Writing a college paper in mla format

Each element should be followed by the punctuation mark shown here. Earlier editions of the handbook included the place of publication and required different punctuation such as journal editions in parentheses and colons after issue numbers.

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.

Set the page margins to one inch. 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. Set the line spacing to double spaced.

How To Write a Research Paper (MLA Format)

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. Create a header with your last name and automatic page numbering. To create the header and set automatic page numbering select View and then Header and Footer from the Menu Bar: The header will appear at the top of your screen, ready for you to enter text and automatic page numbering: Notice that the cursor is set on the left margin.

Click the Align Right icon from formatting toolbar to align the text on the right margin. Notice that the cursor is shown at the right margin in the header section below: Type your last name in the header section. Then press the spacebar once to leave a single blank space after your last name, as shown below: Enter the first page information.

Type your name and then press the Enter key once. Type your professor's name, and then Enter. Type the course identification, and then Enter. Press the Enter key once. Click on the Align Center icon on the formatting toolbar.

Type the title of your paper, capitalizing the first word and all major words and proper nouns. Do not use italics, boldfaced type, underlining, or all caps to format your title.

Do not type a period at the end of the title. Click on the Align Left icon so that you will begin typing on the first line. Be sure to press the Enter key once only when you have completed a paragraph: Type the works cited page.

Your header with your last name and automatic page numbering should appear at the top left of your paper if you are viewing your document in the "print layout" view option from "View" on your menu bar. Click the Align Center icon so that your title will be centered.

Before doing so, be sure to click "Format" and then "Paragraph" on the menu bar and check your paragraph format to make sure that the first line of the paragraph is not indented. If it is, change the first line indent to "none" and click "OK" in the Paragraph dialog box. Type Works Cited do not underline, boldface, italicize, or enclose the title in quotation marks.

Press the Enter key once to begin a new line your line spacing is already set at double. Click the Align Left icon or, from the menu bar, select Format and Paragraph, select the Indents and Spacing tab, and change Alignment to left. Select Format from the menu bar and Paragraph.

In the Indents and Spacing section, click Special and then click Hanging.Fig. 1. The top of the first page of a research paper. A research paper does not normally need a title page, but if the paper is a group project, create a title page and list all the authors on it instead of in the header on page 1 of your essay.

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MLA Format guidelines for perfect research papers! Throughout your student life, you have to write many research papers.

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The completion of each of your papers is an honor of your academic success. ) If you’ve been asked to submit a paper in MLA style, your instructor is asking you to format the page and present the content in a specific way.

Just as football referees dress a certain way, and Japanese chefs cook a certain way, writers in certain disciplines follow a certain set of conventions.