The Format of the MLA Research Paperby STEPHEN on OCTOBER 1, 2012  http://academictips.org/mla-format/the-format-of-the-research-paper/

Here is how to setup your research paper using the MLA Style. If your instructor has a specific requirement, be sure to obey his or her instructions.

Type: How To:

Paper – Use white paper, 8 1/2 x 11 inches. If you lack this paper, you can use the closest available size.– Print on single side only.

Margins – 1 inch for all top, bottom, left, and right. (1 inch = 2.5cm)– For page numbers, set at 1/2 inch (1.25 cm) from the top upper-right hand corner, flushed to the right margin.

Text Formatting

– Font: Times New Roman– Size: 12 points– Do not justify the text– Double-space the entire research paper– Leave one space after a period

Heading Begin at 1 inch from the top of the page, type:– Your name– Professor name– Course number– Due dateAll on separate lines then begin your research paper title on a new line and center it (see first page sample below).Do not:– Italicize, underline, in quotation, boldface, or type in all CAPs your title.– There is no period after your title or after any heading in your paper

Page Numbers – Place page number in all pages– Place page numbers 1/2 inch from the top-right margin– Type your last name before the page number: your last name followed by  a space then page number.

Sample Of The First Page:Here is a sample of the first page.

Sample MLA Format Cover Page:

Sample MLA Format Cover Page

Alternate First Page:

For future reference only! For the AP Euro assignment you are to do the cover page AND the first page heading. If your instructor requires a cover page, you may omit the main heading on your first page. Here is an example of the first page if a cover page is used. You still need your last name and page number on the first page and every other pages.

Sample MLA Format First Page with Cover Page

MLA Citations, sometimes called parenthetical citations or in-text citations. The purpose of MLA citation is to document where you found your information and give credit to the authors for using their works. The citations refer your readers to your Works Cited page at the end of your research paper.

Placement and Punctuation Rules:

Put your MLA citations close to the quotation, information, paraphrase, or summary you are documenting.

At the end of a sentence before the final punctuation:Wayland Hand reports on a folk belief that going to sleep on a rug made of bearskin can relieve backache(183). 

 After the part of the sentence to which the citation applies:The folk belief that “sleeping on a bear rug will cure backache” (Hand 183)  illustrates the magic of external objects producing results inside the body. 

 At the end of a long quotation set off as a block, after the end punctuation with a space before the parentheses:Many baseball players are superstitious, especially pitchers. Some pitchers refuse to walk anywhere on the day of the game in the belief that every little exertion subtracts from their playing strength. One pitcher would never put on his cap until the game started and would not wear it at all on the days he did not pitch. (Gmelch 280)

MLA Citations Examples:

1. Author’s Name in Parentheses:When people marry now “there is an important sense in which they don’t know what they are doing” (Giddens 46). 

2. Author’s Name in Discussion:Giddens claims that when people marry now “there is an important sense in which they don’t know what they are doing” (46).  

3. General Reference: A general reference refers to a source as a whole, to its main ideas, or to information throughout; it needs no page number.In parentheses: Many species of animals have complex systems of communication (Bright).In discussion: As Michael Bright observes, many species of animals have complex systems of

communication. 

4. Specific Reference: A specific reference documents words, ideas, or facts from a particular place in a source, such as the page for a quotation or paraphrase.Quotation: Dolphins can perceive clicking sounds “made up of 700 units of sound per second” (Bright 52).Paraphrase + Facts: Bright reports that dolphins recognize patterns consisting of seven hundred clicks each second (52). 

5. One Author: Provide the author’s lastname in parentheses, or intergrate either the full name or lastname alone into the discussion:According to Maureen Honey, government posters during World War II often portrayed homemakers “as vital defenders of the nation’s homes” (135). 

6. Two or Three Authors:The item is noted in a partial list of Francis Bacon’s debts  from 1603 on (Jardine and Stewart 275).For three authors: (Norman, Fraser, and Jenko 209). 

7. More than three Authors:Within parentheses, name the first author and add et al. (“and others”).Within your discussion, use a phrase like “Chen and his colleagues point out…” or something similar. If you name all the authors in the works cited list rather than using et al., do the same in the text citation.More funding would encourage creative research on complementary medicine (Chen et al. 82). 

8. Corporate or Group Author: When an organization is the author, name it in the text or the citation, but shorten or abbreviate a cumbersome name.The consortium gathers journalists at “a critical moment” (Comm. of Concerned Journalists 187). 

9. No Author Given: Use the title instead. Shorten a long title as in this version of Baedeker’s Czech/Slovak Republics.In 1993, Czechoslovakia split into the Czech Republic and the Slovak Republic (Baedeker’s 67). 

10. More Than One Work by the Same Author: When the list of works cited includes more  than one work by an author, add a shortened form of the title to your citation.One writer claims that “quaintness glorifies the unassuming industriousness” in these social classes (Harris,Cute 46). 

11. Authors with the Same Name: When authors have the same last name, identify each by first initial (or entire first name, if necessary for clarify).Despite improved health information systems (J. Adams 308), medical errors continue to

increase (D. Adams 1). 

12. Indirect Source: Use qtd. in (“quoted in”) to indicate when your source provides you with a quotation (or paraphrase) taken from yet another source. Here, Feuch is the source of the quotation fromVitz.For Vitz, “art, especially great art, must engage all or almost all of the major capacities of the nervous system”(qtd. in Feuch 65). 

