MLA Formatting and Style Guide From Purdue OWL and your English Handbook

Formatting and Styling Your paper should be double spaced, Times New Roman 12 pt font. Leave margins as they are at default in Word (1 inch margins). Make sure your paragraphs are indented (by pressing the tab key once). Create a header that numbers all of your pages consecutively, excluding the first page. In your Word document, go to ‘Insert’ and ‘Page Number.’ Select the first option (should be just the number). Align the numbers to the right and type your last name. Go to the ‘Design’ tab, select your header, and check the box that reads ‘Different First Page’ to omit the page number from the first page.

Formatting and Styling Do not make a title page. In the upper, left-hand corner, write your name, your instructor’s name, the course, and today’s date. First Name Ms Jerzak English 5 6 October 2016 If you have a title, center your title and make sure it is written in Title Case.

Formatting and Styling Use quotation marks around your titles mentioned in your paper. When quoting from your text, make sure you include the author’s name (for the first quotation in that paragraph) and the page number (or line numbers for poems). According to Longfellow in “A Psalm of Life,” life is not “but an empty dream” (2). Thoreau argues that government “is at best but an expedient” (412).

Works Cited Page This should be on a separate page at the end of your paper.   Label the page Works Cited, centered at the top of the page (see below). Works Cited Double space all of your citations, but do not skip spaces between entries. Indent the SECOND and SUBSEQUENT lines of citations by .5 inches to create a HANGING INDENT. Use italics for the titles of longer works instead of underlining when typing. Entries are listed alphabetically by author’s last name.

Works Cited, continued For a book, the basic format is as follows: Last Name, First Name. Title of Book. City of Publication: Publisher, Year of Publication. Medium of Publication.