A handy chart of the major English styles: Chicago, MLA, and APA.

The authors of the leading academic style guide for the humanities write that “The problem . . . is the increasing mobility of texts. The sources with which we work are discovered in locations and formats different from those in which they were originally published, and we have no way of knowing today where those sources might end up tomorrow.”

A properly formatted paper with citations makes you look smart and proves what you know. It’s like wearing a suit to a job interview. Here are some tips to help make the process of writing citations enjoyable, or at least painless.

Although students may feel intimidated by the requirement to strictly follow any specific style, including MLA, the truth is that MLA style really is not that complicated. Following are a few quick tips we suggest at proofreadingpal.com for properly formatting an MLA document:

The MLA currently claims about 30,000 members in about 100 countries. Although founded in the United States in 1883 and headquartered in New York City, the MLA’s membership and influence extend worldwide