherwise, the formatting is up to you. It should, however, be consistent throughout the document. If you employ multiple levels of headings some of your sections have sections within sections , you may want to provide a key of your chosen level headings and their formatting to your instructor or editor. The following sample headings are meant to be used only as a reference. You may employ whatever system of formatting that works best for you so long as it remains consistent throughout the document. Find Info For Find Info For Academics Admissions Current Students Athletics About Careers Prospective Students Research and Partnerships Quick Links Apply News President Shop Visit Give Emergency.
Purdue Online Writing Lab College of Liberal Arts. Writing Lab Purdue OWL Research Contact Site Map. Research and Citation MLA Style MLA Formatting and Style Guide. Welcome to the Purdue OWL This page is brought to you by the OWL at Purdue University. MLA General Format MLA Style specifies guidelines for formatting manuscripts and citing research in writing. Paper Format The preparation of papers and manuscripts in MLA Style is covered in part four of the MLA Style Manual. Below are some basic guidelines for formatting a paper in MLA Style : General Guidelines Type your paper on a computer and print it out on standard, white 8.
Double-space the text of your paper and use a legible font e. Times New Roman. Whatever font you choose, MLA recommends that the regular and italics type styles contrast enough that they are each distinct from one another. The font size should be 12 pt. Once you are familiar with the method, you can use it to document any type of source, for any type of paper, in any field. When deciding how to cite your source, start by consulting the list of core elements. These are the general pieces of information that MLA suggests including in each Works Cited entry. In your citation, the elements should be listed in the following order:. Each element should be followed by the corresponding punctuation mark shown above.
Earlier editions of the handbook included the place of publication and required different punctuation such as journal editions in parentheses and colons after issue numbers depending on the type of source. In the current version, punctuation is simpler only commas and periods separate the elements , and information about the source is kept to the basics. End this element with a period. Bhabha, Homi K. The Location of Culture. Routledge, Depending upon the type of source, it should be listed in italics or quotation marks.
Henley, Patricia. The Hummingbird House. MacMurray, An individual webpage should be in quotation marks. The name of the parent website, which MLA treats as a "container," should follow in italics:. Lundman, Susan. Bagchi, Alaknanda. A song or piece of music on an album should be in quotation marks. The name of the album should then follow in italics:. The eighth edition of the MLA handbook introduced what are referred to as "containers," which are the larger wholes in which the source is located. For example, if you want to cite a poem that is listed in a collection of poems, the individual poem is the source, while the larger collection is the container.
The title of the container is usually italicized and followed by a comma, since the information that follows next describes the container. Kincaid, Jamaica. Wise, DeWanda. Accessed 3 June In some cases, a container might be within a larger container. You might have read a book of short stories on Google Books , or watched a television series on Netflix. You might have found the electronic version of a journal on JSTOR. It is important to cite these containers within containers so that your readers can find the exact source that you used. Netflix, www. Langhamer, Claire. ProQuest, doi Accessed 27 May In addition to the author, there may be other contributors to the source who should be credited, such as editors, illustrators, translators, etc.
If their contributions are relevant to your research, or necessary to identify the source, include their names in your documentation. Foucault, Michel. Madness and Civilization: A History of Insanity in the Age of Reason. Translated by Richard Howard , Vintage-Random House, Woolf, Virginia. Annotated and with an introduction by Vara Neverow, Harcourt, Inc. The Bible. Authorized King James Version, Oxford UP, Crowley, Sharon, and Debra Hawhee. Ancient Rhetorics for Contemporary Students. If a source is part of a numbered sequence, such as a multi-volume book or journal with both volume and issue numbers, those numbers must be listed in your citation. Dolby, Nadine. Accessed 20 May Institutio Oratoria. Translated by H. Butler, vol. The publisher produces or distributes the source to the public.
Klee, Paul. Twittering Machine. Museum of Modern Art, New York. The Artchive, www. Accessed May Women's Health: Problems of the Digestive System. American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists, Daniels, Greg and Michael Schur, creators. Parks and Recreation. Deedle-Dee Productions and Universal Media Studios, The same source may have been published on more than one date, such as an online version of an original source. For example, a television series might have aired on a broadcast network on one date, but released on Netflix on a different date.
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