Modern Lanuage Association (MLA) style is widely used by the humanities, particularly English and Literature. MLA style guidelines are designed to be "simpler and more concise than other styles."
MLA Handbook for Writers of Research Papers by Unlike an APA paper, MLA formatting does not require a title page. The basic components of an MLA paper are as follows:
It is ultimately up to your professor regarding what components of the paper you will need. Always adhere to your professor's specifications, despite the fact that it may not be precise to the formatting of the style you are using.
Basic formatting includes:
Below are sample papers you can use to make sure your formatting adhers to the MLA guidelines. As always, make sure you follow your professor's instructions on how they want the paper set up. You may not have to use every part of the MLA paper discussed in this guide.
MLA style does not have a title page like many other styles (including APA). Instead, in the upper left-hand corner of the first page, list the following:
MLA does not have a standardized formatting for footnotes.
It does allow limited endnotes that allows the author to lead the reader to more information on a given subject. These are referred to as bibliographic notes. A writer can use a small arabic number subscript prior to a phrase of note that then correlates with a bibliographic notation on the Notes page.
Notes pages should be listed prior to the Works Cited page. Writers should use bibliographic notes sparingly.
MLA does not have a formally outlined heading system. For the purpose of papers, it is suggested that numbering with arabic numerals is the best way to indicate section headers.