The MLA Style Manual, published by the Modern Language Association, is a style guide widely used in academia for writing and documentation of research in the humanities, especially in English studies, the study of other modern languages and literatures, including comparative literature, literary criticism, media studies, cultural studies, and related disciplines.

MLA style uses a Works Cited Page listing works cited in one's text and notes (either footnotes and/or endnotes), which is placed after the main body of a term paper, article, or book. Brief parenthetical citations, including the name or names of author(s) and/or short titles (as needed) and numbers of pages (as applicable), are used within the text. These are keyed to and direct readers to a work or works by author(s) or editor(s) and sometimes titles, as they are presented on the list of works cited (in alphabetical order), and the page(s) of the item where the information is located (e.g. (Smith 107) refers the reader to page 107 of the cited work by an author whose surname is Smith). If there are more than one author of the same name and/or more than one title of works by that author or authors being cited, then a first name or initial and/or titles or short titles are also used within the text's parenthetical references. There are also other possible headings for lists such as "Selected Bibliography" or "Works Consulted" suggested following MLA style.

Citation

The works cited page should be headed "Works Cited," centered in normal font. Entries should be double-spaced, alphabetized, and use a hanging indent of 0.5 inches (beginnings of entries are not indented, but wrapped text is). Dates should be written with the day of the month first, the three letter abbreviation of the month and the year (example: 1 Jan. 2000). The title can either be underlined or italicized. It does not matter which style is chosen, but it should be consistent throughout the page.

• A book: Author last name, first name. Book title. Place of publication: Publisher, Year of publication.

Conway, John Horton. On Numbers and Games. 2nd ed. Natick: Peters, 2001.

• An entry in an encyclopedia or dictionary: Author of entry. "Title of entry." Title of reference book. Edition number. Year of publication.

Mohanty, Jitendra M. "Indian Philosophy." The New Encyclopædia Britannica: Macropædia. 15th ed. 1987.

(If the work is not particularly well-known, the writer is advised to add the publication details required in a normal book entry.)

• An article in a periodical (magazine or journal): Author last name, first name. "Article title." Title of periodical Date of periodical (or, if a journal, volume number, followed by year in parentheses): Pages.

Brophy, Mike. "Driving Force." Hockey News 21 Mar. 2006: 16-19.

Kane, Robert. "Turing Machines and Mental Reports." Australasian Journal of Philosophy 44 (1966): 344-52.

• A website: Author of webpage. "Article Title." Title of webpage. Date of publication (or last modified date). Institution associated with (if not cited earlier). Date of retrieval <url>. (Note: When citing Wikipedia, it may be preferable to link directly to the revision you used, the URL of which can be seen by clicking "Permanent link" in the Toolbox. This makes it easier for instructors or editors to check the article just as the writer saw it.)

"Plagiarism." Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia. 19 Oct. 2006, 22.59 UTC. Wikimedia Foundation. 20 Oct. 2006 <http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Plagiarism&oldid=82555694>.

• A CD-ROM: Author's last name, first name. "Article title of printed source or printed analogue." Periodical title of printed source or printed analogue Date: inclusive page. Title of database. CD-ROM. Name of vendor or computer service. Electronic Publication data or data for access.

• Personal interview: Person interviewed last name, first name. Personal interview. Date interviewed.

Bashuc, Mark. Personal interview. 10 Dec. 2006. ☺