Welcome to The Source, your guide to The MLA Style Center’s latest resources on writing, research, and documentation! Tell us what you want to know!
How You Can Use the Singular They
Using the singular they is a way to make your language more inclusive and to avoid making assumptions about gender. A new post on The MLA Style Center shows you ways you can use the singular they and other alternatives to “he or she.” Read more.
Better Writing through Reading
Skimming has its use, but one instructor argues for the value of deep reading for improving students’ writing. Learn more.
Building a Well-Structured Essay
Strong topic sentences are the foundation for a coherent essay. How can you use them to guide your reader? Find out!
When to Leave Them Hanging
If you’re sacrificing clarity to avoid ending a sentence with a preposition, think twice. Get advice on when it’s best to dangle.
Lesson Plan: Analyzing Rhetoric
Experienced writing instructors offer a lesson plan for helping students analyze writers’ rhetoric. View the lesson!
Citing Authors with the Same Last Name
If you’ve cited works by two authors with the same last name, do you need to mention the authors’ first names anytime you refer to these sources in your prose? How about in your parenthetical citations? Find out!
Multimedia! Is Mass Media a Plural or Singular Term?
Media are . . . ? Media is . . . ? When you’re referring to the mass media, should you treat media as a singular or plural term? Learn more!
Keeping up with the Joneses: The Plural of Family Names Ending in S
How do you form the plural and the plural possessive of family names that end in s? Our editors give you guidelines and examples in this Ask the MLA post. Read more!
