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How to Format Dates in MLA Style

How to Format Dates in MLA Style

3-minute read

  • 4th August 2023

Are you a student, researcher, or writer navigating the intricacies of academic writing? Whether you’re working on an essay, research paper, or any other scholarly work, adhering to proper citation and formatting guidelines is essential.

One crucial aspect of maintaining consistency and professionalism in your work is correctly formatting dates . In this guide, we’ll delve into the specifics of formatting dates in the Modern Language Association (MLA) style and provide you with examples to ensure your writing stands out for all the right reasons.

General Guidelines for Formatting Dates in MLA Style

Month abbreviation.

When formatting dates in MLA style, use the abbreviated form of the month followed by a period. The month abbreviations are as follows:

May, June, and July remain as they are.

Day and Year Placement

The day and year are both written in Arabic numerals . In the main text, you’re free to use either the month-day-year order or the day-month-year order – you must use the same format consistently.

If you’re using the month-day-year order, you should include a comma after the day. If the date appears mid-sentence, MLA requires that you include a comma after the year as well:

The order you choose will likely depend on your dialect preference. American English tends to favor month-day-year, while British English uses day-month-year.

Month-day-year:

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Day-month-year:

Works Cited Entries With Dates

MLA recommends including the full date for certain types of sources, such as newspaper articles, in the Works Cited list. When doing so, you should follow the day-month-year order, regardless of the format you used in the main text. Here’s a fictional example of how a date might appear in a Works Cited list entry:

Why Correct Date Formatting Matters

Accurate and uniform date formatting enhances the aesthetics of your work and contributes to its clarity and ease of comprehension. When readers encounter properly formatted dates, they can quickly grasp the chronology of the events you’re discussing.

Consistent formatting demonstrates your attention to detail and your dedication to meeting academic standards.

If you’re following the MLA style, adhering to its guidelines on formatting dates not only ensures consistency but also aids your readers in understanding your work. By following the examples and guidelines outlined in this guide, you’ll be well on your way to mastering the MLA style.

And if you’d like an expert to check your references, citations, grammar, spelling, punctuation, and more, try out a free sample of our proofreading service today!

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What date should I give in the header of my paper—the date I started the paper, the date I finished it, or the due date?

Note: This post relates to content in the eighth edition of the MLA Handbook . For up-to-date guidance, see the ninth edition of the MLA Handbook .

Follow your teacher’s instructions, but if you do not receive guidance, list the date you finished writing the paper.

  • Proofreading Tips

A Quick Guide to Dates and Times in MLA Style

A Quick Guide to Dates and Times in MLA Style

  • Feb 28, 2021
  • Academic Editing
  • Referencing and Citations

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Among many other things, the MLA Handbook (8th edition) has advice on writing dates and times. But what do you need to know about dates and times to proofread academic writing?

In this post, we’ll explain the basics of dates and times in MLA style.

Dates in the Main Text

If an author uses a date in the main text of a document, MLA style suggests writing them out in full using either of the following formats:

  • Day-Month-Year (e.g., 12 April 2021)
  • Month-Day-Year (e.g., April 12, 2021)

The latter is most common in American English, while the former is used in other English-speaking countries. But MLA style offers a choice as long as one style is used consistently.

If your client does use the Month-Day-Year format mid-sentence, the MLA Handbook recommends using a comma after the year as well as before it:

July 18, 1848, is an important date in the history of cricket.

As a proofreader, then, you may need to keep an eye on how dates are punctuated.

Dates in an MLA Works Cited List

You client may also need to include dates for some sources in their works cited list (i.e., the reference list at the end of a document). The rules for dates here are a little different, though.

Most notably, dates in an MLA works cited list should be written in the Day-Month-Year format to minimize comma usage. This applies even if your client has used the Month-Day-Year format in the main text of their work. Nor does it matter which dialect your client is using.

MLA style also permits abbreviating months with more than four letters in the works cited list:

This can help keep entries in the works cited list clear and concise. From a proofreading perspective, you should also check that month abbreviations are used consistently.

Times in MLA Style

MLA style has less to say on times than dates, but it does have a few key principles:

  • Use either a twelve-hour or twenty-four-hour clock consistently.
  • When using a twelve-hour clock, include “a.m.” or “p.m.” for clarity. Make sure to leave a space between the time and “a.m.” or “p.m.” when these abbreviations are used.
  • Include time zone information when provided.

These rules apply both to times mentioned in the body of your client’s work and to times included in works cited list entries (e.g., the time of posting for a comment on a blog post).

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Subscribe to mla publications, quick links for authors, mla style manual, numbers and dates.

Dates in text should have a number rather than an ordinal.

April 6 (not April 6th)

Punctuate common forms of dates as follows:

April 1967 (no comma) April 6, 1967 (comma after day of month; insert comma after year as well in running text) 1968–1972 (en dash) May–June 1967 (en dash) 1965– (en dash for open-ended date) fiscal year 1958/59 (eliminate century in the second year if it is the same) school year 2004/05 (same as fiscal year) association year 2004/05 (same as fiscal year) 1970s (no apostrophe) the ’70s (apostrophe before year)

For months, use the following forms in references in all publications; do not follow with a period.

Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec

In MLANET‘s “Find a Job,” use month/date/year format with numerals.

Use numerals, unless the year is at the beginning of a sentence. When referring to a decade, never use an apostrophe before the “s.”

enumerations

Numerical lists imply rank or temporal order (first 1, then 2, or 1 is more important than 2). Do not number if no such order is intended. In lists that are run together in the text and number more than three, use numbered phrases. Set numbers in parentheses without periods.

(1) etc., (2) etc., (3) etc., and (4) etc. then (a) etc., (b) etc., (c) etc., and (d) etc.

When items are indented without numbers, begin each new entry with a bullet, set flush left. When they are indented with numbers, the list is laid out the same way, but the bullet is replaced with a numeral and period.

1. etc.; 2. etc.; 3. etc.; and 4. etc.

