{"id":59,"date":"2024-05-28T23:28:09","date_gmt":"2024-05-28T23:28:09","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/karenmariepalmer.com\/theroughwritersguide\/chapter\/formatting-mla-style\/"},"modified":"2024-05-28T23:29:44","modified_gmt":"2024-05-28T23:29:44","slug":"formatting-mla-style","status":"publish","type":"chapter","link":"https:\/\/karenmariepalmer.com\/theroughwritersguide\/chapter\/formatting-mla-style\/","title":{"raw":"Formatting: MLA Style","rendered":"Formatting: MLA Style"},"content":{"raw":"\n<p class=\"ql-focus\">MLA stands for Modern Language Association. In most Humanities and English courses, papers should follow MLA formatting guidelines. In general, that means that papers will<\/p>\n\n<ul>\n \t<li>Have a one inch margin on all sides<\/li>\n \t<li>Use 12 pt. Times New Roman font<\/li>\n \t<li>Be double-spaced<\/li>\n \t<li>Contain a heading at the top left containing the student\u2019s name, professor\u2019s name, class name, and the date.<\/li>\n \t<li>Contain a unique title centered on the first page.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\nhttps:\/\/youtu.be\/EjZEajTGdx8\n<div id=\"mccrimmon-ch10_s01_s02_s01\" class=\"section\">\n<h1 class=\"title editable block\">Order of Pages<\/h1>\n<p id=\"mccrimmon-ch10_s01_s02_s01_p01\" class=\"para editable block\">MLA requires the following set order of pages with each listed page on the list starting on a new page. If your paper does not require one or more of the pages, skip over those pages, but maintain the order of the pages you do use.<\/p>\n\n<ul id=\"mccrimmon-ch10_s01_s02_s01_l01\" class=\"itemizedlist editable block\">\n \t<li>Body of text<\/li>\n \t<li>Notes<\/li>\n \t<li>Citation list<\/li>\n \t<li>Appendices<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/div>\n<div id=\"mccrimmon-ch10_s01_s02_s02\" class=\"section\">\n<p id=\"mccrimmon-ch10_s01_s02_s02_p01\" class=\"para editable block\">No title page is needed unless your instructor requests it. Instead of a title page, MLA requires that you double-space your name, instructor\u2019s name, course name or number, and the date at the top left. Next, continuing to double space, center the title on the page and start your text under the title.<\/p>\n\n<\/div>\n<div id=\"mccrimmon-ch10_s01_s02_s03\" class=\"section\">\n<h1 class=\"title editable block\">Page Numbers and Paper Identification<\/h1>\n<div id=\"mccrimmon-ch10_s01_s02_s03_f01\" class=\"figure large editable block\">\n\n<img src=\"https:\/\/2012books.lardbucket.org\/books\/writers-handbook\/section_14\/637fb969167bd93107bf317d68c288c9.jpg\">\n\n<\/div>\n<p id=\"mccrimmon-ch10_s01_s02_s03_p01\" class=\"para editable block\">Page numbers should be placed at the top, right margin one-half inch down from the top of the page. Before the page number, use your last name in a running head.<\/p>\n\n<\/div>\n<div id=\"mccrimmon-ch10_s01_s02_s04\" class=\"section\">\n<h1 class=\"title editable block\">Margins<\/h1>\n<p id=\"mccrimmon-ch10_s01_s02_s04_p01\" class=\"para editable block\">Make margins one inch on both sides and top and bottom.<\/p>\n\n<\/div>\n<div id=\"mccrimmon-ch10_s01_s02_s05\" class=\"section\">\n<h1 class=\"title editable block\">Headings and Subheadings<\/h1>\n<p id=\"mccrimmon-ch10_s01_s02_s05_p01\" class=\"para editable block\">Use double spacing with no additional returns. There are five levels of headings in MLA style.&nbsp;&nbsp;<img style=\"font-size: 1em\" src=\"https:\/\/2012books.lardbucket.org\/books\/writers-handbook\/section_14\/93f31d00c08186ccddef9ee767a6db8a.jpg\"><\/p>\n<p id=\"mccrimmon-ch10_s01_s02_s05_p02\" class=\"para editable block\">If you have only two headings, use only the first two formats and so on. Typically, you will have two or three levels, but you might have as many as five levels. Keep in mind that the title does not count as a heading level, you should use the levels consistently, and you must have a minimum of two headings at each level.