Formatting a Paper Using MLA Style
General Guidelines
Word Processed:
Word process your paper. If asked to print, use standard-sized white paper (8.5 x 11 inches) and black ink.
Word process using Times New Roman 12 font. No other font.
Double-space your entire paper. DO NOT double-space your paper twice between paragraphs.
Set the margins of your document to one inch on all sides.
Create a header consisting of your last name and page number so that all pages are numbered consecutively in the
upper right-hand corner, one-half inch from the top and flush with the right margin. Start header on first page
of paper.
Indent the beginning of each paragraph.
Use quotation marks for short story titles. Examples: “The Cask of Amontillado” and “Miriam”
Use italics for books, longer plays, and movies. Examples: To Kill A Mockingbird and Romeo and Juliet
Formatting the first page of your paper:
Do not make a title page for your paper unless specifically requested.
Provide a double-spaced entry in the top left corner of the first page that lists your name, your instructor's name,
the course-class period, and the date (remember the date is day month year).
Center your title on the line below the header with your name, and begin your paper immediately below the title. Do
not underline, italicize, or place your title in quotation marks; write the title in Title Case (standard capitalization),
not in all capital letters.
Handwritten:
Use 8.5 x 11 college-ruled paper. Write your HEADER on the top line to the right, but avoid going into the margin.
Drop down to the next line and do your complete HEADING on the left. DO NOT SKIP LINES.
Skip one line after your HEADING and center your TITLE.
Skip one line after your TITLE and begin writing. Pay attention to the margins.
Don’t forget to include your HEADER on each page.
It is okay to write on the back of the paper. DO NOT SKIP LINES BETWEEN PARAGRAPHS.
MLA Quotation Conventions
Quoting Prose
Note: If your paper only discusses one author, and the author’s name and title of the work are included in the intro
paragraph, you ONLY need the page number in the parenthetical citation. If your essay discusses multiple authors and
works, you MUST put the author’s last name and the page number in your parenthetical citation. [For website sources, just
include the author’s last name].
For prose quotations fewer than four lines, place quoted language in quotation marks and incorporate it into
your text (if your document requires parenthetical citation, place the page number in parentheses and a
period after the parentheses):
Fagles writes that “Odysseus has the talent necessary for the deceiver: he is a persuasive speaker” (37).
If a quotation ending with a question mark or an exclamation point concludes your sentence and requires a
parenthetical reference, retain the original punctuation within the quotation mark and follow with the
reference and the sentence period outside the quotation mark.
Dorothea Brooke responds to her sister: “What a wonderful little almanac you are, Celia!” (7).
Whether set off from the text or run into it, quoted material is usually preceded by a colon if the quotation
is formally introduced by an independent clause and by a comma or no punctuation if the quotation is an
integral part of the sentence structure.
Shelley held a bold view: “Poets are the unacknowledged legislators of the World” (794).
Shelly thought poets “the unacknowledged legislators of the World” (794).
“Poets,” according to Shelley, “are the unacknowledged legislators of the World” (794).
For longer quotations (more than four lines of your own paper), follow your quote introduction with a colon,
set the passage off from your text by starting a new line indented one inch, and do not add quotation marks
(parenthetical citation follows period):
God may favor a hero or a city, but if that favor threatens to create a
rupture between major powers, one of them may withdraw. Or they
may bargain, as Zeus does with Hera when he reluctantly consents
to let Troy fall. He consents, but with a proviso: never attempt to
thwart his fury. (42)
Ellipses
When a quotation is included within a larger sentence, do not use ellipsis points at the beginning or end of the
quoted material, even if the beginning or end of the original sentence has been omitted.
When you wish to omit a portion of the original quoted language, you must use ellipsis points (a sequence of
three spaced periods) to signal to the reader that you have edited the original.
Using ellipsis points in the middle of a sentence:
In his essay “A Hanging,” Orwell laments the “unspeakable wrongness” of taking the life of another human.
As the prisoner is marched to the gallows, Orwell reports, “All the organs of his body were working . . . all toiling
away in solemn foolery” (47).
These are general rules for using ellipses. Check with your teacher if you have additional questions.
Brackets [ ]
Brackets should be used sparingly. See http://www.thepunctuationguide.com/brackets.html for additional
details.
If you need help with something not explained in this document, visit http://owl.english.purdue.edu/
Click on MLA Formatting and Style Guide. If you still can’t find the answer, ASK your teacher!
Some teachers have MLA templates available to you. [It is under Writing Info<MLA. You need to open in your writing
app, such as Pages.
You will have to change the header, heading, date, etc. but you can type directly into the
document and it is formatted correctly.]
Quoting Poetry:
Titles of poems are enclosed in quotes. They are neither underlined nor italicized.
Example:
Lord Tennyson’s “The Lady of Shalott” reflects the changing roles of women in the Victorian age.
If you are quoting two to three lines of poetry, use a slash with one space on each side ( / ) at
the end of each poetry line. The lines of poetry are enclosed in quotes. Page numbers are not
cited. Instead, the line number(s), enclosed in parentheses, go after the end quote and before
any end punctuation. You will usually find the line numbers to the left of the poem. You may
have to number them yourself.
Homer begins the Odyssey by invoking the Muse and asking her to “Launch out on his story,
Muse, daughter of Zeus, / start from where you will—sing for our time too” (1.11-12).
Poetry quotations of more than three lines should begin on a new line. Unless the quotation
involves unusual spacing, indent each line one inch from the left margin and double space between
lines, adding no quotation marks that do not appear in the original. A parenthetical reference for
a verse quotation set off from the text follows the last line of the quotation (as in quotations of
prose).
Emily Dickinson writes about heroism:
We never know how high we are
Till we are called to rise;
And then, if we are true to plan,
Our statures touch the skies. (1-4)
Quoting from Shakespeare: When Shakespeare ends the line, indicate by using a / (use one space on
either side of slash). Use act.scene.line numbers in your parenthetical citation. See example below. Do
NOT include an ending slash when you are done quoting.
In Romeo and Juliet, Lady Capulet asks Juliet, “What say you? Can you love the gentleman? /
This night you shall behold him at our feast. / Read o’er the volume of young Paris’ face”
(1.3.79-81). Notice no Roman numerals!
Ima Student
Mrs. Layne
Lit and Comp I Standard-6
17 April 2014
Title (Check your formatting and always make it interesting!)
Import this document to your word processing program/app and begin your paper.
Make sure your entire text is double-spaced. Notice the formatting of the class title and
date; obviously, you will need to change the name and date and possibly the class. Don’t
forget your header! To access the header in Pages, hold down on “Student 1” header and
a blue-bordered screen will appear. Place the cursor after the “t” in “Student,” erase, and
type your last name.
A new paragraph would start here. Use the MLA Handout for additional help. Be
careful about your title. It should not contain italics (except if your title is a book title) or
quotation marks (unless you are writing about a short story or poem). See the complete
MLA information sheet given to you in class or in iTunes U.
Look at this document. What is missing?