Providing students with original papers since 2003 Writing guide
Use this guide to format an MLA 9 paper from the running head through the Works Cited page. The models show where each element belongs and how common formatting errors should be corrected.
MLA 9 papers use one-inch margins, a readable font, double spacing, half-inch paragraph indents, and a surname-plus-page-number running head. The first page normally has a four-line heading and centered title, not a title page. In-text citations use author and page with no comma, and Works Cited entries use hanging indents.
Use one-inch margins on every side, double-space the entire document, and indent the first line of each body paragraph by half an inch. Do not add extra space before or after paragraphs. For example, the line after an introductory paragraph should have the same double spacing as the lines within it.
MLA does not require one specific font. It requires a readable font in which regular and italic text are clearly different. Twelve-point Times New Roman is a safe choice; 11-point Arial or Calibri may also be acceptable if the instructor has not specified a font.
Weak setup: 0.75-inch margins, 1.15 line spacing, eight points after each paragraph, and first-line indents made with repeated spaces. Strong MLA setup: one-inch margins, double spacing, zero points before and after paragraphs, and an automatic 0.5-inch first-line indent.
The running head appears on every page, including page 1 and the Works Cited page. It contains the writer’s surname, one space, and an automatic page number. Place it flush right, half an inch from the top. For example, Maya Rivera’s first page reads “Rivera 1,” not “Maya Rivera — Page 1.”
An MLA paper normally does not need a separate title page. Begin the first page with four lines aligned left: the student’s full name, the instructor’s name, the course, and the date. Use day-month-year order without commas, such as “14 March 2025.” If an instructor specifically requests a title page, follow that instruction.
Place the title on the next double-spaced line and center it. Use normal title capitalization, but do not make the title bold, underlined, or larger than the body text. Italicize or place quotation marks around a work named within the title as MLA normally requires. For example, a short-story title stays in quotation marks: Walking as Resistance in “The Pedestrian.” Start the first paragraph on the next double-spaced line and indent it half an inch.
A standard MLA parenthetical citation gives the author’s surname and page number with no comma between them: (Garcia 27). Do not add “p.” before the number. Place the citation before the sentence’s final punctuation: “The archive changes as its audience changes” (Garcia 27).
If the author is named in the sentence, put only the page number in parentheses. Strong: Garcia describes the archive as an evolving public record (27). Weak: Garcia describes the archive as an evolving public record (Garcia, p. 27).
If a source has no named author, cite a shortened version of the title that begins its Works Cited entry. Preserve the title’s formatting. An article called “Digital Archives and Public Memory” becomes (“Digital Archives” 6). A book title would be italicized instead of placed in quotation marks. If the source has no page numbers, omit the number rather than inventing one: (Garcia) or (“Digital Archives”). Do not write “n.p.” or use a browser’s print-page count.
Use a block quotation when prose runs for more than four lines in the paper or verse runs for more than three lines. Begin the quotation on a new line, omit quotation marks, and indent the entire block 0.5 inch from the left margin. Keep it double-spaced. The introductory sentence and its punctuation should fit the grammar; a colon is common when the introduction is a complete sentence.
Unlike an inline quotation, a block quotation places the closing punctuation before the parenthetical citation. No punctuation follows the citation. If the author appears in the signal phrase, cite only the page number. In the following model, assume the quoted prose occupies five lines in the formatted document.
Weak MLA block treatment: Lee explains, “Public memory does not remain fixed. Each generation selects the records it preserves, the stories it retells, and the gaps it allows to remain visible.” (Lee, p. 74). This keeps quotation marks around a long passage, repeats the author, inserts a comma and “p.,” and puts the citation after the sentence punctuation as though it were separate from the quotation.
MLA treats many sources as works nested inside larger containers. An article is the source, a journal is its first container, and a database may be its second container. Build the entry from the inside out using the available core elements: author, title of source, title of container, other contributors, version, number, publisher, publication date, and location; then repeat relevant container elements when a second container exists. For example, in Duvall’s journal article, “The (Super)Marketplace of Images” is the source title, *Arizona Quarterly* is the first container, and Project MUSE is the second container. Missing elements are omitted rather than filled with placeholders.
Start Works Cited on a new page with a page break. Keep the running head and continue the paper’s page numbering. Center “Works Cited” in plain text; do not bold it, underline it, place it in quotation marks, or rename it “References.”
Alphabetize entries by the first element, normally the author’s surname. If there is no author, alphabetize by the title while ignoring an initial A, An, or The. For example, *The Odyssey* is alphabetized under O, not T. Do not number the entries or arrange them in the order they appeared in the essay.
