If your college instructor wants you to cite every fact or opinion you find in an outside source, how do you make room for your own opinion? Paraphrase, quote selectively, and avoid summary. –Dennis G. Jerz (Jerz’s Literacy Weblog)
Choose a form, fill it out, and push the button… you will get an individual entry for a “Works Cited” page, which you may then copy and paste into your word processor. My “BibBuilder” is more like a guide than a full-fledged utility, but you may nevertheless find it helpful.
Find everything you need to know about formatting a paper, name, number, quotations, works cited, and more in MLA format!
571 thoughts on “ MLA Format Papers: Step-by-step Tips for Formatting Research Essays in MLA Style ”
This guide to formatting MLA style papers is incredibly detailed and helpful! It’s great to have step-by-step instructions for setting up everything from margins to citations correctly. Thanks for sharing—this will definitely make writing research papers in MLA format much easier!
The information was very helpful
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Thanks for sharing such an informative post with us.
fantastic information
Thanks for info!
hello i am nate sedmack i am here to kill all the furries for what they did to gavin born
I’m learning more writing a paper
it was very informational and helped me a lot
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Curious how you would Cite this webpage? haha…
awesome reminders
what about if when your using a quote and there is no name just anonomus
Honestly, I’d say find another way to make your point. An anonymous saying like “A stitch in time saves nine” won’t help you demonstrate your ability to write the kind of scholarly paper that MLA is designed for. Certainly investigate the quote to find out whether it maybe comes from Shakespeare or some other source that you can quote. I might identify the example I used as “English proverb,” but since I won’t be marking your paper, you really should check with your instructor.
This article..thing is the only reason I am passing my online college class. Especially the citation builder. Thank you!
I would Like You To Give Simple Instructions Not Complicated Ones , and Include also how much Papers Should be worked on.
Khalid, if there is any particular detail you are confused about, please let me know what question you have and perhaps I can help. There is no specific answer to how much a paper should be worked on. It depends on what grade you want to earn, how much time you have, whether your instructor is willing to meet with you before the due date, whether your instructor will give you the chance to revise your work, and many other factors.
hahahah xD me too same
How do I cite a photo that I found online?
Is it a historical photograph or a photograph published in a book that someone scanned and posted on line, is it a photograph of something like a sculpture? Is your paper focused on the work of the photographer, the makeup artist who prepared the model, the digital image enhancer who altered the image, the model? There is no single correct way to cite a photograph, because there are many different reasons to cite a photograph. Your instructor would be able to give you more specific advice. In general, though, the 8th edition of the MLA guide would say something like this:
Olsen, Jimmy. “Superman Rescues Boy Scouts from Lava Pit.” Photograph. The Daily Planet . July 22, 1956.
If you found the picture on a blog or a Flickr gallery, adjust the citation accordingly. If you found the image as the result of a Google search for something, you might very well end up finding a page that re-uses someone else’s picture without appropriately giving credit. There are many variables. Talk to your instructor, who will be the one grading your work, and will therefore be the right person to advise you on what to do.
is the text or what you wrote supposed to be centered in the page or to the left margin
Left margin.
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cool it was helpful
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I think you should include online resource citation instructions
Click on “Citing” at the top of the page. One of the options on the other end of that link is how to cite a web page.
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which writing style (MLA, APA) have more importance for students of social sciences, media sciences and business?
It depends on the instructor or editor who’s calling the shots. http://subjectguides.library.american.edu/c.php?g=175008&p=1154150
Very informative. It helped introduce my tired old mind to the MLA format. So, I can better help coach and prepare my wife for her English course. Thank you very much.
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I’m using a book title and author as my paper heading. How is that formatted?
I would tell my own students that a book title and the name of an author is not a good paper title, and I would ask them to write a title that catches the reader’s attention, identifies the topic, and identifies what position the paper is going to take on the topic. But if you are not my student, then I’m not the person who will be evaluating your paper. MLA style puts the book title in italics. Other than that, I really don’t have any advice for you.
Thank you very much for this useful information. As a freshman in highschool, my biology teacher asked for me to write an essay in mLA format about evolution. I had no clue what mLA format was,so I searched it up and it brought me here. In middle school I never wrote an essay in this format before,but I feel very confident to type my first mLA essay and I’m excited to do so! (Right after I finish my draft >.<) thank you very much! (⌒▽⌒)✌
This wasn’t helpful at all
Shavez, what were you looking for? This page is about formatting a paper you have already written. The first section includes links to pages about how to write essays.
u a real nigga dennis
really dude my collies and I would prefer that you didn’t use any profane language due to younger children that may be reading this
thank u i got an A 97 percent
this was very helpful i got an A 95 percent
hi my name is Jessie i have to writ a 2 pages Essay about MLA can someone help me
Dennis, what lends itself to science in the APA system? And what lends itself to the Humanities with the MLA? TIA.
As compared to MLA papers, APA papers tend to be shorter, and divided up into sections. Authors who use APA style tend to publish more frequently, because their knowledge goes out of date more quickly; so the date is prominent in APA citations, and page numbers are rare.
By contrast, people who use MLA style tend to write longer essays that aren’t divided up into standard sections like “procedure” and “conclusions.” Humanities scholarship generally doesn’t go out of date quickly. Instead of conducting experiments, humanists read and write a lot of longer essays and books, re-interpreting and quoting passages from them. MLA style makes the page numbers prominent, so that other scholars can easily find and re-read those same passages for themselves, and further the work of scholarship as it is conducted in the humanities.
Thanks for the reply. What do you mean by ” MLA style tend to write longer essays that aren’t divided up into standard sections like “procedure” and “conclusions.”? Are we not suppose to use conclusions in MLA format? In my English class, we use MLA with conclusions, but what do you mean by “procedure” and “conclusions”? I understand each instructor is different but is it right to use conclusions in an MLA paper…or am I getting confused?
Typically papers written in MLA style DO have a conclusion, but it would not be set off in a separate section under the subheading “Conclusion.” MLA papers tend NOT to follow a standard, particular structure. Papers written in the sciences DO have a fairly rigid set of sections, with separate subheadings. But it’s best for you to talk to your teacher about the specifics of any asisgnment.
Ok, thanks. I just wanted to ask and clarify it. Also, doesn’t the word “humanist” means something else entirely? The Humanist term today implies ‘human’ and is often used for atheists, for example… or am I wrong?
I used the term “humanist” to mean “a person who studies the culture of humans,” without intending the more specific meaning you mention. At my school, the humanities division includes theologians.
seems easy enough
We get asked often about what “format” the college application essay should be in. Although not generally… http://t.co/v1TTNxtE4e
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When using MLA format, do you list the book title, the title of the article or both?
For guidance on citing individual sources, see the link in item 4, above. This page is about formatting the paper once you’ve already written it.
I wrote a paper and it looks just like your example. I followed everything to the “t” and my professor says that my header is indented and my paragraphs are double indented and the page numbers are in wrong format. What can I do?
Winston, I suggest you talk to your professor. I have been teaching from thiis handout for years, and when a student makes a formatting error on a rough draft, I just ask them to fix it for the revision. But your instructor is the one who designed the assignment and who evaluates your submissions, so he or she is the person to approach with questions.
I agree. .let me ask you this. Are your headers indented?
The screenshot was taken from a page that I created following the instructions for using MS-Word with a MacBook Pro. I followed the instructions that are on the page. But surely your instructor gave you guidelines, in a handout or an assigned textbook, which is why I encourage you to have this conversation with your instructor. Whether your instructor does or does not agree with the information on this page really doesn’t matter, since your instructor created the assignment and evaluates it according to his or her own criteria. I suggest you let your your teacher know you are confused about what you did wrong, and ask for an opportunity to make minor formatting changes to a paper that, we hope, met all the major criteria.
How do you add footnotes to an MLA style paper?
Most word processors will have an Insert -> Footnote or Insert -> Note (footnote or endnote) option. Most short college papers don’t need footnotes. (They aren’t for documenting sources — use an in-text citation and a Works Cited list instead.) I suggest you talk to your instructor about whether you really do need to use a footnote.
RT @DennisJerz: MLA Format Papers: Step-by-step Instructions for Writing Research Essays #mlastyle http://t.co/B6pGb3Pkeh
Thank you so much!! I love the Bib builder!!
I’m glad to hear you found it helpful!
Dear Dr. Jerz,
I am writing to request permission to link your webpage, “MLA Format Papers: Step-by-step Instructions for Writing Research Essays” to our website.
Marie Walcroft Librarian Lansdale School of Business
I am glad you found this page helpful. Yes, you are welcome to include a link and a brief extract.
Can you put what information is supposed to be in each paragraph???
Emma, I’m afraid I don’t understand the question. I feel like you’ve asked me what emotions are supposed to be in each verse of a song, or what colors are supposed to be in a painting. The many different kinds of songs or paintings are all created for different reasons; likewise, paragraphs are assigned, written, and read for a whole range of different reasons, so there’s no answer that covers all possible cases.
that was beautiful
I really find this useful (especially fudging the line spacing to 2.1). Good job!
Im in middle school and I have to do this. I have never heard of MLA Format and this helped ALOT. Thanks so much! Hopefully I get a good grade on this paper!
“@pretti_slimm: @Thyler_Jonzy http://t.co/QIf00vlgws try this site looks helpful”I just found a sample paper on Google
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Is the Table of Contents double spaced – MLA?
i think you should add an explanation about page header. that was what i was looking for
See item 2 from the table of contents: http://jerz.setonhill.edu/writing/academic1/mla-style-papers/#page-header
when you say page numbers (Wordworth-Fuller 20), are you referring to the page number within the MLA document or the page number the text appears on within the authors works?
In this case, your paper would be referring to something you found on page 20 of the text by Wordsworth-Fuller.
With your delicate information about to write MLA format essay in right way will lead me to successful college year.
Thank you for useful information about how to write MLA format essay. Before my college year I didn’t know there were many different forms of essay. When my professor asked me to write MLA format I had no idea how to write it, but with your delicate information I think I will survive my college year. Thank you again.
I’m glad to know you found this page helpful. Most instructors will be happy to help if you stop by during their office hours, and if your prof is too busy for that most universities will have a writing center where you can get help at any stage of any assignment involving writing.
Thank you for valuable information. Before my college year in America I didn’t know what MLA Format was, but with this delicate information I will survive my college year.
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That means the quote is from page 20 of the book or article written by Wordsworth-Fuller.
