WRITING RESEARCH PAPERS USING THE MLA FORMAT

IN YOUR RESEARCH PAPER… USE ONE INCH MARGINS

ONE INCH MARGINS TOP

ONE INCH MARGINS TOP BOTTOM

ONE INCH MARGINS TOP BOTTOM LEFT

ONE INCH MARGINS TOP BOTTOM LEFT RIGHT

DO NOT USE A TITLE PAGE This is my paper!

NO PICTURES

ON THE FIRST PAGE…

PUT YOUR LAST NAME AND THE PAGE NUMBER ON A PAGE “HEADER”

PUT THIS ON EVERY PAGE, INCLUDING THE FIRST PAGE PUT YOUR LAST NAME AND THE PAGE NUMBER ON A PAGE “HEADER” Jackson 3

Lastname 1 ½ inch from the top 1 inch from the side

Lastname 1 ½ inch from the top 1 inch from the sideDon’t use “p” or “#” before the number Start numbering on the first page

The first line of text on each page starts 1 inch from the top of the page. (1/2 inch below the header.) This is the first line of text on this page. 1 in. 1/2 in. Lastname 2

Yourfirstname Lastname My Teachersname Class 101 January 1, 2012 The Paper’s Title is Centered The first line of each paragraph is indented 5 spaces. The pa the paper continues on double-spaced and you end the document EVERYTHING GETS DOUBLE SPACED

Yourfirstname Lastname My Teachersname Class 101 January 1, 2012 The Paper’s Title is Centered The first line of each paragraph is indented 5 spaces. Whenev that the paper continues to be double-spaced and each line that fol DON’T UNDERLINE THE TITLE, OR PUT IT IN “QUOTATIONS,” OR USE BOLD OR ALL CAPITALS

Lastname 2 When you write a research paper, you have to do two things: research the information and write down what you learned. You can’t just cut and paste information that you found; you have to put the information down in your own words. You also have to explain where the information came from in the text of your paper, so you have to have citations to let the reader know the source of the information. This means you have to figure out which parts of your paper need citations and which parts don’t.

Lastname 2 What exactly is a citation? A citation is a reference to a specific piece of information that you had to research. For example, you don’t need to research any of the first two sentences of this page, but you need to put a citation after the following sentence because it is something that people don’t generally know without looking it up. Richard Fields considers alcohol “the most devastating drug we know of today in terms of the sheer number of people it affects.” (Fields 5)

Lastname 8 ON THE LAST PAGE OF YOUR RESEARCH PAPER YOU NEED A LIST OF THE WORKS YOU USED AS REFERENCES. THE TITLE OF THIS PAGE SHOULD BE “WORKS CITED.” CENTER THAT TITLE AT THE TOP OF THE PAGE, BUT DON’T PUT IT IN QUOTATION MARKS, BOLD, OR ALL CAPITALS.

Lastname 8 Works Cited

Lastname 8 Works Cited THEN LIST YOUR REFERENCES IN ALPHABETICAL ORDER.

Lastname 8 Works Cited Field, Richard. Drugs In Perspective. New York: McGraw-Hill, Tiebout, H. M. “Intervention in Psychology.” American Journal of Psychoanalysis 33 (1962): 1-6. Webber, Frank. How Drugs Affect the Brain. San Francisco: Ingersoll Press, 2010.

Lastname 8 Works Cited Field, Richard. Drugs In Perspective. New York: McGraw-Hill, Tiebout, H. M. “Intervention in Psychology.” American Journal of Psychoanalysis 33 (1962): 1-6. Webber, Frank. How Drugs Affect the Brain. San Francisco: Ingersoll Press, CONTINUE NUMBERING

Lastname 8 Works Cited Field, Richard. Drugs In Perspective. New York: McGraw-Hill, Tiebout, H. M. “Intervention in Psychology.” American Journal of Psychoanalysis 33 (1962): 1-6. Webber, Frank. How Drugs Affect the Brain. San Francisco: Ingersoll Press, TITLE, Works Cited, IS CENTERED CONTINUE NUMBERING

Lastname 8 Works Cited Field, Richard. Drugs In Perspective. New York: McGraw-Hill, Tiebout, H. M. “Intervention in Psychology.” American Journal of Psychoanalysis 33 (1962): 1-6. Webber, Frank. How Drugs Affect the Brain. San Francisco: Ingersoll Press, TITLE, Works Cited, IS CENTERED CONTINUE NUMBERING CONTINUE DOUBLE SPACING

Lastname 8 Works Cited Field, Richard. Drugs In Perspective. New York: McGraw-Hill, Tiebout, H. M. “Intervention in Psychology.” American Journal of Psychoanalysis 33 (1962): 1-6. Webber, Frank. How Drugs Affect the Brain. San Francisco: Ingersoll Press, TITLE, Works Cited, IS CENTERED CONTINUE NUMBERING CONTINUE DOUBLE SPACING INDENT 5 SPACES AFTER EACH LINE OF A REFERENCE

Lastname 8 Works Cited Field, Richard. Drugs In Perspective. New York: McGraw-Hill, Tiebout, H. M. “Intervention in Psychology.” American Journal of Psychoanalysis 33 (1962): 1-6. REFER TO MLA GUIDELINES IN THE LIBRARY OR ONLINE FOR INSTRUCTIONS ON HOW TO LIST DIFFERENT TYPES OF CITATIONS APPROPRIATELY…(BOOKS, JOURNAL ARTICLES, TELEVISION SHOWS, WEBSITES, ETC.)