Academic Reports Using the MLA Format

Academic Reports The format for an Academic Reports is the MLA style format. Modern Language Association

Academic Paper Formats Academic research papers may be written in different formats depending on the type of paper being written. Commonly used styles are: MLA (Modern Language Association) - used in literature, arts and the humanities APA (American Psychological Association) - used in social sciences, such as psychology and education AMA (American Medical Association) - used in biological sciences, such as medicine and health Chicago – commonly used by individuals in the humanities Turabian - designed to be used by college students for any subject

The MLA Format For a single document or page use the following: 1-inch top, bottom, side margins Double Space the entire report Heading Information Your name, teacher name, class name and military style date to the left margin Center and type the title in CAPS Indent paragraph .5 inches Insert Page Numbers

Unbound Reports A complete unbound Academic Report will include the following: Title Page Table of Contents Footnotes/Endnotes Bibliography/Works Cited

Title Page The first page of a report. It gives the title of a report, the name of the writer, the name of the person for whom the report was prepared and the date. The academic format contains the name of the course.

Title Page Format Use ss and center the page vertically Center all lines horizontally. Type the report title in CAPS and bold, ds the subtitle in initial Caps Press enter 12xs and type By followed by your name. Press enter 12xs, ss type teacher’s name, name of course and current date.

Table of Contents Format Usually follows the title page and is an outline of the headings in a report Table of Contents Format 2 inches from top or enter 6xs, center and type the word CONTENTS in CAPS and bold, then ds. In your document, assign styles from the Home tab to each Heading: Ex. Heading 1, Heading 2, Heading 3

Example (not needed for notes)

Footnotes and Endnotes Footnotes and endnotes include the name of the author, the title of the book or article, the publisher, the place and year of publication, and the page #’s being referenced. Both are indicated in the body of a report by superior figures. Footnotes appear at the bottom of the page on which the reference appears Endnotes appear at the end of a report, on the last or separate page.

Example (not needed for notes)

Bibliography Works cited An alphabetical listing of sources used in a report (similar to a works cited). All entries are alphabetized by the author’s last name. Each line after the first line of an entry is indented. (This is called a hanging indent.) All citations are double spaced. Works cited

Format for Bibliography (not needed for notes) Center and type the title, BIBLIOGRAPHY in CAPS and bold (approx 2” from top margin). Hanging indent for each entry and leave a blank line between entries. List entries in alphabetical order by authors’ name, title (in italics), publisher, place of publication, and year. Arrange journal articles as follows: author’s name, “article title”, journal title, followed by information on the journal issue, (series, vol, iss; date and pg.#’s)

Example (not needed for notes)

Book citation A book citation has six elements: Author Title Place of Publication Publisher Copyright Date Medium of Publication

Journal article citation A journal article citation contains different elements than a book. In general, a journal citation includes the following: Author(s) Article Title Journal Name Volume Number Issue Number Publication Year Page Numbers

Website citations Website citations can be very tricky. It is sometimes difficult to find all of the required information on the website. Here is some of the information to look for: Author Title of website Sponsoring organization Date updated Medium of publication Date of access URL (MLA 7 does not require this, but your teacher may!)

General Spacing Rules 1 space after a comma, 2 spaces after a period. 1 space after a semicolon; 1 space after a question mark? 1 space after a exclamation point! 1 space after a colon: ss – single space (press enter 1x) ds – double space (press enter 2x’s) Ts – triple space (press enter 3x’s) qs – quadruple space (press enter 4x’s)