<\/p>\n\n<\/div>\n<div id=\"mccrimmon-ch10_s01_s02_s06\" class=\"section\">\n<h1 class=\"title editable block\">Fonts<\/h1>\n<p id=\"mccrimmon-ch10_s01_s02_s06_p01\" class=\"para editable block\">Choose a font that is straight forward with no curly flairs or other \u201cfancy\u201d twists, such as Times New Roman or Arial. Use 12-point font.<\/p>\n\n<\/div>\n<div id=\"mccrimmon-ch10_s01_s02_s07\" class=\"section\">\n<h1 class=\"title editable block\">Paragraph Indentations<\/h1>\n<p id=\"mccrimmon-ch10_s01_s02_s07_p01\" class=\"para editable block\">Indent the first line of each paragraph one-half inch from the left margin by using the tab key (rather than spacing over).<\/p>\n\n<\/div>\n<div id=\"mccrimmon-ch10_s01_s02_s08\" class=\"section\">\n<h1 class=\"title editable block\">Line Spacing<\/h1>\n<p id=\"mccrimmon-ch10_s01_s02_s08_p01\" class=\"para editable block\">Double-space all text, including titles, subheadings, tables, captions, and citation lists. Do not skip additional spaces between lines anywhere in your paper.<\/p>\n\n<\/div>\n<div id=\"mccrimmon-ch10_s01_s02_s09\" class=\"section\">\n<h1 class=\"title editable block\">Spacing after Punctuation<\/h1>\n<p id=\"mccrimmon-ch10_s01_s02_s09_p01\" class=\"para editable block\">Leave only one space after all punctuation (both inside and at the end of sentences).<\/p>\n\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"atomic atomic-image atomic-style-default\" data-kind=\"image\" data-style=\"default\" data-guid=\"VfBbI9UNeS8w4jrY\" data-title=\"MLA_format_example.png\" data-headline=\"\" data-caption=\"\" data-image=\"https:\/\/d1ue9u3afnf2kl.cloudfront.net\/v2\/13533\/contents\/VfBbI9UNeS8w4jrY\/mw1920_Screen_Shot_2020-05-29_at_6.10.02_PM.png\" data-url=\"\">\n<div class=\"wrapper\">\n<div class=\"textbox textbox--examples\"><header class=\"textbox__header\">\n<p class=\"textbox__title\">Example of MLA Formatted Paper<\/p>\n\n<\/header>\n<div class=\"textbox__content\">\n<div class=\"content\">\n<div class=\"img\"><img src=\"https:\/\/d1ue9u3afnf2kl.cloudfront.net\/v2\/13533\/contents\/VfBbI9UNeS8w4jrY\/mw1920_Screen_Shot_2020-05-29_at_6.10.02_PM.png\" alt=\"image\"><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div id=\"mccrimmon-ch09_s03\" class=\"section\" lang=\"en\">\n<div id=\"mccrimmon-ch09_s03_s03\" class=\"section\">\n<div id=\"mccrimmon-ch09_s03_s03_n02\" class=\"exercises editable block\"><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n<hr>\n\n<h2>Attributions<\/h2>\n<ul>\n \t<li><em>Content adapted from \"<a href=\"https:\/\/2012books.lardbucket.org\/books\/writers-handbook\/s26-appendix-b-a-guide-to-research.html\">Chapter 22<\/a>\" and licensed under <a href=\"https:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by-nc-sa\/3.0\/\">CC BY NC SA<\/a>.<\/em><\/li>\n \t<li><em><a href=\"https:\/\/theworryfreewriter.pressbooks.com\/chapter\/quick-tip-mla-formatting\/\">MLA Content and image<\/a> adapted from The Worry Free Writer and licensed under <a href=\"https:\/\/creativecommons.org\/about\/cclicenses\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">CC BY NC SA<\/a>.<\/em><\/li>\n \t<li><em>MLA content adapted from \"<a href=\"https:\/\/2012books.lardbucket.org\/books\/writers-handbook\/s14-publishing.html\">Chapter 10: Publishing<\/a>\" and licensed under <a href=\"https:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by-nc-sa\/3.0\/\">CC BY NC SA<\/a>.