MLA FORMAT

Basic Paper Format
Modern Language Association of America

General Guidelines

* Type your paper or write it on a computer and print it out on standard-sized paper (8.5 X 11 inches).
* Double-space your paper.
* Set the margins of your document to 1 inch on all sides.
* Create a header that numbers all pages consecutively in the upper right-hand corner, one-half inch from the top and flush with the right margin. (Note: Your instructor or whoever is reading the manuscript may ask that you omit the number on your first page. Always follow their guidelines.)
* Use either underlining or italics throughout your essay for highlighting the titles of longer works and providing emphasis.
* If you have any notes, include them on a page before your works cited page and format them the same way as your works cited list.

 Word 2007 template

 

 

 

2 September 2008

 

The Modern Language Association (MLA) provides guidelines for documentation style. This template is based on commonly used guidelines from the MLA Handbook for Writers of Research Papers (6th edition) and the MLA Style Manual and Guide to Scholarly Publishing (2nd edition). For more information about MLA style and publications, go to the MLA website at: www.mla.org.

For example, quotations with fewer than four lines of prose or three lines of verse are quoted directly in the sentence. Enclose them in quotation marks, followed by the author’s last name and the page or pages of the source from which you are quoting in parenthesis, for example: “inline quotation here” (AuthorSurname 31).

Quotations that are longer than four lines of prose or three lines of verse follow different guidelines. Introduce these quotations with a colon:

Start long quotations on a new line. Indent the quote one inch from the left margin. Double-space the lines and omit quotation marks. Reference the source as you would for a shorter quotation. To quickly format a quotation of over four lines or three lines of verse, use the Long quotation style provided in this Microsoft Word template.

Per MLA guidelines, all sources must be listed on a Works Cited page at the end of the paper. Center the title, Works Cited, and then list sources in alphabetical order by author last name. Some examples are provided on the next page. To format sources, start with the Works cited style provided in this template but refer to the MLA publications listed above for complete formatting guidelines.

 

Works Cited

Author’s last name, first name. Title of Book. City: Publisher, Year.

Author’s last name, first name. “Title of Article.” Title of Publication Date Published: Pages.

Author’s last name, first name. “Title of Online Article.” Title of Online Publication Version (Year Published): Pages. Date Accessed <Web address>.

“Title of Article.” Title of Media. CD-ROM. City: Publisher, Year.

 

 

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