How to format an MLA-style paper
- One inch margins on sides, top and bottom.
- Use Times or Times New Roman 12 pt font.
- Double-space the text of the paper.
- Use left-justified text, which will have a ragged right edge.
- Indent the first word of each paragraph 1/2".
- Indent block quotes 1".
A good starting point for students beginning to learn more about the different types of author's purpose is to begin with the main 3: to persuade, to inform, and to entertain. These can easily be remembered with the PIE acronym.
Titles of full works like books or newspapers should be italicized. Titles of short works like poems, articles, short stories, or chapters should be put in quotation marks. Titles of books that form a larger body of work may be put in quotation marks if the name of the book series is italicized.
Here's How You Make a Quick and Perfect Introduction
- Get the attention of the audience.
- Clearly identify your subject.
- Tell the audience why this is important to them.
In general, you should italicize the titles of long works, like books, movies, or record albums. Use quotation marks for the titles of shorter pieces of work: poems, articles, book chapters, songs, T.V. episodes, etc.
When you mention a work or author in passing, a works-cited-list entry is not needed. For example, if you state that your favorite book is Catcher in the Rye, you have not quoted from or paraphrased the book, referred to any aspect of it specifically, or used it to advance an idea.
The correct MLA heading is found on the first page of your paper. It includes your name, instructor, course, and date. MLA format also has a running header with the page number and your last name. It is right-aligned and found on each page.
Answer
- The title of the article should be in quotation marks - Example: "Tiger Woman on Wall Street"
- Capitalize all the major words.
Capitalize each word in the titles of articles, books, etc, but do not capitalize articles (the, an), prepositions, or conjunctions unless one is the first word of the title or subtitle: Gone with the Wind, The Art of War, There Is Nothing Left to Lose.
Titles and Subtitles
1 of the eighth edition of the MLA Handbook says, “Use a colon and a space to separate a title from a subtitle, unless the title ends in a question mark or an exclamation point. Include other punctuation only if it is part of the title or subtitle.†But sometimes titles are not straightforward.Using In-text CitationMLA in-text citation style uses the author's last name and the page number from which the quotation or paraphrase is taken, for example: (Smith 163). If the source does not use page numbers, do not include a number in the parenthetical citation: (Smith).
Basic rules
- Begin your Works Cited page on a separate page at the end of your research paper.
- Label the page Works Cited (do not italicize the words Works Cited or put them in quotation marks) and center the words Works Cited at the top of the page.
- Double space all citations, but do not skip spaces between entries.
