Check out Seneca Libraries' answers to common citation questions.
MLA Style is a set of rules for citing sources and formatting research papers.
You must cite sources with an in-text citation in the body of your paper and in a full citation in the Works Cited List at the end of your paper.
Check out these quick tips for formatting your MLA Style paper
Margins: Add 1 inch margins on all sides.
Header (Individual papers): Starting with your first page, add your last name followed by page number (e.g., Chen 2) at the top right corner of the page.
Title Page & Header (Group project): Include a title page if several students have written the paper. (See sample paper for example) Starting with your second page, add the students' last names followed by the page number at the top right corner of the page. If all last names do not fit in a single line in the header, you may just include the page number.
Line Spacing: Double-space your text.
Paragraph Alignment & Indentation: Indent the first line of each paragraph by 0.5 inch. Align your paragraphs to the left margin.
Font: Unless specified by your instructor, MLA recommends choosing an easy to read typeface set to 11 pt, 12 pt, or 13 pt. This includes:
Five Common Citation Mistakes & How to Fix Them
Attend a live citation workshop for an overview of how and why to follow citation rules in order to avoid plagiarism. After the presentation there will be a question and answer session where you can ask your citation. (Note: We encourage students to join before the workshop start time as a courtesy to other attendees)
Can't attend a workshop? View the APA | MLA | APA & MLA recording, or view the presentation slides: APA | MLA | APA & MLA
Notes: This citation guide is based on the MLA Handbook for Writers of Research Papers (9th ed.). The contents are accurate to the best of our knowledge. Some examples illustrate Seneca Libraries' recommendations and should be viewed as modifications to the official MLA guidelines.
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International License. It is used/adapted with the permission of Seneca Libraries. For information please contact citation@senecacollege.ca.ca. When copying this guide, please retain this box.
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International License.