MLA Writing Format
MLA (Modern Language Association) is a style that governs the format for most academic writing in the humanities both at the secondary and the university levels of study. It is an outgrowth of the APA format style, but has very specific differences from that style which must be accurately reflected in the essays and papers that one produces.
MLA formatting covers everything from the physical layout of the pages of an essay or paper to the manner in which both in-text and end-of-text citations are referenced. While some of the features of the APA style are certainly the same, many are also quite different, and students may need to utilize a current MLA format guide, if they are to adhere to their instructor’s requirements.
While this is by no means meant to be a comprehensive MLA guide, the following are the major features of the MLA format:
- Type your writing piece on standard 8 ½ by 11 paper, double-spaced
- Margins should be 1-inch, top and bottom, left and right
- Do not justify the right margin
- There is no title page; rather, the student enters pertinent information on the upper left-hand part of the first page, double spacing each piece of information, including name, course instructor’s name, the name of the course/course number, and the date of submission. Occasionally, instructors will request a separate title page, but they should give you the instruction for this.
- The title of the work should be centered on the first page, double-spaced below the heading.
- On each consecutive page, there should be a header in the top right-hand corner, ½ inch below the top of the page, specifying page numbers.
- Unlike the APA style, only one space should occur between all punctuation, including commas, semicolons, colons, and periods that end sentences.
Citing References in MLA Style
Each type of reference will require a specific citation format, and it will be most important to have an MLA format guide as you place these both within the text of your work and, at the end, in your bibliography. This short article is not meant to provide with the details of each type of reference you may use (book, journal article, edition, published and unpublished academic research papers, presentations, and web-based sources); however, we will provide you, upon request, MLA format sample citations for you to emulate.
Formatting Help
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