Library Research Help MLA Style Guide

MLA Style Guide

Developed by the Modern Language Association and used most often in the humanities, the MLA style is a set of guidelines for writing research papers that meet a certain set of scholarly standards. For a detailed description of these standards, see The MLA Handbook for Writers of Research Papers (6th ed.) available at the Reference Desk and on the shelves at REF LB 2369.G53 2003. Below is a list of MLA-style cited sources taken from that work.

Note: MLA style requires that the list of Works Cited begin on a new page and the pages are numbered, continuing from the text. If your research paper ends on page 10, then your list of Works Cited would be page 11. Begin each entry flush with the left margin and if an entry runs more than one line, indent each subsequent line 5 spaces (1/2 inch). This is called a hanging indent. The entire list should be double spaced throughout and in alphabetical order .

Book, one author


  • Wilson, Frank R. The Hand: How Its Use Shapes the Brain, and Human Culture.

      New York: Pantheon, 1998.
  • Book, multiple authors


  • Marquart, James W., Sheldon Ekland Olson, and Jonathan R. Sorensen. The Rope, the Chair,

      and the Needle: Capital Punishment in Texas, 1923-1990. Austin: U of Texas P, 1994.
  • Article in a Newspaper


  • Goldberg, Vicki. "Photographing a Mexico Where Silence Reigned." New York Times 23 Mar.

      1997, sec. 2: 39+.
  • (Note: For more than one author, follow the multiple-author format used for books.)
  • Article in a Scholarly Journal


  • Hallin, Daniel C. "Sound Bite News: Television Coverage of Elections, 1968-1988." Journal of

      Communication. 42.2 (1992): 5-24.
  • (Note: For more than one author, follow the multiple-author format used for books.)
  • Article in a Magazine


  • Armstrong, Larry. "The Learning Revolution." Business Week 28 Feb. 1994 : 80-88.
  • (Note: For more than one author, follow the multiple-author format used for books.)
  • Website


  • History Channel.com. 2002. History Channel. 14 May 2002 <http://www. history.com/>.
  • Article from an Online Subscription Service or Database


  • Smith, Robert. "Cooling Trend in Antarctica." Futurist May-June 2002: 15. Academic Search

      Elite. EBSCO. St. Francis College Library. 29 Sept. 2003 <http://www.epnet.com/>.
  • (Note: For more than one author, follow the same multiple-author format used for books.)
  • Article in an Online Magazine


  • Sengers, Phoebe. "Cultural Informatics: Artificial Intelligence and the Humanities." Surfaces

    8.107 (1999): 58 pp. 3 Aug. 2002 <http://pum12.pum.umontreal.ca/sengers.sgm>.
  • For more questions about MLA style

  • NoodleBib-- online citation software
  • EndNote-- desktop-based citation software
  • Dartmouth's statement on acknowledging sources
  • Purdue University's Formatting and Style Guide
  • Bedford/St.Martin's Sample MLA Paper