Double-check alphabetical lists for correct order.

fractions and ratios

Hyphenate fractions:

A one-third share is sufficient. She filed one-third of the cards.

Ratios may be given with numerals and a colon:

a 1:2 ratio

mathematical symbols

Close up spaces around mathematical symbols such as equal signs and less than or greater than symbols.

n=243 p <0.05

measurements and dimensions

Spelling out measurements is preferred; when abbreviations are necessary, set them without periods.

20 km 30 ft

Spell out whole numbers. Use numerals with a multiplication symbol (×) in fractions.

three-by-five cards 2½ × 6-inch cards

Use the numeric form.

For currencies other than the US dollar, use the following formats.

$36.50 CAD for Canadian dollars (spell out “Canadian dollars (CAD)” the first time it appears) £37.50 for British pounds €42.75 for euros

other well-known currencies

37.50 Sw. fr. (figure followed by appropriate abbreviation)

lesser-known currencies

95 Haitian gourdes (figure followed by full name of currency)

Use (n=) with the “n” lowercase.

Use a comma in numbers higher than 999, with the exception of page numbers and years. Abbreviate “number” as “no.” when necessary or permitted. Always use the numeric form of numbers with decimal places. For numbers less than one, use a zero preceding the decimal point.

In the Journal of the Medical Library Association (JMLA), formerly the Bulletin of the Medical Library Association , text, spell out ordinal numbers less than 100:

third tenth forty-second 103rd 1,912th

In the text of MLAConnect articles, on MLANET, in monographs, and in other publications, abbreviate ordinals greater than nine. Spell out whole numbers in all publications’ text through ninety-nine:

one through 999,999 one million 101 million

In MLANET “Find a Job” ads, all numbers are represented in numeric form.

Spell out and hyphenate fractions.

If any number in a paragraph requires numerals rather than spelled out numbers, (higher than one hundred, decimal, percentage, money, etc., excepting dates), set all the numbers in numerals.

The library in Johnson City received 124 loan requests during a 1-year period. The library in Smithfield, however, received 19 loan requests, and the library in Morgantown only 12.

Do not begin a sentence with a numeral. Write out the number in full, or recast the sentence.

Provide both numbers (n) and percents where applicable when reporting data.

(n=74, 56%)

If the denominator changes frequently, it is useful to present numbers as n=74/258; 29% unless the denominator is noted in the text.

Of 258 respondents, 74 (29%) indicated...

See also “abbreviations: when to use them” in the Abbreviations section.

percentages

In text, use numerals and “%.” Spell out the numeral and the word only if they begin the sentence. Where the percentage is less than 1%, add a decimal point and a zero.

89% One hundred percent of the students were in attendance. 0.7%

The following are a few common statistical terms; set them as indicated. Text should be used rather than symbols, except for statistics or formulas.

Do not use ditto marks (") for repeated items; supply the numbers. Provide numbers (n), with percentages (where applicable) in the next column in parentheses. Use an em dash to indicate entries that are not supplied or are irrelevant; use a zero to indicate that a particular universe has none of the items in question. Do not use “0%”; that is mathematically impossible. If both real numbers and percentages happen to be zero, give just the real number and no percentage.

In running text, refer to each table by Arabic numeral. Do not use “see”:

Students preferred electronic reserves to print reserves (Table 1).

See also “figures (illustrations)” in the Miscellaneous section.

telephone numbers

Use the following format:

312.419.9094 x743

Spell out the time of day in text for JMLA .

At seven o'clock, the family rose.

If an exact moment is emphasized, use numerals.

At 7:35 a.m., the family rose.

Always use numerals when “a.m.” or “p.m.” are used.

At 7:00 a.m., the family rose.

Set “a.m.” and “p.m.” close, with periods. Use time zones following a comma, lowercase.

The chapter meeting will begin at 9:00 a.m., central time.

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MLA Style Guide, 8th & 9th Editions: Formatting Your MLA Paper

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MLA recommends using 12-point Times New Roman font or another readable typeface (e.g. serif ).

Line Spacing & Margins

Use double-spacing throughout the entire paper.

Leave 1 inch margins on the top, bottom, and each side.

Indent the first line of each paragraph half an inch from the left margin.

Quotes longer than 4 lines should be written as a block of text a half an inch from the left margin.

Heading and Title

An MLA research paper does not need a title page, but your instructor may require one. If no instructions are given, follow the MLA guidelines below:

Type the following one inch from the top of the first page, flush with the left margin (double spacing throughout).

Your Instructor's Name

Course Number or Name

Center the title on the next line. Follow the rules for capitalization. Do not italicize, underline, or bold the title. An exception is when your title includes a title.  Example:  The Attitude toward Violence in A Clockwork Orange

Indent the next line and begin typing your text.

Include your last name and page numbers in the upper right-hand corner of every page. The page numbers will be one-half inch from the top and flush with the right margin. If your instructor prefers no page number on the first page, begin numbering from 2 on the second page.

Sample Papers from MLA

There are sample papers available in the MLA Style Center. Check them out to see the correct formatting.

Styling Headings and Subheadings

According to the MLA Style Center website, writers should avoid using headings in shorter papers. If you are writing a longer research paper, you may want to include headings and subheadings to help organize the sections of your paper. Advice from the MLA Style Center :

"Levels

The paper or chapter title is the first level of heading, and it must be the most prominent.

Headings should be styled in descending order of prominence. After the first level, the other headings are subheadings—that is, they are subordinate. Font styling and size are used to signal prominence. In general, a boldface, larger font indicates prominence; a smaller font, italics, and lack of bold can be used to signal subordination. For readability, don’t go overboard: avoid using all capital letters for headings (in some cases, small capitals may be acceptable):

Heading Level 1

Heading Level 2

Heading Level 3

Note that word-processing software often has built-in heading styles.

Consistency

Consistency in the styling of headings and subheadings is key to signaling to readers the structure of a research project. That is, each level 1 heading should appear in the same style and size, as should each level 2 heading, and so on. Generally, avoid numbers and letters to designate heads unless you are working in a discipline where doing so is conventional. Note that a heading labeled “1” requires a subsequent heading labeled “2,” and a heading labeled “a” requires a subsequent heading labeled “b.” 

