Basic MLA Principles

Basic MLA Principles

• Why we document
• The relationship between the Works Cited page and parenthetical documentation
• General guidelines for Works Cited page format

Once you understand and can apply these basic principles, all the other rules in MLA documentation make much more sense--and you can use handbooks to refresh your memory about specific rules, so a lot of memorization isn't necessary. But unless you understand these three basic principles, nothing else about MLA documentation makes much sense.

Most people will spend approximately ninety minutes on this review of basic MLA principles.

Ready to begin our review of basic principles? Let's start with why we document.