MLA FORMATTING
"MLA (Modern Language Association) style is most commonly
used to write papers and cite sources within the liberal arts and
humanities. This resource, updated to reflect the MLA Handbook
for Writers of Research Papers (7th ed.) and the MLA Style
Manual and Guide to Scholarly Publishing (3rd ed.), offers
examples for the general format of MLA research papers, in-text
citations, endnotes/footnotes, and the Works Cited page." (Purdue
OWL)
Works Cited
Purdue OWL. "MLA Formatting and Style Guide." The Purdue
OWL. Purdue U Writing Lab, 10 May 2008. Web. 15 Nov.
2008.
What is MLA formatting and
why do I need to use it?
• One inch at the top and bottom and on
both sides of the text (4.1).
Except for page numbers, the
margins on the pages of an
MLA-formatted paper should
be _____?
• indent the first word of a paragraph one-half inch from
the left margin (5 typed spaces or one tab) (4.1).
MLA Formatting:
Should paragraphs be
indented? If so, how much?
•
Choose easily readable typeface in which the type style
contrasts clearly with italic (e.g. Times New Roman) and
set it to a standard size (e.g. 12 point font). Do not justify
the lines or the text at the right margin; turn off your
word processor’s automatic hyphenation feature. Set
your word processor to double-space the entire paper,
including quotations, notes, and the list of works cited.
Leave one space after a period or other concluding
punctuation mark, unless your professor prefers 2
spaces (4.2).
MLA Formatting:
Text Formatting
(Read and copy, as necessary).
•
An MLA-formatted paper does not need a title page. Instead,
beginning one inch from the top of the first page and flush with
the left margin, type your name, your instructor’s name, the
course number, and the date on separate lines, double-spacing
between the lines. Double-space again and center the title.
Double-space also between the lines of the title, and doublespace between the title and the first line of the text. Do not
underline or italicize your title, put in quotation marks or
boldface, or type it in all capital letters. Follow the rules for
capitalization of a title and italicize only the words you would
italicize in the text. Do not use a period after your title or after
any heading in the paper (4.3).
MLA Formatting:
Heading and Title
(Read and copy, as necessary).
MLA Formatting:
Heading and Title
(Read and copy, as necessary).
•
Number all pages consecutively throughout the paper in
the upper right-hand corner, one-half inch from the top
and flush with the right margin. Type your last name
before the page number, as a precaution in case of
misplaced pages. Automatic page numbering in the
header of your word processor will save you the time and
effort of numbering every page. Do not use the
abbreviation p. before a page number or add a period, a
hyphen, or any other mark or symbol (4.4).
MLA Formatting:
Page Numbers
(Read and copy, as necessary).
MLA Formatting:
Page Numbers
• Place tables and illustrations as close as possible to the
parts of the text to which they relate. A table is usually
labeled Table, given an arabic numeral, an titled. Type
both label and title flush left on separate lines above the
table and any notes immediately below the table in a
caption. To avoid confusion between notes to the text and
notes to the table, designate notes to the table with
lowercase letters rather than with numerals. Doublespace throughout; use dividing lines as needed (4.5).
MLA FORMATTINGTABLES AND ILLUSTRATIONS
(Read and copy, as necessary).
• Any other type of illustrative material – for example, a
photograph, map, line drawing, graph, or chart – should
be labeled Figure (usually abbreviated Fig.), assigned an
arabic numeral, and given a caption: “Fig. 1. Mary
Cassatt, Mother and Child, Wichita Museum, Wichita.” A
label and caption ordinarily appear directly below the
illustration and have the same one-inch margins as the
text of the paper. If the caption of a table or illustration
provides complete information about the source and the
source is not cited in the text, no entry for the source in
the works-cited list is necessary (4.5).
MLA FORMATTING- TABLES AND
ILLUSTRATIONS
(Read and copy, as necessary).
• Use only white, 8 ½”-by-11-inch paper of good quality.
Use a high-quality printer. Print only one a single side of
the paper unless your instructor tells you otherwise (4.6).
MLA FORMATTINGPAPER AND PRINTING
(Read and copy, as necessary).
• Proofread and correct your research paper carefully before
submitting it. If you find a mistake in the final copy, reopen
the word-processing file, make the appropriate revisions, and
reprint the corrected page or pages. Be sure to save the
changed file. Some writers find such software as spelling
checkers and usage checkers helpful when used with caution.
If your instructor permits brief corrections on the printout,
write them neatly and legibly in ink directly above the lines
involved, using carets (^) to indicate where they go. Do not
use the margins or write a change below the line it affects. If
corrections on any page are numerous or substantial, revise
your file and reprint the page (4.7).
MLA FORMATTINGCORRECTIONS AND INSERTIONS (Read
and copy, as necessary).
• In MLA documentation sytle, you acknowledge your sources by keying brief
parenthetical citations in your text to an alphabetical list of works that
appears at the end of the paper. The parenthetical citation that concludes the
following sentence is typical of MLA style.
The aesthetic and ideological orientation of jazz underwent considerable
scrutiny in the late 1950s and early 1960s (Anderson 7).
The citation “(Anderson 7)” tells readers that the information in the sentence
was derived from page 7 of a work by an author named Anderson. If readers
want more information about this source, they can turn to the works-cited
list, where, under the name Anderson, they would find source
information(5.2).
MLA FORMATTINGDOCUMENTIG SOURCES
(Read and copy, as necessary).