If I mention the title of a fictional work in my text, how do I style it?

This post explains how to style titles of fictional works in your prose Read More

Should I capitalize the names of birds?

Many common English-language bird names consist of nouns or of adjectives followed by generic terms, such as eagle and sparrow. The editorial guidelines of organizations… Read More

Can e.g. be used at the end of a sentence?

If a writer wants to use e.g. in a sentence, then by convention the MLA would place it only within parenthetical text and before the… Read More

If I use a quotation that is already in quotation marks in my source, how many quotation marks should I use?

As the MLA Handbook notes, “When your quotation consists entirely of material enclosed by quotation marks in the source work, usually one pair of double… Read More

How do I provide original publication information?

Section 5.108 of the MLA Handbook gives examples of how original publication information can be provided as a supplemental element in a works-cited-list entry. But… Read More

How do I punctuate elliptical constructions?

Elliptical constructions occur when you write two related independent clauses, typically separated by a semicolon, and you omit a word or words from the second… Read More

How do I style labels?

If a label is quotation from a source, enclose the label in quotation marks: The dictionary entry includes the label “French phrase.” Likewise, use quotation… Read More

How do I style a word used as a word and a letter used as a letter?

In MLA style, words used as words and letters used as letters are italicized: Accommodation is spelled with two c’s and two m’s. When the… Read More

How do I cite a quotation I include in a title or heading?

Quoted material must be attributed wherever it occurs. In your prose, this generally means including an in-text citation or endnote in due proximity to the… Read More

If an author’s name in my source is in all capital or lowercase letters, how should I style it in my paper?

In prose and works-cited-list entries, the first and last names of authors should begin with a capital letter. All other letters should be lowercase. Let’s… Read More