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MLA Citation Style 7th Edition: Home

About MLA style

Modern Language Association (MLA) style is commonly used in Humanities courses, such as English, for citing references in student papers. 

 The purpose of documentation is to:

  • Identify (cite) other people’s ideas and information used within your essay or term paper.
  • Indicate the authors or sources of these in a Works Cited list at the end of your paper.

This guide is based on the MLA Handbook (7th ed.) that was published in 2009. 

Check out the "What's Different" box located on this page to learn more about what's different in the 7th edition.

About Plagiarism

Plagiarism “is the offering of words or ideas of another person as one’s own” (J.D. Lester, Writing Research Papers, 4th Ed., Scott, Foresman & Co., p. 95). It includes the use of direct or paraphrased material without proper documentation or attribution.

Getting Started!

The following sections provide you with information and examples to help you cite the sources that you come across during your research. 

General Guidelines

Books

Articles

Websites

Audiovisual Media

Images & Art

Other...

General Guidelines for MLA Style

  • All sources of information and data, whether quoted directly or paraphrased, are cited with parenthetical references in the text of your paper.
  • Double-space your entire paper, including the “Works Cited” list and any block quotes (116).

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