MLA format is a set of rules for paper layout, in-text citations, and source lists used in most humanities courses. The basics are straightforward once you see them laid out: double-space everything, use 1-inch margins, cite sources by author and page number in parentheses, and build a Works Cited page at the end. Here’s how to set up a paper from the first page to the last entry on your Works Cited list.
Page Layout and Font
Set all four margins to 1 inch. Use a readable 12-point font like Times New Roman. The entire paper, including the heading block, body text, block quotes, and Works Cited page, should be double-spaced with no extra spacing between paragraphs. Indent the first line of every paragraph half an inch (one press of the Tab key in most word processors).
In the upper-right corner of every page, insert a running header that includes your last name followed by the page number. In Microsoft Word or Google Docs, open the header area, set the alignment to right, type your last name, add a space, and insert an automatic page number. This header should appear on every page, including page one.
First Page Heading and Title
MLA papers do not use a separate title page unless your instructor asks for one. Instead, in the upper left-hand corner of the first page, list four lines of information, each on its own double-spaced line:
- Your name
- Your instructor’s name
- The course name and number
- The date (written in day-month-year format, like 15 July 2025)
After the date line, add one double-spaced line break and center your paper’s title. Do not bold, underline, or enlarge it. If the title includes the name of another work, italicize or use quotation marks on that work’s name as you normally would (italics for a book title, quotation marks for a short story or article). Then begin your first paragraph on the next double-spaced line.
In-Text Citations
MLA uses the author-page method for in-text citations. Whenever you quote, paraphrase, or summarize someone else’s idea, you include the author’s last name and the page number where the material appears. This information can be split between your sentence and a parenthetical note, or placed entirely in parentheses.
If you mention the author’s name in your sentence, put only the page number in parentheses at the end: “Wordsworth argues that poetry is a spontaneous art (263).” If the author’s name is not in the sentence, include it in the parentheses: “(Wordsworth 263).” Notice there is no comma between the name and the page number, and the period goes after the closing parenthesis, not before it.
Multiple Authors
For a source with two authors, list both last names joined by “and”: (Best and Marcus 9). For three or more authors, list only the first author’s last name followed by “et al.,” which is shorthand for “and others”: (Franck et al. 327).
When a source has a corporate or organizational author, like a government agency or a nonprofit, use the organization’s name in place of an individual name. Abbreviate where it makes sense so the parenthetical doesn’t become unwieldy. For sources with no page numbers, such as web articles, simply use the author’s last name or, if there is no author, a shortened version of the title.
Block Quotes
When a prose quotation runs longer than four lines in your paper, format it as a block quote. Start the quote on a new line, indent the entire block half an inch from the left margin, and do not use quotation marks. Keep double spacing. Place the parenthetical citation after the closing punctuation of the quote rather than before it:
Nests in the fruit trees signaled the beginning of the season. The birds arrived each morning before sunrise, filling the yard with noise that made conversation impossible. Neighbors two houses away could hear them clearly. (Alvarez 47)
For poetry, use a block quote when you are quoting more than three lines. Reproduce the line breaks as they appear in the original.
Building the Works Cited Page
The Works Cited page starts on a new page at the end of your paper. Center the title “Works Cited” at the top (no bold, no underline). Every entry should be double-spaced, with a hanging indent: the first line of each entry sits flush with the left margin, and every subsequent line is indented half an inch. Alphabetize entries by the first word of each citation, which is usually the author’s last name.
MLA’s current edition organizes every citation around a set of core elements that you fill in when they apply to your source. Think of it as a template:
- Author. Last name, First name.
- Title of Source. Italicized for standalone works (books, films), in quotation marks for pieces within larger works (articles, chapters, episodes).
- Title of Container. The larger work that holds your source, like a journal name, anthology title, or website name. Italicized.
- Other Contributors. Editors, translators, directors, etc.
- Version. Edition number, director’s cut, updated edition, etc.
- Number. Volume and issue numbers for journals.
- Publisher.
- Publication Date.
- Location. Page numbers for print sources, URLs or DOIs for online sources.
Not every element applies to every source. If a source has no version or no numbered volume, you skip that element and move on. The container concept is key: a short story might live inside an anthology (its first container), and that anthology might live on a database like JSTOR (a second container). Each container gets its own set of elements.
Books and Journal Articles
A basic book citation includes the author, title (italicized), publisher, and year. A journal article adds the journal name as the container, plus volume, issue, year, and page range. If you accessed the article through a database, add the database name as a second container and include the DOI or stable URL.
Example of a journal article:
Smith, John. “The Role of Memory in Modern Fiction.” Literary Review, vol. 42, no. 3, 2023, pp. 112-130. JSTOR, www.jstor.org/stable/12345678.
Websites and Online Sources
For a web page, use the author’s name (if available), the title of the page in quotation marks, the website name in italics, the publication or last-updated date, and the URL. If there is no author, start with the title. If there is no publication date, you can include your access date at the end, but MLA only requires an access date when no publication date exists.
Citing Generative AI
If you use a tool like ChatGPT to generate text or ideas for your paper, MLA has specific guidance. Do not list the AI tool as the author. Instead, describe what was generated as the title of the source (for example, a description of the prompt you used). The AI tool’s name goes in the container position, the specific model (like GPT-4o) goes in the version slot, the company that made the tool is the publisher, the date you generated the content is the publication date, and a shareable URL to the conversation is the location.
Many AI tools, including ChatGPT and DALL-E, let you generate a shareable link to a conversation. If your tool does not offer a stable link, use the tool’s general URL instead. If the AI output cites secondary sources, verify those sources yourself. AI tools sometimes fabricate citations or misattribute ideas. If you rely on an AI-generated summary that references other works and you do not check those original works, you should note in your paper that you are citing them secondhand.
Formatting Titles Throughout Your Paper
Italicize the titles of standalone works: books, films, albums, TV series, websites, and long poems published as their own volumes. Use quotation marks for titles of works contained within something larger: articles, chapters, short stories, individual episodes, songs, and short poems. When a title appears within another title (a paper about Hamlet), follow the same rules inside your own title.
Capitalize all major words in titles. Do not capitalize articles (a, an, the), prepositions (in, on, of, to), or coordinating conjunctions (and, but, or) unless they are the first word of the title.
Quick Formatting Checklist
- Margins: 1 inch on all sides
- Font: 12-point, readable (Times New Roman is the standard choice)
- Spacing: Double-spaced throughout, no extra space between paragraphs
- Paragraph indent: Half an inch
- Header: Last name and page number, upper right, every page
- Heading block: Name, instructor, course, date in the upper left of page one
- Title: Centered, not bolded, on the line after the date
- In-text citations: Author’s last name and page number in parentheses
- Works Cited: New page, centered title, hanging indents, alphabetical order