Formatting the Research Paper
Follow these general
guidelines unless instructed otherwise by your teacher. For a model, consult
the sample paper at the back of this booklet.
A. Materials
1.
Use 8.5” x
11” 20 pound white typing paper, not onion skin.
2.
Use a standard,
easily readable font (e.g. Times,
B. Title and Identification
1.
MLA college papers do not require a
separate cover page.
2.
Against the left margin, one inch from
the top of the paper, place on separate lines your name, the instructor’s
name, the course name and number, and the date. Double space between lines.
3.
Double space after the heading and center
the title of the paper. Capitalize the first, last, and all important words in
the title, except for articles, prepositions, and coordinating conjunctions. If
there is a subtitle, separate it from the title with a colon and follow the
capitalization rules. Do not underline your
title or put it in quotation marks. Do not put a period after the title.
C. Margins, spacing, and
indentation.
1.
All margins should
be one inch (standard Word document format), no more than an inch
and
a half at the top, bottom, and sides of the page.
2.
Double space between all lines of the
paper, including the heading, title, and body of paper.
3.
Indent the first line of each paragraph
five spaces from the left margin (standard Word document format).
4.
For quotations of longer than four typed
lines of prose or longer than three lines of verse, indent each line ten spaces
from the left margin. Double space between the body of the paper and the
quotation, and double space between the lines of the quotation. Quotation marks
are not needed when a long quotation is set off from the text unless the
quotation marks appear in the original text. Use a colon ( : ) at the end of the
transition line or phrase leading into the long quote.
5.
Leave 1 space after words, commas,
colons, and semicolons, and between the dots in ellipsis marks. Leave two
spaces after periods, question marks, and exclamation points. To form a dash,
type two hyphens with no space between them. Do not put a space on either side
of a dash.
D. Pagination
1.
Number all pages
in the upper right-hand corner, one-half inch below the top edge. Use
Arabic numbers (1, 2, 3, etc.) preceded by your last name.
Do not put a period after the number and do not enclose the number in
parenthesis. (If using Microsoft Word, use the Header/Footer option under the
View menu.)
C. Works Cited Page
1. Begin the list of works cited on a
separate page, but continue with pagination (the Header).
2. Center the title, Works Cited, 1
inch from the top of the page. Do not use italics, underlining, or quotation
marks. Double space to the first entry. (The title, Works Cited, tells reader
that the list includes ONLY those works which you have cited in the paper.)
3. Double space every entry.
4. Begin each entry at the left
margin; if an entry extends to a second line, indent that line 1/2 inch (5
spaces).
5. Begin each entry with the
author’s name in inverted order and any additional authors’ names
in normal order. Consult MLA Works Cited format for citing all other types of
sources on the Works Cited page.
5. Alphabetize the entire works cited
list by the first word of each entry (usually an author’s last name);
ignore a, an, and the if the first word.
Some information adapted from The Bedford Handbook for Writers.