How to Write Research Papers in MLA Style

The Modern Language Association (MLA) style is the most common technique to cite sources and write papers in the liberal arts and some areas of humanities such as literature and composition. 

MLA Style allows the readers to navigate easily and understand a text by presenting familiar signs when mentioning sources and borrowed ideas. Teachers and editors encourage writers to use the same essay writing format so the writing style is consistent within a certain field. Following MLA writing standards allow a writer to:

1.  Establish credibility in the area as a fellow researcher by expressing awareness towards the needs of the readers.

2. Provide readers with signs that can be used to track writer’s ideas in an efficient manner and to find information relevant to them

3.  Allow readers to stay focused on writer’s ideas and not get distracted with strange or complex formatting.

MLA has developed into an essay writing process that is rooted in a general technique that can be applied to many different styles of writing and every potential source. However, it is easier to find the same document from different sources given that the text has become highly mobile today.

Therefore, following the same set of rules is not sufficient anymore. The new system works on some principles instead of a long list of rules. While there are examples describing how to refer to sources, it is structured along with the citations process, rather than along the sources themselves. This process offers writers a more flexible technique that is globally applicable.

Here is a complete guide to familiarize you with MLA style so you can apply it to any type of source for your paper:

·  When citing your source, begin with checking the list of main elements. They are the common elements of information that you can include in each cited entry.

·  According to the MLA style, the information in your citation should be arranged in a particular sequence. The name of the author should appear first followed by the title of the source, the title of source container, other suppliers, edition, number, publishing company, publication date, and location.

·  Each piece of information should be separated by the punctuation mark. The earlier versions of the writing style included the location of publication and required information like journal editions in parentheses and colons were placed after the publication numbers. In the new version, punctuation has been simplified. Just insert commas and periods to separate the elements.

MLA style of writing presents the information regarding the sources in a very basic format. Consult your instructor to know which style to follow for writing your current paper.