How do I cite a name like Queen Elizabeth I, John of Gaunt, and Catherine of Aragon?

Use the first name. Some categories of personal names lack a last name–for example, some rulers and members of the nobility and many premodern people, whose name… Read More

Do you have to provide the author’s name in a parenthetical citation for a work of common literature such as The Iliad?

Yes, unless you have already mentioned the author’s name in your prose. Just because a work is famous doesn’t mean you can omit the name of its… Read More

What should I include in parentheses if the author’s name is provided in a signal phrase and the source has no page numbers or other kind of part number?

As the MLA Handbook notes, “When a source has no page numbers or any other kind of part number, no number should be given in a parenthetical… Read More

How do I cite a patent?

To cite a patent, follow the MLA format template. List the owner of the patent in the “Author” slot, the title of the patent… Read More

What You Can Omit When Quoting Sources

There is an entire category of material that you do not reproduce . . . Read More

Can a date be broken at the end of a line?

Yes. Read More

Is it OK to italicize a word for emphasis in my paper?

The MLA style discourages the use of italics in academic prose to emphasize or point, because they are unnecessary—most often, the unadorned words do the… Read More

How do I cite an author’s name known only by initials?

If a source is written by an author who is known only by initials, you have several options. Treat the Initials as a Unit One… Read More

How do I cite a photograph found on a website in the text and in my works-cited list?

Cite a photograph found on a website the same way you would cite any work of art found online. See our post on citing… Read More

How do I cite a meme?

Here we refer to meme in its sense as “an amusing or interesting item (such as a captioned picture or video) or genre of items… Read More