Formatting your paper
General Guidelines:
- Font: The preferred font for MLA publications is a legible 12 point font (for example, Times New Roman.)
- Spacing: The text of your document should be double-spaced.
- Margins: Document margins should be set at 1 inch on all sides.
Your first page
Your last name and the page number should appear flush right in the header of
- Header: Your last name and the current page number should typically appear flush right in the header of every page of your document.
- MLA documents do not typically require a separate title page. Beginning on the first line of the first page, include your name, your instructor's name, your course, and the date, double-spacing between each element. For example:
Sammy Smith
Professor Jill Hill
ENGL 2201
12 August, 2021
- Title: Include the title, centered, one double-spaced line below the date.
The body of your paper
- If including section headings in your document, be sure to apply your heading system consistently (whether bolding or using italics or heading levels)
- Be sure to use a parenthetical or in-text citation to cite any information sources. These in-text citations will appear again on your "Works Cited" page.
Citing your sources
Citing your information sources will add credibility to your work and help you to avoid plagiarism.
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MLA requires a "Works Cited" page separate from the body of your document. Note that page numbers and the header should continue through this section as well.
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The "Works Cited" page is double-spaced just like the rest of your document. Do not include line breaks between the citations you list.
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Citations are sorted alphabetically based on the first character in the citation entry.