Very good information, I really needed this incite on research paper formats. It has such thorough details and that make it so much easier to understand.
How do you in text cite a website? I didnt really see much about that.
I think you should add an explanation about page numbers. That was what I was looking for, but I couldn’t find the significant area.
Section 2 explains how to put page numbers in the header, and section 4 discusses page numbers in citations.
read it… it’s there.
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Sample Essays: Writing with MLA Style
Congratulations to the students whose essays were selected for the 2024 edition of Writing with MLA Style! Essays were selected as examples of excellent student writing that use MLA style for citing sources. Essays have been lightly edited.
If your institution subscribes to MLA Handbook Plus , you can access annotated versions of the essays selected from 2022 to 2024.
Writing with MLA Style: 2024 Edition
The following essays were selected for the 2024 edition of Writing with MLA Style. The selection committee for high school submissions was composed of Lisa Karakaya, Hunter College High School; and Heather Smith, Dedham Public Schools. The selection committee for postsecondary submissions was composed of Rachel Ihara, Kingsborough Community College, City University of New York; Tarshia L. Stanley, Wagner College; and Joyce MacDonald, University of Kentucky.
High School Essays
Miguel Kumar (Ransom Everglades School)
“McCarthyism at the Movies: The Effects of Hollywood McCarthyism on the American Public”
Catherine Mao (Hunter College High School)
“ Beauty Is in the Eye of the Beholder, and the Beholder Is a White Man: The 1875 Page Act, Eugenics, and Beauty Standards for Chinese Women versus American Women ”
Undergraduate Essays
Rachelle Dumayas (California State University, Sacramento)
“Should Deaf Children Get Cochlear Implants?”
Holly Nelson (Johns Hopkins University)
“Creating Space? Representations of Black Characters in Regency Romance”
Chloe Wiitala (University of Minnesota, Duluth)
“ Reanimating Queer Perspectives through Camp: A Study of Frankenstein and Its Parodic Film Adaptations ”
Writing with MLA Style: 2023 Edition
The following essays were selected for the 2023 edition of Writing with MLA Style. The 2023 selection committee was composed of Ellen C. Carillo, University of Connecticut (chair); Rachel Ihara, Kingsborough Community College, City University of New York; and Tarshia L. Stanley, Wagner College.
Caroline Anderson (Pepperdine University)
“ L’Appel du Vide : Making Spaces for Sinful Exploration in The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde ”
Hunter Daniels (University of South Carolina, Aiken)
“Biblical Legalism and Cultural Misogyny in The Tragedy of Mariam ”
Aspen English (Southern Utah University)
“Putting the ‘Comm’ in Comics: A Communication-Theory-Informed Reading of Graphic Narratives”
Raul Martin (Lamar University)
“The Book-Object Binary: Access and Sustainability in the Academic Library”
Grace Quasebarth (Salve Regina University)
“Finding a Voice: The Loss of Machismo Criticisms through Translation in Isabel Allende’s The House of the Spirits ”
Writing with MLA Style: 2022 Edition
The following essays were selected for the 2022 edition of Writing with MLA Style. The 2022 selection committee was composed of Ellen C. Carillo, University of Connecticut; Jessica Edwards, University of Delaware (chair); and Deborah H. Holdstein, Columbia College Chicago.
Kaile Chu (New York University, Shanghai)
“Miles Apart: An Investigation into Dedicated Online Communities’ Impact on Cultural Bias”
Sietse Hagen (University of Groningen)
“The Significance of Fiction in the Debate on Dehumanizing Media Portrayals of Refugees”
Klara Ismail (University of Exeter)
“Queering the Duchess: Exploring the Body of the Female Homosexual in John Webster’s The Duchess of Malfi ”
Yasmin Mendoza (Whittier College)
“Banning without Bans”
Niki Nassiri (Stony Brook University)
“Modern-Day US Institutions and Slavery in the Twenty-First Century”
Samantha Wilber (Palm Beach Atlantic University)
“‘Pero, tu no eres facil’: The Poet X as Multicultural Bildungsroman”
Writing with MLA Style: 2019 Edition
The following essays were selected for the 2019 edition of Writing with MLA Style. The 2019 selection committee was composed of Jessica Edwards, University of Delaware; Deborah H. Holdstein, Columbia College Chicago (chair); and Liana Silva, César E. Chavez High School, Houston, Texas.
Catherine Charlton (University of King’s College, Nova Scotia)
“‘Coal Is in My Blood’: Public and Private Representations of Community Identity in Springhill, Nova Scotia”
Alyiah Gonzales (California Polytechnic State University)
“Disrupting White Normativity in Langston Hughes’s ‘I, Too’ and Toni Morrison’s ‘Recitatif’”
Meg Matthias (Miami University, Ohio)
“Prescriptions of (Living) Historical Happiness: Gendered Performance and Racial Comfort in Reenactment”
Jennifer Nguyen (Chaminade University of Honolulu)
“The Vietnam War, the American War: Literature, Film, and Popular Memory”
Emily Schlepp (Northwest University)
“A Force of Love: A Deconstructionist Reading of Characters in Dickens’s Great Expectations ”
Encyclopedia
Writing with artificial intelligence, mla format example: sample mla format essay.
- © 2023 by Barbara McLain - The Out-of-Door Academy
Below is a sample essay in MLA format.
Sample MLA Essay
Barbara McLain
Dr. Joe Moxley
Linguistics
10 May 2022
The Pronoun Controversy
The way we use pronouns—in particular the use of the traditionally plural pronouns they/them in reference to individuals—has recently been the subject of intense debate and even outrage. This furor over pronoun use feels very current, but linguistic scholars will tell you that the disagreement is almost 700 years old [1] . [BM1] The initial emergence of controversy was purely grammatical: English is lacking an important part of speech. Pronouns are paired with antecedents, the more specific nouns that precede them. But a problem arises when a sentence uses a singular gender-neutral common noun (like student, official, or customer) because English does not have a singular gender-neutral pronoun to pair with these words. The available pronouns that agree in number with our many gender-neutral common nouns ask you to assume that students are all either male or female (“he” or “she”). [BM2] The pronoun debate that we are seeing litigated in the court of public opinion, however, isn’t really a grammatical debate so much as a social one. This is also not new. Pronouns have found themselves at the center of a values debate since the suffragist movement almost 200 years ago.
In the absence of a singular gender-neutral pronoun, grammarians decreed that masculine pronouns—he, him, and his—could also be used generically to refer to both males and females. But this choice amounted to more than a fussy rule for grammar sticklers. Dr. Dennis Baron, professor Emeritus at the University of Illinois and author of What’s Your Pronoun , [BM3] cites the 1871 Dictionary Act as the moment the generic “he” was written into law: “[W]ords importing the masculine gender may be applied to females [Statutes at Large, 41st Congress, session III, ch. 71, p. 431]” (qtd. in Baron “On the Birthday”). [BM4] The dual use of a pronoun was not unheard of (“you”, for instance, can be both singular and plural), but this dual use did create ambiguity, especially with regard to the interpretation of the law. Of particular importance is the word “may,” which signified that the courts had discretion in determining when the use of “he” applied also to women, and when it did not. [BM5]
Perhaps not coincidentally, prior to the passage of the Dictionary Act, in 1869 suffragists argued that if the use of the generic “he” in criminal law applied to women, then the generic “he” in voting law should apply to women as well (Baron, “On the Birthday”). [BM6] Given that 19 th amendment would not be ratified for another 60 years, this argument was clearly unsuccessful at the time. Because “he” could be either masculine or generic, it was up to our courts to interpret its use. Surprising no one, the courts determined that “he” in laws regarding punitive measures like jailable offenses and paying taxes applied generically, while “he” in laws related to the right to vote, the right to practice law, and the right to run for congress (among many others) applied only to men. This uneven application of the generic “he” reveals something important about the pronoun debate: It has never been a debate about grammar. The rules regarding pronouns are inextricably tied to issues of gender and power, rights and equality. [BM7] But the grammatical inconvenience of this missing part of speech resulted in calls for a gender-neutral singular pronouns predating even the suffragist movement. The singular “they” first appeared in writing in 1370 and in 1792, a Scottish economist suggested adopting “ou” as a gender-neutral singular pronoun (Baron, “Pronoun Showdown”). Many alternatives have since been proposed, but none have had staying power.
In the absence of a widely accepted alternative [BM8] , students were instructed, as noted above, to default to male singular pronouns in these cases. For example, if a student wishes to be excused from physical education, he must submit an appeal to the school board. The generic “he,” hilariously described by Baron as “the grammatical equivalent of manspreading,” dates back centuries, and the reason for its adoption had little to do with clarity (“Pronoun Showdown”). Baron quotes John Lyly on this subject in 1567: “The Masculine Gender is more worthy than the Feminine, and Feminine more worthy than the Neuter” ( qtd. in Baron, “Pronoun Showdown”).
More appalling than this reasoning is the fact that this solution remained the standard until the late 20th century, when the rule evolved into the more inclusive but much clunkier “he or she.” E.g. If a student wishes to be excused from physical education, he or she must submit an appeal to the school board. Even as late as 1985, though, only about half of editors surveyed preferred “he or she” over the generic “he”(Watkins). Beyond syntactic awkwardness, this option is also not fully inclusive. “He or she” excludes those who fall outside the gender binary.
Another option is to change the structure of the sentence to avoid the problem. E.g. If students wish to be excused from physical education, they must submit an appeal to the school board. However, writing around the problem is not always possible. The fact is that the lack of an ungendered singular pronoun is a failure of the English language, and the question of how to deal with it continues to be polarizing, with no option whipping up a fury otherwise unheard of in discussion of grammar than the option to adapt “they” to be both plural and singular. [BM9]
Critics of the use of the singular “they” have existed since its inception. Baron notes that in 1794, after being criticized by writer Don Alonzo for using the singular “they,” writers of the offending passage offered this arch reply: “With regard to our using the plural pronoun “them” . . . — as we wished to conceal the gender, we would ask . . . Don [Alonzo] to coin us a substitute”(Baron, “Pronoun Showdown”). Aside from a feeble call for change in The Atlantic in 1879 (Baron, “Pronoun Showdown”), the writing community seemed to side with Mr. Alonzo. As of 1985, newspaper and magazine editors surveyed continued to be overwhelmingly against the use of the singular “they” (Watkins). [BM10]
Pronouns Today
The tide appears, at long last, to be turning. Indeed “they” was the Merriam-Webster word of the year in 2019 (“Word of the Year”). [BM11] Dr. Baron argues that the singular “they” is ideal, as it sounds natural enough that many people accidentally use it already and the larger writing community agrees. The Washington Post , which follows its own style guide, was an early adopter, switching to the use the singular “they” in 2015 (Andrews). The MLA and APA eventually followed suit to fully endorsed the singular “they” as well. The Associated Press, while still recommending writing around the need for a singular gender-neutral pronoun, has also okayed its use (Andrews). The Chicago Manual of Style stops short of a full endorsement, and like the AP suggests write-arounds (“Chicago Style”). They are unanimous, however, in their endorsement of using the singular “they” in reference to specific people. This is important: If a person’s preferred pronouns are they/them, the stylebooks agree that the use of the singular “they” is not just polite but correct.