<\/em><\/li>\n \t<li><em>Content adapted from \"<a href=\"https:\/\/2012books.lardbucket.org\/books\/writers-handbook\/s13-designing.html\">Chapter 9: Designing<\/a>\" and licensed under <a href=\"https:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by-nc-sa\/3.0\/\">CC BY NC SA<\/a>.<\/em><\/li>\n \t<li><em style=\"text-align: initial;font-size: 1em\">Content adapted from \"<a href=\"https:\/\/2012books.lardbucket.org\/books\/writers-handbook\/s14-publishing.html\">Chapter 10: Publishing<\/a>\" and licensed under <a href=\"https:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by-nc-sa\/3.0\/\">CC BY NC SA<\/a>.<\/em><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n","rendered":"<p class=\"ql-focus\">MLA stands for Modern Language Association. In most Humanities and English courses, papers should follow MLA formatting guidelines. In general, that means that papers will<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Have a one inch margin on all sides<\/li>\n<li>Use 12 pt. Times New Roman font<\/li>\n<li>Be double-spaced<\/li>\n<li>Contain a heading at the top left containing the student\u2019s name, professor\u2019s name, class name, and the date.<\/li>\n<li>Contain a unique title centered on the first page.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><iframe id=\"oembed-1\" title=\"Formatting a paper in MLA style (19 May 2019 update)\" width=\"500\" height=\"281\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/EjZEajTGdx8?feature=oembed&#38;rel=0\" frameborder=\"0\" allowfullscreen=\"allowfullscreen\"><\/iframe><\/p>\n<div id=\"mccrimmon-ch10_s01_s02_s01\" class=\"section\">\n<h1 class=\"title editable block\">Order of Pages<\/h1>\n<p id=\"mccrimmon-ch10_s01_s02_s01_p01\" class=\"para editable block\">MLA requires the following set order of pages with each listed page on the list starting on a new page. If your paper does not require one or more of the pages, skip over those pages, but maintain the order of the pages you do use.<\/p>\n<ul id=\"mccrimmon-ch10_s01_s02_s01_l01\" class=\"itemizedlist editable block\">\n<li>Body of text<\/li>\n<li>Notes<\/li>\n<li>Citation list<\/li>\n<li>Appendices<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/div>\n<div id=\"mccrimmon-ch10_s01_s02_s02\" class=\"section\">\n<p id=\"mccrimmon-ch10_s01_s02_s02_p01\" class=\"para editable block\">No title page is needed unless your instructor requests it. Instead of a title page, MLA requires that you double-space your name, instructor\u2019s name, course name or number, and the date at the top left. Next, continuing to double space, center the title on the page and start your text under the title.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div id=\"mccrimmon-ch10_s01_s02_s03\" class=\"section\">\n<h1 class=\"title editable block\">Page Numbers and Paper Identification<\/h1>\n<div id=\"mccrimmon-ch10_s01_s02_s03_f01\" class=\"figure large editable block\">\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/2012books.lardbucket.org\/books\/writers-handbook\/section_14\/637fb969167bd93107bf317d68c288c9.jpg\" alt=\"image\" \/><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<p id=\"mccrimmon-ch10_s01_s02_s03_p01\" class=\"para editable block\">Page numbers should be placed at the top, right margin one-half inch down from the top of the page. Before the page number, use your last name in a running head.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div id=\"mccrimmon-ch10_s01_s02_s04\" class=\"section\">\n<h1 class=\"title editable block\">Margins<\/h1>\n<p id=\"mccrimmon-ch10_s01_s02_s04_p01\" class=\"para editable block\">Make margins one inch on both sides and top and bottom.