The most commonly used writing styles for whitepapers, literatures and humanities subject is MLA (Modern Language Association) style. Modern Language Association of America has fist published this in 1985 and is currently in its 7th edition. MLA style is widely used across the world by academicians, professional writers and scholars. The MLA Style Manual has two sections or publications, MLA documentation style and MLA Director of Book Acquisitions and Development. The main purpose of the MLA style is to address the scholars, writers and academic researchers to present their work in this format for major journals. It provides a format or framework to present the manuscript, in text citations and parenthetical citations. The style helps the writers to present their work in a systematic way for referencing their sources. The guidelines for using MLA style of writing are simple and easy to follow. The writer must choose a particular style of writing based on the requirements of journal, University or area of study. A writer cannot blindly choose any kind of writing style neglecting the requirements.
The style emphasizes on clarity and consistency. The correct usage of MLA style helps you relive from plagiarism problems. The main advantages or importance of using the MLA style of writing is:
- Helps readers locate the resources easily with citations.
- Gives credit to original writers and avoids plagiarism.
- To get credibility for your work.
- Maintain consistency.
- Helps you put forward the work in a professional and academic style.
- To achieve better grades in dissertations or thesis.
There are simple steps being provided in the handbook on how to write in MLA style. Any student can easily understand and follow the style. It is better that students are up to date with all the latest styles of writing which will help them in preparing their work.