MLA Report Formatting

MLA Report Formatting

The main steps in creating an MLA research paper are:

Set margins to 1 inch Set document to double space (Ctrl 2) Create header Enter 4 parts of report information (student

name, instructor, class, date) Enter title – center aligned (Ctrl E) Type body of paper Type Works Cited page

The margins for an MLA paper are:

Top margin = 1 inch Left margin = 1 inch Right margin= 1 inch Bottom margin = 1 inch

Line spacing should be set to double space.

Use 12 point Times New Roman font.

HeaderYour last name and

the page number. The alignment for the

header should be right aligned.

How: go to view and select header from the list. Type your information in the header box, highlight it, and hit the right justify selection.

Report InformationLocated at the top left

corner double spaced Include:

1. Student Name 2. Teacher Name 3. Course 4. Date

(day/month/year style)

TitlePress enter onceCenter align the title

of your paper. Press enterNote: MLA standard

format for the title of a book has changed from underline to italics.

Typing the Report

The first line of each paragraph should have a .5 tab.

You do not press enter twice at the end of a paragraph to begin a new paragraph.

The document is double spaced already.

Quotes that are four lines or longer

Indented one inch. Quotes that are less than four lines should be

within the paragraph and at the end of the quote do not put your period yet, you should type a parentheses then type the last name of the author and the page number from the reference you used and then close the parentheses

Example: (Craddock 1).

Works Cited page

Created on a separate page You will use the same margins, line spacing,

and header as the report body. Center the Works Cited title at the top

margin. The references are then listed alphabetically

by the authors’ last names. The list is double spaced Type references using a hanging indent.

Works Cited page

Click icon to add picture

Footnotes and Endnotes

Because long explanatory notes can be distracting to the reader, APA and MLA academic styles recommend limited use of footnotes (an explanation at the bottom of the page) or endnotes (an explanation at the end of a document). 

But if footnotes/endnotes are required, they should include the following information: Author (first name then last name) followed by a comma Title of the book (in italics), article (in quotation marks), or Web page Name of publication, volume, number, and/or date followed by a colon Page number(s) where the material is located, followed by a period If a Web page, also include URL address enclosed in angle brackets <

>

Here are the steps to insert a footnote:

 Position insertion point after text to footnote Click the References tab on menu Click the Insert Footnote button Type note text.

Short Cut Keys

Ctrl L = left align Ctrl E = center align Ctrl R = right align Ctrl B = bold Ctrl U = underline

• Ctrl I = italicize • Ctrl C = copy • Ctrl X = cut • Ctrl V = paste • Ctrl 1 = single

space • Ctrl 2 = double

space The ones listed are easy to

remember and can help you be very productive.

Title Page in MLA

Place your report title about one third of the way down your paper.

Place your name about two inches below the title.

Place your class information about two inches below your name.