MLA
Humanities writing standard
MLA stands for Modern Language Association, the scholarly organization that sets citation and formatting standards for academic writing in the humanities.
An MLA citation or MLA format refers to these conventions—parenthetical citations, Works Cited pages, specific rules for margins and spacing.
Students and scholars use MLA style primarily in English, literature, and language courses.
MLA also refers to Member of the Legislative Assembly in various parliamentary systems.
Study of culture
- literatureBody of written works
- EnglishBritain's native tongue
- compositionArranged elements forming whole
- rhetoricArt of persuasive language
linguistics · philosophy · classics · theater · folklore · interdisciplinary
Set off by punctuation
- bibliographyList of cited works
- author-dateReference format using names and years
- anthologyCollected literary works volume
- DOIPersistent scholarly identifier
URL · container · contributor · location · publisher
Extra vertical space between lines
- headerTop line of document
- indentationInward cut or setback
- italicsSloped typeface for emphasis
- ragged-rightUnaligned right margin
Agreed standard of behavior
- professionTrained occupational field
- membershipState of belonging
- committeesGroups delegated specific duties
- awardsFormal honors bestowed
humanities
Study of culture
- literatureBody of written works
- EnglishBritain's native tongue
- compositionArranged elements forming whole
rhetoric · linguistics · philosophy · classics · theater · folklore · interdisciplinary
parenthetical
Set off by punctuation
- bibliographyList of cited works
- author-dateReference format using names and years
- anthologyCollected literary works volume
double-spacing
Extra vertical space between lines
- headerTop line of document
- indentationInward cut or setback
- italicsSloped typeface for emphasis
convention
Agreed standard of behavior
- professionTrained occupational field
- membershipState of belonging
- committeesGroups delegated specific duties
- reference toolsdictionary, encyclopedia, thesaurus, handbook, catalog
- Canadian PoliticsPierre Trudeau, Justin Trudeau, premier, legislature, riding
- Humanities Groupslearned society, historical society, literary society, AHA, APA
- Provincial Governmentpremier, legislature, legislative assembly, ministers, cabinet minister
- Provincial Politicspremier, legislature, riding, election, bill
- BC PoliticsMLAs, NDP, ridings, cabinet ministers, opposition leader
MLASTEM
Four-discipline academic grouping
sciences · hard sciences · natural sciences · engineering · medicine
- MLA formatHumanities citation style guide
- MLA styleHumanities citation format