put my essay in mla format

put my essay in mla format

The Importance of Proper MLA Formatting in Academic Writing

1. Introduction to MLA Formatting

MLA stands for the Modern Language Association, which is a membership-based organization created to spread knowledge among scholars. Gathering information about past research is often called gathering an “MLA Bibliography.” Members also work to set the standards of MLA formatting, which is widely recognized as the top system of proper citing in academic writing. Its function serves to ensure academic questions do not turn from thought-provoking discussion to a theft of intellectual property. Although petty theft could always happen, properly formatting your paper with MLA on every page ensures you will not be accused of, nor penalized for, plagiarism.

Standard MLA formatting doubles your chances at a successful academic paper. It also keeps you safe from accusations of plagiarism. The importance of simple MLA formatting is paramount for students striving to earn good grades. Without it, the hard work and original ideas you consider to be cruxes of good grades, is all for naught.

2. Key Elements of MLA Style

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. Writers who properly use MLA also build their credibility by demonstrating accountability to their source material. Most importantly, the use of MLA style can protect writers from accusations of plagiarism, which is the purposeful or accidental uncredited use of source material produced by other writers. It is also widely available in bookstores, libraries, and at the MLA web site.

3. In-Text Citations and Works Cited Page

The one aspect of MLA format students tend to forget is the Works Cited page. All references used must be in alphabetical, hanging, or numerical order by the author’s last name. Additionally, the title and creator of personal communications are within quotation marks; this includes email, family documents, interviews, letters, and lectures. Keep in mind that the only source you are allowed to not use a hyperlink for is unlabeled photographs. All sources used must have a label on your reference page. If you use information, you will receive negative points if it is not on your reference page. As it is said, “Cite your site or pay the price.” All general knowledge information students already knew before doing the research project should be left out because it should not be in your paper. The information you include is what you are learning through your research project.

Another critical aspect of proper MLA formatting in academic writing is with in-text citations and the reference page. When students use information from the internet, it is acceptable to use the author’s name or article’s title in the citation. However, errors occur when students forget to use the same in-text citations that match the information on the reference page. Additionally, the year and the page number must also be in the in-text citation. It is important to remember that any time you use a direct quote, you must use the location the author retrieved the information from (year and page) on the reference page. This tells your reader where to find the source if they are interested in further reading about the topic.

4. Common Mistakes to Avoid in MLA Formatting

2. In scholarly essays, you should be careful about direct quotations. Make sure that each of your quotes is filled with proper awe and authority in addition to properly pulling in the aforementioned three things. It can be bad practice to leave a quote hanging in an essay. The purpose of scholarly essays is for your words and ideas to guide the content. It can be beneficial whatever the length of the paper you compose. As you enter college and your sources become more in-depth, it is considered necessary to cite you. However, effectively integrating quotes into your writing will help a reader better understand and working papers and structure your writing. This leads to forming sound arguments that you can back up and thus interest people in reading what you write. Establishing details and securing your arguments is crucial in all scholarly essays.

1. It is important not to distract from the content of your essay by inadvertently making it look like the document needs to be edited. Incorrect formatting, such as improper spacing, lack of title, or excessive spacing between paragraphs, can put a bad first impression on the reader before they even start reading. MLA provides in-depth guidelines for student papers and scholarly works, but there are some common mistakes to avoid in MLA format. Carefully reading the guidelines will help you complete a well-organized and correctly cited essay. When using an authorized copyrighted source, MLA states that you must do three things: 1) Page numbers should always match any text’s citation; 2) Quotations that are 8+ words are indented and block-shaped; and 3) You must provide a works cited page documenting all of the text’s references.

5. Benefits of Consistent MLA Formatting

When a student takes the time to use MLA format throughout their essay and does their research accurately and efficaciously to include in-text citations and a works cited page at the end of the paper, the student can turn over the essay with confidence that they are turning in a quality assignment. If the student does not accurately research or properly cite the paper, then seeing a successful grade is going to be close to impossible. Following MLA format is really the only way to help students achieve desired grades. Since MLA formatting applies to not only the paper itself, but also its documentation and citing, students will need to be familiar with the term compared with such circumstances. This means that in other activities outside of the academia, students will be expected to write with MLA formatting. This still applies for any other extracurricular activities, be them related to making essays or reports. This knowledge looks great on resumes and applications too. If completed correctly and effectively, following MLA format can help give a student opportunities to create a great future. Always try and help people remember that.

Students are taught to write different kinds of essays throughout their academic career, whether those essays are written in high school or completed on the college level. There is usually a certain amount of expectation in writing styles depending on whether the essay is completed in high school or on the college level. However, some high school students could end up taking dual credit and college preparatory courses where they are also asked to write essays according to college formatting standards. One of these standards for good academic writing is the proper use of the Modern Language Association (MLA) format. This set of guidelines details how students working at the high school level and the college level should properly cite sources that they use within their papers, construct works cited pages, etc. This is a necessity for academic essays. Without the proper use of MLA citations and formatting, students could lose points in their final grades on assignments.