MLA Guidelines for Essays

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By Kaz Silvestri
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MLA Guidelines for Essays

Modern Language Association (MLA) is the accepted form of documentation used in the Liberal Arts and Humanities arenas. The general MLA settings for formatting essays are listed here. Your instructor may have slightly different preferences, and you should always check with them when formatting your essay. Consult an MLA guide for specific instructions on formatting special items, such as, tables and illustrations.

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Paper Type

Use white, 8 ½-by-11 inch paper only. Never use colored or lined paper.

Font Style and Size

The accepted MLA font style is Times New Roman, and the accepted MLA size is 12 point. You should never use fancy fonts that are difficult to read in MLA format.

Spacing

Your entire essay should be double-spaced, including the Works Cited page and the Title page.

Margins

MLA requirements specify 1-inch margins all the way around the paper.

Alignment

The essay should be aligned to the left side of the page. Never hyphenate words at the end of a line.

Indentation

The first word of each paragraph should be indented ½-inch. You can set your word processor to do this for you automatically.

Parenthetical Documentation

MLA guidelines specify that your essay should include citations within the essay. A parenthetical documentation includes the author's name and page number after quoting a source within the essay. It looks like this: (Hamilton 5).