Skip to main content
Humanities LibreTexts

8.1: What is MLA?

  • Page ID
    4970
  • \( \newcommand{\vecs}[1]{\overset { \scriptstyle \rightharpoonup} {\mathbf{#1}} } \) \( \newcommand{\vecd}[1]{\overset{-\!-\!\rightharpoonup}{\vphantom{a}\smash {#1}}} \)\(\newcommand{\id}{\mathrm{id}}\) \( \newcommand{\Span}{\mathrm{span}}\) \( \newcommand{\kernel}{\mathrm{null}\,}\) \( \newcommand{\range}{\mathrm{range}\,}\) \( \newcommand{\RealPart}{\mathrm{Re}}\) \( \newcommand{\ImaginaryPart}{\mathrm{Im}}\) \( \newcommand{\Argument}{\mathrm{Arg}}\) \( \newcommand{\norm}[1]{\| #1 \|}\) \( \newcommand{\inner}[2]{\langle #1, #2 \rangle}\) \( \newcommand{\Span}{\mathrm{span}}\) \(\newcommand{\id}{\mathrm{id}}\) \( \newcommand{\Span}{\mathrm{span}}\) \( \newcommand{\kernel}{\mathrm{null}\,}\) \( \newcommand{\range}{\mathrm{range}\,}\) \( \newcommand{\RealPart}{\mathrm{Re}}\) \( \newcommand{\ImaginaryPart}{\mathrm{Im}}\) \( \newcommand{\Argument}{\mathrm{Arg}}\) \( \newcommand{\norm}[1]{\| #1 \|}\) \( \newcommand{\inner}[2]{\langle #1, #2 \rangle}\) \( \newcommand{\Span}{\mathrm{span}}\)\(\newcommand{\AA}{\unicode[.8,0]{x212B}}\)

    MLA stands for Modern Language Association—an international association with over 25,000 members from 100 countries. MLA publishes a style guide for formatting papers. There are other style guides, but this section will focus on key information from the MLA Handbook, 8th ed.

    Basic MLA Formatting for Papers (See image below.)

    • 1” margins
    • Double spaced
    • Paragraphs indented ½”
    • No extra space between paragraphs
    • A header on the top right hand corner ½” from the top of the paper should include: Student’s last name and then leave a space and the page number

    On the first page on the top left-hand side include:

    Your full name

    Teacher’s Name

    Course Title

    Date

    e0383345a4a7c008e8f30bcb67c4f049f.png

    Figure \(\PageIndex{1}\)


    8.1: What is MLA? is shared under a CC BY-NC-SA 4.0 license and was authored, remixed, and/or curated by LibreTexts.

    • Was this article helpful?