"Learning the MLA rules will help you become a writer whose work deserves serious consideration. Similarly, your study of these rules can make you a more discerning reader; knowing how an author is supposed to use sources is essential to judging a text's reliability. If you are consulting MLA rules for the first time, you may be surprised by its focus on the details of preparing a piece of writing. This concern for details grows out of a respect for the responsibilities writers have to readers—and other writers . . . . Because research has the power to affect opinions and actions, responsible writers compose their work with great care. They specify when they refer to another author's ideas, facts, and words, whether they want to agree with, object to, analyze, or interpret the source. This kind of documentation tends to discourage the circulation of error, by inviting readers to determine for themselves whether a reference to another text presents a reasonable account of what that text says. The MLA Handbook was developed by the Modern Language Association of America (MLA), an organization of teachers and scholars founded in 1883, when the modern languages were just beginning to gain a place in the college curriculum alongside the classical languages—ancient Greek and Latin. The MLA now has over thirty thousand members and supports a variety of publications and activities designed to strengthen teaching and scholarship in languages and literature."

Phyllis Franklin, Forward, MLA Handbook

The Frida Kahlo painting below in many ways represents the antithesis of the required regiment and order of the MLA format and citation style. But if we take a closer critical look, we can see that there is a certain order to her chaotic bathtub world. Or at least I think so . . .

How to MLA Documents

Everything MLA Web Page

Everything MLA Word Doc

Everything MLA PDF file

Step by Step How to do MLA Format

MLA Format Template (download)

Sample Works Cited Page (Word doc)

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MLA Format and Works Cited Page

MLA Format Example (Res.Paper)

Sample Research Paper with MLA

How to Paraphrase

Plagiarism Explored

Using Statistics

Handouts on Research and MLA Citation

Finding Biographical Information

Finding Critical Reviews of Lit, Movies, Music

Searching Online Data Bases

Evaluating Internet Resources

Finding Government Information

Researching Hot Topics

Journals versus Magazines

Preparing an MLAWorks Cited List

Writing Parenthetical References

Finding Statistical Information

Using the Web for Research