Ask the MLA | MLA Style Center

Advice from the Editors

What You Can Omit When Quoting Sources

by Angela Gibson

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

Advice from the Editors

Choosing between May and Might

by Joseph Wallace

This post helps writers choose when to use "may" and when to use "might." Read More

Advice from the Editors

Citation Generators and MLA Style

by Joseph Wallace

This post shows three examples of how to correct automatically generated citations in MLA style. Read More

Advice from the Editors

Liberate Those Verbs!

by Barney Latimer

Some phrases in English lengthen a sentence while adding nothing to its meaning . . . Read More

Advice from the Editors

Supplemental Elements

by Modern Language Association

All you need to know about the optional-element slot on the MLA style template . . . Read More

Ask The MLA

How do I cite dialogue spoken by a character in a video game?

To cite dialogue spoken by a character in a video game, transcribe the words you hear or copy the quote from the text box displaying… Read More

Ask The MLA

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

Ask The MLA

How do you cite a famous saying?

All well-known quotations that are attributable to an individual or to a text require citations. You should quote a famous saying as it appears in… Read More

Advice from the Editors