In a project that is not professionally designed and published, headings should be flush with the left margin, to avoid confusion with block quotations. (The exception is the paper or chapter title, which is centered in MLA style.)

For readability, it is helpful to include a line space above and below a heading, as shown in this post.

No internal heading level should have only one instance. For example, if you have one level 1 heading, you need to have a second level 1 heading. (The exceptions are the paper or chapter title and the headings for notes and the list of works cited.) You should also generally have text under each heading.

Capitalization

Capitalize headings like the titles of works, as explained in section 1.2 of the MLA Handbook.

The shorter, the better."

Modern Language Association. "How Do I Style Headings and Subheadings in a Research Paper?" MLA Style Center., 13 December 2018,  style.mla.org/styling-headings-and-subheadings .

MLA Style Paper Template

  • MLA 9th Edition Paper Template This template was created and saved as a Word template for Microsoft Word 2016. The process for saving and using the template is the same for the instructions given above for 2013.

You can save a personal template in Microsoft Word (IRSC students, download Office for free, see a librarian if you need help). Above is a template you can use every time you need to set-up a research paper using MLA style format. Simply open the template and type your own information every time you need to write an MLA style paper. Microsoft Word will allow you to save personal templates. Once you have the template opened in Word

Click "Save as"

Give the file a name

Under "Save as type", select Word Template

date on mla essay

Then when you open Word, you will be able to choose a template rather than a blank document. You might have to select Personal to find your template.

date on mla essay

Sample MLA Paper

MLA 8th Edition Paper Formatting

How to Use the MLA Style Template

Formatting Group Project Papers

For a research paper written collaboratively by several students, such as for a group project, create a title page instead of listing all authors in the header on page 1 of the essay. On the title page, list each student's full name, placing one name on each double-spaced line. After the final student name, enter the professor's name. After the professor's name, give the course name. The last line of the heading will be the date in 5 August 2021 format. Press Enter a few times to move down the page then give the paper title, centered.

MLA 9th Group Research Project Title Page Example

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What is mla style.

Building confidence in the information and ideas we share with one another is perhaps more important today than ever before, and for nearly a century it has been the driving principle behind MLA style, 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. 

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MLA Handbook , 9th Edition

The ninth edition of the MLA Handbook , published in spring 2021, builds on the MLA's unique approach to documenting sources using a template of core elements—facts common to most sources, like author, title, and publication date—that allows writers to cite any type of work, from books, e-books, and journal articles in databases to song lyrics, online images, social media posts, dissertations, and more. With this focus on source evaluation as the cornerstone of citation, MLA style promotes the skills of information and digital literacy so crucial today. The new edition offers

  • New chapters on grammar, punctuation, capitalization, spelling, numbers, italics, abbreviations, and principles of inclusive language
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The MLA Style Center offers free online resources on MLA style, including an interactive MLA format template, answers to common questions on Ask the MLA, advice from the MLA editors, and more. Get updates by signing up for The Source newsletter, and follow us on Twitter @MLAstyle .

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MLA date format

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If you're writing a publication about language, literature or other humanitarian fields, you'll probably have to use date in MLA format.

In the MLA style, the date format follows a specific pattern. For instance, in MLA date format, the day is written before the month using the day-month-year pattern. It does not include ordinal indicators (e.g., 1st, 2nd) for the day.  

At first sight, it may seem that there is nothing complex in its design. However, you should know certain details that can cause errors. Our article will help you understand how to format dates in MLA format and avoid typical mistakes! Alternatively, you can visit StudyCrumb to hire an essay writer online who will do all the job for you.

How to Write the Date in MLA Format: Crucial Details

How you write the date in MLA format depends on where you include it. It can be in the beginning, middle, or the end of any sentence. Sometimes, you may separate it from the text. Dates can contain:  

  • day and month

According to the new  MLA Handbook edition , writing dates is not that difficult. Just don't cut them short and be consistent.  

  • First, choose a style.
  • In reference list use only day-month-year style.
  • Decades can be written in both letters and numbers.
  • Centuries must be spelled out in full words.
  • Access day (for online works) is indicated if you believe that online work will be changed or removed.
  • For time ranges later than 1000 CE, write both years unless the first two digits are identical. And to indicate ranges that are still ongoing, add a hyphen followed by a space.
  • If your source gives you only an approximate occasion, then write this data using full words.
  • If your source says that year is not determined, write it with a question mark.
  • Capitalize the first letter of month or day of week as shown in the sample below.
  • Pay attention that dates in your text should not be ordinal.

Be attentive to every kind of citation as there are a lot of nuances. Need  MLA format citation ? Choose an appropriate blog in our library and follow its guide. 

Date in MLA Format: Text vs. Reference

If you use the American “month-year” date for MLA format, the year should be written using 4 digits. No commas are needed if you decide to indicate only month and year. Month should go first at the beginning of your sentence. That’s why, try to rewrite it in a way that your day does not open your sentence. For example:

MLA Dates Format Example

There are slight differences between this reference and your text. Reduce month to three-four letters. Instead of text, just use a four-digit year number.

MLA Dates Format Example

Dates in MLA Format: Punctuation

When writing an MLA format date, you should use punctuation. But if you have no clue where to put commas, dashes or apostrophes, here is an easy hint from us!

Dates in MLA Format Punctuation Example

Make sure your paper is formatted according to the latest requirements. Don’t forget to create an  MLA heading  and include section headings to make your text organized.  

Bottom Line

Above, we tried to describe as many details and all current nuances about MLA date format. Hopefully, this guide was of great help! Should you have questions, contact our  coursework writing service at StudyCrumb .

