Properly formatted mla essay

Heading and title An MLA-style research paper does not include a cover page, unless your teacher specifically asks for it. In the upper left corner of the first page but not in the header space type the following information: your name, the teacher's name, the course title and block, the date.

Use a separate double-spaced line for each piece of information four lines. Double space again, and center the title. Do not try to make your title decorative by using bold , underline , or creative fonts. Double space again before beginning the text of your paper. After the first time you can refer to people by their last name or agencies by their acronyms for the rest of the paper. You should never begin a sentence with a number however. Parenthetical references In-text citation should be placed at the end of the sentence and inside the final punctuation.

If a work is alphabetized by title in the Works Cited i. If the author is mentioned in the sentence, the parenthetical reference will only contain the page number. Do not use bold or large size font for the heading. Include the publisher for any source type except for websites when the name of the publisher is the same as the name of the website.

How to Write an Effective Essay: The Introduction

It is also not necessary to include the name of publishers for newspapers, magazines, or journal articles, since the name of the publisher is generally insignificant. When sources have more than one publisher that share responsibility for the production of the source, place a slash between the names of the publishers. When including the date that the source was published, display the amount of information that is found on the source, whether it's the full date, the month and year, or just the year.

In terms of display, it does not matter if the date is written in a specific order.

How to Write an Essay in MLA Format

Make sure to use the same format for all citations. When multiple dates are shown on the source, include the date that is most relevant to your work and research. The location refers to the place where the source can be found. This can be in the form of a URL, page number, disc number, or physical place. For page numbers, use the abbreviation p. When using a direct quote or paraphrasing information from a source, add an in-text or parenthetical citation into the body of your work. Direct quotes are word-for-word quotes that are pulled from a source and added into your project.

A paraphrase is taking a section of information from a source and placing it in your own words. Both direct quotes and paraphrases require in-text or parenthetical citation to follow it. You used information from websites, articles, books, and other sources for your paper, right?

Hopefully, you did, because the best research and writing projects use information from sources to validate claims. The purpose of an in-text citation is to give the reader a brief idea as to where you found the information in your writing. When you place a line of text, word for word called a direct quote , or an idea called a paraphrase from another source into your writing, you, the writer, must display:. The major thing to keep in mind is that whichever information you include in the in-text or parenthetical citation, whether it's the author's name or the title, it needs to match the first word in the full citation.

This is an MLA parenthetical citation as the author's name is in parentheses. Author's Last Name states, "Direct Quote" or paraphrase page number. This is an MLA in-text citation as the author's name is in the text of the sentence.


Twain went on to say, "Jim never got back with a bucket of water under an hour - and even then somebody generally had to go after him 8. If your in-text citation comes from a website or another source that does not have page numbers, use the following abbreviations:. Gregor's sister is quite persuasive, especially when she states to her parents, "It'll be the death of both of you, I can see it coming. We can't all work as hard as we have to and then come home to be tortured like this, we can't endure it" Kafka, chap. The girl's affection towards Marley is clear when she blushes upon his arrival and shares that she would like to accompany him to the theater Tales of Times Ago The smaller the class size, the more attention a student receives, which greatly impacts learning Malcolm and Knowles Many lizards, including the Carolina anole, only eat when they're hungry.

They'll ignore food until they're body sends a signal to eat Smith et al. One study shows that the average time spent on homework is 52 minutes R. Brown However, a more recent study, released in , found that the average student spends 42 minutes completing homework S.

How do I set up a paper with MLA formatting? | CWI

Lawrence shares his insight by stating that "instructions need to be shared, not assumed Young The basic entry for a book consists of the author's name, the book title, the publisher, and the year published. The first author's name should be reversed, with a comma being placed after the last name and a period after the first name or any middle name.

The name should not be abbreviated and should be written exactly as it appears on the title page. Campbell, Megan, et al.

Page index

The Best Noun Book. Books For Us, The full title of the book, including any subtitles, should be italicized and followed by a period. If the book has a subtitle, the main title should be followed by a colon unless the main title ends with a question mark or exclamation point. Publication information can generally be found on the title page of a book.

If it is not available there, it may also be found on the copyright page. State the name of the publisher. If you are citing a specific page range from the book, include the page s at the end of the citation.

If you have to cite a specific edition of a book later than the first, see the section below on citing edited books. If the translation is the focus of your project, include the translator's name at the beginning of the citation, like this:. Translator's Last name, First name, translator. If it's not the actual translation that is the focus, but the text itself, include the translator's name in the "other contributors" position, like this:.

Original Author's Last name, First name. Translated by First Name Last name. Publisher, Year published. E-books are formatted differently than print books. Some e-books have different, or extra, information than print books. In addition, e-book pages are often numbered differently. Since the content and format may differ than print books, e-book citations are structured differently.

If using an e-book from the Internet, format the e-book the same was as a website. If using an e-book from an e-reader, such as a Kindle or Nook, include the name of the e-reader in the "version" section of the citation. Title of E-Book.

Build a bibliography or works cited page the easy way

Title of Website , URL. Rodgers, Tara.

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Duke UP, Title of E-book. E-Reader ed. Nook ed. Individual chapters are cited when a writer uses a book filled with many chapters, each written by different authors. When citing a specific chapter in a book, or an anthology, structure the citation like this:. Last name, First name of Chapter's Author.

Levi-Strauss, Claude. If your book is not a first edition, you should note this in the citation. If the book is a revised edition or an edition that includes substantial new content, include the number, name, or year of the edition and the abbreviation "ed.