There are, naturally, still detractors. For those who argue against the singular “they” on grammatical grounds, I think it’s safe to say they have missed the point. First, the English language is evolving and has always done so. The rate at which words disappear from our lexicon is eclipsed only by the rate at which new words are added. An average of 800-1000 new words are added to English dictionaries every year (“Updates to the OED”). Some of this has to do with objects we no longer use (like floppy disks), and some words simply become unfashionable (like groovy). Old English bears only a passing resemblance to its youngest descendant, and even early modern English seems foreign enough to induce genuine anxiety in teenagers toting Shakespeare home in their backpacks each night. [BM12]
And the changes are not limited to our vocabulary—our grammar changes, too (albeit more slowly). “You” for instance, was initially plural (along with “ye”, while “thee” and “thou” were the corresponding singular pronouns). Eventually “you” became singular as well, and supplanted the other pronouns (Yagoda). It is hard to understand how anyone who studies language enough to harbor strong opinions about grammar could find merit in the argument that English shouldn’t change.
Second, our language is a reflection of our culture, and this is where the real debate lives. The generic “he” emerged as a way of subjugating women, deemed “less worthy” so many years ago. It was used to write women out of the law and out of participation in public life. Today’s debate is a new version of the same song [BM13] . When critics of the singular “they” insist on limiting us to “he” or “she,” it is an attempt to write everyone who falls outside of the gender binary not just out of participation, but out of existence.
But take heart. In the end, our language is not swayed by calls, no matter how fervent, to freeze in time. Our language changes as we do, and we have changed. The position of the major stylebooks is not a harbinger of what is to come. It is a record of a change that is already here.
[1] Dr. Dennis Baron in “Pronoun Showdown” argues the first use of the singular “they” appeared in writing in 1370, and the first call for an alternative pronoun appeared in 1792.
[BM1] This is an example of an explanatory footnote, which MLA recommends using sparingly.
[BM2] Introductions are serve two purposes: 1) to introduce any relevant background and 2) to establish the argument. This section provides important explanation and context.
[BM3] When using a source for the first time, best practice is to fully introduce the source to establish it as credible.
[BM4] Sources that reference outside research can be cited with the addition of “qtd. in” in the parenthetical citation.
[BM5] An important part of analysis is often looking closely at the impact of language choices. This analysis takes a closer look at the significance of the word “may” in the preceding evidence.
[BM6] When you’ve used two sources by the same author, include the title along with the author’s last name.
[BM7] Analysis should do more than summarize the information in the quote. In this example, the analysis connects the way pronouns are treated in law to the central argument about the social implications of grammatical choices.
[BM8] One method for effective transitions to is make a clear connection between the last issue addressed and the issue to come. In this case, the previous paragraph ended with a discussion of alternative pronouns, and so the paragraph that follows begins by explaining how the lack of alternative pronouns led to the generic masculine.
[BM9] The end of this paragraph serves as a transition to the next. The writer introduces the issue in preparation for the following paragraph, which explains how long the issue has been polarizing.
[BM10] Rather than looking at evidence in isolation, try to synthesize it in a way that highlights the relationship between multiple sources.
[BM11] When a source has no author, cite the title (or an abbreviated version of the title).
[BM12] While using evidence from experts is important, it’s also valid—and important—to use your own knowledge or reasoning to make a point. In this case, the writer doesn’t need an expert to tell them that the English language has evolved. She can tell just by looking at old, middle, early modern, and modern English.
[BM13] When writing argumentative rather than expository writing, the evidence you introduce should be more than informational. In this case, the writer introduced the way the generic masculine was used to exclude women in law for the purpose of drawing a parallel later in the argument to reasons behind today’s debate.
Andrews, Travis M. “The Singular, Gender-Neutral ‘They’ Add to Associated Press Stylebook.” The Washington Post. 28 March 2017. https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/morning-mix/wp/2017/03/28/the-singular-gender-neutral-they-added-to-the-associated-press-stylebook/.
Baron, Dennis. “On the birthday of the (legal) generic masculine, let’s declare it legally dead.” The Web of Language , 24 Feb. 2016, https://blogs.illinois.edu/view/25/331699.
—. “Pronoun Showdown: Gender Neutrality and Neutral Pronouns in Language.” 11 April 2016. University of Illinois/Facebook. http://faculty.las.illinois.edu/debaron/essays/Pronoun_showdown_2016.pdf
“Chicago Style for the Singular They.” CMOS Shop Talk : From the Chicago Manual of Style . 3
April 2017, https://cmosshoptalk.com/2017/04/03/chicago-style-for-the-singular-they/. Accessed 25 April 2022.
Meyers, Miriam Watkins. “Current Generic Pronoun Usage: An Empirical Study.” American Speech , vol. 65, no. 3, [Duke University Press, American Dialect Society], 1990, pp. 228–37, https://doi.org/10.2307/455911.
“Updates to the OED.” The Oxford English Dictionary . https://public.oed.com/updates/. Accessed 23 April 2022.
“Word of the Year: They.” Merriam-Webster’s Words of the Year. 2019. https://www.merriam-webster.com/words-at-play/word-of-the-year-2019-they/they.
Yagoda, Ben. “’You’, ‘Thou’ or ‘Ye’: An Outline of the Modern Usage of the All-Purpose Second Person in English.” Principa Toscuola . 9 July 2019, https://principatoscuola.it/you-thou-or-ye-an-outline-of-the-modern-usage-of-the-all-purpose-second-person-in-english/. When You Catch an Adjective, Kill It: The Parts of Speech, For Better an/or Worse, Broadway Books, 2007.
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What Is the MLA Format for an Essay?
4-minute read
When writing academic essays, adhering to the proper formatting guidelines is crucial. One of the most widely used styles for academic writing is the Modern Language Association (MLA) format. However, MLA is more than just providing in-text citations and a Works Cited page . If you’re curious, read on.
Today’s post will explore:
● What MLA format is.
● Why it is important.
● How to correctly format essays in MLA style .
What Is MLA Format?
MLA format is a set of guidelines established by the Modern Language Association for writing and documenting research papers, essays, and scholarly articles. These guidelines provide a standardized way to structure and format academic writing, making it easier for readers to understand and engage with the content.
Why Is MLA Format Important?
MLA format serves several important purposes in academic writing:
1. Clarity and Readability
Thanks to its standardized layout and citation style, MLA ensures your essay is easy to read and comprehend.
2. Academic Integrity
Properly citing sources demonstrates academic integrity by giving credit to the original authors and avoiding plagiarism .
3. Consistency
MLA provides a consistent and uniform structure for essays, making it easier for readers and instructors to navigate your work.
4. Publication Standards
Many academic journals and publishers require submissions to follow MLA guidelines, making it crucial for researchers and authors.
How to Format Your Essay in MLA Style
Now, let’s go through step-by-step instructions to help you correctly format your essay.
1. Margins and Page Layout
● Go to the Page Layout settings in your word processor and set one-inch margins on all sides of the paper.
● Set the text to be left-aligned.
● Choose a legible 12-point font (e.g., Times New Roman or Arial).
2. Create a Title Page
● Include your name, instructor’s name, course title, and the date in the upper left-hand corner.
● Center the title of your essay, using standard capitalization (no bold, italics, or underlining).
3. Insert Header and Page Numbers
● Create a header in the upper right-hand corner with your last name and page number (e.g., Jones 1).
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4. Use Proper Line Spacing
● Use double-spacing throughout the entire essay, including the Works Cited page.
5. In-Text Citations
● Cite sources within your essay using parenthetical citations (author’s last name and page number).
Example: We have no time to appreciate the finer things in life (Toldo 201)
● Include a Works Cited page with full bibliographic details for all cited sources.
● Ensure that in-text citations correspond to entries in the Works Cited page.
6. Works Cited Page
● You must start the list with the title Works Cited.
● List all sources used in alphabetical order by the author’s last name.
● Follow a specific format for different types of sources (books, journal articles, websites, etc.).
MLA format is essential to academic writing, ensuring clarity, consistency, and proper citation of sources. As MLA is a widely used style, you’ll have a few essays during your undergraduate years that will require you to adhere to its standards. You can confidently format your essays in MLA style, impressing your professors and maintaining academic integrity by following our guidelines in this post.
We strongly recommend proofreading your essay once it’s finished. Proofreading can be challenging, so we recommend asking our proofreading experts to review your writing . They’ll ensure perfect grammar, spelling, and punctuation. Additionally, they can check that your essay adheres to MLA standards. Consider submitting a 500-word document for free!
Happy learning and happy writing!
1. Is MLA the same as APA or Chicago Turabian?
No! MLA formatting is different from other referencing styles such as APA and Chicago Turabian. If you’re used to using APA or Chicago, you’ll have to familiarize yourself with MLA.
2. Will failing to adhere to MLA affect my essay’s grade?
If your essay is required to be in MLA format, it must adhere to the standards. You can expect the professor to deduct marks for failing to adhere to MLA.
3. Can I write References or Reference List instead of Works Cited?
The title for the list of references must be Works Cited. Again, you could lose marks for deviating from the required title.
4. How will I know if my essay needs to be in MLA?
The essay rubric will usually state the required referencing style. Otherwise, we recommend checking with your professor.
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- Creating an MLA header
Creating an MLA Header | What to Include & How to Format It
Published on August 22, 2019 by Shona McCombes . Revised on March 5, 2024.
The first page of your MLA format paper starts with a four-line left-aligned header containing:
- Your full name
- Your instructor’s name
- The course name and number
- The date of submission
After the header, the title of the paper is centred on a new line, in title case. The header and title do not take any special styling, and should be the same font and size as the rest of the paper.
