There are five commonly used citation formats. They are the American Psychological Association citation format, the Modern Language Association citation format, the American Medical Association citation format, the Turabian citation format and the Chicago citation format. The Modern Language Association (MLA) is used mostly in essays relating to literature and arts. And of these five, the MLA citation format is relatively simple to use. And probably because of its simplicity MLA is one of the most commonly used citation formats.

     In the MLA citation format parenthetical documentation is given importance. The MLA citation format requires the writer to identify a research resource through the use of parenthetical in-text citation. This makes subsequent review easier. In-text citation usually consists of the author's last name and the page on which the quote or idea used appears. In case the name of the author is included in the text of the essay, it can be omitted from the parenthetical documentation.

     Parenthetical credentials are placed within the essay immediately after the used quote or idea. This in-text citation is linked to a works cited list at the end of the essay. The works cited list at the end of the essay should be on a separate sheet. This is an alphabetically arranged list of the works that were consulted in writing the essay. If the essay makes use of several works by the same author a portion of the title of the work must be referred within the parenthetical citation. There are several such nuances in the MLA citation format. Any good guide on the subject will clarify the finer distinctions with examples.

    Throughout school and college we are all required to write essays and research papers. It is not always that these essays and research papers are made up of our own words and ideas. Often we are required to paraphrase, quote and use the ideas of others. Whenever we do this we must indicate the source from where this quote or idea came.  If this is not done it will amount to plagiarism. Besides this, citing sources makes review of the essay more meaningful.

    The rules and conventions that are required to be followed by the MLA citation format are explained in numerous literatures available both on and off line. Many of these guides also provide examples for in-text citation and works cited. Invariably all these guides for the MLA citation format are based on the MLA Handbook for Writers of Research Papers.

    Often we use the language or ideas of others taken from such sources as books, journals, periodicals, magazines and websites. The rules and conventions of the MLA citation format are different for different types of sources. For the MLA citation format sources are divided into three major categories: books, articles in newspapers and periodicals and online sources. There are marginal differences in the parenthesis documentation and works cited based on which source the quote or idea is from.

    What the MLA citation format does for your essay is that it enhances the quality of the essay and adds a touch of class to it. It also enables easier reader review and eliminates the chance of plagiarism. The works cited at the end of the essay is an indication of the amount of research that has been done in writing the essay.