Compiled and Written by
Jessica Reyes, Business Management Faculty
Valerie Peyer, English Faculty
Common Types of Collegiate
Research Papers

 Modern Language Association referred to as
MLA Style
http://www.mla.org
 American Psychological Association referred to
as APA Style
http://www.apa.org
Disciplines According to Style

MLA Style
APA Style
Arts
Literature
Philosophy
Education
Nursing
Psychology
Social Sciences
How do you know which format to use?

 Your instructor will give you specifics in class if a
research paper is required.
 If you are unsure what format style is required, ask
your instructor prior to beginning.
 Your instructor is the best source of information for
assistance if you have difficulty in establishing which
format to use.
 Keep in mind, each instructor for your courses may
not all use the same format.
 You may be using different formats in any given
semester.
MLA Format

 A title page is not
required.
 Use 1” margins top,
bottom, left, and right.
 Double-space paper
throughout.
 Font can be either Arial
12 or Times New
Roman 12.
 Indent paragraphs by
pressing the Tab Key one
time.
 Insert a running header
on the first page to appear
on every page including
page one, right aligned.
 Information for the
header will include Last
Name and page number
(example) Reyes 1. Page
numbering will be in
running header.
MLA Format
(Continued)

 Title Block on the first
page will include:
• Student’s Name
• Instructor’s Name
• Course Name and
Number (Example:
ENGL 1301)
• Due Date (Example:
22 May 2012)
 Center the title of the
paper but do not apply
bold, italics, underline,
or quotation marks.
 Alignment of your
paper will be Left
Aligned with the
exception of the title,
which will be Center
Aligned.
Title Block

Jessica Reyes (Student’s Name)
Valerie Peyer (Instructor’s Name)
ENGL 1301 (Course Name and Number)
29 August 20-- (Due Date for research paper)
Note: Title Block is double-spaced as well.
Format Using Microsoft
Word 2010

Set-Up Margins

• Open MS Word
• In the Home Ribbon, on the right side of Paragraph
Group, click on down arrow. This will open up
Paragraph Dialogue box.
• Click on Indents and Spacing Tab
• In the Indents and
Spacing Tab, in the
Spacing Section, make
sure Before and After
are set to 0 pt.
• Click on Line spacing
down arrow and
change to Double.
• This will
automatically change
the At Box to Blank or
empty and then click
OK.
Set-up Font Type and Size
Tab Key

 In the Font Group in the Home Ribbon, click the
Font Type down arrow and scroll down until you
select either Arial or Times New Roman.
 In the same Font Group in the Home Ribbon, click
the Font Size down arrow and scroll down until you
select size 12.
 Use of Tab Key is marked with either the word TAB
or right/left arrow on the left side of the keyboard.
Hit the Tab Key only one time to indent your
paragraph.
Insert a Running Header

 From the Home Ribbon, click on the Insert Tab at the
top of the screen.
 In the Header & Footer group, click on the Header
function and arrow down and select Blank Header.
 Once you see the Header section at the top of your
paper, a new Tab will appear at the top called
Header & Footer Tools. In this Tab, go to the
Position group and click on Insert Alignment Tab. A
dialogue box will pop up. In the box, select Right
and then click OK. Your Header will now be aligned
to the Right.
Header & Footer Tools

Alignment Tab

 Click on Right to align
your header
information.
Example of First Page

MLA Format Requires Two Things

1. In-text citations in your body paragraphs.
 Use “quotation marks” to indicate a direct quote.
 Include the last name of the source’s author and page
number in parenthesis when citing a book (Goodman
23).
2. A Works Cited page listing your sources.
 last page of your essay
What it Looks Like

Jane Kuenz, the author of “The Bluest Eye: Notes on
History, Community, and Black Female Subjectivity,”
claims,“ The effect of the constant circulation of the faces
of . . . Ginger Rogers, Gretta Garbo, Jean Harlow, and . . .
Shirley Temple is to reintroduce and exaggerate . . .
romantic love and physical beauty, each defined
according to what they exclude and each destructive to
the extent that they are made definitionally unavailable”
(424). For young Pecola, these images gradually convince
her into believing she is not good enough.
Tip: Introduce Your Sources

In his latest book, Michael Pollan proposes that we “Eat
food. Not too much. Mostly plants” (1).
 This student quotes from a book.
A recent online article entitled “What’s Up, Gen Y?”
indicates that millennials’ ability to multi-task is
actually counterproductive for college students
(Jones).
 This student summarizes an article from a Web site.
Link for Works Cited Page Example

 http://dianahacker.com/pdfs/Hacker-Daly-MLAWC.pdf
How to Create Hanging Indent

 A hanging indent is used to indent subsequent lines
of text should the citation be more than one line
long.
Example:
Farmers Insurance Group. “New Survey Shows Drivers Have Had
‘Close Calls’ with Cell Phone Users.” Farmers. Farmers
Insurance Group, 8 May 2000. Web. 12 Jan. 2001.
Hanging Indent

• Open MS Word
• In the Home Ribbon, in
Paragraph Group, click
down arrow, right hand side
of group
• Will open Paragraph
dialogue box
• Click on Indents and
Spacing Tab
• In the Indentation Section,
click on the down arrow
under Special and change to
Hanging
• Click OK
Help! How do I Cite That?
(All Styles)

 Knight Cite
 http://www.calvin.edu/library/knightcite
 Temple College Library:
 http://www.templejc.edu/cgibin/library_links.asp?search=1
SMARTTHINKING

 What? FREE online help with writing assignments.
 How? e-Structor reviews and critiques student
essays.
 Where? Your D2L Homepage or TC eLearning page.
 When? 24 hours a day.
Where do I go for help?

Temple College Writing Center (TCWC)
ISC Building, Room 108
254-298-8393
Email: writingcenter@templejc.edu
Semester Office Hours to be determined at the beginning of the term
Temple College Writing Center (Taylor Campus)
EWCHEC, Room 133
254-298-8272
Email: valerie.peyer@templejc.edu or christopher.cregar@templejc.edu
Semester Office Hours to be determined at the beginning of the term
Additional Resources

 YouTube Video
http://youtube/dBJD28b9E38
 Purdue Online Writing Lab – MLA Formatting and Style
Guide
http://owl.english.purdue.edu/owl/resource/747/01/
 MLA Handbook for Writers of Research Papers (7th edition)
ISBN: 9781603290241
http://www.mla.org/store/CID24/PID363
Works Cited

ARCLibrary. “MLA Format in Word 2010.” YouTube. 7 Oct. 2011. Web. 21 May 2012.
Pollan, Michael. In Defense of Food. New York: The Penguin Press, 2008. Print.
“Sample MLA Works Cited List (Daly).” DianaHacker.com. n.d. Web. 21 May 2012.
<http://dianahacker.com/pdfs/Hacker-Daly-MLA-WC.pdf>.