MLA style does not require a separate title page , but one may be included if your instructor requires it or if the paper is a group project. Usually, though, the main body of your paper just starts on the same page, directly under the title.
Include your name and the page number right-aligned in the running head on every page.
MLA header template (Word) MLA header template (Google Docs)
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Table of contents
Mla header format, mla running head, frequently asked questions about mla format.
The MLA header follows the same format as the rest of an MLA paper:
- 1-inch margins
- Double-spaced
- Left-aligned
- 12 point standard font (e.g. Times New Roman)
Put each piece of information on a separate line, and don’t use periods or other punctuation at the end of each line. The header and title should be in plain text, without any styling.
Prevent plagiarism. Run a free check.
On each page of your paper, include a right-aligned running head with your last name and the page number. Don’t use any punctuation or styling.
Most word processing programs will allow you to automatically add page numbers. In Microsoft Word, you can do this by selecting the “Insert” menu and clicking on “Page Number”.
Make sure the running head is in the same font as the rest of your paper.
Creating an MLA running head in Word
If you’re working on a group project and therefore need to list multiple authors for your paper , MLA recommends against including a normal header . Instead, create a separate title page .
On the title page, list each author on a separate line, followed by the other usual information from the header: Instructor, course name and number, and submission date. Then write the title halfway down the page, centered, and start the text of the paper itself on the next page.
Usually, no title page is needed in an MLA paper . A header is generally included at the top of the first page instead. The exceptions are when:
- Your instructor requires one, or
- Your paper is a group project
In those cases, you should use a title page instead of a header, listing the same information but on a separate page.
The main guidelines for formatting a paper in MLA style are as follows:
- Use an easily readable font like 12 pt Times New Roman
- Set 1 inch page margins
- Apply double line spacing
- Include a four-line MLA heading on the first page
- Center the paper’s title
- Indent every new paragraph ½ inch
- Use title case capitalization for headings
- Cite your sources with MLA in-text citations
- List all sources cited on a Works Cited page at the end
MLA recommends using 12-point Times New Roman , since it’s easy to read and installed on every computer. Other standard fonts such as Arial or Georgia are also acceptable. If in doubt, check with your supervisor which font you should be using.
Cite this Scribbr article
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McCombes, S. (2024, March 05). Creating an MLA Header | What to Include & How to Format It. Scribbr. Retrieved August 12, 2024, from https://www.scribbr.com/mla/header/
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Essentials in Writing
Where learning to write well has never been so easy
By: Danielle Nettleton February 22, 2019
Top Ten Do/Don’t Tips for Writing in MLA Format
As a scorer for Essentials in Writing, I grade compositions according to the guidelines of MLA: the Modern Language Association, also known as the group that discerns what is and is not permissible in written compositions.
Along with the other scorers, I grade according to this standard not only because it provides consistency but also because it is the standard by which the average college professor grades written assignments (depending, of course, on the department and the class).
If your student uses Essentials in Writing and/or our scoring service, they will be prepared for any writing assignment that comes their way because of this standard, should they decide to attend college.
MLA format, however, is an ever-changing thing and also contains many rules that the average student may not know. This is perfectly normal—much of the frustration regarding writing formats like MLA and APA is that the rules do not always seem like common sense!
As a result, when I am grading students’ submissions, I often notice several types of mistakes that are common across compositions. These errors may not necessarily impede the reader’s understanding of the composition, but they do not adhere to what MLA prescribes—and the more your student learns about MLA now, the better prepared they will be for any writing assignments down the road.
With that in mind, below is a list of the top ten do/don’t rules when writing in MLA format:
Don’t forget the info tag.
Do indent paragraphs., don’t forget double-spacing., do spell out numbers that are two words or fewer., don’t use contractions., do write in the third person., don’t forget to check your commas..
After reading the blog post, I had learned more about MLA format.
I wrote the sentence, and I used commas correctly.
Do hyphenate adjectives with multiple words.
Don’t use vague pronouns..
It is difficult to describe such an idea.
Describing such an idea is difficult.
Since infinitive verbs (“to [verb]”) often follow the subject “it,” transforming the infinitive verb into the subject of the sentence is an easy way to not only avoid that vague pronoun but also make the sentence more interesting. (This rule also applies to “there,” though that word is technically an adverb.)
Don’t hesitate to check your work.
This list is not a comprehensive guide to MLA format but simply some of the mistakes I often see when grading students’ compositions. I urge you and your student to often check Purdue OWL or additional resources in order to keep up with changes in MLA or just to brush up on the general guidelines.
Additionally, writing within certain guidelines takes time and practice, so don’t be surprised if your student feels frustrated by the many rules of MLA format that can often feel unnecessary. Writing well according to any format is, after all, an arduous process within an ever-changing language.
Danielle Nettleton
Curriculum Editor
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Teaching homeschool writing can be frustrating especially for those of us who write well and do not have to be bothered by checking for such things as capitalization and punctuation errors. Those writing rules come naturally for us. But, it doesn’t always come easy for our students. What seems to be such an “easy to…
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MLA Format: The Ultimate Guide to Correctly Formatting Your Paper
By Hannah Yang
So you need to create an MLA heading? You’re not alone—MLA format is one of the most common styles you’ll be expected to use when you’re writing a humanities paper, whether you’re a high-school student or a PhD candidate.
Read on to learn what a correct MLA heading looks like and how to create one that works like magic.
What Is an MLA Heading?
How do you format an mla heading, what is an mla header, how do you format an mla header, headings are only the beginning, commonly asked questions about mla headers, final thoughts.
The term “MLA heading” refers to five lines of important information that appear at the top of the first page.
Here are two examples of what an MLA heading could look like:
Hermione Granger
Professor McGonagall
Transfiguration—6th period
18 October 1991
“How to Turn A Matchstick into a Needle”
Harry J. Potter
Prof. Remus Lupin
Defense Against the Dark Arts
4 March 1994
“Why I Think My Professor Is a Werewolf”
Why are these headings important? Well, your teacher probably collects hundreds of papers every year. If any identifying information is missing from these assignments, grading and organizing them becomes much more of a challenge.
MLA headings ensure that all key information is presented upfront. With just a glance at the first page, your teacher can easily figure out who wrote this paper, when it was submitted, and which class it was written for.
What Are the Parts of an MLA Heading?
An MLA heading should include:
- Your instructor’s name
- The name of the class
- The date the assignment is due
- The title of your paper
Your instructor may give you specific guidelines about how much detail to include in each line. For example, some teachers may ask you to refer to them by their titles, while others may ask you to use their full names. If you haven’t been given any specific instructions, don’t sweat it—any option is fine as long as it’s clear and consistent.
Follow these formatting rules for your MLA heading:
- Start each piece of information on a separate line
- Don’t use any periods, commas, or other punctuation at the end of the line
- Keep the heading double-spaced, in the same font as the rest of your paper
- Left-align the first four lines (they should start at the 1-inch margin on the left side of your paper)
- Center the title (it should appear in the middle of your paper)
- Make sure your title is in title case
Title case means that major words should be capitalized and minor words should be lowercase. Major words include nouns, verbs, adjectives, adverbs, pronouns, and any word longer than four letters. Minor words include conjunctions, prepositions, and articles.
Tip: Remember that Hermione’s “Society for the Promotion of Elfish Welfare” shortens to S.P.E.W., not S.F.T.P.O.E.W—only the major words are capitalized!
The MLA heading should only appear on the first page of your paper . But wait, you’re not done yet! In the rest of your paper, you need to include something called an MLA header at the top right corner of every page.
Think of the MLA header as a short, simple “You are here” marker that shows the reader where they are in the paper. By looking at the MLA headers, your instructor can easily understand where each page goes and which paper it belongs to.
What Are the Parts of an MLA Header?
The MLA header consists of your last name and page number.
For example, the second page of Hermione Granger’s essays would be labeled “Granger 2”, the third would be labeled “Granger 3”, and so on.
Creating MLA Headers in Microsoft Word
If you’re writing your paper in Microsoft Word, follow these steps:
- Click Insert
- Scroll down to Page Numbers and click on it
- Set the position to “Top of Page (Header)”
- Set the alignment to “Right”
- Make sure there’s no checkmark in the box for “Show number on first page”
- Click on the page number and type your last name before the number
- Set your font and font size to match the rest of your paper, if they don’t already
Creating MLA Headers in Google Docs
If you’re writing your paper in Google Docs, follow these steps:
- Scroll down to Page Numbers and hover over it
- Choose the option that sets your page number in the upper right corner
- Set your font and type size to match the rest of your paper, if they don’t already
Tip: After you create your first MLA header, save a template document for yourself that you can re-use next time, so you don’t have to follow these steps every time you write a paper!
Once you've got your headings sorted, it's time to start writing your paper. While we can't help you edit the content of your essay , ProWritingAid is here to make sure your grammar, spelling, and style is on point.
As well as checking your grammar, ProWritingAid also shows you your progress towards key goals like varied sentence structure, active voice, readability, and more. The target scores are all based on averages for real essays, so you'll always know if you're on track.
