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MLA Style 9th Edition

Citation guide for the 9th Edition of MLA Style

Formatting a Student Paper

Headers & Formatting

Note: Generally, MLA does not require a title page for student papers. Check with your instructor first.

General Formatting Guidelines

  • Print or submit your paper on standard, 8.5" x 11" white letter paper.
  • Use a consistent type face throughout the paper. MLA recommends a legible font, either sans-serif (12-point Calibri or 12-point Arial) or serif (12-point Times New Roman or 12-point Georgia) font. 
  • Use italics throughout your paper to indicate the titles of longer works, and to add emphasis only when necessary. MLA also recommends using a font with an italic form that is visually distinct from the standard form. 
  • All text must be 12-point.
  • Double-space all text.
  • Use only one space after periods and other punctuation marks.
  • Use a one-inch margin on all sides of every page.
  • Indent the first line of each paragraph (and any block quotation) by 1/2 inch. MLA recommends using the Tab key for this and not pressing the space bar five times.
  • Create a running header for all of your pages that numbers each page consecutively in the upper right corner of each page one-half inch from the top and flush with the right margin. Include your last name before the page number.

An image of a student paper formatted using M L A 9 format.

Download the Word version of a student paper template here: 

 

Formatting Headings

Tips for Writing MLA Headings

MLA headings help you to organize your paper into different sections, indicating the specific topic you will discuss in that section.

  • There are 5 levels of MLA headings. As an undergraduate writer you will most likely only use Levels 1-3.
  • Headings are not underlined. Only the title of the paper is centered on the first page.
  • Level 2 and Level 3 headings are not centered, but are in a version of your font that stands out, such as italics.
  • The word 'Introduction' is not used in MLA. Instead, you start your paper with the title followed by your first paragraph.
  • You must have at least two headings for any specific level. For example, if you do not have two headings for a section, then you do not need any headings.
  • Headings are not always needed or appropriate. If in doubt, check with your instructor.

An image of a student paper formatted using M L A 9

Formatting the Works Cited Page

Creating and Formatting a Works Cited Page

A correctly formatted Works Cited page should maintain MLA formatting, be double-spaced like the rest of your paper, and begin on a new page at the end of your paper and after any Notes page.   

Works Cited Page Style Guidelines

  • Use a one-inch margin on all sides of the Works Cited page.
  • All text must be 12-point.
  • Double-space all text.
  • Use the same type face on the Works Cited page that was used in the paper.
  • Center the heading at the top of the page, but do not format it any other way.

An image of a Works Cited page in a student paper formatted in M L A 9 format.

Alphabetizing and Organizing the Works Cited Page

Author Last Name

Use the principle "nothing precedes something" when alphabetizing by last name:

Brown, Jamila precedes Browning, John

Ibn Abdulaziz, Said precedes Ibn Nadal, Amin

Ruiz, Miguel precedes Ruiz de Molina, Maria

van Leewen, Willem precedes Vanderbilt, Susan

Villafuerte, Sara precedes Villa-Lobo, Javier

Same First Author

When the first author is the same, one-author entries precede multiple-author entries:

Villafuerte, Sara 

Villafuerte, Sara and Maria Ruiz de Molina

Sources with Multiple Authors

Leave the authors in the order they appear in the source. The first author listed is usually the lead author and so should be emphasized in the citation. Two-author sources use "and" as the separator and not a symbol (&). The first author is listed in Last Name, First Name format and the second author is listed in First Name Last Name format:

Kim, Seung-kyung and McCann, Carole R. Feminist Theory Reader: Local and Global Perspectives. Routledge, 2003.

Sources with more than two authors should begin with the first author's name followed by a comma and "et al." 

Eyadat, Zaid et al. Islam, State, and Modernity: Mohammed al-Jabri and the Future of the Arab World. Palgrave Macmillan, 2018.

Multiple Works by the Same Author

Arrange sources by the same author alphabetically by the title of the work and replace the author's name with three hyphens for every other listing of the author's name after the first entry:

Same Author, Different Year of Publication

Asimov, Isaac. I, Robot

--- Nightfall and Other Stories

--- Prelude to Foundation

Same Author, Same Year of Publication

When you have two sources by the same author and also published in the same year, alphabetize the entries by the title of the work and replace the authors' name with three dashes after the first listing:

Asimov, Isaac. Nightfall

--- Reason

Both of these books were published in 1941.