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MLA Date Formatting – Complete Guide With Examples

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MLA-date-formatting-Definition

In the realm of academic writing , citation styles are crucial for crediting sources and maintaining academic integrity. A widely used format is the MLA style, which is commonly used in works in the field of humanities. An integral factor of this style is the unique MLA date format. It employs a day-month-year structure, abbreviating month names, except for May, June, and July. For example, a date in MLA style would appear as “1 Jan. 2023.” This consistent date formatting in MLA style illustrates a clear chronological context for cited sources. Learn more in the guide below.

Inhaltsverzeichnis

  • 1 MLA Date Formatting – In a Nutshell
  • 2 Definition: MLA Date Formatting
  • 3 MLA Date Formatting: The Main Text
  • 4 MLA Date Formatting: Months
  • 5 MLA Date Formatting: How Detailed for the Works Cited?
  • 6 MLA Date Formatting: Access Date
  • 7 MLA Date Formatting: A Period of Time
  • 8 MLA Date Formatting: Uncertain or Approximate Dates
  • 9 MLA Date Formatting: Referencing Classic Works

MLA Date Formatting – In a Nutshell

  • MLA date formatting differs within your paper’s main body and its Works Cited page.
  • Write out the months in the text and present dates as MM DD, YYYY, or DD MM YYYY.
  • Be consistent with your MLA date choice.
  • For Works Cited entries, provide as much MLA date information as is available.
  • Abbreviate an MLA date in the Works Cited entry, and list it in day-month-year format.
  • Reference undated sources or approximated dates.
  • Follow the MLA date conventions depending on the source.

Definition: MLA Date Formatting

The MLA style was formalized in 1951 as a way of codifying citations and formatting academic writing. The style guide is widely adopted across the English-speaking world, mostly in humanities subjects and English language/literary studies in particular. The latest 9th edition of the MLA Handbook is the most up-to-date.

As with many other aspects of academic writing, the MLA style has guidelines on how to represent dates throughout your paper and citations. In the Works Cited section of your paper, you should follow a day-month-year order when reproducing dates. Occasionally, you won’t need to reproduce detailed date information where only a year is listed. As a good rule of thumb, if a source lists a complete date, include it. Learn the details of MLA date formatting below.

MLA Date Formatting: The Main Text

An MLA date is treated differently in the main body than in reference sections. In your main text, header, and title page are written as completely as you can with no abbreviations. Do not repeat months as “on 17 Aug 2022”. Instead, use the full “on 17 August 2022”.

It is not necessary to follow the traditional day-month-year MLA date formatting order used in the citation when repeating dates within the main text. Month Day, Year, or Day Month Year are both valid.

  • Britain and France declared war on Germany on September 3, 1939.
  • Britain and France declared war on Germany on 3 September 1939.

While it is free to choose a method, consistency is key. Do not mix and match MLA date formatting within the main text. The same goes for numerals or spelled-out dates. While days and years should always appear as numerals, periods or decades can be spelled out.

  • Baby boomers were born in the 1940s.
  • Baby boomers were born in the forties.

MLA Date Formatting: Months

While dates of any kind in the main text should not be abbreviated, the Works Cited page requires an abbreviation of all months over 4 characters long. Abbreviate these months to three characters in length followed by a period as shown below:

MLA Date Formatting: How Detailed for the Works Cited?

The year of publication in a Works Cited entry should always be included where possible. However, some resources provide extra details that should also be reproduced. Journals are published within a month or quarterly season while newspapers require daily publishing information.

Try to provide all the details available for any given source. For specific references like radio broadcasts on a particular date, the date is an important marker of the resource’s content and should therefore be printed in full. When information just isn’t available, omit the date or use an approximated archival listing.

Here are some examples of how dates should appear in a Works Cited section per resource:

MLA Date Formatting: Access Date

You should include an access date for online resources if:

  • the source has no listed publication date
  • the source has been removed
  • the source is continually updated

To format the date in your Works Cited page, add “Accessed” followed by the day-month-year of viewing:

BBC . News Homepage, 2022, www.bbc.co.uk. Accessed 8 Aug. 2022.

MLA Date Formatting: A Period of Time

Some sources take place over some time and should be cited as a range of dates. Examples include a broadcast series or books/texts published as volumes. Include an en dash without a space (–) between the date range.

You shouldn’t repeat elements that are the same for both dates. For instance, you don’t need to repeat the last two digits in a year range if the first two are the same. Likewise, do not repeat a month if the date range takes place within one month. When it comes to ongoing date ranges, leave an unfilled gap after the en dash.

All the following are correct:

  • 12 Nov. 2021–12 Jan. 2022.
  • 10–20 Dec. 2022.
  • 12 Feb. –18 July 2022.

MLA Date Formatting: Uncertain or Approximate Dates

Some sources are either undated or approximated. This is usually the case with archival material, ephemera, or museum artifacts.

Uncertain Dates

Uncertain dates will be listed with a question mark or “probably XXXX”. To use these sources, place a question mark after the year in that source’s Works Cited entry.

Darwin, Charles. Things of the Week . 1859?, The Natural History Museum, London. Diary.

Approximate Dates

Approximate dates are those placed within a particular era. You’ll often see this listed as “c.” or “circa”, Latin for “about”. For these sources, precede the MLA date range with “Circa” spelled out:

Austen, Cassandra. Jane Austen . Circa 1810. National Portrait Gallery, London. www.npg.org.uk/collections/search/portrait/mw00230/Jane-Austen

Oftentimes, historical objects are approximated to a century or period. Here, you don’t need to provide “Circa” but instead must write the century. Do not use numerals.

Gutenberg, Johann. The Gutenberg Bible . Fifteenth century. The British Library, London BLL01018826226.

MLA Date Formatting: Referencing Classic Works

For classic works seen in facsimile form or reprinted in many editions, you must always include the date of the edition you’ve consulted. However, for context, you may want to list the original date. Here, place the original date after the author’s name in the Works Cited entry. Add the date of the edition you consulted at the end with the publishing information.

Darwin, Charles. 1859. On the Origin of Species by Means of Natural Selection, Or, the Preservation of Favoured Races in the Struggle for Life. New York: Modern Library, 2009.

