Is the particle al- or el- at the start of an Arabic last name capitalized in a works-cited-list entry?

In general, no. The MLA’s guidance on Dutch particles applies to Arabic last names prefixed by al- and el- except that al- and el- are… Read More

How should I style brand names?

The styling of brand names depends on whether they are trademarked. Always check the dictionary, which lists many brand names. Trademarked brand names are capitalized… Read More

How should I style the names of Chinese dynasties in MLA style?

The MLA follows the guidance given in The Chicago Manual of Style for capitalization. The manual lowercases names of eras (“Descriptive Designations”), so when styling the… Read More

Is Internet capitalized in MLA style?

Yes. We follow the first spelling in Webster’s Collegiate Dictionary. Read More

How should I capitalize a salutation in a letter?

The MLA provides style recommendations for research papers. For guidance on how to capitalize salutations addressed to various categories of persons (e.g., religious, governmental, military),… Read More

How do I style the names of wars?

We follow the guidelines in The Chicago Manual of Style, which notes that full names of most wars are capitalized and that generic terms are… Read More

How do I create a vertical list in which each item includes a quoted fragment and a complete sentence?

Follow the guidelines on how to create a vertical list. Since the quotes are fragments, you may lowercase them. Either a colon or a period… Read More

Why are internal capital letters retained in titles of Web sites in MLA style?

When special typography is strongly associated with a brand, we retain it (e.g., SoundCloud, YouTube). The Chicago Manual of Style supports this practice, advising, “[N]ames that… Read More

How should the term Black Lives Matter be styled?

We follow our colleagues at The Chicago Manual of Style and capitalize the term Black Lives Matter. No italics or quotation marks are necessary.  … Read More

Should department names be capitalized in MLA style?

In general, the MLA follows The Chicago Manual of Style for the capitalization of academic department names (“Academic Subjects”) and administrative bodies (“Administrative Bodies”). We capitalize… Read More