How to Write an Article in the MLA Format
The basic formatting style of any serious research paper in high school or college, the MLA (Modern Language Association) format adheres to strict guidelines of page setup, citations and bibliography. Knowing how to write an article or a paper in the correct format will ensure that your paper is graded on its content and not the margins and citation numbers.
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Instructions
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Writing a Paper in MLA Format
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Double-space your text in Times New Roman 12-point font. The margins should be 1 inch on all sides with standard alignment, and there should only be one character space between sentences. All pages should be numbered in the upper right-hand corner of the page. The page number should be preceded by your last name.
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List your name, instructor's name, course name and the date in the upper left-hand corner of your first page. Below this, write and center your title in title case. Do not capitalize or underline it. The first line of the first paragraph of your paper and every paragraph thereafter should be indented ½ inch.
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Cite your sources using parentheses. After your sentence but before the period, insert the last name of your source and the page number the information can be found on. For example:
The Civil War was fought over slavery (McPherson 4). For direct quotations, put the page number at the end of the quotations, inside the period but outside the quotation marks. For example: McPherson notes that "the Civil War was fought over slavery" (4). For longer quotations of over two lines, press "Enter" and start the quotation on the next line, indenting every line of the quotation 1 inch. Do not use quotation marks for block quotations. -
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Align tables flush with the left margin; figure alignment is not specified in MLA. Each table or figure must be numbered in Arabic numbers and have a label ("Table" or "Figure"), a caption or title, and a source. Separate tables and figures from your text with two blank lines above and below.
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Although excessive footnotes or endnotes are discouraged in MLA format, they may be placed in the footer of the page in 8-point font. Footnotes should be numbered consecutively in the text using superscript Arabic numbers.
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Create a "Works Cited" page at the end of your paper. Use a separate page for this element and enter all of the bibliographic information from your research. Write the last name of the author, followed by the first name, the name of the work, the city, the publisher and the year. For example:
Fortuna, Matthew. How to Use MLA format. New York: Penguin Books, 2009.
The title should be underlined, and if there is a second line, it should be indented.
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Tips & Warnings
Full MLA guidelines can be found at most University websites or in most libraries or bookstores in short guides.
