Basic format for student papers in MLA 9th edition.
Overview:
1-inch margins on each side
12-pt legible font (Times New Roman, Arial, or Calibri recommended)
Double-Spaced
Header is student's last name followed by page numbers in the upper right corner
No title page unless requested by your instructor
In upper left-hand corner of first page using double-spaced text list:
Your name
Instructor's name
The course code and title
Date (Day Month Year - 3 December 2022)
Write title of paper using Title Case (standard capitalization) and center the text of the title
Indent the first line of each paragraph one half-inch (.05) by using the "Tab" key
Works Cited page in alphabetical order by authors' last names, double-spaced, with a hanging indent.
Print on white 8.5/11" paper.
Singular pronoun "they/their" accepted.
Example: A person should enjoy their vacation.
One space after a period.
Include the author name and the page number, with 2 authors, cite both. Sources with 3 authors and more, cite first author and use "et al."
Example: (Todd and Peters 57) (Stevens et al.124)
Block Quotations: For quotations longer than four lines. Press enter to start the quotation on a new line. Press Tab to indent the entire quotation 1/2 inch from the left margin. Continue double spacing for the quotation. Do not use double quotation marks. Place your in-text citation at the end after the closing punctuation mark.
Every item on the Works Cited page MUST be used and cited in the text of your paper. All items should be listed in alphabetical order.
The words Works Cited should appear on the very top line, on a new page, at the end of your paper, with the alignment set to center. Include the one-inch margins, last name, and page number header that you have for the rest of the paper.
All lines after Works Cited should be left-aligned, only the title will be centered. The first line in each entry must be fully left-aligned then every line after that should be indented by a half inch(0.5), known as the Hanging indent. Make sure that the entries are all double spaces.
Each element should be followed by the corresponding punctuation mark as shown in the above list.
List authors using last name first, followed by first name, then middle name or middle initials when possible. Do not list titles (Dr., Sir, Honorable) or degrees (PhD, MA, DDS) with the names. Do include suffixes (Jr. II, III).
Make sure the journal titles look exactly as they are written in the journal. Capitalize all major words in journal titles. Journal and Book titles are italicized.
Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. would be listed as "King, Martin Luther, Jr."
For multiple resources by the same author, list the entries in alphabetical order by title. You can use three hyphens in place of the author's name for every entry after the first.
Example:
Citation generators, including AI tools like ChatGPT, are helpful but often don't get citations exactly right. Sometimes generated citations contain errors in punctuation, capitalization, and other things, even though the order of the elements of the citation may be correct. Citation generators found on databases or websites are not perfect so be sure to double-check any citation created by a generator using the MLA Handbook or MLA style center.
Purdue's Online Writing Lab provides a comprehensive overview of how citation generators work and how to use them responsibly.