MLA Style: When and How to Use It (Humanities & Arts)

If you are studying English Literature at UM, Linguistics at UKM, or Performing Arts at USM, you likely do not care about the “year” a book was published as much as where the quote is located on the page.

Welcome to MLA Style (Modern Language Association).

Unlike APA (which obsesses over dates because science changes every year), MLA obsesses over the Page Number. Why? Because whether you are analyzing Hamlet printed in 1950 or 2020, the text is the same. The examiner wants to find the exact line you are analyzing.

However, MLA is deceptively simple. It looks easy until you have to cite a poem, a translated Malay novel, or a YouTube video. Here is your guide to mastering MLA 9th Edition in the Malaysian context.

More on Citations/References.

1. The Core Philosophy: “Author-Page”

The biggest mistake students make is treating MLA like APA.

• APA (Social Sciences): Focuses on Author + Year (Ali, 2023).
• MLA (Humanities): Focuses on Author + Page (Ali 145).

The Golden Rule: In your in-text citation, there is NO COMMA between the author’s name and the page number.

• Wrong: (Ali, 145) -> This looks like APA but with a missing year.
• Right: (Ali 145) -> This is pure MLA.

2. In-Text Citations: The “Bracket” Rules

A. The Standard Citation

If you quote a sentence, put the author and page at the end.

“The colonial gaze often distorts the native narrative” (Said 25).

B. The Narrative Citation

If you mention the author in your sentence, do not repeat their name in the bracket.

Edward Said argues that the colonial gaze distorts the narrative (25).

C. Citing Poetry (The “Line” Rule)

If you are analyzing a poem (e.g., citation of A. Samad Said or Wordsworth), you do not use page numbers. You use line numbers.

“I wandered lonely as a cloud” (Wordsworth line 1).

3. The “Works Cited” List (Not Bibliography)

In MLA, the list at the end of your essay is strictly called Works Cited. Do not call it “References” (APA) or “Bibliography” (Chicago).

The format is unique because it follows a “Container” system. You list the pieces of information in a specific order:

1. Author.
2. Title of Source.
3. Title of Container (e.g., Journal Name, Website Name).
4. Other Contributors (e.g., Translators).
5. Version.
6. Number.
7. Publisher.
8. Publication Date.
9. Location (e.g., Page Range, URL).

Example (Book):

Ishiguro, Kazuo. Klara and the Sun. Faber & Faber, 2021.

Example (Journal Article):

Ali, Azlan. “Modernism in Malaysian Literature.” Journal of Southeast Asian Studies, vol. 12, no. 3, 2024, pp. 45-60.

4. How to Cite Translated Works (Malaysian Context)

In Malaysian humanities departments, you often analyze Malay texts translated into English (or vice versa). MLA requires you to credit the Translator.

Format:

Author. Title. Translated by Name, Publisher, Year.

Example:

A. Samad Said. Salina. Translated by Hawa Abdullah, Dewan Bahasa dan Pustaka, 2018.

In-Text:

(A. Samad Said 120).

5. Block Quotes: When the Quote is Too Long

In Literature analysis, you often quote entire paragraphs.

• The Rule: If the quote is longer than 4 lines of prose (or 3 lines of poetry), you must use a Block Quote.
• Formatting: Indent the entire quote 1.27cm (0.5 inch) from the left margin.
• No Quotation Marks: Do not use “ ” marks around a block quote.
• Punctuation: The period goes before the bracket (Ali 45). (This is the opposite of standard citations!).

6. Common MLA Formatting Disasters

1. The “p.” Error: Do not write (p. 25). Just write (25).
2. The “Year” Habit: Do not write (Ali 2023). MLA does not care about the year in the text.
3. Hanging Indent: Your Works Cited entries must have a “Hanging Indent” (the second line is pushed in). If they are flush left, it is wrong.

Tired of fighting with “Hanging Indents”? Formatting a 50-page literature review in MLA style can be tedious.

• [Manuscript Style Formatting] – We ensure your “Works Cited” page is perfect, your block quotes are indented correctly, and your “Author-Page” citations are consistent.
• [Citations & References Adjustment] – We fix your bibliography to meet the strict MLA 9th Edition standards.