Ireland

Do months need to be abbreviated in MLA date formatting?

Yes. Any month over four characters long must be abbreviated in the Works Cited entry. Do not abbreviate months within the main text.

How does MLA date formatting deal with undated online sources?

For undated online sources, provide an access date as “Accessed Day Month Year.”

What level of detail should I provide with MLA date formatting?

Try to provide as much given date information as possible following the formatting conventions.

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Home / Guides / Citation Guides / MLA Format / How to Format the Publication Date in MLA 9

How to Format the Publication Date in MLA 9

Cite in MLA automatically using EasyBib’s citation generator.

Formatting the Publication Date in MLA 9

The publication date refers to the date that the source was made available. The formatting and placement of the date within the citation, as well as the amount of information included, varies based on the type of source being cited. When formatting sources with publication dates, keep the following in mind:

  • When there is more than one publication date, use the one that is most recent and/or most relevant to your research.
  • Include the date as it is shown on the source — for instance, use the season/year for a journal article or just the year for a book.
  • Online versions of articles sometimes display two dates: 1) the date the article was posted online and 2) the date that the printed version was published. If you used the online version, only include that date in your citation.
  • The MLA 9 Handbook recommends locating the publication date of books directly from the source rather than relying on online catalogs or book retailers, as their information may be incorrect.
  • For many online sources, you may also need to include the date that you accessed the source if the source has no publication date or the source is expected to change.
  • If you are including the publication month, months with names longer than four letters should be abbreviated to the first three letters.
  • Publication years are not included in the citations in prose (in-text citations) in MLA 9.

Book Publication Dates in MLA 9:

When citing a book in MLA 9, it is only necessary to include the publication year. This can be found on the book’s copyright page. If several years are listed, only include the most recent one. Additionally, if the copyright page includes both the month and year the book was published, you only need to include the year in your citation. When citing the e-book version of a book, you should use the publication year of the e-book version specifically, rather than the publication year of the original book.

Morgenstern, Erin. The Starless Sea. Doubleday, 2019 .

Journal Article Publication Dates in MLA 9:

Journal articles will often provide either a publication season (i.e., fall or spring) and year, or a publication day, month, and year (or sometimes both). If both types of dates are included, you should include the one that is most specific in your citation (which will usually be the day and/or month and year). The publication date for a journal article can usually be found on the title page of the journal, in the header or footer of the article, on the article’s cover page, or at the top of the webpage.

Butarbutar, Ranta, et al. “Analyzing of Puzzle Local Culture-Based in Teaching English for Young Learners.” IOP Conference Series: Earth and Environmental Science , vol. 343, no. 1, Nov. 2019 , https://doi.org/10.1088/1755-1315/343/1/012208.

Online Article Publication Dates in MLA 9:

Most online articles on news sites or other online publications will provide a full publication day, month, and year. You should include as much date information as is available.

Richtel, Matt. “Texting and Driving? Watch Out for the Textalyzer.” The New York Times, 27 Apr. 2016 , www.nytimes.com/2016/04/28/science/driving-texting-safety-textalyzer.html?smid=pl-share.

Website Publication Dates in MLA 9:

A general web page will often only have a publication year, which is usually found at the bottom of the webpage. However, if the month and/or day are also provided, you should include those as well. Webpages will also sometimes provide the date the page was last updated. In that case, you should provide the most recent date in your citation. Webpages may also provide no publication date, in which case you should instead provide the date that you accessed the webpage at the end of the citation. You should also provide the date you accessed the webpage (in addition to its publication date) if the information on the webpage is expected to change over time (for example, a page with statistics that are continually updated).

COVID Data Tracker . Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 19 July 2022 , covid.cdc.gov/covid-data-tracker/#datatracker-home. Accessed 20 July 2022 .

YouTube Video Publication Dates in MLA 9:

When citing a YouTube video, you should use the date that the video was uploaded as the publication date. This date should include the day, month, and year that the video was uploaded, and is usually found beneath the video.

“‘Ew!’ With Jennifer Lopez.” YouTube , uploaded by The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon, 1 7 Feb. 2016 , www.youtube.com/watch?v=KX1bQ1sGiIA.

Social Media Publication Dates in MLA 9:

When citing a social media post, the date the content was posted should be used as the publication date. This is usually found directly underneath or above the posted content. Since social media posts are sometimes edited or removed after being posted, you may want to include an access date as well (though this is optional).

National Park Service. Photo of a Western Osprey. Instagram , 20 June 2022 , www.instagram.com/p/CfDCb4vDHcE/?igshid=YmMyMTA2M2Y=. Accessed 20 July 2022 .

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6.10: MLA Essay Format

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One of the ways we can create a sense of being part of one larger academic conversation is by adopting an agreed-upon, consistent and uniform way of presenting academic material. By following these conventions, we build our credibility because we signal to readers that we are part of the larger conversation and aware of its customs. For English classes and a variety of humanities disciplines, the agreed-upon style is called MLA.  For other classes, you may also be asked to format your papers in APA or Chicago Style.

The following sample paper shows how the first page of a paper written in MLA is formatted. Note the header information in the upper-left corner, the last name and page numbers in the upper-right corner, the double-spaced text, and indentations that begin each paragraph:

Sample first page of an MLA-formatted student paper that follows the guidelines.

Use a Template

The simplest way to get the format right is to use a template.  You can download this MLA format essay template  and open it in any word processing program. (You can also make a copy of the Google Docs template  rather than downloading.) Then just replace the text with your own name, title, and essay. A slightly different way is to create a new document in Google Docs, Pages, or Microsoft Word and use the built-in template for MLA essays. You'll want to choose the option to create a new document from a template and then search the template gallery for "MLA," which may be categorized under "Education."

General MLA Formatting Rules

If you prefer not to use a template, you can also manually format your essay.