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Whose last name should you use in your MLA header if you’re writing a group paper?The MLA Style Guide has no specific guidelines for group projects. You should always include the names of all members of the group project in the first line of your heading, but you don’t necessarily need to do this for the header on every page. If there are only two or three authors collaborating on your paper, you can include all of your last names in the MLA header, e.g., “Granger, Potter, and Weasley 2.” If you’re part of a bigger group and it would take up too much space to include all of your last names, you can write the name that comes first in the alphabet and then add “ et al. ”, e.g., “Granger et al. 2.” (The term “et al.” is short for the Latin term “et alia”, which means “and others.” You’ll often see it used in academic papers with multiple authors.) Should you include your class period in your MLA heading or just the class name?There’s no MLA rule about this, but when in doubt, it’s always better to err on the side of including too much information in your heading rather than not enough. If your instructor teaches more than one version of the same course, they’ll probably find it helpful if you specify the class period you’re in. You can either include your class period after the class name, e.g., “History of Magic—2nd period”, or before the class name, e.g., “2nd Period History of Magic.” What should you write in your MLA heading if you don’t have an instructor?If you have no instructor, you can explain the situation in the line where you would normally put the instructor’s name, e.g., “Independent Study” or “No Instructor.” What should you write in your MLA heading if you have multiple instructors?If you have multiple instructors, you can include both of their names in the line where you would put the instructor’s name. If you’re in a college course where you have a professor and a TA, you should choose whose name to include in the header depending on who will ultimately be reading your paper. Should you include the date you started writing the paper or the date the paper is due?The MLA Style Guide has no specific guidelines about which date you need to put in the heading. In general, however, the best practice is to put the date the assignment is due. This is because all the papers for the same assignment will have the same due date, even if different students begin writing their assignments on different days, so it’s easier for your instructor to use the due date to determine what assignment the paper is for. Should you format the date as Day Month Year or Month Day Year?In MLA format, you should write the date in the order of Day Month Year. Instead of writing May 31 2021, for example, you would write 31 May 2021. What font should you use for your MLA heading and header?Both the heading and the header should be in the same font as the rest of your paper. If you haven’t chosen a font for your paper yet, remember that the key thing to aim for is readability. If you choose a font where your teachers have to squint to read it, or one where your teachers can’t figure out the difference between what’s italicized and what isn’t, you should rethink your choice. When in doubt, go with Times New Roman, 12 pt. It’s always a safe bet for MLA papers unless your instructor specifically tells you otherwise. Do you need to italicize or bold the title of your MLA paper?No. There’s no need to use any special styling on the title of an MLA paper, such as bold or italics. How do you format section titles in your MLA paper?If you’re writing a paper with multiple sections, you may need to include a subtitle at the top of each section. The MLA Style Guide gives you two options for using subtitles in a paper: one-level section titles or several-level subtitles (for papers with subsections within each section). For one-level section titles, the formatting is simple. Every subtitle should look the same as the title (centered and double-spaced, with no special formatting). The only difference is that instead of using title case, you should capitalize only the first word of each subtitle. For example, a title would be spelled “How to Turn a Matchstick into a Needle”, while a subtitle would be spelled “How to turn a matchstick into a needle.” For several-level subtitles, you will need to format each level in a different way to show which level each section is at. You can use boldface, italics, and underlining to differentiate between levels. For example, subtitles at the highest level should be bolded, while subtitles at the next level down should be italicized. See the chart below for MLA’s suggested formats. What is the difference between MLA format and APA format?MLA and APA are two sets of guidelines for formatting papers and citing research. MLA stands for the Modern Language Association. The MLA handbook is most often used in fields related to the humanities, such as literature, history, and philosophy. APA stands for the American Psychological Association. The APA format is most often used in fields related to the social sciences, such as psychology, sociology, and nursing. The APA manual includes a heading format similar to the MLA heading format with a few key differences, such as using a separate cover page instead of simply including the heading at the top of the first page. Both heading formats ensure that all of your papers include all your key identifying information in a clear and consistent way. Where can you learn more about MLA style?If you have questions about how to format a specific assignment or paper, it’s always best to consult your instructor first. Your school may also have a writing center that can help you with formatting questions. In addition, Purdue has fantastic resources for all kinds of formatting topics, from MLA headings to MLA citations and everything in between. If you would like to find out more directly from the Modern Language Association, consult the MLA Style Center or the MLA Handbook (8th edition). Now you’re ready to write an MLA paper with a fantastic heading. Make sure your essay does your heading justice by checking it over with ProWritingAid. Write Better Essays Every TimeAre your teachers always pulling you up on the same errors? Maybe you're losing clarity by writing overly long sentences or using the passive voice too much? ProWritingAid helps you catch these issues in your essay before you submit it. Be confident about grammarCheck every email, essay, or story for grammar mistakes. Fix them before you press send. Hannah YangHannah Yang is a speculative fiction writer who writes about all things strange and surreal. Her work has appeared in Analog Science Fiction, Apex Magazine, The Dark, and elsewhere, and two of her stories have been finalists for the Locus Award. Her favorite hobbies include watercolor painting, playing guitar, and rock climbing. You can follow her work on hannahyang.com, or subscribe to her newsletter for publication updates. Get started with ProWritingAidDrop us a line or let's stay in touch via : How to Style Essays Using MLA FormatWhat is MLA format? It is one of the most commonly used academic style guides. This format was developed by the Modern Language Association, which is exactly what the abbreviation MLA stands for. This format is mostly used by students in the humanities – literature, liberal arts, language, and other disciplines. When writing an MLA format essay or other paper, students are required to follow specific style requirements. In this article, we are going to give you an exhaustive insight into the core MLA style guidelines based on the format's 8th edition, published in 2016. The dissertation services team EssayPro has spent a lot of time dealing with various formatting styles such as MLA Format, APA style, Chicago style format and Harvard style. Let's go deeper into our MLA handbook with our papers service . General MLA Format GuidelinesAn MLA format follows the listed rules: | Times New Roman | | 12pt | | 1 inch | | Double | | ½ inch | | Title Case | In the next section, you will get to know how to create an MLA format heading, which appears at the top of your writing assignment. Before using the instruction, ask if your professor prefers a certain way to format an MLA heading. MLA ExampleIn this article, we have taken you through the core concepts, rules, and guidelines of the MLA format (8th edition). To help you get a deeper understanding of how your paper should look, here is a clear MLA format example: Read our blog about Chicago style essay and the ASA paper example ; these articles will greatly help you understand more about essay writing formats. Count on the support of our business essay writing service . Title Page, Headings, and Subheadings Title Page | MLA essays don't need title pages | Header | Placed at the top of the first page 1. Student's full name 2. Instructor's name 3. Name of the class, course, or section number 4. The project's deadline | Headings and Subheadings | ✖ Do NOT put a period after your heading | It is worth noting that MLA essay format does not imply the use of a title page. Generally, students are not prohibited from adding a title page to paper in MLA style, yet there is no official guide on how to format this according to MLA rules. A header in MLA format can be either placed on the title page (if you decide to include one), or you can add it at the top of first page of your work. All four formating rules have to be placed in this exact order with double line spacing and one-inch margins from all sides of the page. The last of the header (assignment's due date) in MLA paper should be followed by the assignment's name, unless you are creating a title page – in this case, you will start your project on the next page. The work's title should be centered and does not need to be put in bold, italicized, underlined, or placed in quotation marks. The only case when you would need to use an italicized font in the MLA title is if you include the name of another source within yours. Title Example: The Concept of American Dream in the Novel The Great Gatsby Headings and SubheadingsRegardless of the type of assignment, using headings and subheadings in the text is vital to ensure the logical organization and structure of the content. Therefore, writing a paper in MLA format, you will likely have to include some chapter titles, section headings, and other subheadings. The font and size of all elements remain the same. The only thing you are changing is the font style. Bold font is a wise choice for chapter titles as it shows a greater level of importance, while italics are less prominent and, thus, good for section headings. Meanwhile, subheadings, which are the least important of all heading types, are left in the standard font style. Get Your Paper Formatted BY PRO!We only need your requirements to create an original paper with proper formatting. Basic Text Formatting Requirements in MLA Format Running Head and Title Page | Running head placed at top right corner of every page. Consists of the author's last name and page number. No "p." before page numbers. | Margins | Positioned one inch from the right margin and half an inch from the top margin. 1 inch margins. Running head is the only item in the one-inch margin. | Paragraph Indentation and Spacing | First word of the new paragraph indented half an inch. Double spacing between paragraphs. Standard space between left margin and text start is half an inch. Use the "tab" button to set indentation. | Font | Use Times New Roman font in 12pt size. Other standard fonts allowed but Times New Roman recommended. | A running head is a short heading located at the top of every page in the right corner. This heading consists of the author's last name and the page number—following it after a space. Example: Blackwood 4 The standard MLA margins are one inch. Every page of your work should have one-inch margins from upper right hand corner to all sides. The only item that should be seen in the one-inch margin is the running head. The first word of every new paragraph should have a one half-inch indent from the left margin. All paragraphs need to have double spacing. The standard space between the left margin and the start of your text is one-half inch. To set it, you can use the “tab” button. Throughout the whole paper, use standard double MLA spacing. The MLA format guide suggests using the Times New Roman font in 12pt size. Although Times New Roman is a recommended font, students are allowed to use other standard fonts. In-Text Content in MLA FormatWriting a paper in MLA format, you can use any of these ways to add quotes in your text: - Giving a quote and mentioning the author’s name in the sentence
Example: Winston Churchill shared his opinion on the importance of reading in one of his famous quotes, “Employ your time in improving yourself by other men’s writings so that you shall come easily by what others have labored hard for.” In this example, the name of the quote’s author is placed at the beginning of the sentence, so there is no need to mention it again. - Giving a quote and not mentioning the author’s name in the sentence
Example: A clear statement of the importance of reading is highlighted in the words of a famous politician, “Employ your time in improving yourself by other men’s writings so that you shall come easily by what others have labored hard for” (Churchill). When the author’s name is not added to the sentence, put it in parentheses after the sentence. The third type of quote is called block quotes, and it applies to all phrases of 4 lines or longer. If you need to add a large quote in the body of your paper, follow these rules: - Start a block quote on a new line.
- Don't put a block quote in quotation marks.
- Keep it double-spaced.
- Make a half an inch indent for the entire quote from the left margin.
- Make sure you keep the quote in its original state (with the same punctuation, capitalization, etc.)
- Mention the author's name in parentheses — after the quote.
AbbreviationsGenerally, the MLA format prefers rare use of abbreviations. In the official guide, the Modern Language Association advises scholars to spell out abbreviations into full words. This rule applies to papers written in this format to avoid any confusion. Although it is recommended to use abbreviations only rarely, there are some cases when you may find them appropriate in your text. In such cases, you will need to follow certain rules: - Do not place periods between capital letters (e.g. United States = US, not U.S.)
- If the full words are in lower case, periods between the words are acceptable “for example = e.g.”
- When the full phrase has a blend of upper and lower case letters, do not put periods if there are more upper case letters (e.g. PhD, not Ph.D.)
Now, let's look at different abbreviation cases separately: MLA format requires using full month names in the body of a paper. Thus, if you need to mention a specific month in your own research paper or other paper, you have to type them fully. However, if you are making references, you are allowed to use abbreviations for months that are longer than four letters. For example, June will stay the same, while longer names like January can be abbreviated to Jan. Category | Description | Examples | Months | MLA requires full month names in paper bodies. Specific months must be typed fully. References can use abbreviations for months longer than four letters. | "Juhe" unchanged, "January" becomes "Jan." | Publishers | Some words can be abbreviated on the Works Cited page (see example), others must be written in full. | Company – Co. University – U Limited – Ltd. Incorporated – Inc. Press – P | Titles | On your Works Cited page, you can use standard abbreviations for commonly-cited biblical and classical sources to save space. | Shakespeare: Much Ado About Nothing – Ado Henry VI, Part 3 – 3H6 Julius Caesar – JC Romeo and Juliet – Rom. | Other | Additional approved abbreviations permitted, but only for the Works Cited page. | Chapter – ch. | Also, students are allowed to use other abbreviations in their Works Cited page. Some of the acceptable abbreviations are: - Chapter – ch.
