The Modern Language Association (MLA) style is a widely used citation style for writing academic papers in the humanities, particularly in the field of literature. The eighth edition of the MLA Handbook, published in 2016, provides guidelines for formatting and citing sources in academic papers. One important aspect of MLA style is the formatting of the title page, which should include certain information about your paper and yourself as the author.
To format the title page of an MLA paper, follow these guidelines:
Place the title of your paper at the top of the page, centered horizontally. The title should be in title case, meaning that all major words should be capitalized. Avoid using bold or italicized font for the title.
Below the title, center your name. If you are a student, your name should be preceded by "by" or "submitted by."
Below your name, center the name of your instructor or the course number.
Below the instructor's name, center the name of the institution or the department where the paper is being submitted.
If you are required to include a running head on the title page, place it in the top right corner of the page, along with the page number. The running head is a shortened version of the title that should not exceed 50 characters, including spaces.
It is important to note that the title page is not considered a part of the main body of the paper in MLA style. Therefore, the page number for the title page should be "i," rather than "1." The main body of the paper begins on the next page, with page number "2."
In addition to these guidelines, it is also important to follow any specific instructions provided by your instructor or the institution where you are submitting your paper. The MLA Handbook and other resources can also provide more detailed information on formatting and citing sources in MLA style.
Formatting Your MLA Paper
If any parts of the above citation are irrelevant to the reader, omit them from the citation. The title should be in title case and centered. The differences in citing an article from a scholarly journal: Eighth edition: Kincaid, Jamaica. Structuring Your Novel: Essential Keys for Writing an Outstanding Story. When comparing works cited entries in the new eighth edition with the former seventh edition, see that differences in citation style are minimal; punctuation is streamlined, volume and issue numbers are identified as such, and there is no excess information such as city of publication or media type.
For more information, you can always consult the MLA Handbook 8 thedition or visit the Examples Since the eighth edition focuses on the principles of documenting sources, rather than on strict adherence to a particular format for each source, citations in this new edition vary only slightly from the old ways. In April 2016, MLA replaced its seventh edition resources with a new eighth edition. The full citation might look like this: Morgan, Michael. Follow with the name of the website in italics, followed by a comma, and ending with the website URL. The full citation might look like this: Barack, Lauren.
How to Format the Source Title in an MLA 8 Citation
When including a page or page range in your citation, use the abbreviation p. Place the title in quotation marks, with a period at the end of the subject. Sony Pictures Classics, 2011. A song is placed in a container, which is the album it is on A television episode is placed in a container, which is the name of the show An online article sits in a container, which is the website. Here are some examples: For a scholarly article, the first container is the title of the journal, the second container is the title of the database. Example of how to cite an article on a blog in MLA 8 when the publisher matches one of the other components of the citation Chan, Magdalene.
El Bronx Remembered: A Novella and Stories. The following is a guide to citing different types of titles using MLA 8. Nielson, Frank, and Rajendra Bhatia, editors. In MLA 8, it is highly recommended to include a URL in the citation. However, you can use the below suggestions to format your title page. The citation format is as follows: Last Name, First Name.
A header, on the other hand, appears on the same page where the paper copy begins. This version includes the volume and number 24. The exception is the paper or chapter title, which is centered in MLA style. Every source used quoted or paraphrased in the paper must be recorded on the reference page. Directed by Danny Boyle, produced by Alex Garland, Fox Searchlight Pictures, 2002. How to Cite Email Messages in MLA 8 When citing email messages in MLA 8, the subject of the email is the title.
Then, include the role of the individual after the comma. Puff Daddy and the Family. Episodes of television shows are placed in quotation marks and the name of the television series is placed in italics. For example, if you have one level 1 heading, you need to have a second level 1 heading. Capitalization Capitalize headings like the titles of works, as explained in section 1. For example, if you needed to cite a film, you would consult the handbook to see the proper format for documenting film. Summary: MLA Modern Language Association style is most commonly used to write papers and cite sources within the liberal arts and humanities.
Inclusion of URLS In previous versions of the MLA handbook, it was up to the discretion of the instructor whether URLs should be included in a citation. On the title page, list each student's full name, placing one name on each double-spaced line. Web sites are often published by many different types of organizations and companies, such as museums or government agencies. The seventh edition emphasized following a strict punctuation formula, such as parentheses around the date and the colon, while the new eighth edition focuses on providing this information in a more streamlined manner by using only commas to separate each component. For a television show watched online, the first container is the title of the show, the second container is the title of the web site that the show was watched on.
Title of first container, Other contributors, Version, Numbers, Publisher, Publication date, Location. Game Over: How Nintendo Conquered the World. When citing posts on social media, such as a Tweet, the title is the full posting, placed in quotation marks. In the works cited list, found at the end of the project, readers will be able to see the full citation in its entirety, and will be able to locate the source for themselves. In addition, song titles are placed in quotation marks and the album names are placed in italics directly afterwards. Consistency Consistency in the styling of headings and subheadings is key to signaling to readers the structure of a research project.
This encouraged women in the country to participate and compete with men in every field. Example of a journal article citation in MLA 7th Edition: DelGuidice, Margaux. Examples of MLA 8 edition citations for sources that are numbered: Fillipponi, Piero, and Herta T. Generally the in-text citation is found immediately following the direct quote or paraphrase, but it is acceptable to insert it in a place, soon after, that allows for a natural pause while reading. After the professor's name, give the course name.
It is acceptable to include more than one contributor. Do not italicize, underline, or bold the title. Often, the name of those sources match the name of the publisher. Follow the order as given below. If no specific version is mentioned or located, omit this information from the citation.
