proper mla format for college essays

The Modern Language Association (MLA) specifies a standard format for essays and research papers written in an academic setting: One-inch page margins. Double-spaced paragraphs A header with author's last name and page number one-half inch from the top of each page. Name of author, name of professor, title of course, date of paper on the first page of the paper. A works cited page beginning on a separate page at the end of the paper. Follow the steps below to format your essay or research paper according to MLA whenever you use Microsoft Word. Before you begin, however, make sure that you can see the Standard and Formatting toobars displayed on two rows on your screen. Note: If you are writing a research paper in the MLA format that includes a title page and an outline page or pages before the body of the paper, you can download a template and substitute your information on the title, outline pages, and first page of the body of the paper. This template includes no page number on the title page, lower case Roman numerals beginning with page i on the outline pages, and Arabic numerals beginning with page 1 on the first page of the body of the paper. Download Research Paper Template in Word 2003 To set the margins, select File and Page Setup from the Menu Bar:From the Page Format dialog box, set each margin at 1 inch by entering the number or using the up or down arrows beside each margin setting. Then click OK, as shown below. From the Menu Bar, select Format and Paragraph: Make sure to select the Indents and Spacing tab, as shown below. Under Line Spacing, select Double. Click OK. MLA format requires a header in the upper right-hand corner of each page set at 1/2 from the top of the page with the author's last name and a page number. To create the header and set automatic page numbering select View and then Header and Footer from the Menu Bar: The header will appear.
Only the first page should include the whole heading and title. All margins--top, bottom, and sides--should be set to one inch (1 ) throughout the whole paper. Don't add extra spaces between the heading and the title, nor should there be extra spaces between the title and the body of the paragraph. Use a reasonably-sized font: either 10 characters per inch or a 12 point font. And choose a font that is easy to read rather one that is decorative: Arial, Lucida, Modern, Palermo or Times New Roman are some good choices. Scripted fonts are hard to read even if they do make your paper look nice ; it is the content of the paper that is most important, and making it easy for your readers to understand that content is always a good choice.
Formatting a College Essay — MLA Style Learning Objectives: Employ correct citation format for MLA style. Identify proper MLA formatting for college essays, including a works cited page. LESSONYou will likely be asked to write numerous essaysA short piece of writing that focuses on at least one main idea. Some essays are also focused on the author's unique point of view, making them personal or autobiographical, while others are focused on a particular literary, scientific, or political subject. over the course of your academic career. While the contentThe text in a writing that includes facts, thoughts, and ideas. The information that forms the body of the work. of your work is significant, it is also essential that you develop strong and accurate formattingThe way in which content is arranged, usually following a set of rules. In writing, outlines and essays often follow a format specified by their purpose or where they are published. skills. Formatting an essay correctly is not only good authorship but is also important to instructors who often have to read hundreds of essays over the course of a semester. Your instructors will likely provide you with essay guidelines indicating whether you should use MLAA grammar and reference guide used mainly by students and scholars writing about the humanities (languages and literature). or APAA set of guidelines for citing sources used in literary and academic writing. APA style is most commonly used in the social sciences. style to format your paper. If you are uncertain as to your instructor's expectations, be sure to ask. Instructors appreciate students taking extra measures needed to correctly format essays. In this lesson, you will learn how to correctly format a college essay using MLA style. Note: This foundation lesson is not meant to include or cover all of the rules and guidelines for properly formatting an essay.
Recommendations here are based on the MLA Handbook for Writers of Research Papers. It is important to note, however, that individual instructors and institutions or departments may vary from these recommendations somewhat and that it is always wise to consult with your instructor before formatting and submitting your work. Paper: Use white, twenty-pound, 81/2- by 11-inch paper. Erasable paper tends to smudge and should be avoided for a final draft. If you prefer to use erasable paper in the preparation of your paper, submit a good photocopy to your instructor. Margins: Except for page numbers (see below), leave one-inch margins all around the text of your paper -- left side, right side, and top and bottom. Paragraphs should be indented half an inch; set-off quotations should be indented an inch from the left margin (five spaces and ten spaces, respectively, on standard typewriters). Spacing: The MLA Guide says that the research paper must be double-spaced, including quotations, notes, and the list of works cited. Heading and Title: Your research paper does not need a title page. At the top of the first page, at the left-hand margin, type your name, your instructor's name, the course name and number, and the date -- all on separate, double-spaced lines. Then double-space again and center the title above your text. (If your title requires more than one line, double-space between the lines.) Double-space again before beginning your text. The title should be neither underlined nor written in all capital letters. Capitalize only the first, last, and principal words of the title. Titles might end with a question mark or an exclamation mark if that is appropriate, but not in a period. Titles written in other languages are capitalized and punctuated according to different rules, and writers should consult the MLA Guide or their instructors. Page Numbers: Number your pages.
To learn about essays, it is important to understand why essays are such an important part of academics. To write a proper essay one needs to have structure of thought, imagination, and creativity. An examiner can tell a lot about a student by looking at the way a student writes his essays. Thus, essays have become an inseparable part of academics. The two most important parts of an essay are structure and content. The structure is the format and the content is whatever you write adhering to the essay format. Before you write the contents of your essay, you need to get the format right; because without the format done properly, the examiner will not even consider reading the contents of your essay. If you fail to follow the simple MLA (Modern Language Association) instructions on how to format your essays, the examiners will think that you do not even have the capability to follow simple instructions properly. Thus, not just the content of the essay but also your ability to format properly will be judged by the examiner. Hence, it is very important that you pay attention to the simple college essay formatting guidelines, which are given below. For college applications, you may want to take a 10-step course on college application essay writing to know more. Note: The formatting can be done easily in MS Word, so it is recommended that you write your essays in the program. Margins, Spacing, and Font Size First and foremost you should leave a marginal space of 1 inch from the top, bottom, left and right sides of the page. You can easily leave a margin space of one inches in Word by doing the following tasks: Go to the page layout option and click the margins tab. Click on the normal option, which is default to 1 inch space from all the sides. Each and every line of the paragraph should be double-spaced. Proper line spacing can be achieved in MS Word through the following.