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Firstname Lastname
Professor Charlie Morriss
English 000
Date Month Year
Title of Your Paper
Please read this entire document, and complete the steps that follow. With regard to the
layout and style of college papers, students must follow MLA guidelines exactly. One might
write an excellent paper, but if a student does not follow MLA guidelines, it is unlikely that he or
she will receive the maximum grade. This template contains a description of the most basic
guidelines; however, a quick Google search can answer almost every MLA question. Students
should save a copy of this template on their computers. To use this template, the writer simply
replaces this text with his or her own and saves it with a new, appropriate file name.
When using MS Word, writers must first make an adjustment to the software before
composing each paper they write. Blank lines are not allowed anywhere in an MLA document
except between the body of the text and the “Works Cited” page. Unfortunately, MS Word
inserts an extra blank line between paragraphs unless the program is instructed not to do this. Go
to the “Paragraph” tab and look at the “Indents and Spacing” settings. In the “Spacing” section,
there is a checkbox entitled, “Don’t add space between paragraphs of the same style.” Place a
check in the box, and press “OK.”
Next, students should familiarize themselves with some basic MLA rules. The first line
of each new paragraph is indented one tab (one-half inch). The entire paper should be doublespaced and composed in 12-point Times New Roman font. Do not use bold or underline
anywhere in the paper; however, italics may be used sparingly for emphasis. Additionally, the
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titles of works such as books, songs, films, and magazines must be composed in italics. Put only
one space between a period and the first letter of the next sentence. There should be a one-inch
margin on all sides.
When writing a formal paper, avoid idiomatic expressions (e.g., “It was raining cats and
dogs.”). Do not ask questions of the reader (e.g., “What should be done about global warming?”)
Avoid the use of contractions (e.g., use “do not” instead of “don’t”). MLA papers should utilize a
third-person point of view. This means that, with the exception of personal narratives, do not use
first-person (e.g., “I,” “me,” “my,” “we,” “us”). Also, do not use second person (i.e., “you”).
Writers should paraphrase whenever possible. Most professors will give low marks to
papers that contain a large number of direct quotations. Direct quotations with fewer than four
lines of text should be quoted directly in the sentence. Enclose the quoted material in quotation
marks, followed by the author’s last name and, in parentheses, the page or pages of the source
that is being quoted. The following sentence is an example: Engineering a stronger bridge will
require “an enormous amount of advanced technology and billions in public funding” (Morriss
31).
The use of long quotations is strongly discouraged. Quotations that are longer than four
lines follow different guidelines. Introduce these long quotations with a signal phrase and use a
colon. According to MLA, this is how long quotations should be composed:
Again, avoid long quotations, but if one must, start on a new line. Indent the quote
one full inch from the left margin as in this example. Double-space the lines, and
omit quotation marks. As a rule, writers should only use a direct quotation if the
original work is more powerful than a paraphrase or summary ever could be (2).
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Whenever using someone else’s ideas or exact words, writers must cite those ideas or
words when they occur within the paper. Sources may be cited parenthetically within the text
using “the author’s last name and a page number like this” (Morriss 3). A writer can also
paraphrase an author’s ideas and use a parenthetical citation like this (Morriss 3). “You can also
use a signal phrase, such as ‘according to’” according to Charlie Morriss, and the writer can
place the page number at the end in a parenthetical citation like this (3).
For every source students have cited, they must tell their readers reader how to find that
source by creating a listing on the “Works Cited” page. Begin by centering the title, which is
“Works Cited,” and then list sources in alphabetical order by author last name (or the first word
in an individual entry on a “Works Cited” page). Some examples are provided on the next page.
To format the sources, refer to MLA publications or the hundreds of online sources that explain
complete formatting guidelines. These online sources can provide quick guidance for formatting
the citations of various different media. Find a convenient source.
Finally, the “Works Cited” page must use hanging indents. See the examples below. To
create a hanging indent in MS Word, hold down the left mouse button and select all of the entries
on the “Works Cited” page. On the “Home” tab, click on “Paragraph.” Then, in the “Indents and
Spacing” dialogue box that appears, look for the section entitled “Indentation.” To the left will
be a pull-down menu entitled “Special.” From that menu, select “Hanging,” and click “OK.” All
of the sources will be formatted with hanging indents.
Ultimately, the audience wants to be moved by the power of the student’s reasoning and
the ideas that he or she is attempting to communicate. However, writers still must follow the
rules and conventions of scholarly writing. A template, such as this one, can help writers spend
more time expressing their brilliant ideas and less time adhering to mundane rules. Good luck!
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Works Cited
Lastname, Firstname. Title of Book. City of Publication: Publisher, Year of Publication. Medium
of Publication. (All MLA citations must utilize a hanging indent. The first line of the
citation is flush left, the second line is indented one tab, or one-half inch. If you are
creating an annotated bibliography, you will write a few lines here that describe how the
resource relates to the subject and topic you are writing about.)
Lastname, Firstname. "Title of Article." Title of Magazine or Newspaper Day Month Year:
pages. Medium of publication. (All MLA citations must utilize a hanging indent. The first
line of the citation is flush left, the second line is indented one tab, or one-half inch. If
you are creating an annotated bibliography, you will write a few lines here that describe
how the resource relates to the subject and topic you are writing about.)
Lastname, Firstname. "Title of Article." Title of Journal Volume. Issue (Year): pages. Medium
of publication. (All MLA citations must utilize a hanging indent. The first line of the
citation is flush left, the second line is indented one tab, or one-half inch. If you are
creating an annotated bibliography, you will write a few lines here that describe how the
resource relates to the subject and topic you are writing about.)
Lastname, Firstname. “Title of Web Site Article or Text.” Name of web site dot com, Publisher
or Company Operating the Web Site. Month and Year Web Page was Created. Medium
of Publication (Web). Date of Access in MLA Format. (All MLA citations must utilize a
hanging indent. The first line of the citation is flush left, the second line is indented one
tab, or one-half inch. If you are creating an annotated bibliography, you will write a few
lines here that describe how the resource relates to the subject and topic you are writing
about.)