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div id=\"mccrimmon-ch10_s01_s02_s05\" class=\"section\">\n<h1 class=\"title editable block\">Headings and Subheadings<\/h1>\n<p id=\"mccrimmon-ch10_s01_s02_s05_p01\" class=\"para editable block\">Use double spacing with no additional returns. There are five levels of headings in MLA style.&nbsp;&nbsp;<img decoding=\"async\" style=\"font-size: 1em\" src=\"https:\/\/2012books.lardbucket.org\/books\/writers-handbook\/section_14\/93f31d00c08186ccddef9ee767a6db8a.jpg\" alt=\"image\" \/><\/p>\n<p id=\"mccrimmon-ch10_s01_s02_s05_p02\" class=\"para editable block\">If you have only two headings, use only the first two formats and so on. Typically, you will have two or three levels, but you might have as many as five levels. Keep in mind that the title does not count as a heading level, you should use the levels consistently, and you must have a minimum of two headings at each level.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div id=\"mccrimmon-ch10_s01_s02_s06\" class=\"section\">\n<h1 class=\"title editable block\">Fonts<\/h1>\n<p id=\"mccrimmon-ch10_s01_s02_s06_p01\" class=\"para editable block\">Choose a font that is straight forward with no curly flairs or other \u201cfancy\u201d twists, such as Times New Roman or Arial. Use 12-point font.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div id=\"mccrimmon-ch10_s01_s02_s07\" class=\"section\">\n<h1 class=\"title editable block\">Paragraph Indentations<\/h1>\n<p id=\"mccrimmon-ch10_s01_s02_s07_p01\" class=\"para editable block\">Indent the first line of each paragraph one-half inch from the left margin by using the tab key (rather than spacing over).<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div id=\"mccrimmon-ch10_s01_s02_s08\" class=\"section\">\n<h1 class=\"title editable block\">Line Spacing<\/h1>\n<p id=\"mccrimmon-ch10_s01_s02_s08_p01\" class=\"para editable block\">Double-space all text, including titles, subheadings, tables, captions, and citation lists. Do not skip additional spaces between lines anywhere in your paper.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div id=\"mccrimmon-ch10_s01_s02_s09\" class=\"section\">\n<h1 class=\"title editable block\">Spacing after Punctuation<\/h1>\n<p id=\"mccrimmon-ch10_s01_s02_s09_p01\" class=\"para editable block\">Leave only one space after all punctuation (both inside and at the end of sentences).<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"atomic atomic-image atomic-style-default\" data-kind=\"image\" data-style=\"default\" data-guid=\"VfBbI9UNeS8w4jrY\" data-title=\"MLA_format_example.png\" data-headline=\"\" data-caption=\"\" data-image=\"https:\/\/d1ue9u3afnf2kl.cloudfront.net\/v2\/13533\/contents\/VfBbI9UNeS8w4jrY\/mw1920_Screen_Shot_2020-05-29_at_6.10.02_PM.png\" data-url=\"\">\n<div class=\"wrapper\">\n<div class=\"textbox textbox--examples\">\n<header class=\"textbox__header\">\n<p class=\"textbox__title\">Example of MLA Formatted Paper<\/p>\n<\/header>\n<div class=\"textbox__content\">\n<div class=\"content\">\n<div class=\"img\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/d1ue9u3afnf2kl.cloudfront.net\/v2\/13533\/contents\/VfBbI9UNeS8w4jrY\/mw1920_Screen_Shot_2020-05-29_at_6.10.02_PM.png\" alt=\"image\" \/><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div id=\"mccrimmon-ch09_s03\" class=\"section\" lang=\"en\">\n<div id=\"mccrimmon-ch09_s03_s03\" class=\"section\">\n<div id=\"mccrimmon-ch09_s03_s03_n02\" class=\"exercises editable block\"><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<hr \/>\n<h2>Attributions<\/h2>\n<ul>\n<li><em>Content adapted from &#8220;<a href=\"https:\/\/2012books.lardbucket.org\/books\/writers-handbook\/s26-appendix-b-a-guide-to-research.html\">Chapter 22<\/a>&#8221; and licensed under <a href=\"https:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by-nc-sa\/3.0\/\">CC BY NC SA<\/a>.