PERRLA/MLA 101
MLA 101: the MLA format in eighteen short lessons.
A plain-English course on the MLA format, 9th edition, in eighteen short lessons. Start at the top if MLA is new to you, or jump to the lesson you need tonight. Every lesson is free, whether or not you ever use PERRLA.
Short on time? Start with the five lessons marked Core lesson. Together they cover the parts of the MLA format every student paper uses.
Section 1: MLA Foundations
Lessons 1 and 2
- 1
Welcome to MLA 101
How the course is laid out, and what a clean MLA 9 paper needs before you type the first word.
- 2
What is MLA?
Where the format comes from, why your instructor asks for it, and how it differs from APA.
Section 2: Formatting Basics
Lessons 3 to 6
- 3
Basic page setup
One-inch margins, a readable 12-point font, double spacing, the half-inch indent, and your last name with the page number in the top right.
Core lesson - 4
The first page: heading and title
The four-line heading, the centered title, and what to do when an instructor asks for a title page instead.
Core lesson - 5
Body pages
Paragraph formatting that stays the same to the last page, and why MLA papers rarely need an "Introduction" heading.
- 6
The Works Cited page
A new page, the centered Works Cited label, alphabetical order, and hanging indents.
Core lesson
Section 3: Elements of the Body
Lessons 7 and 8
- 7
Headings in MLA
What MLA actually says about headings, a simple format that follows it, and when a paper needs none at all.
- 8
Why and what to cite
Which words, ideas, numbers, and images need credit, and a quick rule of thumb for the borderline cases.
Section 4: Works Cited and Citations
Lessons 9 to 14
- 9
Adding Works Cited entries
The nine core elements, containers, and the one template behind every MLA entry.
- 10
Formatting a book entry
Author's full name, the italic title in title case, the publisher, and the year.
- 11
Formatting a journal article entry
The article in quotation marks, the journal in italics, then volume, issue, year, pages, and the DOI.
- 12
Formatting a web page entry
The page title, the website, the date, the URL without https://, and when an access date helps.
- 13
In-text citations
Author and page with no comma, two authors joined by "and," et al. for three or more, and sources with no author or no page.
Core lesson - 14
Block quotes
Prose longer than four lines, or poetry longer than three, moves into an indented block with the citation after the final period.
Section 5: The Writing Process
Lessons 15 to 18
- 15
Academic tone and voice
How to sound calm, objective, and credible without sounding stiff.
- 16
Structuring an MLA paper
A thesis up front, one point per paragraph, an outline first, and transitions that keep the argument in view.
- 17
Writing with sources and avoiding plagiarism
Quoting, paraphrasing, and summarizing, with the citation that keeps your use of sources clear.
- 18
Final checks and common mistakes
The last pass before you submit: the mistakes that cost the most points, and a short list to run through.
Core lesson
Then learn PERRLA in 20 minutes.
PERRLA 101 is a free, self-paced course on using PERRLA: set up a paper, add and cite a source, check it, and download it, in about 20 minutes. No signup.
It covers the same ground as this course from the other direction: instead of learning the rules, you see a paper get set up, cited, and finished with the rules handled for you. Rather see it live? Our support team walks through PERRLA on Zoom four times a week, free, on the schedule above. Join a live session, or get a reminder before the next one.
Everything in these eighteen lessons is set for you when you write the paper in PERRLA.
Try PERRLA free for 7 days