To

The time has come to learn MLA. Learn it, Cite it, Write it.

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 ucredited use of source material by other writers.

(http://owl.english.purdue.edu/owl/resource/557/01)

Type your paper on a computer and print it out on standard, white 8.5 x 11-inch paper,

Double-space the text of your paper, and use a legible font like Times New Roman or Courier. The font size should be 10-12 pt.

Leave only one space after periods or other punctuation marks (unless otherwise instructed by your instructor).

Set the margins of your document to 1 inch on all sides. Indent the first line of a paragraph one half-inch (five spaces or press tab once) from the left margin.

Create a header that numbers all pages consecutively in the upper right-hand corner, one-half inch from the top and flush with the right margin. (Note: Your instructor may ask that you omit the number on your first page. Always follow your instructor's guidelines.)

Use either italics or underlining throughout your essay for the titles of longer works and, only when absolutely necessary, providing emphasis.

If you have any endnotes, include them on a separate page before your Works Cited page.

www.citationmachine.net

First, let’s talk about the cover page. MLA format does not require a cover page, however it is generally appreciated.

Your title page should read as follows.Course Code (top)Title of essay or Thesis (middle)Submitted To, Submitted by (with Student

##), Date Submitted (bottom right corner – one line for each)

Title pages are cool..if you can’t

make one, make a heading .

Well…papers should always be typed, in either Arial or Times New Roman font, and either 10 or 12 point type. Dark blue or black ink should always be used, and paper should always be white or ivory. (I know this sounds like common sense, but some people try to get creative-often leading to a paper that cannot be read by someone with a vision problem!) Where do

I Start?

This should be good news to many of you: papers should ALWAYS be double spaced. (In actuality, this leaves instructors room to write comments…we don’t tell you this because we are trying to make a little less work for you!)

Margins should be 1” all around. Indent (tab in) the first sentence of

every paragraph.

Space is importa

nt!

All pages get numbered in the upper right hand corner unless specifically requested by the instructor.

Do not use bold or italics for emphasizing text. Do use italics for large blocks of text that are being directly quoted or paraphrased. (Ask me why! It’s probably something you never thought of!)

In-text citation is used when quoting or paraphrasing a large chunk of work (like we were just discussing). Using parenthetical citation, you either list the author’s name and a page number in the parentheses, OR, in the event an author is unknown, an abbreviated version of the title with the page number is also acceptable.

Ex. Human beings have been described as "symbol-using animals" (Burke 3).

If you were a child of the 60’s and 70’s, you might remember this weird looking page that had to go at the end of every paper you wrote called a bibliography. Well, in fashion, things go out and come back in with a few changes…think about boot cut jeans, platform shoes, tie dye. Writing styles do much the same thing. Our old classic, the bibliography, has gotten a face lift and a name change…

…to the Works Cited Page. (I should have mentioned that all in-text citations must also be referenced in the Works Cited page.)

How you format your actual Work Cited entry depends on your source (book, website, newsletter, microfiche, etc…)

…but they will often look something like this:

Burke, Kenneth. Language as Symbolic Action: Essays on Life, Literature, and Method. Berkeley: U of California P, 1966.

Make sure your page is numbered. Type Works Cited as your heading, but do not underline the words or put into quotation marks. Center the words at the top of the page.

All citations get double spaced, but do not skip spaces between entries.

Provide enough information that anyone seeking to view the same information can find it.

Entries are listed in alphabetical order by author name. Authors are listed last name first, but do not add their titles, such as PhD or Mr. Do add titles that are references of generation, such as Jr. or III.

Title comes next, and gets underlined. Then enter place of publication, then

year.Palmer, William J. Dickens and New

Historicism. New York: St. Martin's, 1997.