MLA (Modern Language Association) is a well-known referencing style used extensively for citing sources used in projects of humanities and liberal arts. The formatting guidelines have been updated according to the MLA 8th edition handbook.
General Guidelines
The paper should be written using 12 pt. Times New Roman font with double spacing on a standard sized paper (8.5”x 11”) with a margin of 1” on all four sides. The alignment of the entire writing should be made left aligned with half-inch first line indentation.
Each page should have a right aligned header and the page number according to the following format: Last Name 1
MLA formatting style does not have any title page unless specified. The name of the author, instructor’s name, course details and date is provided at the very first page before the actual writeup in a left aligned format using 12pt. Times New Roman font.
The title of the paper is written using 12pt. Times New Roman font, middle aligned and un-bold. Any subtitles if present are provided after the tile of the paper followed by a semi colon.
[Heading 1] should be left aligned, bold using 12 pt. Times New Roman font. The first letter of each of the words must be in caps except for articles and conjunctions.
[Heading 2] should be left aligned using 12 pt. Times New Roman font. The first letter of each of the words must be in caps except for articles and conjunctions.
[Heading 3]
It should be centre aligned, bold using 12 pt. Times New Roman font. The first letter of each of the words must be in caps except for articles and conjunctions.
** Each paragraph must have half-inch first line indentation.
Works Cited
A MLA referencing style must include the following:
Basics of Referencing
In-Text Citations:
The portions paraphrased or quoted from someone else’s work must be cited properly using in-text citations.
The in-text citations are written all throughout the main body of the text using proper citations against a piece of quotation or paraphrased portion. The in-text citations in MLA referencing style consists of the surname of the author(s) or editors(s)’s followed by page number.
One Author:
For direct quotation: Wang (201) states that….
For paraphrased portion: (Wang 201)
Two Authors:
For direct quotation: Wang and Courtright (201) states that….
For paraphrased portion: (Wang & Courtright 201)
Three or More Authors:
The surname of the first author must be followed by et al.:
For direct quotation: Wang et al. (201) states that….
For paraphrased portion: (Wang et al., 201)
Sources having no author:
The title of the selected article must be followed by written within quotations in brackets:
For direct quotation: “UAE aviation industry to contribute $53b by 2020.” states that….
For paraphrased portion: (“UAE aviation industry to contribute $53b by 2020.”)
Works Cited Format:
Book with one author:
Last Name, First Name. Title of Book. Publisher, Publication Date.
Hollensen, Svend. Marketing management: A relationship approach. Pearson Education,
2015.
Book with two authors:
Last Name, First Name, and First Name Last Name. Title of Book. Publisher, Publication
Date.
Keller, Kevin Lane, and Philip Kotler. Marketing management. Pearson, 2016.
Book with more than two authors:
Armstrong, Gary, et al. Marketing: an introduction. Pearson Education, 2015.
Journal:
Author(s). "Title of Article." Title of Journal, Volume, Issue, Year, pages.
Ho, William, et al. "Supply chain risk management: a literature review." International
Journal of Production Research, vol. 53, no.16, 2015, pp. 5031-5069.
Online Article with author:
Last Name, First Name. Name of article. Website, Date Month Year, Link. Accessed Date
Month Year.
Reed, Ted. Mideast Airlines Clash on Impact of Trump Travel Ban. Forbes, 9 March. 2017,
https://www.forbes.com/sites/tedreed/2017/03/09/execs-from-american-copa-delta-and-qatar-have-seen-no-air-travel-impact-from-trump-presidency/#309e6c003926.
Accessed 7 Dec. 2017.
Online Article without author:
“Article Name”. Website, Date Month Year, Link. Accessed Date Month Year.