<\/em><\/li>\n<li><em><a href=\"https:\/\/theworryfreewriter.pressbooks.com\/chapter\/quick-tip-mla-formatting\/\">MLA Content and image<\/a> adapted from The Worry Free Writer and licensed under <a href=\"https:\/\/creativecommons.org\/about\/cclicenses\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">CC BY NC SA<\/a>.<\/em><\/li>\n<li><em>MLA content adapted from &#8220;<a href=\"https:\/\/2012books.lardbucket.org\/books\/writers-handbook\/s14-publishing.html\">Chapter 10: Publishing<\/a>&#8221; and licensed under <a href=\"https:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by-nc-sa\/3.0\/\">CC BY NC SA<\/a>.<\/em><\/li>\n<li><em>Content adapted from &#8220;<a href=\"https:\/\/2012books.lardbucket.org\/books\/writers-handbook\/s13-designing.html\">Chapter 9: Designing<\/a>&#8221; and licensed under <a href=\"https:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by-nc-sa\/3.0\/\">CC BY NC SA<\/a>.<\/em><\/li>\n<li><em style=\"text-align: initial;font-size: 1em\">Content adapted from &#8220;<a href=\"https:\/\/2012books.lardbucket.org\/books\/writers-handbook\/s14-publishing.html\">Chapter 10: Publishing<\/a>&#8221; and licensed under <a href=\"https:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by-nc-sa\/3.0\/\">CC BY NC SA<\/a>.<\/em><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"menu_order":5,"template":"","meta":{"pb_show_title":"on","pb_short_title":"MLA Formatting","pb_subtitle":"","pb_authors":["dr-karen-palmer"],"pb_section_license":""},"chapter-type":[],"contributor":[62],"license":[],"class_list":["post-59","chapter","type-chapter","status-publish","hentry","contributor-dr-karen-palmer"],"part":49,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/karenmariepalmer.com\/theroughwritersguide\/wp-json\/pressbooks\/v2\/chapters\/59","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/karenmariepalmer.com\/theroughwritersguide\/wp-json\/pressbooks\/v2\/chapters"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/karenmariepalmer.com\/theroughwritersguide\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/chapter"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/karenmariepalmer.com\/theroughwritersguide\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/karenmariepalmer.com\/theroughwritersguide\/wp-json\/pressbooks\/v2\/chapters\/59\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":153,"href":"https:\/\/karenmariepalmer.com\/theroughwritersguide\/wp-json\/pressbooks\/v2\/chapters\/59\/revisions\/153"}],"part":[{"href":"https:\/\/karenmariepalmer.com\/theroughwritersguide\/wp-json\/pressbooks\/v2\/parts\/49"}],"metadata":[{"href":"https:\/\/karenmariepalmer.com\/theroughwritersguide\/wp-json\/pressbooks\/v2\/chapters\/59\/metadata\/"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/karenmariepalmer.com\/theroughwritersguide\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=59"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"chapter-type","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/karenmariepalmer.com\/theroughwritersguide\/wp-json\/pressbooks\/v2\/chapter-type?post=59"},{"taxonomy":"contributor","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/karenmariepalmer.com\/theroughwritersguide\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/contributor?post=59"},{"taxonomy":"license","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/karenmariepalmer.com\/theroughwritersguide\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/license?post=59"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}