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

The citation tool at our library does not follow the MLA’s guidelines for capitalizing titles. What should we do?

Many citation tools generate entries that do not accord with MLA style, so writers are advised to use caution when using these tools and to… Read More

Should the abbreviation etc. be capitalized in a title?

Whether the abbreviation etc., meaning “and so forth,” should be capitalized in a title depends on its location in the title. In our publications, we… Read More

How does the MLA capitalize names of generations?

In our publications, we follow the recommendations in The Chicago Manual of Style (“Generation”). We generally lowercase generation names such as baby boomers and millennials, but we capitalize… Read More

How does the MLA capitalize names of academic degrees?

The MLA follows Merriam-Webster and lowercases the names of academic degrees. Read More

Should professional titles be capitalized in MLA style?

In general, the MLA follows The Chicago Manual of Style for the capitalization of professional titles (“Titles”). Thus, we capitalize a professional title when it is… Read More

When should a beverage name be capitalized?

If the beverage is a brand name or a unique recipe title or includes a proper noun, capitalize it: Frappuccino  (a coinage trademarked by Starbucks)… Read More

How do I cite a work by an author with a Dutch name that includes the word van?

Particles in Dutch surnames—such as van, van den, van der, de, and ter—are lowercased in prose when the whole name is given: Joost van der… Read More

How do I style genus and species names, such as Homo sapiens, in MLA style?

MLA style was developed to be used by writers in the humanities, so we defer to our colleagues at The Chicago Manual of Style regarding how… Read More