The following essays, which won the MLA Student Paper Contest, provide models for organizing an argument and working with sources. They also demonstrate MLA documentation style and paper formatting. For more details, consult the MLA’s guidelines on formatting papers. Please note that the papers were lightly edited and that missing bibliographic information, such MLA (Modern Language Association) style is most commonly used to write papers and cite sources within the liberal arts and humanities. This resource, updated to reflect the MLA Handbook (8 th ed.), offers examples for the general format of MLA research papers, in-text citations, endnotes/footnotes, and the Works Cited page 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
Proper Essay Format Guide (Updated For )
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Use of this site constitutes acceptance of our terms and conditions of fair use. 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, proper mla format for essays. If you are asked to use MLA format, be sure to consult the MLA Handbook 9th edition. Publishing scholars and graduate students should also consult the MLA Style Manual and Guide to Scholarly Publishing 3rd edition.
The MLA Handbook is available in most writing centers and reference libraries. It is also widely available in bookstores, libraries, and at the MLA web site. See the Additional Resources section of this proper mla format for essays for a list of helpful books and sites about using MLA Style.
The preparation of papers and manuscripts in MLA Style is covered in part four of the MLA Style Manual, proper mla format for essays. Below are some basic guidelines for formatting a paper in MLA Style :. These sections may include individual chapters or other named parts of a book or essay. MLA recommends that when dividing an essay into sections you number those sections with an Arabic number and a period followed by a space and the section name.
MLA does not have a prescribed system of headings for books for more information on headings, please see page in the MLA Style Manual and Guide to Scholarly Publishing3rd edition. If you are only using one level of headings, proper mla format for essays, meaning that all of the sections are distinct and parallel and have no additional sections that fit within them, MLA recommends that these sections resemble one another grammatically.
For instance, if your headings are typically short phrases, make all of the headings short phrases and not, for example, full sentences. Otherwise, the formatting is up to you.
It should, however, be consistent throughout the document. If you employ multiple levels of headings some of your sections have sections within sectionsyou may want to provide a key of your chosen level headings and their formatting to your instructor or editor. The following sample headings are meant to be used only as a reference. Proper mla format for essays may employ whatever system of formatting that works best for you so long as it remains consistent throughout the document.
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Purdue Online Writing Lab College of Liberal Arts. Proper mla format for essays Lab Purdue OWL Research Contact Site Map. Research and Citation MLA Style MLA Formatting and Style Guide. Welcome to the Purdue OWL This page is brought to you by the OWL at Purdue University. MLA General Format MLA Style specifies guidelines for formatting manuscripts and citing research in writing. Paper Format The preparation of papers and manuscripts in MLA Style is covered in part four of the MLA Style Manual.
Below are some basic guidelines for formatting a paper in MLA Style : General Guidelines Type your paper on a computer and print it out on standard, white 8. Double-space the text of your paper and use a legible font e. Times New Roman. Whatever font you choose, MLA recommends that the regular and italics type styles contrast enough that they are each distinct from one another. The font size should be 12 pt.
Leave only one space after periods or other punctuation marks unless otherwise prompted by your instructor. Set the margins of your document to 1 inch on all sides.
Indent the first line of each paragraph one half-inch from proper mla format for essays 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 italics throughout your essay to indicate the titles of longer works and, only when absolutely necessary, provide emphasis. If you have any endnotes, include them on a separate page before your Works Cited page.
Entitle the section Notes centered, unformatted. Formatting the First Page of Your Paper Do not make a title page for your paper unless specifically requested or the paper is assigned as a group project. In the case of a group project, list all names of the contributors, giving each name its own line in the header, followed by the remaining MLA header requirements as described below. Format the reaminder of the page as requested by the instructor.
In the upper left-hand corner of the first page, list your name, your instructor's name, the course, and the date. Again, be sure to use double-spaced text. Double space again and center the title. Do not underline, italicize, or place your title in quotation marks. Write the title in Title Case standard capitalizationproper mla format for essays, not in all capital letters.
For example: Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas as Morality Play; Human Weariness in "After Apple Picking" Double space between the title and the first line of the text. Create a header in the upper right-hand corner that includes your last name, followed by a space with a page number.
Number all pages consecutively with Arabic numerals 1, 2, 3, 4, etc. Always follow instructor guidelines. Here is a sample of the first page of a paper in MLA style: The First Page of an MLA Paper.
Formatting a paper in MLA style (19 May 2019 update)
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The following essays, which won the MLA Student Paper Contest, provide models for organizing an argument and working with sources. They also demonstrate MLA documentation style and paper formatting. For more details, consult the MLA’s guidelines on formatting papers. Please note that the papers were lightly edited and that missing bibliographic information, such MLA (Modern Language Association) style is most commonly used to write papers and cite sources within the liberal arts and humanities. This resource, updated to reflect the MLA Handbook (8 th ed.), offers examples for the general format of MLA research papers, in-text citations, endnotes/footnotes, and the Works Cited page The Proper Format for Essays. Below are guidelines for the formatting of essays based on recommendations from the MLA (the Modern Language Association). Fonts: Your essay should be word processed in point Times New Roman fonts
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