MLA stands for Modern Language Association of America. It is a set of rules for publications, including research papers.
There are two parts to MLA: In-text citations and the Works Cited List.
In MLA, you must "cite" sources that you have paraphrased, quoted or otherwise used to write your research paper. Cite your sources in two places:
In the body of your paper where you add a brief In-Text citation in parenthesis.
2. In the Works Cited List at the end of your paper where you give complete information for the sources you used.
Access Date: The date you first look at a source. The access date is added to the end of citations for all websites except library databases.
Bibliography: A bibliography is a list of all sources you used in your research and not put as an in-text citation.
Citation: Details about one cited source. It is also known as Reference.
Citing: The process of acknowledging the sources of your information and ideas.
In-Text Citation: An in-text citation is a reference made within the body of text of an academic essay. In MLA, an in-text citation should always match more detailed information that is available in the Works Cited List.
Paraphrasing: Taking information that you have read and put it into your own words.
Plagiarism: Paraphrasing is introducing ideas from other sources in your own words.
Quoting: Quoting is copying words from another source using exactly the same wording, spelling, punctuation, capitalization and paragraphing. Quotations generally appear in quotation marks and end with a citation.
Works Cited List: A works cited page is a list of works that you cited (in-text citation) in the body of your paper.
In your works cited list, abbreviate months as follows:
January = Jan.
February = Feb.
March = Mar.
April = Apr.
May = May
June = June
July = July
August = Aug.
September = Sept.
October = Oct.
November = Nov.
December = Dec.
Spell out months fully in the body of your paper.
MLA Handbook by 