• MLA FORMAT:

    Word Processing Rules:  Modern Language Association (MLA) Format

    1. Margins:  One inch margins all around.  Header margin:  one-half inch.  See page 7-2 in Bud’s text.

    2. Line Spacing:  Double space the entire report.  There are no exceptions.  This applies to the Works Cited Page as well.  See pages 7-2, 7-6 in Bud’s text.

    3. Font and Point Size:  Times Roman or Courier. 12 point.

    4. Centering & Justifying:  Justification describes how words are placed on the page:  flush left, flush right, or centered.  MLA papers should NOT be justified right.  See page 7-2 in Bud’s text.

    5. Header:  When using word processing software, create page 1.  In the header box, type your last name, space, then from the insert menu, select page number.  The header will appear on every page including the first page and the Works Cited Page).

    6. Heading:  Four (4) separate lines in the upper left corner of the first page.  Double space between each line.  See example below or See page 7-5 in Bud’s Text.

      John Jones

      Mr. Rice, Mod 4/5

      College Prep English 11

      May 11, 2002

    7. Title:  Center and type in both upper and lower case; NO BOLD on page 1.  Same directions apply to the Works Cited Page which appears on the last page of the paper.  See page 7-5 in Bud’s text.

    8. Quotations:  All quotations are DOUBLE-SPACED.  There are different guidelines for quotations of four lines or less and quotations of more than four lines.  Also, quotations to prose differ from lines of poetry.  See pages 4-15, 4-16 in Bud’s text.

    9. Character Spacing:  There are two spaces after colons and periods at the end of a sentence.  One space after all else (commas, semicolons, abbreviations, etc.).

    10. Textual Citations:  Each citation refers to the Works Cited page and consists only of the author’s name and page number (with one space between the two).  Only the page number is needed when citing the same author(s) consecutively or when the author’s name is used in the sentence.  For correct punctuation of textual citations, see page 4-1 in Bud’s text.

    11. Electronic Citations:  Internet sources should use the parenthetic ( ) citations for MLA style.  For most Web pages, however, you will not have a page number, so you will include the author’s last name (Walker), if known, or the title if no author’s name is given (“Columbia Online Style”).  If page numbers, section numbers, or paragraph numbers are included on the Web site by the author you should include them as well (Walker, sec. 6-4).

    12. Ellipsis:  When omitting words, phrases, or sentences from quoted material, enclose three (3) spaced periods within square brackets […].  Do not space after the first bracket or the last period.  See pages 4-17, 4-18 in Bud’s text.  For ellipses in the middle or at the end of a quoted sentence.

    13. Works Cited Page:  The Works Cited page is a separate page and the last page of the paper.  The Works Cited page is numbered and has a header just as the others pages in the paper.  In the hanging indent form (SEE BELOW), list the authors in alphabetical order, last name first.  See page 4-22 in Bud's text.

    14. Hanging Indent:  The Works Cited page is to be typed in the hanging indent format.  The first line of each entry at the left margin, all others indented one-half inch.

    NOTE:  For individual citations, refer to pages 4-5 – 4-15 in Bud’s text or to the pink and blue Citation Format papers from the library.

    Above information was collected from Bud’s Easy Research Paper Computer Manual for IBM PCs by Alvin Baron, Ph.D.

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