Resource Guides: Citations: MLA Style

What the heck is MLA style?

"MLA" stands for "Modern Language Association." According to the Modern Language Association, "MLA style is a system for documenting sources in scholarly writing. For over half a century, it has been widely adopted for classroom instruction and used throughout the world by scholars, journal publishers, and academic and commercial presses." In high schools and colleges, it is used most often in English and other humanities courses.

For more information about MLA style, visit the MLA Style website.

MLA Citations Tutorial
This tutorial will provide a basic overview of MLA Style, including the what and why of MLA Style, basic citing in MLA style, and practce exercises.
MLA Citations Tutorial (USE THIS LINK IF REQUIRED TO COMPLETE FOR A COURSE)
Use this link if you are completing a tutorial at the request of your instructor.

MLA 9th cheat sheet
Top 10 Changes - PDF

MLA Cheat Sheet
Contains some info about the changes from 8th to 9th ed. as well as some basics of MLA style. PDF.
MLA Cheat Sheet
MS Word version.

Top 10 Changes to MLA Style
Notes from the video by Mark Hatala.

MLA @ Excelsior College OWL
UPDATED TO 9th ed.
MLA stands for the Modern Language Association. Most papers that use MLA formatting and citation style are those written in the humanities, especially in languages and literature. In 2016, the MLA Handbook was updated in an effort to simplify much of the documentation process in MLA format.

Purdue Online Writing Lab (OWL) site is a fairly comprehensive resource for the Modern Language Association's (MLA) style and formatting rules.
Use the left side bar on OWL's page to navigate to the style or other help that you need.

UPDATED TO 9th ed.

MLA Style

MLA Style Introduction
MLA Overview and Workshop
MLA Formatting and Style Guide	MLA Sample Paper
General Format	MLA Works Cited: Other Common Sources
MLA Formatting and Style Guide	MLA Additional Resources
MLA In-Text Citations: The Basics	MLA Abbreviations
MLA Formatting Quotations	MLA Sample Works Cited Page
MLA Endnotes and Footnotes	MLA Tables, Figures, and Examples
MLA Works Cited Page: Basic Format	MLA PowerPoint Presentation
MLA Works Cited Page: Books	MLA FAQs
MLA Works Cited Page: Periodicals	MLA Classroom Poster
MLA Works Cited: Electronic Resources	MLA 8th Edition Changes

Academic Search Complete (along with Business Source Complete, CINAHL, PsycInfo, and other EBSCO databases) will create a citation for you! Look for the "Cite" button to view citations in all the major citation formats.

NOT updated to APA 8th OR MLA 9th editions (as of Nov. 4, 2021).

Citing your sources is an important step in the research and writing process. Choose one of the following to get started:

Documentation style depends on your area of study. For instance, the American Psychological Association (APA) citation style is often used in the social sciences, whereas the Modern Language Association (MLA) style is used in the humanities. Check with your professor to be sure you are using the right style for your papers.

Here's a short overview of citations:

Helpful MLA Online Guides

What’s New in the Ninth Edition of the MLA Handbook (Spring 2021)
MLA Style Center
A free online companion to the MLA Handbook developed by the MLA itself. Provides quick guide to MLA style, paper-formatting tips, and sample research papers.
Citing Internet Sources
MLA, APA, and Chicago - NOT updated to MLA 9th ed.

Parenthetical Citations - A Brief Description

For citing in-text quotations, the basic format is the author's last name and page number within parentheses, for example: Beethoven was considered "unnaturally gifted" in this matter (Sipe 65).

If you reference the author's name within your sentence, you only need to put the page number within parentheses, for example: Sipe argues that theoretical arguments must be "balanced by a historical perspective" (24).

Aside from citing parenthetically, you should also include a Works Cited page at the end of your paper.