Intro to MLA and Page Layout MLA Format Intro to MLA and Page Layout

Why should I know this? Why is it important? You will be required throughout high school and college to write research papers. In these papers you must include other people’s work. You must understand how to give credit to those authors so you can use their work in your paper. If you do not give credit to other people’s work then it is considered plagiarism.

What is MLA and why do students need to know how to use it? MLA INTRODUCTION What is MLA and why do students need to know how to use it?

What is MLA? MLA is used whenever you need to cite information in a paper that is not your own work. Quotes Statistics Research Ideas It consists of rules on how you must cite the information. It is very specific and you need to follow the details precisely!

Why use MLA format? Gives you credibility as a writer You are honest and use your research to best prove your paper. Protects yourself from plagiarism If you don’t cite it, then your work can be considered plagiarism! This could result in expulsion from a class or school!

MLA: Two Parts MLA is broken into two parts: Parenthetical Citations/In-Text Citations These are the citation that you put in the body of your paper to cite quotes, statistics, ideas, etc. These citations link back to your Work Cited page. Works Cited Page This is the last page of your paper where you have a comprehensive list of all the items that you cited in your paper. This information will help the reader located the item (book, research, pamphlet, interview, etc.) on their own.

MLA PAGE LAYOUT

MLA General Guidelines Type on white 8.5” x 11” paper Double-space everything Use 12 pt. Times New Roman font (or similar font) Set all margins to 1 inch on all sides Indent the first line of paragraphs one half-inch Header with page numbers in the upper right corner for every page.

First Page No Title Page In the upper left corner of the 1st page, list your name, your instructor’s name, the course, and date Center the paper’s title (use standard caps but no underlining, italics, quote or bold) Create a header in the upper right corner at half inch from the top and one inch from the right of the page (include your last name and page number) DO NOT PUT “page, p. pg.” – JUST THE NUMBER! Make sure that each page has a new number!

Example of First Page

MLA Page Layout - Laptops Get out your laptops As a class we will create the first page of an essay. Follow along on your laptops as I do it on the screen. You will be submitting your MLA first page to me for credit (using google classroom?)