Reading about MLA format is one thing. Seeing a complete MLA format example with every element labeled is another. This guide gives you a fully annotated paper showing exactly what MLA 9th edition looks like in practice — so you can compare your own paper against a real model.
Get the Free MLA Template First
Before we walk through the examples, grab the pre-formatted Word template. It has everything set up: the four-line header, Times New Roman 12pt, double spacing, 0.5-inch paragraph indent, and a Works Cited page with the correct hanging indent.
MLA Format Example: Page 1 Header and Title
MLA does not use a title page. Instead, a four-line header appears at the top left of page 1, followed by the centered title. Here’s what it looks like:
Jane R. Smith Smith 1
Professor David Johnson
ENG 201: American Literature
25 March 2026
The Role of Memory in Toni Morrison's Beloved
The opening lines of Toni Morrison's Beloved confront the reader with...What to notice:
- The header is at the top left, in the body of the page — not in the Word header/footer area (though the page number IS in the Word header, top right)
- The date format is Day Month Year: 25 March 2026 (not March 25, 2026)
- The title is centered, in title case, not bold, not italic, not underlined
- The first paragraph is indented 0.5 inches — including the first paragraph
- «Smith 1» appears in the top right corner of every page (your last name + page number)
MLA Format Example: In-Text Citations
Paraphrase (no page number needed for most sources)
Morrison’s use of fragmented chronology has been interpreted as a formal enactment of traumatic memory (Gates 112).
Direct quote under 4 lines (inline)
The novel’s haunting is explicit from its opening: «124 was spiteful» (Morrison 1). This declaration introduces a house that has been marked by violence before the reader meets any of its occupants.
Rule: The citation goes inside the period’s placement for inline quotes — the period comes AFTER the closing parenthesis: (Morrison 1).
Block quote (4 or more lines)
For quotes of four or more lines of prose, use a block quote: indent the entire quotation 0.5 inches from the left margin, with no quotation marks, and place the citation after the final punctuation.
Morrison's Beloved complicates the boundary between past and present
through Sethe's continuous reliving of her trauma:
Sethe worked hard to remember as close to nothing as was safe.
Unfortunately her brain was devious, loading and offloading
things that had no right to be there. (Morrison 6)
This involuntary remembering...Author named in sentence
As Morrison herself has observed in interviews, the novel’s emotional core is the unspeakable nature of certain historical experiences (45).
When you name the author in your sentence, only the page number goes in the parenthetical.
Two works by the same author
Morrison’s exploration of communal memory (Beloved 87) differs significantly from her treatment of individual identity (Song 234).
When you cite two works by the same author, add a shortened title so the reader knows which work you mean.
Website or source with no page numbers
Recent scholarship has expanded the critical conversation around the novel (Thompson).
If there are no page numbers (website, e-book without pages), just use the author’s last name.
MLA Format Example: Works Cited Page
The Works Cited page starts on a new page, with «Works Cited» centered at the top (no bold, no italic, no quotation marks). Entries are alphabetical by the first word of each entry, double-spaced throughout, with a hanging indent.
Works Cited
Gates, Henry Louis, Jr. The Signifying Monkey: A Theory of African-
American Literary Criticism. Oxford UP, 1988.
Morrison, Toni. Beloved. Plume, 1988.
---. Song of Solomon. Vintage, 1977.
Thompson, Ayanna. "Trauma and the Beloved." PMLA, vol. 118, no. 3,
2024, pp. 445-461.What to notice in this Works Cited example:
- «Gates, Henry Louis, Jr.» — the Jr. stays with the name, after a comma
- Publisher names are shortened: Oxford University Press becomes Oxford UP
- Three hyphens (—) replace Morrison’s name in the second entry since she’s the same author as the entry above
- Journal volume and issue: vol. 118, no. 3 (not 118(3) as in APA)
- The year comes near the end in MLA, not immediately after the author
- Hanging indent: first line flush left, subsequent lines indented 0.5″
MLA Page Format Quick Reference
| Element | MLA 9th Edition Requirement |
|---|---|
| Margins | 1 inch all sides |
| Font | Times New Roman 12pt (or legible serif) |
| Spacing | Double-spaced throughout |
| Paragraph indent | 0.5 inches, first line of every paragraph |
| Title page | None — use four-line header instead |
| Page numbers | Top right: Last Name + space + number (Smith 1) |
| Heading (top left) | Name, Professor, Course, Date (4 lines) |
| Title placement | Centered, next line after heading |
| Title formatting | Title case; no bold, italic, or underline |
| Abstract | Not required in MLA |
The Most Common MLA Format Mistakes
- Creating a title page — MLA does not use a title page for student papers. Use the four-line header on page 1 instead.
- Bolding or underlining the title — The paper title is plain text in title case. Your own title gets no special formatting in MLA.
- Putting the period before the citation for inline quotes — In MLA, the period goes AFTER the closing parenthesis: (Smith 45). This is different from block quotes, where the period comes before the citation.
- Using «Bibliography» instead of «Works Cited» — MLA calls it Works Cited, always. Never Bibliography or References.
- Writing the date in US format — MLA uses Day Month Year: 25 March 2026. Not March 25, 2026.
Related Resources
- MLA Format Template for Word — Free Download
- How to Cite in MLA: Complete Guide
- APA vs MLA: Key Differences
- APA Format Template for Word