  • Font : Your paper should be written in 12-point text. Whichever font you choose, MLA requires that regular and italicized text be easily distinguishable from each other. Times and Times New Roman are often recommended.
  • Line Spacing : All text in your paper should be double-spaced.
  • Margins : All page margins (top, bottom, left, and right) should be 1 inch. All text should be left justified.
  • Indentation : The first line of every paragraph should be indented 0.5 inches.
  • Page Numbers : Create a right-justified header 0.5 inches from the top edge of every page. This header should include your last name, followed by a space and the page number. Your pages should be numbered with Arabic numerals (1, 2, 3…) and should start with the number 1 on your title page. Most word-processing programs have the ability to automatically add the correct page number to each page so you don’t have to do this by hand.
  • Use of Italics: In MLA style, you should italicize (rather than underline) the titles of books, plays, or other standalone works (shorter works such as articles or speeches should be in quotation marks with no italics). You should also italicize (rather than underline) words or phrases you want to lend particular emphasis—though you should do this rarely.
  • on the first line, your first and last name
  • on the second line, your instructor’s name
  • on the third line, the name of the class
  • on the fourth line, the date
  • The title: After the header, the next double-spaced line should include the title of your paper. This should be centered and in title case, and it should not be bolded, underlined, or italicized (unless it includes the name of a book, in which case just the book title should be italicized).

Additional resources

Visit the Modern Language Association website to see an example of a student paper following MLA guidelines. You can also read more on the MLA website about correctly formatting your document.

Attributions

Adapted by Anna Mills from English Composition I: MLA Document Formatting , provided by Lumen Learning and licensed  CC BY-SA .

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MLA In-Text Citations: The Basics

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MLA (Modern Language Association) style is most commonly used to write papers and cite sources within the liberal arts and humanities. This resource, updated to reflect the MLA Handbook (9 th ed.), offers examples for the general format of MLA research papers, in-text citations, endnotes/footnotes, and the Works Cited page.

Guidelines for referring to the works of others in your text using MLA style are covered throughout the  MLA Handbook  and in chapter 7 of the  MLA Style Manual . Both books provide extensive examples, so it's a good idea to consult them if you want to become even more familiar with MLA guidelines or if you have a particular reference question.

Basic in-text citation rules

In MLA Style, referring to the works of others in your text is done using parenthetical citations . This method involves providing relevant source information in parentheses whenever a sentence uses a quotation or paraphrase. Usually, the simplest way to do this is to put all of the source information in parentheses at the end of the sentence (i.e., just before the period). However, as the examples below will illustrate, there are situations where it makes sense to put the parenthetical elsewhere in the sentence, or even to leave information out.

General Guidelines

  • The source information required in a parenthetical citation depends (1) upon the source medium (e.g. print, web, DVD) and (2) upon the source’s entry on the Works Cited page.
  • Any source information that you provide in-text must correspond to the source information on the Works Cited page. More specifically, whatever signal word or phrase you provide to your readers in the text must be the first thing that appears on the left-hand margin of the corresponding entry on the Works Cited page.

In-text citations: Author-page style

MLA format follows the author-page method of in-text citation. This means that the author's last name and the page number(s) from which the quotation or paraphrase is taken must appear in the text, and a complete reference should appear on your Works Cited page. The author's name may appear either in the sentence itself or in parentheses following the quotation or paraphrase, but the page number(s) should always appear in the parentheses, not in the text of your sentence. For example:

Both citations in the examples above, (263) and (Wordsworth 263), tell readers that the information in the sentence can be located on page 263 of a work by an author named Wordsworth. If readers want more information about this source, they can turn to the Works Cited page, where, under the name of Wordsworth, they would find the following information:

Wordsworth, William. Lyrical Ballads . Oxford UP, 1967.

In-text citations for print sources with known author

For print sources like books, magazines, scholarly journal articles, and newspapers, provide a signal word or phrase (usually the author’s last name) and a page number. If you provide the signal word/phrase in the sentence, you do not need to include it in the parenthetical citation.

These examples must correspond to an entry that begins with Burke, which will be the first thing that appears on the left-hand margin of an entry on the Works Cited page:

Burke, Kenneth. Language as Symbolic Action: Essays on Life, Literature, and Method . University of California Press, 1966.

In-text citations for print sources by a corporate author

When a source has a corporate author, it is acceptable to use the name of the corporation followed by the page number for the in-text citation. You should also use abbreviations (e.g., nat'l for national) where appropriate, so as to avoid interrupting the flow of reading with overly long parenthetical citations.

In-text citations for sources with non-standard labeling systems

If a source uses a labeling or numbering system other than page numbers, such as a script or poetry, precede the citation with said label. When citing a poem, for instance, the parenthetical would begin with the word “line”, and then the line number or range. For example, the examination of William Blake’s poem “The Tyger” would be cited as such:

The speaker makes an ardent call for the exploration of the connection between the violence of nature and the divinity of creation. “In what distant deeps or skies. / Burnt the fire of thine eyes," they ask in reference to the tiger as they attempt to reconcile their intimidation with their relationship to creationism (lines 5-6).

Longer labels, such as chapters (ch.) and scenes (sc.), should be abbreviated.

In-text citations for print sources with no known author

When a source has no known author, use a shortened title of the work instead of an author name, following these guidelines.

Place the title in quotation marks if it's a short work (such as an article) or italicize it if it's a longer work (e.g. plays, books, television shows, entire Web sites) and provide a page number if it is available.

Titles longer than a standard noun phrase should be shortened into a noun phrase by excluding articles. For example, To the Lighthouse would be shortened to Lighthouse .

If the title cannot be easily shortened into a noun phrase, the title should be cut after the first clause, phrase, or punctuation:

In this example, since the reader does not know the author of the article, an abbreviated title appears in the parenthetical citation, and the full title of the article appears first at the left-hand margin of its respective entry on the Works Cited page. Thus, the writer includes the title in quotation marks as the signal phrase in the parenthetical citation in order to lead the reader directly to the source on the Works Cited page. The Works Cited entry appears as follows:

"The Impact of Global Warming in North America." Global Warming: Early Signs . 1999. www.climatehotmap.org/. Accessed 23 Mar. 2009.