- Page and page numbers – p. and pp.
- Volume – vol.
- Revised – rev.
- Number – no.
- Edition – ed.
- Translated or translation – trans.
Once again, these specific abbreviations can only be used on your Works Cited page. Otherwise, in the paper's body, you are expected to type them out in full. Depending on the type and content of your work, you may need to use numbers frequently. In this case, follow the guidelines given below: Type | Description | Example | Numerals | In MLA style, use numerals before measurements. | 8 kilograms 130 ounces | Arabic Numerals | Spell out short numbers like "three" or "twenty-five," and use digits for longer ones. Also, use digits for decimals, fractions, or when a number comes before a label or measurement. | Two Fourteen Fifty five 631 14.7 3 ½ 3 a.m. 9 years | Roman Numerals | Roman numerals in MLA are used either in an outline or to indicate suffixes. | Ramses III | Numbers in the MLA Outline | MLA doesn't have official outline guidelines. Usually, it's suggested to use Roman numerals, capital letters, lowercase letters, and numbers for the outline. | | In terms of the use of numbers in MLA style, there are two more tips to follow: - Do not include ISBN numbers in a paper.
- Do not start a new sentence with a number. If possible, restate a sentence so that the number is placed elsewhere. If it is not possible, spell out the number that stands at the beginning of the sentence.
Images and TablesIt is always a good idea to add photos, images, tables, and other visual elements to a paper as long as they contribute to the overall quality of the work and add value. Thus, if a specific image or table does not bring any actual value, it is better to avoid adding it. General rules: - Place an image as close to the sentence to which it relates as possible.
- Create a label for each image you include, and add labels right under each particular image. A label has to begin with the abbreviation “Fig.”
- Following the abbreviation “Fig.”, place a specific number assigned to the image based on its location in the paper. For example, the first image included in the paper should be labeled as “Fig. 1”, and the following should be “Fig. 2,” etc.
- Place parentheses with the label and number of the relevant image at the end of the piece to cite it.
- Apart from the label, every image should feature a brief caption placed right underneath it, after the label.
- In case the caption of an image or table provides exhaustive data about its source of origin and you haven't already cited the same source in your text, it does not have to be added to the Works Cited page.
Example: Princess Diana’s famous midnight blue velvet dress was sold for $347,000 (fig. 1). (Image) Fig. 1. Princess Diana’s Famous Dress; attribution information. Unlike images, tables in your paper do not need to be marked with the “fig.” label. Instead, you need to include the label “Table”, followed by an Arabic numeral. Similarly to images, tables in your work are assigned numbers based on the specific order of their appearance in the text. Also, every table needs to have a title. Together, the label “Table”, numeral, and title have to be located above the data set on separate lines, and all flush left. Tables' titles have to have all of their first letters capitalized: If you need to add a list to your paper, that’s fine. However, there are a number of rules you will need to follow: - All lists in MLA format need to be horizontal.
- A colon needs to be placed between the list and the introductory sentence, unless the list is a part of the sentence.
Example: Ernest Hemingway has written numerous art pieces: The Torrents of Spring, The Sun Also Rises, To Have and Have Not, For Whom the Bell Tolls, Across the River and into the Trees, and The Old Man and the Sea. Example of a list as a part of a sentence:Some of the most popular works of Ernest Hemingway are The Torrents of Spring, The Sun Also Rises, To Have and Have Not, For Whom the Bell Tolls, Across the River and into the Trees, and The Old Man and the Sea. How to Set Up MLA Format in Google Docs in 10 Steps- Start by opening a new document.
- Choose the font style and size.
- Navigate to "Insert," then click on "Headers & Footers," and choose "Header."
- Click on "Page Numbers" and select the page format you want.
- Go to “File”, “Page Setup” and adjust the margins to 1 inch.
- Go to "Line & Paragraph Spacing" and select "Double."
- Input the report details.
- Modify alignment and indentation as needed.
First, hit Enter on the keyboard, then align the text to the left. To indent the sentences, drag the ruler on top of the document. Next, drag the rectangle to half an inch or 1.27 cm. - In the "Insert" tab, click on "Break" and select "Page Break."
MLA Works Cited FormatWhen writing academic research papers however, students conduct research and collect information from a variety of sources (e.g. books, websites, scientific journals, etc.). Putting information from different sources, along with your own ideas, is vital to create a compelling and informative paper. However, if the sources used in the project are not cited correctly, it can influence the final grade of the paper, as well as indicate the paper as being plagiarised. That's why you need to cite correctly and include works cited page. To make a reference to an original source of information included in a paper, students need to create in-text citations, as described in the previous section of our article. However, providing a brief reference to original sources in your text is not enough. To provide readers with sufficient details on the origin of the information used in the text, you need to list all sources on a separate page. Below you can find a detailed guide on how to create an MLA works cited page. Also don't forget that we provide graduate essay writing services , feel free to contact us if you need help! Check out our MLA FORMAT CITATION GUIDE General Formatting Rules- Place the Works Cited section on a separate page at the end of your work.
- Apply the same margins and a header with your last name and page number—just like you have everywhere else in the paper.
- Name the page Works Cited and place the title in the center at the top of the page. (Note, do not put the title in quotation marks or italicize it).
- Align your citation entries with the left margin.
- Use double-line spacing.
- Add 0.5-inch indents to the second and following lines of every citation entry.
- Place your entries in alphabetical order.
- When marking a single page of a printed source to which you have referenced, use the abbreviation “p.” before the number (e.g. p. 632).
- When marking numerous pages throughout the source, use the abbreviation “pp.” and add a specific span of pages after the abbreviation if necessary (for example, when you refer to a particular chapter or article, e.g. pp. 65-112).
- Always indicate the name of an online database in italics if you retrieved an original printed publication from a database. Do not provide subscription information.
Entry TypesDepending on the type of the original source, the format of your entries can vary. Here are examples of how different entry types should be shaped: Last, First Name of the Author. Title. City of Publication: Publisher, Year Published. Print Example: James, Henry. The Turn of the Screw. New York: Penguin Publish, 2007. Print Newspaper Last, First Name of the Author. “Title of the Article.” Newspaper Title [City] Date Month Year of Publication: Page(s). Print. Example: Quint, Peter. “Turning Screws.” Pittsburgh Press [Pittsburgh] 7 Mar. 1990: 12-14. Print. Last, First Name of the Author. “Title of the Article.” Journal Title Series Volume.Issue (Year Published): Page(s). Database Name. Web. Date Month Year Accessed. Example: Quint, Peter. “Turning Screws.” Journal of Engineering. 28.1 (2012): 41-54. Print. Article from the Web (with author) Last, First Middle Initial. “Article Title.” Website Title. Website Publisher, Date Month Year Published. Web. Date Month Year Accessed. Example: Quint, Peter. “Turning Screws.” New York Times. New York times. 17.02.2017. Web. 18.03.2017 Article from the Web (without author) “Website Article.” Website Title. Website Publisher, Date Month Year Published. Web. Date Month Year Accessed. Example: “Turning Screws.” New York Times. New York Times. 17.02.2017. Web. 18.03.2017 'I need help of research paper writer service ' - we get such messages really often. Our professional writers are ready to help you anytime. Do You Need Some Help With MLA FORMATTING?Or have any other writing request? Address to our professional writers and they'll help asap! What Title Page Do I Need for My MLA Paper?How to format a paper in mla style, how to cite in mla format, what is the easiest way to create mla citations, what are nine core elements of mla citations. is an expert in nursing and healthcare, with a strong background in history, law, and literature. Holding advanced degrees in nursing and public health, his analytical approach and comprehensive knowledge help students navigate complex topics. On EssayPro blog, Adam provides insightful articles on everything from historical analysis to the intricacies of healthcare policies. In his downtime, he enjoys historical documentaries and volunteering at local clinics. ASAP - Terre Haute / Greencastle- APA Style_Starting Points
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Database Citation & Organization ToolsCitation Tutorials and ToolsAdditional tools for the research process are linked here, including plagiarism tutorials through Credo, as well as NoodleTools, which is free research gathering, organizing, and citing platform. Argument Essay ResearchThese are some commonly used databases for use in researched argument or persuasion essays. However, always check your assignment guidelines for required library databases to make sure you are meeting the assignment expectations. Scholarly articles, News articles and Audio-visual content, Opinions, Primary sources, Reference, and Websites on topics of social interest. Scholarly content and general reader. Recommended for argumentative research. Overview articles, opinions, some primary sources, presenting multiple sides of topical issues. Browse topics or keyword search. Designed for argumentative research. Reports related to topics in the news and social and political issues. Recommended for topic overviews and for argumentative essays. Reference works, Scholarly journals, Trade publications, and important General interest magazines covering core academic subject areas. Help Guide available. Portal to all EBSCO databases including Academic Search Complete, Health Source Nursing/Academic Edition, and more; select as appropriate from this entry page. To locate additional databases, use the Library's A-Z Resources List. Peer Reviewed ArticlesYour instructor assigned a term paper that requires using two or more "scholarly" sources. What does that mean? How do you find scholarly sources? Why can't you use newspapers, magazines, websites, etc.? Peer-reviewed articles (also known as "scholarly articles" or "academic articles") are articles that have been reviewed and approved as valid and relevant by experts within a particular field of study. Instructors might require students to use only peer-reviewed material as part of assignment guidelines. To locate peer-reviewed articles within Ivy Tech databases, try these search tips: 1. Locate the appropriate search filter by scrolling through delimiter options on the search page. The database aggregate EBSCOhost , for example, provides a delimiter that refines search results for only peer reviewed articles. 2. Look for additional filters that might appear under a different name. For example, other resources like Social Sciences Full Text offer an option to select "Academic Journal" as a Publication Type. This filter returns only search results from journals that specialize in providing scholarly peer-reviewed resources. 3. Look for databases that specialize in offering only scholarly material. Databases like the Psychology and Behavioral Sciences Collection only publish peer-reviewed, academic articles, so no filter is typically necessary when searching this resource, unless you wish to select a particular document type within the database, like a case study. Library & Tutoring ServicesAsk a Librarian - Schedule Research Assistance
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The Discover! search engine searches ALL of Ivy Tech's online resources. Discover! is especially good for a really broad search as you are narrowing onto a topic. Learn how to effectively navigate Discover! and the Library website n the following videos: Start with Discover! Boolean Search PhrasesWhen searching for a topic by keyword, it is helpful to use Boolean operators - words that help narrow or broaden your search. There are three primary Boolean operators, each used in capital letters in your search, that may help you. Use when you have more than one search term and want all the words to be in the articles you look at Example: nursing AND pediatric, when you only want to see articles about pediatric nursing when you have more than one possible search term, and any of them would be acceptable Example: asthma OR emphysema, when you want articles about chronic breathing illnesses but do not care which illness Use when you have a broad search term but do not want to see articles about some topics that may fall under that category. Example: nursing NOT pediatric, when you want to see articles about nursing care but not about working with children Understanding Cross-Referencing1. An in-text citation , which is an abbreviated form of the source citation included in the essay portion of the project 2. A full citation , which is included at the end of the project on a Works Cited page, References list, or whatever type of research format is required for the assignment. One of your roles as a researcher and writer is assuring this cross-referencing technique is in place and has been used correctly so your readers have a very clear picture of where your research was derived, who provided the research, and how readers can follow your research trail to explore the source material themselves. Here is an example of cross-referencing in APA 7th edition style: According to Jones (2022), "Student researchers prefer APA to MLA at a rate of 4 to 1" (p.24). This in-text citation tells readers that Jones made this statement in source material published in 2022. But the in-text citation also guides readers to the APA References list at the end of the essay for more information regarding the source material: Jones , S. (2023) . Student research method preferences. Journal of Research Studies, 12 (3), 19- 24 . https://doi.org/12.3210000 Because this source was fully cross-referenced, readers know that the quote from Jones came from this article on page 24 of the publication. And the article can be located using the information provided in the References list citation. The same source would look like the following in MLA citation style: According to Jones, "Student researchers prefer APA to MLA at a rate of 4 to 1" (24). Jones , Susan. "Student Research Method Preferences." Journal of Research Studies, vol. 12, no.3, 2023, pp.19- 24. doi:12.3210000. A Glossary of Research Related Terms- Annotated Bibliography: an alphabetized working list of potential sources containing 1) a full Works Cited style citation for the source 2) an analysis and summary of the source material regarding its credibility, important points made by the authors or sponsors of the source, and its relevance to a particular student research project.
