MLA Citation Format: Rules, Examples, and Generator
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0 sourcesMLA citation format is the set of MLA 9th-edition rules that govern how a paper looks on the page: one-inch margins, a legible 12-point font, double spacing throughout, a four-line heading instead of a title page, a surname-and-page running head, and a Works Cited list that is alphabetised and hanging-indented by half an inch.
What is MLA citation format?
MLA citation format is the presentation standard published by the Modern Language Association and used across English, literature, languages, and most humanities courses. It has two halves that people often confuse. The first is reference construction — deciding which of MLA’s nine core elements a source has and punctuating them in order. The second is document formatting — how the finished paper is laid out on the page.
This page handles the second half in detail. If you need the first, the MLA citation generator builds correctly punctuated entries from your source details, and the MLA citation examples page shows finished entries by source type.
MLA page setup: margins, font, and spacing
Every MLA formatting decision below assumes these defaults. Set them before you start writing rather than fixing them afterwards, because changing spacing late tends to break hanging indents.
| Setting | MLA 9 requirement | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Margins | 1 inch on all four sides | Applies to every page, including Works Cited |
| Font | Any legible font | Times New Roman 12 pt is conventional, but MLA 9 does not mandate it. The requirement is that regular and italic type be clearly distinguishable |
| Font size | 11–13 pt | 12 pt is standard |
| Line spacing | Double, throughout | Including the heading, block quotes, notes, and Works Cited entries |
| Space after paragraphs | None | Set paragraph spacing to 0 pt; Word adds 8 pt by default |
| Paragraph indent | 0.5 inch, first line | Use the Tab key or a paragraph style, not five spaces |
| Alignment | Left-aligned | Do not justify; MLA expects a ragged right edge |
| Title page | Not used | Unless your instructor specifically asks for one |
The “space after paragraphs” row causes more formatting complaints than any other item on this list. Word and Google Docs both add vertical space between paragraphs by default, which produces spacing that looks double but is not. Set it to zero explicitly.
The first-page heading and running head
MLA replaces a title page with a four-line block in the top-left corner of page one. Each line is double-spaced and left-aligned, in the same font and size as the body text.
Jane Doe
Professor Alaknanda Bagchi
ENGL 204
14 March 2026
Reading Silence in the Postcolonial Novel
The date uses the day-month-year order, spelled out: 14 March 2026, not March 14, 2026. The title sits centred on the next double-spaced line, in title case, with no bold, italics, underlining, quotation marks, or enlarged type.
Separately, a running head appears in the top-right corner of every page, half an inch from the top: your surname, a single space, then the page number — Doe 4. Insert it through your word processor’s header function so it numbers automatically. Typing it manually on each page is the most common cause of a running head that stops updating.
Formatting titles and section headings
MLA title case capitalises the first and last words, plus all principal words. Articles, coordinating conjunctions, and prepositions stay lowercase unless they begin or end the title.
For section headings inside longer papers, MLA 9 does not prescribe a fixed system, but it does require consistency and clear visual hierarchy. A workable convention:
| Level | Format | Example |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Bold, flush left, on its own line | Colonial Archives |
| 2 | Italic, flush left, on its own line | Records of the Bengal Presidency |
| 3 | Bold italic, flush left, on its own line | Petition Records |
Number sections only if the numbering carries meaning. Never let a heading sit alone at the foot of a page.
Formatting quotations and block quotes
Short quotations — fewer than four typed lines of prose, or three lines of verse — run inside your paragraph in quotation marks, with the citation in parentheses after the closing mark and before the sentence period.
The narrator calls memory “a rented room, furnished by someone else” (Kingsolver 82).
Longer quotations become block quotes, and the punctuation order reverses, which is where most errors happen:
- Start the quotation on a new line
- Indent the entire quotation half an inch from the left margin
- Keep it double-spaced
- Do not add quotation marks
- Place the sentence period before the parenthetical citation, not after
The archive is not a neutral container. It preserves what the powerful thought worth preserving, and its silences are as deliberate as its records. To read it well is to read against it. (Bagchi 41)
For verse, preserve the original line breaks and indentation, and mark omitted lines with a full line of spaced periods.
Formatting the Works Cited page
The Works Cited page — sometimes called the MLA citation page — is the alphabetised list of every source you cited, starting on its own page at the end of the paper. Its layout is fixed:
| Element | MLA 9 rule |
|---|---|
| Page position | A new page at the very end of the document |
| Heading | The words Works Cited, centred, plain type — no bold, italics, quotation marks, or colon |
| Margins & running head | Unchanged: one inch all round, surname and page number top-right |
| Font | The same legible 11–13 pt font used in the body |
| Line spacing | Double-spaced throughout, including within a single entry |
| Hanging indent | First line flush left, every later line indented 0.5 inch |
| Entry numbering | Never numbered, and never separated by blank lines |
| Only one source | Title the page Work Cited, singular |
Create the hanging indent through your word processor’s paragraph settings rather than pressing Enter and Tab. Manual indents collapse the moment the text reflows or the font changes, which is why a Works Cited page can look correct on your screen and wrong on the marker’s.