If the title of the work begins with a quotation mark, such as a title that refers to another work, that quote or quoted title can be used as the shortened title. The single quotation marks must be included in the parenthetical, rather than the double quotation.

Parenthetical citations and Works Cited pages, used in conjunction, allow readers to know which sources you consulted in writing your essay, so that they can either verify your interpretation of the sources or use them in their own scholarly work.

Author-page citation for classic and literary works with multiple editions

Page numbers are always required, but additional citation information can help literary scholars, who may have a different edition of a classic work, like Marx and Engels's  The Communist Manifesto . In such cases, give the page number of your edition (making sure the edition is listed in your Works Cited page, of course) followed by a semicolon, and then the appropriate abbreviations for volume (vol.), book (bk.), part (pt.), chapter (ch.), section (sec.), or paragraph (par.). For example:

Author-page citation for works in an anthology, periodical, or collection

When you cite a work that appears inside a larger source (for instance, an article in a periodical or an essay in a collection), cite the author of the  internal source (i.e., the article or essay). For example, to cite Albert Einstein's article "A Brief Outline of the Theory of Relativity," which was published in  Nature  in 1921, you might write something like this:

See also our page on documenting periodicals in the Works Cited .

Citing authors with same last names

Sometimes more information is necessary to identify the source from which a quotation is taken. For instance, if two or more authors have the same last name, provide both authors' first initials (or even the authors' full name if different authors share initials) in your citation. For example:

Citing a work by multiple authors

For a source with two authors, list the authors’ last names in the text or in the parenthetical citation:

Corresponding Works Cited entry:

Best, David, and Sharon Marcus. “Surface Reading: An Introduction.” Representations , vol. 108, no. 1, Fall 2009, pp. 1-21. JSTOR, doi:10.1525/rep.2009.108.1.1

For a source with three or more authors, list only the first author’s last name, and replace the additional names with et al.

Franck, Caroline, et al. “Agricultural Subsidies and the American Obesity Epidemic.” American Journal of Preventative Medicine , vol. 45, no. 3, Sept. 2013, pp. 327-333.

Citing multiple works by the same author

If you cite more than one work by an author, include a shortened title for the particular work from which you are quoting to distinguish it from the others. Put short titles of books in italics and short titles of articles in quotation marks.

Citing two articles by the same author :

Citing two books by the same author :

Additionally, if the author's name is not mentioned in the sentence, format your citation with the author's name followed by a comma, followed by a shortened title of the work, and, when appropriate, the page number(s):

Citing multivolume works

If you cite from different volumes of a multivolume work, always include the volume number followed by a colon. Put a space after the colon, then provide the page number(s). (If you only cite from one volume, provide only the page number in parentheses.)

Citing the Bible

In your first parenthetical citation, you want to make clear which Bible you're using (and underline or italicize the title), as each version varies in its translation, followed by book (do not italicize or underline), chapter, and verse. For example:

If future references employ the same edition of the Bible you’re using, list only the book, chapter, and verse in the parenthetical citation:

John of Patmos echoes this passage when describing his vision (Rev. 4.6-8).

Citing indirect sources

Sometimes you may have to use an indirect source. An indirect source is a source cited within another source. For such indirect quotations, use "qtd. in" to indicate the source you actually consulted. For example:

Note that, in most cases, a responsible researcher will attempt to find the original source, rather than citing an indirect source.

Citing transcripts, plays, or screenplays

Sources that take the form of a dialogue involving two or more participants have special guidelines for their quotation and citation. Each line of dialogue should begin with the speaker's name written in all capitals and indented half an inch. A period follows the name (e.g., JAMES.) . After the period, write the dialogue. Each successive line after the first should receive an additional indentation. When another person begins speaking, start a new line with that person's name indented only half an inch. Repeat this pattern each time the speaker changes. You can include stage directions in the quote if they appear in the original source.

Conclude with a parenthetical that explains where to find the excerpt in the source. Usually, the author and title of the source can be given in a signal phrase before quoting the excerpt, so the concluding parenthetical will often just contain location information like page numbers or act/scene indicators.

Here is an example from O'Neill's  The Iceman Cometh.

WILLIE. (Pleadingly) Give me a drink, Rocky. Harry said it was all right. God, I need a drink.

ROCKY. Den grab it. It's right under your nose.

WILLIE. (Avidly) Thanks. (He takes the bottle with both twitching hands and tilts it to his lips and gulps down the whiskey in big swallows.) (1.1)

Citing non-print or sources from the Internet

With more and more scholarly work published on the Internet, you may have to cite sources you found in digital environments. While many sources on the Internet should not be used for scholarly work (reference the OWL's  Evaluating Sources of Information  resource), some Web sources are perfectly acceptable for research. When creating in-text citations for electronic, film, or Internet sources, remember that your citation must reference the source on your Works Cited page.

Sometimes writers are confused with how to craft parenthetical citations for electronic sources because of the absence of page numbers. However, these sorts of entries often do not require a page number in the parenthetical citation. For electronic and Internet sources, follow the following guidelines:

  • Include in the text the first item that appears in the Work Cited entry that corresponds to the citation (e.g. author name, article name, website name, film name).
  • Do not provide paragraph numbers or page numbers based on your Web browser’s print preview function.
  • Unless you must list the Web site name in the signal phrase in order to get the reader to the appropriate entry, do not include URLs in-text. Only provide partial URLs such as when the name of the site includes, for example, a domain name, like  CNN.com  or  Forbes.com,  as opposed to writing out http://www.cnn.com or http://www.forbes.com.

Miscellaneous non-print sources

Two types of non-print sources you may encounter are films and lectures/presentations:

In the two examples above “Herzog” (a film’s director) and “Yates” (a presentor) lead the reader to the first item in each citation’s respective entry on the Works Cited page:

Herzog, Werner, dir. Fitzcarraldo . Perf. Klaus Kinski. Filmverlag der Autoren, 1982.

