general info
8.5 x 11 inch paper (standard letter)
times new roman
12 point font
double spaced
1 inch margin on all sides
one space after each period
indent the first line of each paragraph one tab (or 1/2 inch)
a header should be at the top right corner of each page (cont. reading for more)
the first page
the upper left hand corner should contain the following:
your full name
your teacher’s name (first and last if they request, some just want their last name here)
the name of the class (write it out completely. example: advanced placement united states history vs. ap us history or apush)
the date the paper is due in day month year format (example 24 september 2017)
the title of your paper should be one “enter” down from the date line and aligned in the center. the titled should not be in bold, italics, or underlined
the beginning of your paper should begin one “enter” down from the title line and one “tab” indention
headers
not all teachers require them, some have specific instructions they want
for example: my ap united states history teacher did not want the header on our first page to have our last name in it, since he had just read our last name. however, he did want our last name on every other page (to do this, create a header and then click the box that says “different first page header” and then adjust the headers accordingly)
the header should contain
your last name
the page number
the header should continue the format of the paper (times new roman, 12 pt font)
in text citations
for when you know the author’s last name
(last name page number) no comma in between. this would be used for a book
(last name line number or paragraph number) no comma in between. this would be used for an essayÂ
for when you don’t know the author’s last name
(book title page number) no comma in between.
(article title page number) no comma in between.
always put the period after the closing parenthesis! example: Words about stuff and things from a book with paragraphs (author 17). NOT:Â words about stuff and things from a book with paragraphs. (author 17)
what to italicize and quote
italics
book titles
play titles
quotation marks
poem titles
article titles
chapter titlesÂ
works cited page
the works cited page begins one page after your last sentence. i usually will hit “enter” once after i finish the statement and then insert a page break
label the page works cited, at the top and have it centered. don’t bold, italicize, or underline
continue the double spacing into the works cited
indent the first line of each citation one “tab” (1/2) inch. this is called a handing indent. if the citation is longer than 2 lines then only the first line should be indented
alphabetize your sources
a post containing more information about works cited pages will be coming soon!
any questions? let me know here
i hope this helps! i always used to struggle getting all the aspects of mla right, i would usually forget one part or something like that.