- Citations: information regarding source material used in a research essay; in-text citations are located in the essay itself, while Works Cited citations (also known as ‘entries’) are located at the end of the research paper.
- Cross-referencing: the method in which a researcher connects in-text citations with source information located on the Works Cited page (s).
- Databases: online aggregates of research and information, often located within a college library virtual platform.
- DOI or Director Object Identifier: a unique identification number assigned to source material, such as journal articles, which can be substituted for an URL or permalink in a Works CIted entry.
- Entry or Entries: a term used to describe each full citation listed on a Works Cited page.
- Full-Text: indicates a source is provided in its entirety, typically exactly as it was originally published.
- In-text citations: an abbreviated form of citation included in the body of an essay; the in-text citation matches the first word of the full Works Cited entry and allows readers to cross-reference, or match, the in-text citation with the entry on the Works Cited page.
- Journalist’s Questions: a method of using “Who, What, Where, When, Why, or How” to establish elements of a citation or to determine validity of a source.
- Leading phrases: Also known as introductory tags or signal phrases ; used in the body of a research paper to introduce source material, such as an author or a sponsor of the information or data being cited. Typically used when direct quotes are being integrated into the essay.
- Parenthetical citation: An in-text citation format that employs parentheses at the end of a sentence to provide cross-referencing information about a source. Typically used for summaries or paraphrases.
- Peer-reviewed or Scholarly Articles: Journal or magazine articles that are published by a vetted publisher or professional organization; articles that have been written and/or reviewed by professionals within any given field of study.
- Permalink: a dedicated hyperlink that will not change over time assigned to a specific resource.
- Plagiarism: Intentionally or unintentionally neglecting to give credit for ideas, opinions, research, or data that is not your own.
- References list : page(s) located at the end of an APA style research essay; includes all pertinent information regarding sources used in the body of the research paper in the form of alphabetized entries.
- Works Cited: page(s) located at the end of an MLA style research essay; includes all pertinent information regarding sources used in the body of the research paper in the form of alphabetized entries.
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Embrace the Path to A+ EssaysImagine crafting essays that not only fulfill the requirements but showcase your critical thinking skills, insightful analysis, and captivating writing style. This is the power of Gauth AI as your essay writing partner. Sign up for Gauth today and unlock the A+ advantage. With Gauth AI by your side, you’ll transform your essay writing from a daunting task to a rewarding journey of learning, self-discovery, and academic excellence. This entry was posted on August 15, 2024 at 12:26 pm and is filed under General . . You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. Responses are currently closed, but you can trackback from your own site. Comments are closed. How to cite ChatGPTUse discount code STYLEBLOG15 for 15% off APA Style print products with free shipping in the United States. We, the APA Style team, are not robots. We can all pass a CAPTCHA test , and we know our roles in a Turing test . And, like so many nonrobot human beings this year, we’ve spent a fair amount of time reading, learning, and thinking about issues related to large language models, artificial intelligence (AI), AI-generated text, and specifically ChatGPT . We’ve also been gathering opinions and feedback about the use and citation of ChatGPT. Thank you to everyone who has contributed and shared ideas, opinions, research, and feedback. In this post, I discuss situations where students and researchers use ChatGPT to create text and to facilitate their research, not to write the full text of their paper or manuscript. We know instructors have differing opinions about how or even whether students should use ChatGPT, and we’ll be continuing to collect feedback about instructor and student questions. As always, defer to instructor guidelines when writing student papers. For more about guidelines and policies about student and author use of ChatGPT, see the last section of this post. Quoting or reproducing the text created by ChatGPT in your paperIf you’ve used ChatGPT or other AI tools in your research, describe how you used the tool in your Method section or in a comparable section of your paper. For literature reviews or other types of essays or response or reaction papers, you might describe how you used the tool in your introduction. In your text, provide the prompt you used and then any portion of the relevant text that was generated in response. Unfortunately, the results of a ChatGPT “chat” are not retrievable by other readers, and although nonretrievable data or quotations in APA Style papers are usually cited as personal communications , with ChatGPT-generated text there is no person communicating. Quoting ChatGPT’s text from a chat session is therefore more like sharing an algorithm’s output; thus, credit the author of the algorithm with a reference list entry and the corresponding in-text citation. When prompted with “Is the left brain right brain divide real or a metaphor?” the ChatGPT-generated text indicated that although the two brain hemispheres are somewhat specialized, “the notation that people can be characterized as ‘left-brained’ or ‘right-brained’ is considered to be an oversimplification and a popular myth” (OpenAI, 2023). OpenAI. (2023). ChatGPT (Mar 14 version) [Large language model]. https://chat.openai.com/chat You may also put the full text of long responses from ChatGPT in an appendix of your paper or in online supplemental materials, so readers have access to the exact text that was generated. It is particularly important to document the exact text created because ChatGPT will generate a unique response in each chat session, even if given the same prompt. If you create appendices or supplemental materials, remember that each should be called out at least once in the body of your APA Style paper. When given a follow-up prompt of “What is a more accurate representation?” the ChatGPT-generated text indicated that “different brain regions work together to support various cognitive processes” and “the functional specialization of different regions can change in response to experience and environmental factors” (OpenAI, 2023; see Appendix A for the full transcript). Creating a reference to ChatGPT or other AI models and softwareThe in-text citations and references above are adapted from the reference template for software in Section 10.10 of the Publication Manual (American Psychological Association, 2020, Chapter 10). Although here we focus on ChatGPT, because these guidelines are based on the software template, they can be adapted to note the use of other large language models (e.g., Bard), algorithms, and similar software. The reference and in-text citations for ChatGPT are formatted as follows: - Parenthetical citation: (OpenAI, 2023)
- Narrative citation: OpenAI (2023)
Let’s break that reference down and look at the four elements (author, date, title, and source): Author: The author of the model is OpenAI. Date: The date is the year of the version you used. Following the template in Section 10.10, you need to include only the year, not the exact date. The version number provides the specific date information a reader might need. Title: The name of the model is “ChatGPT,” so that serves as the title and is italicized in your reference, as shown in the template. Although OpenAI labels unique iterations (i.e., ChatGPT-3, ChatGPT-4), they are using “ChatGPT” as the general name of the model, with updates identified with version numbers. The version number is included after the title in parentheses. The format for the version number in ChatGPT references includes the date because that is how OpenAI is labeling the versions. Different large language models or software might use different version numbering; use the version number in the format the author or publisher provides, which may be a numbering system (e.g., Version 2.0) or other methods. Bracketed text is used in references for additional descriptions when they are needed to help a reader understand what’s being cited. References for a number of common sources, such as journal articles and books, do not include bracketed descriptions, but things outside of the typical peer-reviewed system often do. In the case of a reference for ChatGPT, provide the descriptor “Large language model” in square brackets. OpenAI describes ChatGPT-4 as a “large multimodal model,” so that description may be provided instead if you are using ChatGPT-4. Later versions and software or models from other companies may need different descriptions, based on how the publishers describe the model. The goal of the bracketed text is to briefly describe the kind of model to your reader. Source: When the publisher name and the author name are the same, do not repeat the publisher name in the source element of the reference, and move directly to the URL. This is the case for ChatGPT. The URL for ChatGPT is https://chat.openai.com/chat . For other models or products for which you may create a reference, use the URL that links as directly as possible to the source (i.e., the page where you can access the model, not the publisher’s homepage). Other questions about citing ChatGPTYou may have noticed the confidence with which ChatGPT described the ideas of brain lateralization and how the brain operates, without citing any sources. I asked for a list of sources to support those claims and ChatGPT provided five references—four of which I was able to find online. The fifth does not seem to be a real article; the digital object identifier given for that reference belongs to a different article, and I was not able to find any article with the authors, date, title, and source details that ChatGPT provided. Authors using ChatGPT or similar AI tools for research should consider making this scrutiny of the primary sources a standard process. If the sources are real, accurate, and relevant, it may be better to read those original sources to learn from that research and paraphrase or quote from those articles, as applicable, than to use the model’s interpretation of them. We’ve also received a number of other questions about ChatGPT. Should students be allowed to use it? What guidelines should instructors create for students using AI? Does using AI-generated text constitute plagiarism? Should authors who use ChatGPT credit ChatGPT or OpenAI in their byline? What are the copyright implications ? On these questions, researchers, editors, instructors, and others are actively debating and creating parameters and guidelines. Many of you have sent us feedback, and we encourage you to continue to do so in the comments below. We will also study the policies and procedures being established by instructors, publishers, and academic institutions, with a goal of creating guidelines that reflect the many real-world applications of AI-generated text. For questions about manuscript byline credit, plagiarism, and related ChatGPT and AI topics, the APA Style team is seeking the recommendations of APA Journals editors. APA Style guidelines based on those recommendations will be posted on this blog and on the APA Style site later this year. Update: APA Journals has published policies on the use of generative AI in scholarly materials . We, the APA Style team humans, appreciate your patience as we navigate these unique challenges and new ways of thinking about how authors, researchers, and students learn, write, and work with new technologies. American Psychological Association. (2020). Publication manual of the American Psychological Association (7th ed.). https://doi.org/10.1037/0000165-000 Related and recentComments are disabled due to your privacy settings. To re-enable, please adjust your cookie preferences. APA Style MonthlySubscribe to the APA Style Monthly newsletter to get tips, updates, and resources delivered directly to your inbox. Welcome! Thank you for subscribing. APA Style GuidelinesBrowse APA Style writing guidelines by category - Abbreviations
