Why Use MLA Guidelines?
•
MLA (Modern Language Association)
formatting is the gold standard
for writing papers in liberal arts and the humanities.
•
Parenthetical citation format and Works Cited pages allow the reader to quickly and clearly
access the sources you have used.
•
By citing all sources you have used in a standard and clear format, you protect your work
from accusations of plagiarism.
•
Using MLA formatting gives your paper instant credibility in the academic world.
MLA Guidelines
Paper Size:
Print all of your MLA essays on standard, 8.5” × 11” letter-sized paper.
Font and Size:
Type all MLA essays and reports using 12 point, Times New Roman font only.
Margins and Spacing:
All lines of text throughout the essay should be double-spaced.
Margins on all sides should be set to 1”.
The default setting for Microsoft Word is 1.25”, so this
needs to be adjusted in
File > Page Setup > Margins.
Header, Heading, and Essay Title:
A
Header
containing the page number and the student’s
last name should appear in the upper-right hand corner of each page.
In Microsoft Word, this can
be accomplished through
View > Header and Footer.
A
Heading
appears slightly below the Header but in the opposite (left-hand) corner.
The Heading should be double-spaced. Use the following format for the Heading:
• Student’s Name
• Professor’s Name
• Course Name or Number
• Date –
Use the international date format in MLA essays (day month year with no
punctuation).
EXAMPLE:
5 May 2010
• The
Essay Title
should be centered in the line directly below the Heading.
• Do not use any extra spaces between the Heading and the Essay Title.
• Essay Title should be written in the same font size and formatting as the body of the
essay (no use of
bold
,
italics
, or underline).
Correct Use of Formatting and Punctuation:
• Paragraph Indentation: Indent the first line of each new paragraph 1/2” from the left-hand
margin.To achieve this, use the Tab key rather than pressing the space bar numerous times.
•`All
titles of longer works
must be
italicized
.
MLA Guidelines Cheat Sheet
ENGLISH
8
