Tips on MLA Documentation Style by PC Librarian Michaela Willi Hooper

If you are a student of the humanities, you will likely be asked to use the MLA documentation style. These guidelines for formatting papers and crediting sources were established by the Modern Language Association, and are widely prescribed for both college papers and scholarly publications. As a student, you should consult the MLA Handbook for Writers of Research Papers (7^th edition)when writing in this style.

All documentation styles are somewhat arbitrary.  They are agreed-upon sets of rules that allow us to understand each other, just liked punctuation and spelling rules. Some scholars spend their careers debating what should and should not be included in a citation. Unless you desire to make this your life struggle, resisting citation styles is futile. Below are some tips and principles that might make MLA Style seem less burdensome.

• Start early. Don’t leave your Works Cited page until the last minute. Formatting your sources is a time-consuming, exacting process that adds credibility to your writing.
• Keep track of sources and page numbers as you go. You don’t want to be frantically searching for the name of an author or the page number for a quote at the last minute. Some people do better with visual examples (I know I do!). Take a look at the annotated MLA Example Undergraduate Paper at the Purdue OWL.
• Word processor defaults are generally appropriate. Use 1” margins, 12 pt. font, Times New Roman, double-spaced. You can use another standard serif font such as Cambria, but avoid decorative fonts such as Brush Script or Comic Sans. These can be difficult to read and lead to eye fatigue for your reader.
• Citations consist of two parts, an in-text citation within the body of your paper, and a more complete entry in the Works Cited page. The in-text citation generally consists of the author and the page number of the source (e.g., (Gomez 24)). Of course, there are exceptions to this. To find answers to these exceptions, see chapter 6 of the MLA Handbook, or this page of the Purdue OWL. Similarly, a standard MLA works cited entry contains certain predictable elements such as the author, title, date of publication, page numbers and medium of publication (e.g. web or print) in a prescribed order. A very helpful list of components is found on p. 136 of the MLA Handbook.

Because of the many different sources used in research papers (articles, books, images, podcasts, YouTube videos), citing is undeniably challenging.  But you are not alone.  Here are some people, pages, and programs that can help you.

§  There are copies of the MLA Handbook (7th ed.) available in both the reference and circulating collections at the Prescott College Library. It is also widely available through booksellers and your local library.

§  Guides on MLA Style are available from the Prescott College Library and the Purdue OWL at Purdue.
 
§  Use citation management software like RefWorks. Contact the library for the group code. If you want a less robust tool that simply formats your works cited entries, check out KnightCite from Calvin College. Be wary of online tools that are not affiliated with an educational institution. Many will lead you astray.

§  Contact a PC reference librarian or a writing coach as you begin work on a documented paper so that you can record the information you need from your sources at the outset.