LibGuides: Citation Styles Guide: Using MLA Format

MLA Template Paper

MLA Template Paper

Use this template to:

compare your use of MLA format.
download the template and input your own text - the format is set up for you.

MLA Manual

MLA Handbook for Writers of Research Papers by Joseph Gibaldi; Modern Language Association
Call Number: R LB2369 .G53
ISBN: 9781603290241
Publication Date: 2009-01-01

This item is on reserve in Hickory, Asheville, and Columbia. It may be checked out for two hours at time and should not leave the premises.

Play the MLA Master Blaster Citation Game!

Feeling like you've go the hang of it? Play this game from Williams College Libraries to see if you really know your citations.

PLAY

MLA Format

Developed by the Modern Language Association, this style is most widely used for research papers in the humanities. Typically, professional researchers in these fields must also write in this style in order to have their work published.

From Purdue OWL's MLA Overview and Workshop:

Using MLA Style properly makes it easier for readers to navigate and comprehend a text by providing familiar cues when referring to sources and borrowed information. Editors and instructors also encourage everyone to use the same format so there is consistency of style within a given field. Abiding by MLA's standards as a writer will allow you to:

Provide your readers with cues they can use to follow your ideas more efficiently and to locate information of interest to them
Allow readers to focus more on your ideas by not distracting them with unfamiliar or complicated formatting
Establish your credibility or ethos in the field by demonstrating an awareness of your audience and their needs as fellow researchers (particularly concerning the citing of references)

Purdue OWL: MLA Formatting and Style Guide
The premier resource for citation help. Use it's navigation menu on the left-hand side to find instructional guides on in-text citations, quotations, and the works cited page, general formatting and MUCH more!

Citation Management Tools

Online citation builders are helpful when you are in a rush and have a small number of sources to manage. Typically, citations are not saved and cannot be exported to a word processor using the free versions of these tools. You can copy and paste a formatted citation into your document. Use the links below to try some free tools.

Citation software like Zotero and Endnote are more time consuming to learn but extremely useful for saving and organizing larger, more complex collections of sources and their citations. For smaller projects, you may consider emailing articles you've found to yourself as a means of archiving them.

No citation manager is perfect - though they are a great way to start, you should always double check to make sure your citations are correct.

NCSU Citation Builder
Fill-in-the-blank tool for creating single citations in MLA or APA formats.
Paper Pile (for Chromebooks)
Manage your research library right in your Chrome browser; save time with a smart, intuitive interface; access your PDFs from anywhere; format citations within Google Docs
more...less...
$3/mo
Cite This For Me
A free tool to create citations, reference lists and bibliographies in any format.
Citation Machine
A citation search engine that lets you search for your source and select from the citations it finds.
Zotero
A popular, open source, citation management software that runs as a Firefox or Chrome add-on.
Mendeley (best for Macs)
A free reference manager and academic social network that can help you organize your research, collaborate with others online, and discover the latest research.
Endnote Basic
Free, web-based version of the popular citation management software.

Not sure what citation management software to use? Check out PennState's Citation Tools Comparison Chart to see how Zotero, Mendeley, Endnote, and Endnote Basic compare!