MLA Seungyeon Kim

MLA Format Paper There are just 8 main things to remember about the MLA Format as rules change by year: Header Heading Title Same Font Style and Size Left Justify Double Space No Extra Spaces One - Inch Margins

Example There needs to be a header on the top right side of the paper with the author’s last name and page number. The heading needs to be on the left side of the paper, below the header. There should be a total of 4 lines - the name, the professor’s name, the class, and the date (month spelled out). After the heading is a title, centered. It shouldn’t be bolded, italicized, or underlined at all.

The spacing has to be Double Spaced throughout the entire paper. The paper has to be Left Justified. The only part of the paper that is centered are the titles, and the only thing that is on the right side of the paper should be the header. There should be No Extra Spaces between paragraphs. This also applies when typing the title as well. There shouldn’t be any extra gaps or spaces anywhere in the paper.

The entire paper should be Times New Roman font, with the font size at 12. This applies to the title as well. Lastly, the margins (border around paper) should be one inch.

MLA Works Cited Page These are the similarities that the Works Cited Page and the Paper have in common: There is a header on the top right corner. The title is centered with the same size and font as the rest, not bolded, italicized, or underlined. (Title is always “Works Cited”) Everything is double spaced and left justified with the same one inch margins and no extra spaces between each source.

The one difference the Works Cited Page and the Paper has is the Hanging Indentation. Hanging Indentation is the reverse of regular indentation. It is when the first line of an entry is left as it is and every other line following after it is indented. Hanging Indentation allows readers to find a source more quickly because the beginning of each entry is pulled out to the left while the rest are pushed back.

In the Works Cited Page, you… DO NOT use bullets to list entries DO NOT number the entries DO alphabetize the entries - List the entries in alphabetical order so it is easier for readers to find. - If an entry begins with an article (a, an, the), ignore the article and alphabetize the word following after it. Example:

MLA Print Citation This is the order your PRINT source should be cited : Author’s name (Last name, first name) Title of print (Italicized) Location of Publication and Publisher (Location first: then publisher) Date of Publication Medium (Print)

MLA Web Citation This is the order your WEB source should be cited: Author’s name (Last name, first name) Page title/Title of Article (In Quotation Marks) Site Title (Italicized, NOT the entire URL) Publisher of Website and Date of Last Update (Publisher first, Date last) Medium (Web) Date of Access

Punctuation and Capitalization for Citation Periods show a complete stop and a transfer to new information. Commas are used when a complete stop isn’t necessary (Ex. Author’s name) Colons are used to join two informations but still keep them separate (Ex. Location of Publication and Publisher) All major words are capitalized unless they are a conjunction, article, or a preposition. Conjunctions, articles, and prepositions only capitalize if they begin a title.

In-Text Citation There are many ways to cite information in the text while also giving credit to the author. Name the author in a Signal Phrase and introduce the material being cited and finish with the page number in parenthesis. Ex.

2. Author’s last name and page number in parenthesis at the end of information. 3. If the author is unknown, use a short form of the page title in parenthesis at the end or use the complete title in a signal phrase.

4. If the page number is unknown (web sources), cite the title of the website in signal phrase and finish with the author’s last name in parenthesis so readers know when the citation ends. 5. If a source is one-page long, MLA allows you to omit the page number so readers can know that you have provided a citation and also know where the citation ends.

Additional Information If there are two or three authors, name all the authors in signal phrase or include their last names in parenthetical form. Ex. (Kim and Kizza 32). (Alton, Davies, Rice 56). If there are four or more authors, you can include only the first author’s last name followed by “et al.”, meaning “and others”. Ex. (Blaine et al. 35).

If an author is a corporation or an organization, you can name them in either signal phrase or in the parenthesis and abbreviate the common words. or There should always be a period after the parenthesis when you’re finished citing information.