How to order the entries
Alphabetise by the first word of each entry, which is usually the author’s surname. The cases that cause trouble:
| Situation | Rule |
|---|---|
| No author | Alphabetise by the source title, using its first significant word |
| Title begins with A, An, or The | Ignore the article when deciding position — file The Great Gatsby under G |
| Same author twice | Order those entries alphabetically by title, and replace the repeated name with three hyphens and a period (—.) from the second entry onward |
| Multiple authors | Invert only the first author’s name — Baron, Naomi S., and Alan Kay |
| Corporate author | Alphabetise by the organisation name, skipping any leading article |
| Numbers in titles | Alphabetise as though the number were spelled out |
URLs and DOIs
Drop the http:// or https:// prefix from URLs, and do not hyperlink, underline, or colour them. Where a DOI exists, prefer it over a plain URL and write it in full as https://doi.org/10.xxxx. For finished entries by source type, see the MLA citation generator, which builds and punctuates each reference for you.
Formatting tables, figures, and notes
MLA has specific layout rules for visual material that most guides omit entirely.
Tables are labelled above the table, flush left, on separate lines: the word Table with an arabic numeral, then a descriptive caption in title case. Source information and notes go below the table in smaller type, introduced by Source:.
Figures — every visual that is not a table, including images, charts, maps, and screenshots — are labelled below the figure. Use the abbreviation Fig. with an arabic numeral, then the caption. If the caption gives full source details, the figure does not also need a Works Cited entry.
Notes are used sparingly in MLA, only for information that would derail the sentence. Mark them with a superscript arabic numeral after the punctuation, and collect them under a centred Notes heading on a new page before the Works Cited list.
MLA format checklist
Run this before submitting. Each item is a formatting error a marker can see at a glance.
- Margins are 1 inch on all sides
- Font is legible, 11–13 pt, consistent throughout
- Everything is double-spaced, with paragraph spacing set to 0 pt
- Four-line heading on page one, date in day-month-year order
- Title is centred, title case, plain type
- Running head shows surname and page number on every page
- First lines of paragraphs are indented 0.5 inch
- Block quotes are indented, unquoted, with the period before the citation
- Works Cited begins on a new page with a centred, plain-type title
- Entries are alphabetised and hanging-indented
- URLs have no protocol prefix and are not hyperlinked
Common MLA formatting errors
| Error | Correction |
|---|---|
| Adding a title page by default | MLA uses a four-line heading unless told otherwise |
| Extra space between paragraphs | Set paragraph spacing to 0 pt; keep double spacing only |
| Quotation marks around a block quote | Indentation replaces the quotation marks |
| Period after a block quote’s citation | The period goes before the parenthesis in block quotes |
| Bolding or underlining Works Cited | Plain, centred type |
| Indenting the first line of Works Cited entries | Hanging indent — the opposite pattern |
| Blue underlined URLs | Remove hyperlink formatting and the protocol prefix |
| Date written as March 14, 2026 | MLA uses 14 March 2026 |
How accurate is this guide, and what are its limits?
Every rule here follows the MLA Handbook, 9th edition (2021), which is the current standard. Three honest limits:
- Instructors override MLA. If your course sheet asks for a title page, numbered sections, or a specific font, follow the course sheet.
- MLA 9 is deliberately flexible. Section headings and note usage are guidance rather than rigid rules, so reasonable papers differ.
- Formatting is not citation accuracy. A perfectly laid-out paper can still contain a wrong container or a missing contributor. Check the entries themselves against the generator and your source.
MLA citation format FAQ
Does MLA format require Times New Roman?
No. MLA 9 requires only a legible font between 11 and 13 points in which italics are clearly distinct from regular type. Times New Roman 12 is conventional, not mandatory.
Does an MLA paper need a title page?
Not normally. MLA uses a four-line heading in the top-left of the first page instead. Add a title page only if your instructor asks for one.
Where does the period go in a block quote?
Before the parenthetical citation. This reverses the rule for short in-line quotations, where the period follows the closing parenthesis.
How do I format a Works Cited entry with no author?
Begin with the title and alphabetise by its first significant word, ignoring a leading A, An, or The.
Should URLs be clickable in MLA?
No. Remove the hyperlink formatting and drop the http:// or https:// prefix. Prefer a DOI when one exists.
What if I cite only one source?
Title the page Work Cited in the singular, formatted identically otherwise.