The Modern Language Association (MLA) format

 

The Modern Language Association (MLA) format is a popular writing style that is used in many different types of writing. This modern writing style/ format has the following guidelines;

·        The first page is the cover page and it is also where the writing of the text starts. The following are found at the start of the cover page on the left side of the page; the student name, the professor’s name, the course number and the date of submission. Double spacing is used between all these details. After this, the tile of the work follows and is aligned to the center. Immediately after, the introduction of the first paragraph starts and the work is indented from the first paragraph.

·         Use of in text citations- MLA writing guide in text citations are simple and they include the surname followed by the page number from where the information was derived.  For example, the in text citation can appear like this if it is put at the end of a sentence (Will 34).  However, if it is put at the beginning of a sentence, it can appear like this for instance, According to Will (173)….. It is important to note that unlike APA format, there is no punctuation between the surname and the page number. If a reference has more than one author, that is below three in number, inserting the in text citations involves putting the surnames of the respective authors and the page number. However, if the authors are more than three, only the first author’s surname is used in putting the in text citations, followed by et al to acknowledge that the authors are more. For example, if the authors are WilliamFord, James Bond, Tom Cruise, William Lawson, the in text citation within the work is cited as follows; (Ford et al, 2021).

·         Works Cited page- This is basically what is referred to as the reference page and it includes a list of all the references or sources used in research. The information in a research paper or in any essay must have an acknowledgement of the sources where the ideas and information came from and this is the Works Cited page in MLA format. In MLA, all names of the authors are acknowledged in the woks cited section (not just the surnames like in APA format). The title should be italicized. This should be followed by the publisher and then the year of publication. The Works Cited page can include books, journals, websites, articles and many more and all should be well organized and also in alphabetical order.

An example of how this is arranged is given below:

Works Cited

Ford, William, Bond, James, Cruise, Tom and Lawson, William. Politics of War. Oxford, 2021.   

·         The  work should be typed and formatted with margins set at 1 inch margins on all sides of the paper

·         The work must be double spaced

·         All headings as well must be double spaced

·         The fonts recommended are 12pt or 11pt depending on the institution or school so long as the work can be read with ease.

·         The first line of every paragraph must be indented 0.5inches