Yates, Jane. "Invention in Rhetoric and Composition." Gaps Addressed: Future Work in Rhetoric and Composition, CCCC, Palmer House Hilton, 2002. Address.

Electronic sources

Electronic sources may include web pages and online news or magazine articles:

In the first example (an online magazine article), the writer has chosen not to include the author name in-text; however, two entries from the same author appear in the Works Cited. Thus, the writer includes both the author’s last name and the article title in the parenthetical citation in order to lead the reader to the appropriate entry on the Works Cited page (see below).

In the second example (a web page), a parenthetical citation is not necessary because the page does not list an author, and the title of the article, “MLA Formatting and Style Guide,” is used as a signal phrase within the sentence. If the title of the article was not named in the sentence, an abbreviated version would appear in a parenthetical citation at the end of the sentence. Both corresponding Works Cited entries are as follows:

Taylor, Rumsey. "Fitzcarraldo." Slant , 13 Jun. 2003, www.slantmagazine.com/film/review/fitzcarraldo/. Accessed 29 Sep. 2009. 

"MLA Formatting and Style Guide." The Purdue OWL , 2 Aug. 2016, owl.english.purdue.edu/owl/resource/747/01/. Accessed 2 April 2018.

Multiple citations

To cite multiple sources in the same parenthetical reference, separate the citations by a semi-colon:

Time-based media sources

When creating in-text citations for media that has a runtime, such as a movie or podcast, include the range of hours, minutes and seconds you plan to reference. For example: (00:02:15-00:02:35).

When a citation is not needed

Common sense and ethics should determine your need for documenting sources. You do not need to give sources for familiar proverbs, well-known quotations, or common knowledge (For example, it is expected that U.S. citizens know that George Washington was the first President.). Remember that citing sources is a rhetorical task, and, as such, can vary based on your audience. If you’re writing for an expert audience of a scholarly journal, for example, you may need to deal with expectations of what constitutes “common knowledge” that differ from common norms.

Other Sources

The MLA Handbook describes how to cite many different kinds of authors and content creators. However, you may occasionally encounter a source or author category that the handbook does not describe, making the best way to proceed can be unclear.

In these cases, it's typically acceptable to apply the general principles of MLA citation to the new kind of source in a way that's consistent and sensible. A good way to do this is to simply use the standard MLA directions for a type of source that resembles the source you want to cite.

You may also want to investigate whether a third-party organization has provided directions for how to cite this kind of source. For example, Norquest College provides guidelines for citing Indigenous Elders and Knowledge Keepers⁠ —an author category that does not appear in the MLA Handbook . In cases like this, however, it's a good idea to ask your instructor or supervisor whether using third-party citation guidelines might present problems.

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MLA Title Page | When You Need One & How to Format It

Published on July 12, 2021 by Jack Caulfield . Revised on March 5, 2024.

In MLA style , a title page is usually not required for your paper. Instead, MLA recommends including a header on your first page listing your name, your instructor’s name, the course name and number, and the submission date, followed by the title of your paper.

However, you should include a separate title page instead in these cases:

  • Your instructor requires it
  • The paper is a group project (i.e. you need to list multiple authors)

The formats for a separate title page and a first-page header are shown below. You can also use our templates in Word or Google Docs.

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Table of contents

Mla title page format, creating an mla header, frequently asked questions about mla format.

To create an MLA format title page, list the following on separate lines, left-aligned at the top of the page:

  • Your co-authors’ names, each on its own line, if it’s a group project
  • Your instructor’s name
  • The course name and number
  • The submission date

Then leave a few blank lines and list the title of the paper, centered and in title case, halfway down the page. All text should be double-spaced and in the same font as the rest of the paper.

MLA title page

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Most MLA papers will instead list this information in a header , which appears on the same page as your opening paragraphs instead of on a separate page before them. In the header, left-aligned, list

Then on the next line, write the title of your paper, centered and in title case. On the line after that, start your first paragraph. The header and title should be double-spaced, like the rest of the paper.

MLA header

Usually, no title page is needed in an MLA paper . A header is generally included at the top of the first page instead. The exceptions are when:

  • Your instructor requires one, or
  • Your paper is a group project

In those cases, you should use a title page instead of a header, listing the same information but on a separate page.

If you’re working on a group project and therefore need to list multiple authors for your paper , MLA recommends against including a normal header . Instead, create a separate title page .

On the title page, list each author on a separate line, followed by the other usual information from the header: Instructor, course name and number, and submission date. Then write the title halfway down the page, centered, and start the text of the paper itself on the next page.

MLA recommends using 12-point Times New Roman , since it’s easy to read and installed on every computer. Other standard fonts such as Arial or Georgia are also acceptable. If in doubt, check with your supervisor which font you should be using.

MLA Style  is the second most used citation style (after APA ). It is mainly used by students and researchers in humanities fields such as literature, languages, and philosophy.

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If you want to cite this source, you can copy and paste the citation or click the “Cite this Scribbr article” button to automatically add the citation to our free Citation Generator.

Caulfield, J. (2024, March 05). MLA Title Page | When You Need One & How to Format It. Scribbr. Retrieved March 12, 2024, from https://www.scribbr.com/mla/mla-title-page/

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    Date the paper is due; MLA style rules. 1 MLA format uses the Oxford comma, aka the serial comma. 2 Spell out numbers or fractions that can be written in one or two words (e.g., eighty-eight, five million, or two-thirds). Use numerals for when more than two words are needed (e.g., 101; 2,981; or 2 ½).

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  7. What date should I give in the header of my paper ...

    For up-to-date guidance, see the ninth edition of the MLA Handbook. Follow your teacher's instructions, but if you do not receive guidance, list the date you finished writing the paper. Filed Under: dates , formatting a paper

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    An integral factor of this style is the unique MLA date format. It employs a day-month-year structure, abbreviating month names, except for May, June, and July. For example, a date in MLA style would appear as "1 Jan. 2023.". This consistent date formatting in MLA style illustrates a clear chronological context for cited sources.

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