Double-space the entire list without extra blank lines. Apply a 0.5-inch hanging indent: the first line of each entry remains at the left margin, and every continuation line moves half an inch to the right. In Word, choose Paragraph > Special > Hanging > 0.5 inch. In Google Docs, choose Format > Align & indent > Indentation options > Special indent > Hanging > 0.5.
MLA 9 expands MLA 8 rather than replacing its citation system. It keeps the nine core elements, the container model, author-page in-text citations, the four-line first-page heading, and the standard Works Cited layout. A valid basic MLA 8 citation such as (Duvall 132) normally remains (Duvall 132) in MLA 9.
The ninth edition provides fuller instructions and many more examples for deciding which citation elements to include, especially for digital and less conventional sources. It also expands guidance on quotations, notes, grammar, capitalization, spelling, punctuation, names, and inclusive language. For example, a digital video may require separate creator and uploader roles rather than treating the platform as the author.
Weak assumption: MLA 9 requires a new title-page template and a different author-date citation system. Strong understanding: the visible paper format remains largely the same, while MLA 9 gives clearer guidance for applying the existing flexible system to varied sources.
Each pair shows a page set up the way students guess, followed by what MLA 9 actually asks for.
MLA first-page heading
Weak Maya Rivera English 102 MLA Essay March 14, 2025 **Walking as Resistance in “The Pedestrian”**
Stronger Maya Rivera Professor James English 102 14 March 2025 [centered, plain text] Walking as Resistance in “The Pedestrian”
The corrected version uses MLA’s four required heading lines, day-month-year date order, and a centered title in the same font and size as the paper.
MLA parenthetical citation
Weak The archive changes with its audience (Garcia, p. 27).
Stronger The archive changes with its audience (Garcia 27).
MLA author-page citations do not place a comma between the author and page number and do not use “p.” before the number.
MLA citation with no author or pages
Weak Digital archives remain incomplete (“Digital Archives,” 2023, para. 6).
Stronger Digital archives remain incomplete (“Digital Archives”).
When a source has no author, MLA uses a shortened title that matches the Works Cited entry. If there are no stable page numbers, the citation omits the location.
MLA Works Cited entry
Weak John Duvall, The (Super)Marketplace of Images, Arizona Quarterly, 1994, https://doi.org/10.1353/arq.1994.0013.
Stronger Duvall, John N. “The (Super)Marketplace of Images: Television as Unmediated Mediation in DeLillo’s *White Noise*.” *Arizona Quarterly*, vol. 50, no. 3, 1994, pp. 127-53. Project MUSE, https://doi.org/10.1353/arq.1994.0013.
The strong entry follows MLA’s element order, distinguishes the article from its containers, and includes the volume, issue, page range, database, and DOI.
MLA block quotation
Weak Lee explains, “Public memory does not remain fixed. Each generation selects the records it preserves and the stories it retells.” (Lee, p. 74).
Stronger Lee explains: Public memory does not remain fixed. Each generation selects the records it preserves and the stories it retells. (74)
For prose exceeding four document lines, MLA removes quotation marks, indents the block 0.5 inch, places punctuation before the citation, and omits the author when the signal phrase already names that author.
Use one-inch margins, a readable font, double spacing, 0.5-inch paragraph indents, and a surname-page running head. Put your name, instructor, course, and date at the top of page 1, center the title, cite sources with author-page references, and add an alphabetized Works Cited page.
Standard MLA format has a surname and page number at the top right, a four-line heading on the first page, a centered title, and double-spaced left-aligned body text. Sources are documented through brief in-text citations and a Works Cited list with hanging indents.
MLA is common in the humanities and uses author-page citations, such as (Garcia 27). APA is common in the social sciences and emphasizes publication dates, such as (Garcia, 2024, p. 27). Their title pages, headings, and reference-entry rules also differ.
A book citation can read: Butler, Octavia E. *Parable of the Sower*. Grand Central Publishing, 2019. The matching in-text citation is (Butler 52), or simply (52) if Butler is already named in the sentence.
Begin the Works Cited entry with the source title. In the paper, cite a shortened form of that title, preserving quotation marks or italics: (“Digital Archives” 6). If the source also lacks page numbers, use only (“Digital Archives”).
No. MLA requires a readable font whose regular and italic styles are visibly distinct. Twelve-point Times New Roman is a common safe choice, but another clear font may be used unless the instructor specifies one.
Yes. Start Works Cited on a new page and continue the paper’s running pagination. If the essay ends on page 5, the Works Cited page begins with the surname and page number 6 in the top-right header.