How To Create The Works Cited Page For An Essay In The MLA Format

Every academic paper in the MLA format should have a section where you list the sources that you used in your text. Otherwise, you’ll be accused in plagiarism for using parts of the text from other papers or books. As any other part of an essay, it should be written and styled properly. If you’ve never written works cited pages for papers in the MLA format, you should read the tips given in this article.

1. 1. Order.

Your list should be organized in alphabetical order. Use authors’ last names to arrange entries. If a source doesn’t have an author, you should use its title.

2. 2. Capitalization.

You should capitalize the principal words of titles and subtitles. Such words like prepositions, articles, and coordinating conjunctions shouldn’t be capitalized.

3. 3. Publisher’s name.

Shorten the publishers’ names by excluding business abbreviations (Inc., Co.) and descriptive words (Publisher, Press).

4. 4. Multiple publishers.

If a source has multiple publishers, you should list each publisher, placing a semicolon between them.

5. 5. Cities.

When the same publisher lists more than one city, include only the first city.

6. 6. Conjunction “and.”

When listing multiple authors of a single source, you should use “and” rather than “&.”

7. 7. Pagination.

You shouldn’t use abbreviations like p. or pp. to indicate page numbers.

8. 8. Indentation.

   The first line of an entry should be aligned flush left. All subsequent lines should be indented to form a “hanging indent.”

9. 9. Italics.

Select a font that will be clearly distinguishable from a standard font and style.

Remember that if you don’t format your paper properly, you’ll earn a lower score for your work. Unfortunately, some students often make mistakes when formatting their essays. To avoid this, you may ask somebody else to format your document. Here are some suggestions:

• - Classmates.

You’re likely to have a few classmates who always get excellent grades for their essays and other academic papers. You may ask them to help you with formatting. If you’re in good relationships with them, they’ll be happy to assist you.

• - Teaching assistants.

They should definitely know how to format your papers properly. While you cannot approach your instructor to receive direct assistance, you aren’t likely to get into trouble for getting help from a teaching assistant.

• - Academic writing companies.

You may always approach professionals who will format your paper in exchange for money. If you don’t know any reliable agency, you may visit this service in order not to risk dealing with scammers.