If I need to separate titles styled in quotation marks by semicolons in my parenthetical citations, should the semicolons go inside or outside the quotations marks?

The semicolons should be placed outside the quotation marks: Sweden took in more than 160,000 asylum seekers in 2015 (Henden, “Sweden Election Polls”; Hernroth-Rothstein; Milne;… Read More

How does the MLA style 9/11, when it refers to the attacks on the United States on that date?

In our publications, we allow either September 11 or 9/11. Whichever form is chosen must be used consistently throughout a work. Read More

If I am defining in my paper specialized terminology that I learned in class, do I need to cite a source?

No. Specialized terminology learned in a class can be considered a kind of common knowledge in the context of an essay written for that class,… Read More

How should I style my parenthetical citation the first time I quote lines from a poem if I have not mentioned the author’s name in my prose?

The MLA Handbook explains that if you are citing line numbers instead of page numbers in your parenthetical citation, you should “in your first citation, use the word… 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

If I have a work by one author and a work by that author and coauthors in my works-cited-list, how do I order my entries?

A work by one author should be listed before a work by that author and a coauthor. Rappaport, Joanne. The Disappearing Mestizo: Configuring Difference in… Read More

Should I cite each entry from an encyclopedia separately?

You should provide citations for each encyclopedia entry that you use in your essay. A good example is Wikipedia, an online encyclopedia. You would cite each… Read More

How do I cite a serialized article?

Create a separate works-cited-list entry for each part of a serialized article or for each article published in a series, following the MLA format template. Read More

When is it OK to start a sentence with a coordinating conjunction?

You can use a comma or a dash to connect these pairs of sentences, but writing them separately is not incorrect. It is looked upon… Read More

How do I cite the question-and-answer portion of a conference session?

Use your discussion of the event to refer to the question-and-answer portion: At the ZEE Jaipur Literature Festival in January 2018, I had the opportunity… Read More