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Full index of topics Purdue Online Writing Lab Purdue OWL® College of Liberal Arts MLA Formatting QuotationsWelcome to the Purdue OWLThis page is brought to you by the OWL at Purdue University. When printing this page, you must include the entire legal notice. Copyright ©1995-2018 by The Writing Lab & The OWL at Purdue and Purdue University. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, reproduced, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed without permission. Use of this site constitutes acceptance of our terms and conditions of fair use. When you directly quote the works of others in your paper, you will format quotations differently depending on their length. Below are some basic guidelines for incorporating quotations into your paper. Please note that all pages in MLA should be double-spaced . Short quotationsTo indicate short quotations (four typed lines or fewer of prose or three lines of verse) in your text, enclose the quotation within double quotation marks. Provide the author and specific page number (in the case of verse, provide line numbers) in the in-text citation, and include a complete reference on the Works Cited page. Punctuation marks such as periods, commas, and semicolons should appear after the parenthetical citation. Question marks and exclamation points should appear within the quotation marks if they are a part of the quoted passage, but after the parenthetical citation if they are a part of your text. For example, when quoting short passages of prose, use the following examples: When using short (fewer than three lines of verse) quotations from poetry, mark breaks in verse with a slash, ( / ), at the end of each line of verse (a space should precede and follow the slash). If a stanza break occurs during the quotation, use a double slash ( // ). Long quotationsFor quotations that are more than four lines of prose or three lines of verse, place quotations in a free-standing block of text and omit quotation marks. Start the quotation on a new line, with the entire quote indented 1/2 inch from the left margin while maintaining double-spacing. Your parenthetical citation should come after the closing punctuation mark . When quoting verse, maintain original line breaks. (You should maintain double-spacing throughout your essay.) For example, when citing more than four lines of prose, use the following examples : Nelly Dean treats Heathcliff poorly and dehumanizes him throughout her narration: They entirely refused to have it in bed with them, or even in their room, and I had no more sense, so, I put it on the landing of the stairs, hoping it would be gone on the morrow. By chance, or else attracted by hearing his voice, it crept to Mr. Earnshaw's door, and there he found it on quitting his chamber. Inquiries were made as to how it got there; I was obliged to confess, and in recompense for my cowardice and inhumanity was sent out of the house. (Bronte 78) When citing long sections of poetry (four lines of verse or more), keep formatting as close to the original as possible. In his poem "My Papa's Waltz," Theodore Roethke explores his childhood with his father: The whiskey on your breath Could make a small boy dizzy; But I hung on like death: Such waltzing was not easy. We Romped until the pans Slid from the kitchen shelf; My mother's countenance Could not unfrown itself. (qtd. in Shrodes, Finestone, Shugrue 202) When citing two or more paragraphs, use block quotation format, even if the passage from the paragraphs is less than four lines. If you cite more than one paragraph, the first line of the second paragraph should be indented an extra 1/4 inch to denote a new paragraph: In "American Origins of the Writing-across-the-Curriculum Movement," David Russell argues, Writing has been an issue in American secondary and higher education since papers and examinations came into wide use in the 1870s, eventually driving out formal recitation and oral examination. . . . From its birth in the late nineteenth century, progressive education has wrestled with the conflict within industrial society between pressure to increase specialization of knowledge and of professional work (upholding disciplinary standards) and pressure to integrate more fully an ever-widening number of citizens into intellectually meaningful activity within mass society (promoting social equity). . . . (3) Adding or omitting words in quotationsIf you add a word or words in a quotation, you should put brackets around the words to indicate that they are not part of the original text: If you omit a word or words from a quotation, you should indicate the deleted word or words by using ellipses, which are three periods ( . . . ) preceded and followed by a space. For example: Please note that brackets are not needed around ellipses unless they would add clarity. When omitting words from poetry quotations, use a standard three-period ellipses; however, when omitting one or more full lines of poetry, space several periods to about the length of a complete line in the poem: |
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MLA General Format MLA Style specifies guidelines for formatting manuscripts and citing research in writing. MLA Style also provides writers with a system for referencing their sources through parenthetical citation in their essays and Works Cited pages.
The MLA Handbook provides guidelines for creating MLA citations and formatting academic papers. This includes advice on structuring parenthetical citations, the Works Cited page, and tables and figures. This quick guide will help you set up your MLA format paper in no time.
This material may not be published, reproduced, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed without permission. Use of this site constitutes acceptance of our terms and conditions of fair use. This resource contains a sample MLA paper that adheres to the 2016 updates. To download the MLA sample paper, click this link.
Learn everything you need to know about MLA formatting and citations with Grammarly. Discover how to use MLA by using our comprehensive guides and more.
Now that you've read this far and have an idea of what you need to do, there is a big shortcut you can use. Word has a few templates for various paper formats, including MLA, APA, and others. To locate these templates, select 'new' under file and type MLA in the search box. Then select the template you wish to use. Download the Word document to your computer, open the template, and begin typing.
Welcome to an overview of "What is MLA Format?" in relation to paper formatting. You'll find in-depth guidelines, examples, and visual samples to help you easily format your paper. This guide does not serve as a reference for MLA citation format.
Learn how to format your student paper using MLA 9th edition. Step-by-step explainer with examples and a free MLA template.
Learn how to format your MLA paper according to the 9th edition of the MLA Handbook, with examples and tips from Taft College librarians.
The purpose of this guide is to help you format your papers, essays, and presentations using MLA format. How to create and properly format a paper using MLA format
This document will show you how to format an essay in MLA style. 0.2) If, instead of questions about putting the final formatting touches on your essay, you have questions about what to write, see instead my handouts on writing a short research paper, coming up with a good thesis statement, and using quotations in the body of your paper.
Congratulations to the students whose essays were selected for the 2024 edition of Writing with MLA Style! Essays were selected as examples of excellent student writing that use MLA style for citing sources. Essays have been lightly edited. If your institution subscribes to MLA Handbook Plus, you can access annotated versions of the essays selected …
This guide follows the 9th edition (the most recent) of the MLA Handbook, published by the Modern Language Association in 2021. To cite sources in MLA style, you need. In-text citations that give the author's last name and a page number. A list of Works Cited that gives full details of every source. Make sure your paper also adheres to MLA ...
Learn how to write an essay in MLA format with this sample. Find out the rules and guidelines for citation, formatting, and style in MLA.
These OWL resources will help you learn how to use the Modern Language Association (MLA) citation and format style. This section contains resources on in-text citations and Works Cited pages, as well as MLA sample papers, slide presentations, and the MLA classroom poster.
How to correctly format essays in MLA style. What Is MLA Format? MLA format is a set of guidelines established by the Modern Language Association for writing and documenting research papers, essays, and scholarly articles. These guidelines provide a standardized way to structure and format academic writing, making it easier for readers to understand and engage with the content.
MLA Formatting and Style Guide The following overview should help you better understand how to cite sources using MLA 9 th edition, including how to format the Works Cited page and in-text citations.
Learn how to create an MLA header for your paper, including what to include and how to format it. Scribbr provides clear examples and tips.
Writing in MLA format can be tricky, so here are the top 10 dos and don'ts and the most common errors for students to avoid when writing papers in MLA format.
MLA format specifies how your format your manuscript and cite research. Learn how to use MLA style for books, articles, and more.
General MLA Format Guidelines An MLA format follows the listed rules: ... In the next section, you will get to know how to create an MLA format heading, which appears at the top of your writing assignment. Before using the instruction, ask if your professor prefers a certain way to format an MLA heading.
MLA Formatting and Notation Style You should start by becoming familiar with the general formatting requirements of MLA Style, as well as the different standards for notation that MLA writers are expected to use. Because MLA is different than other writing styles, such as APA, you should pay attention to every detail of the Style, from general paper layout to abbreviations. The following pages ...
How do you find scholarly sources? Why can't you use newspapers, magazines, websites, etc.? Peer-reviewed articles ... Works Cited: page(s) located at the end of an MLA style research essay; includes all pertinent information regarding sources used in the body of the research paper in the form of alphabetized entries.
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MLA In-Text Citations: The Basics Guidelines for referring to the works of others in your text using MLA style are covered throughout the MLA Handbook and in chapter 7 of the MLA Style Manual. Both books provide extensive examples, so it's a good idea to consult them if you want to become even more familiar with MLA guidelines or if you have a particular reference question.
For literature reviews or other types of essays or response or reaction papers, you might describe how you used the tool in your introduction. In your text, provide the prompt you used and then any portion of the relevant text that was generated in response.
MLA Formatting Quotations When you directly quote the works of others in your paper, you will format quotations differently depending on their length. Below are some basic guidelines for incorporating quotations into your paper. Please note that all pages in MLA should be double-spaced.