how to set up an essay in mla format

how to set up an essay in mla format

A Comprehensive Guide to Setting Up an Essay in MLA Format

1. Introduction to MLA Format

First required for the papers that were turned in as hard copies, using a typewriter, and enduring the great weight of the wires that were used to set fonts. In the 21st Century, the world of digital commerce and journalism demanded that the MLA format keep up with faster, more detailed, thorough techniques in preparing and arranging the paper’s format. Students who cannot adopt the college guidelines in full by the due date get penalized. Meanwhile, adult learners deal with the MLA standards by hand when posting more formal, paperwork essays on the World Wide Web.

The Modern Language Association (MLA) established its documentation format to help prepare students to write research papers in literature and other disciplines in the humanities and arts. The MLA Handbook for Writers of Research Papers, most recently updated in 2003, does not list specific rules on how to format your title page, cite a company’s name within your paper, or describe the index in a magazine article, but it provides one generic style that will be universally used in many colleges throughout American and English-speaking higher education.

2. Formatting Guidelines for the Title and Header

To begin, type the essay in Times New Roman font, 12 point. The title should be centered, it should be double spaced, and it should be in the same font as the rest of the essay. The name of the student and the teacher, the class, and the due date should be on the left-hand side, and they should be single spaced. After these have all been written double spaced, you should create a header that contains the student’s last name and page number. The header should be on the top right-hand corner of every page with the student’s last name followed by the page number. The same font and size that was used for the body of the essay must also be used for the header, but every part of the header should be double spaced. Once this has all been done, the preliminary formal format is complete and the essay body must be created.

3. Structuring the Body of the Essay in MLA Format

In MLA Style, the first paragraph of the essay should be the introduction. The thesis should be placed at the end of this first paragraph. All subsequent paragraphs require indented first lines. The paragraph margins should be indented a half inch from the body of the essay. The first line of each inserted paragraph needs to be indented one half inch. To meet MLA style requirements, the margins should be set at one inch on all four sides of the paper. On the last line of each body paragraph, the writer should cite his or her sources using the medium in which he or she found the source (for example, either “print” or “web”).

The first and foremost step that should always be taken when structuring an essay is to determine what type of style it will be written in. The MLA Handbook is a comprehensive style guide that details everything from proper citation methods to the structure of an essay. While many students are aware that they need to either double space their papers or use a specific citation style, when it comes to determining how to write the body of an essay in MLA format, they are mostly clueless. Essentially, the MLA Essay Format consists of: Introduction, Thesis Statement, Body Paragraphs, and Conclusion. Like all the other text in an MLA style paper, the text of the body of the essay should always be typed with standard 12-point type.

4. Citing Sources in-text and Creating a Works Cited Page

Lastly, your page should be titled “Works Cited” (without the inverted commas). With all of the print guidelines under control, it’s time to put a good title page in place. Start by entering your personal information, followed by the title of your report. The title should be typed using uppercase and lowercase letters and a short centred title should be used — avoid underlining or italicising the title. Make sure everything is double-spaced so that your research report is easy to read. In the upper right corner of the report, include your last name and the page number. To write the body of your analytical report, use the following five paragraphs so that it flows: the introduction, the purpose of the research, the results of the research, a conclusion, and a works cited.

Start with a blank 8 1/2” x 11” template to create the required layout of your work, and use only one space after punctuation marks. It should be double spaced. The first line of each entry must be left even. If it spans multiple lines, the subsequent ones need to be indented by one-half inch. However, you should NOT indent the initial line or add extra spaces between your work. Create a hanging indent using your word processor’s “hanging” function with the help of your mouse wheel and the “Format” option “Paragraph” box. The most common sources for MLA citation include: books, newspapers, periodicals, web pages, manuscripts, sound recordings, films, motion pictures, videotapes, CDs/DVDs, electronic broadcasts, online programs, online multimedia publications, software and CD-ROMs, databases, online newspapers, magazine articles, guides and encyclopedias, audiocasts, and podcasts. These formats will help you create accurate entries that conform to the guidelines of the Modern Language Association. A new page number should be started with the number 1; the rest continue.

Systems or Applications

II. Check your cursor’s position

For paraphrasing information from a source, which means taking the main idea of a passage and expressing it in your own words, include the author’s last name and the source’s full title, page number, or both: for example: (Smith 62) or (“Authors” 62). If no author is listed, use a shortened version of the title: for example: (“New Document” 12). A quote over three lines is considered a block quote and should be set off from the rest of your paragraph. It should be double-spaced with no quotation marks. Block quotes don’t require an in-text citation if you format them correctly, though a works cited entry is required. After incorporating supporting quotes and paraphrased information into your essay and attributing the words correctly, the next step in gathering support requires creating a Works Cited page. On this page, document all the sources used to write the essay. Use the following guidelines to create entries for your Works Cited Page: Begin your works cited page at the end of your essay. Label the page Works Cited, centered at the top of the page.

For summarizing and quoting information from a source, be sure to give credit to the authors by using an appropriate MLA in-text citation. Quotations are verbatim repetitions of the language of another author and should be surrounded by quotation marks. For short quotations, include quotation marks and the author’s last name and page number in parentheses after the quotation. For block quotations, include the entire quotation in an indented paragraph. This block of text should appear where it’s grammatically and logically appropriate; a page number is not required. Both short and block quotations require a works cited entry that includes the full source information.

5. Common Mistakes to Avoid when Formatting in MLA

Make sure to avoid these commonly made errors when making your MLA format essay: – Making your header in Times New Roman 12 font and not in the format your paper will have – Not double spacing works cited entries for the full page, or throughout the essay. – Not using proper font: Times New Roman 12 – Not including the first and last name in the header – Not putting the page number in the upper right-hand corner, a ½ from the top and flush with the right margin – Not using punctuation to separate each item in the header – Not making the first line of a paragraph ½ indented – Not double spacing the entire essay as per MLA format – Looking for a section on the use of headings? MLA format doesn’t require them. – MLA uses title case capitalization rules for all titles in the header and throughout the entire paper instead of any additional specific details. For page numbers, that’s lowercase roman numerals in the lower right-hand corner (beginning on the first page ½ inch from the top) for the intro and first book section alongside standard Arabic numerals in the following pagination.

So you’re almost finished with your paper, and already have your Works Cited ready. But wait! You just realized that your heading is in the wrong font. Not again! And didn’t your teacher ask for Times New Roman and 12 font size, but your doc reads Arial 11? Don’t fret! In this section, we’re going to cover some of the most common mistakes that students make when formatting their MLA essays. Then you can put your worries to rest.