Knowing the MLA Format Basics Is a Secret to Success
Facing hardships with formatting your essay in MLA referencing style? Some requirements to academic writing do seem confusing. Especially, when you come across them for the first time. Here are some tips on how to make your MLA referencing essay faultless. Some excellent examples of MLA format essay can blaze the path to your understanding.
In simple terms, writing a paper using MLA referencing style requires formatting the page and presents its content and references in a specific way. In fact, you can think of referencing styles as various outfits suitable for specific occasions. Like suit and tie match to office work or sportswear for gym.
Following the formula of MLA, standard requires knowing of its basic page format and the format of text citations.
Font and Size: You can take the liberty and choose any font type (except for decorative ones) and keep it 12 pt throughout the text.
Margins: Use 1 inch on all side of a page.
Spacing: Double-space your paper. This applies to the headings on your first and reference page.
Title page does not go with MLA style, so place such information as your name, date and instructor’s name on the very first page. List this information in the upper left corner with a double space between the lines. Put the title in the center and apply a double space between the heading and text.
There are separate norms for citing books, encyclopedias, articles, and web resources.
Books: author’s last name, first name. Book title in italics. City of publication: publishing company, date of publication.
Encyclopedias: author’s last name, first name. “Title of Article.” Title of Encyclopedia in italics. Date.
Articles: author’s last name, first name. “Article Title.” Periodical title in italics. Volume # Date: pages
Web resources: author’s last name, first name. “Title of work.” Title of site or DB in italics. Editor name. Date of publication (or the recent update). Date of access. Full URL address.
MLA is a common referencing style used for Humanities and Arts studies. When you apply MLA referencing style to a paper, it shows that you have utilized credible academic sources and acknowledge their accountability. Citing the sources in MLA style is, in fact, a reliable way to avoid plagiarism.
Modern language association or MLA is the best and the most used format that is highly recommended by the teachers and professors for academic grooming of their students. Apart from just being a format MLA also makes sure that the best outcome is generated in relation to the research that is conducted. For referencing or citing resources research paper MLA format is one of the best ways to ensure that understandable way is followed to present the research outcome. It is very important to note that there are tens of thousands of plagiarism detecting sites that are operating online and the MLA format saves the writers from the allegations of copying. The user or the writer is never alleged to plagiarism as the best and the most advanced citing source is there to get the things done in the right manner. If a student is not well versed in writing the MLA paper then it is recommended to go through sample MLA research paper to get the thing done in a way that is right and in line with the general requirements of MLA formatting. Unless special instructions provided by the instructors there are some specific guidelines that apply to all MLA formatted papers and these should always be followed to get the things done in a perfect manner.
The general guidelines that apply to all MLA papers is as follows and it is to be noted that they can never be altered as the instructions are patented on Modern Language Association’s name. These tips are also a great starter for the students who want to know how to write a research paper MLA:
- The margin comes first, it should be one inch from all sides i.e. top, bottom and both sides to kick start the paper.
- The font size and type should be kept to 12pt. the type of the font is not specified but Times New Roman is recommended to get the best results. The decorative fonts are to be avoided altogether to create a positive impact.
- The paper that is written should be double spaced throughout. The extra space should not be added between the heading and the first paragraph. These instructions are to be followed unless something specific has been instructed.
- The left margin or the first line of the paragraph should be indented half inch. It is advised to use tab key for same spacing or uniformity.
- Once the works cited page is written the last step is to make sure that the user writes the end notes page and this page should be titled as Notes to avoid any confusion.
Cover page for MLA research paper should also be formatted professionally to be in line with the requirements and to avoid any other issue that seems to be non professional in the first place.
The Modern Language Association provides guidelines for writing research papers. These guidelines define everything from the margins on the page to how citations are done.
Finding a good example of a MLA research paper can be difficult. The hardest part is finding a sample paper that is up-to-date. If you can’t find one that uses the guidelines from the latest edition, find one that is close. Use it as a guide to learn how to write an MLA research paper and to make corrections later.
There are several things to do before and during the writing of an MLA research paper .
- Buy a copy of the MLA Handbook. You can buy it almost anywhere and online. Just make sure that you buy the latest edition. It changes with each edition and you want to have the most up-to-date information.
- Take the time to learn to write citations before you even start writing. Practice on index cards. Before you even write a note out of a book, write out the citation. You will thank us later.
- Write an outline before you start writing. A research paper is not a poem. It needs to have a specific order and you need to plan everything in advance. An outline can seem like a waste of time, but it makes a paper flow much more smoothly.
- Only research for a few days. Very often, people will get so wrapped up in researching the topic they don’t get around to writing the paper until it’s too late.
- Write the paper without getting too wrapped up in the MLA formatting. There are lots of guidelines about what needs to be done to make it a perfect paper, but it can all be adjusted later.
- Review the content of the paper after the first review of the MLA formatting. Once it has been formatted, you might find that you need change some sections.
Here is a quick list of some of the guidelines that you need to know:
Margins: 1 inch margins
Font: 12 point Times New Roman; double spaced
Page Header: Name and page number in the upper right of every page
Title Block: Assignment information and an informative title
Inline Citations: No comma between the author and the page number. Commas and periods go outside of inline quotes.
This is important! Every MLA research paper format example has to have a works cited page. This is where most people get very bogged down and where most papers get poor marks.
Firstly, you took our advice and wrote down every book you touched in a proper MLA citation on index cards, right?
Great. All you have to do is organize them in alphabetically by author’s last name.
Now, sort through them and pull out and discard the books that you didn’t refer to in your paper. Type them into your Works Cited page.
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