What is MLA?

The Modern Language Association is a style of writing.

This means it is "a set of standards for writing and documentation used by writers to find and evaluate information, alert their audience to the trustworthiness of their findings through citation, and shape the expression of their ideas in conversation with others" (“MLA Style”).

There are multiple style guides for different kinds of writing and disciplines. A style guide might be set by your profession, your area of study, your institution, or your professor/teacher.

Here are some of the most common style guide examples :

Associated Press Style (AP): used by journalists and other news & media writers as well as in psychology, anthropology, sociology, as well as education.
Chicago (sometimes written Chicago/Turabian, or CMoS): used in the humanities, business, law, and the fine arts.
Institute of Electrical & Electronics Engineers Style (IEEE): used in engineering & computer science
American Medical Association (AMA): used in nursing & other medical fields
Association for Computing Machinery (ACM): used in computing and information technology fields
The American Society of Mechanical Engineers (ASME): used in mechanical engineering

For English literature classes, you will always use MLA style for formatting your paper and citing your sources.

Why do I need to learn MLA?

There are few ways to answer this question:

You will lose points on your writing for not following MLA formatting and citation rules.
If you do not cite your sources you are committing plagiarism, a serious form of academic dishonesty.
Seemingly petty requirements are a part of life. If you want a job you need to submit a resume and cover letter. If you want to submit your writing to be published, you have to turn it in formatted correctly. If you want to pay your taxes you need to submit them correctly. If you want to apply for a loan, you need to follow the appropriate steps. Learning to follow directions and format your writing is a good skill.
If you write paper this year (you will) you will need MLA, if you write papers next year (you will), you will need MLA.
If you pursue higher education, you will have a style guide you will need to follow. This might take some time to adjust to. However, there are plenty of resources to help you. Each style generally has a guidebook you can purchase. They have a website to use and there are many other websites that will help you.

MLA is Like Gift Wrap

When you give someone a present you format it in the acceptable style: gift wrap. This shows that you put time and care into your gift. MLA format is the same idea! When you turn in an academic paper you make it look acceptable. You format the paper in the acceptable style to show that you put time and care into your paper.

Works Cited

“MLA Style.” Modern Language Association, www.mla.org/MLA-Style.

“Style Guide Overview.” Purdue OWL® - Purdue University., 2022,https://owl.purdue.edu/owl/avoiding_plagiarism/guide_overview%20.html

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