ELI5: Explain Like I'm 5

MLA style

MLA style is a set of rules for writing and citing things like books, articles, and websites. It's kind of like a recipe for writing a paper. Just like with a recipe, if you don't follow the instructions, your paper might not turn out very well.

So, let's imagine you're making a cake. Your recipe might tell you to use certain amounts of flour, sugar, eggs, and butter. MLA style is like those measurements, but for writing. It tells you how to format your paper, how to use punctuation, how to make a bibliography (a list of the sources you used), and lots of other important things.

But why do we need MLA style? Well, imagine you're reading a really cool book, and you want to know where the author got their information. If the author used MLA style to cite their sources, you could look at their bibliography and find the exact article or book they used. That way, you could learn more about the subject and maybe even become an expert, just like the author!

So, MLA style might seem like a lot of rules, but it's really just a way to make sure everyone can find the information they need. And just like with baking a cake, the more you practice using MLA style, the easier it will become!