13. Multivolume Work: To cite a whole volume, add a comma after the author’s name and vol. before the number (Cao, Vol. 4). To specify one of several volumes that you cite, add volume and page numbers (Cao 4:177).In 1888, Lweis Carroll let two students call their school paper Jabberwock, a made-up word from Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland (Cohen 2:695). 

14. Literary Work: After the page number in your edition, add the chapter (ch.), part (pt.), or section (sec.) number to help readers find the passage in any edition.In Huckleberry Finn, Mark Twain ridicules an actor who “would squeeze his hand on his forehead and stagger back and kind of moan” (178; ch. 21).Identify a part as in (386; pt. 3, ch. 2) or, for a play, the act, scene, and line numbers, as in (Ham. 1.2.76). For poems, give line numbers (lines 55-57) or (55-57) after the first case; if needed, give both part and line numbers (4.220-23). 

15. Bible: Place a period between the chapter and verse numbers (Mark 2.3-4). In parenthetical citations, abbreviate names with five or more letters, as in the case of Deuteronomy (Deut. 16.21-22). 

16. Two or More Sources in a Citation: Separate sources within a citation with a semicolon.Differences in the ways men and women use language can often be traced to who has power (Tanner 83-86; Tavris 97-301). 

17. Selection in Anthology: For an easy, story, poem, or other work in an anthology, cite the work’s author (not the anthology’s editor), but give page numbers in the anthology.According to Corry, the battle for Internet censorship has crossed party lines (112). 

18. Electronic or Other Nonprint Source: After identifying the author or title, add numbers for the page, paragraph (par., pars.), section (sec.), or screen (screen) if given. Otherwise, no number is needed.Offspringmag summarizes current research on adolescent behavior (boynton 2).The heroine’s mother in the film Clueless died as the result of an accident during  liposuction. 

How to Format the Works Cited page:

Page Format: Use the heading “Works Cited” centered one inch below the top edge of a new page. Do not bold or underline this heading.

Page Number:

Begin the list on a new page and number each page, continuing the page numbers of the research paper.For example, if the text of your research paper ends on page 10, the works-cited list begins on page 11. The page number appears in the upper right-hand corner, half an inch from the top and flush with the right margin.

Indentation: Do not indent the first line of each entry. If an entry runs more than one line, indent the subsequent line or lines 1/2 inch from the left margin.

Spacing: Double-space the entire list, both between and within entries. Continue the list on as many pages as necessary.

Alphabetizing: Alphabetize entries in your list of works cited by the author’s last name, using the letter-by-letter system. In this system, the order of names is determined by the letters before the commas that separate last names and first names. Spaces and other punctuation marks are ignored. The letters following the commas are considered only when two or more last names are identical. A, An and The are ignored.

Hints: 1. List in your Works Cited only the entries which were actually cited within your text.2. Titles of books, periodicals, films, etc. are italicized (was underlined in the MLA 6th Edition.)3. All entries in the list of Works Cited, the Publication Medium (i.e. Print, Web,

DVD,Television, etc.) must be included.4. Dates are written in MLA format, Day Month Year, with the longer months abbreviated. For

example: 7 Feb. 1996.5. Indicate When Data is Missing: Many sources do not have a date, publisher or pagination.

MLA advises, where applicable, to write n. pag. for those sources without page numbers, n.d. for no date, and n.p. if name of the publisher or place of publication is omitted.

6. The URLs for web sources are now optional. MLA suggests not using them but recognizes that some educators might still require them. Therefore, ask your teacher if he/she requires URLs for your web sources.

Example of the Works Cited page:

Works Cited Generator / Bibliography Maker:

Generate your works cited and bibliography page automatically using a program, visit here for more details on these tools.

How to Cite Your Sources:

Basic template in reference to Books

NOTE: Name of author inverted = author’s last name, author’s first name.Book with One Author:Name of author inverted. Title of book. Place of publication: Name of publisher, Year of publication. Print.Lipson, Charles. Reliable Partners: How Democracies Have Made a Separate Piece. Princeton: Princeton UP, 2003. Print.Book with Multiple Authors:Author’s first name, last name, Author’s first name Author’s last name. Title of book. Place of publication: Name of publisher, Year of publication. Print.Binder, Guyora, and Robert Weisberg. Literary Criticisms of Law. Princeton: Princeton UP, 2000. Print.Book with Editors:Name of author inverted. Title. Ed. Editor’s first name Editor’s last name. Place: Pub, Year. Print.Shakespeare, William. Hamlet. Ed. Barbara A. Mowat and Paul Werstine. New York: Washington Square-Pocket, 1992. Print.

Other Templates:

A Work in an Anthology:Name of author inverted. “Title of work.” Title of Anthology. Ed. Editor’s first and last name. Place: Pub, Year.

Pages of work. Print.Peterson, Nancy J. “Toni Morrison: A Critical Look.” Toni Morrison: Critical and Theoretical Approaches. Ed. Nancy Peterson. Baltimore: Johns Hopkins UP, 1997. 221-76. Print.

Play in Textbook:Name of author inverted. Title of Play. Title of Textbook. Ed. editor’s name. Place: Pub, Year. Pages. Print.Miller, Arthur. The Crucible. Elements of Literature. Fifth Course. Ed. Kathleen Daniel, et al. Austin: Holt, Rinehart and Winston, 2000. 829-887. Print.

Encyclopedia Article:Name of author inverted. “Article title.” Title. Edition. Date. Print.Hernandez, Tomas. “Portugal.” The World Book. International ed. 1999. Print.Bible:Title. Ed. Editor’s last name, first name. Place: Pub, Year. Print.The New Jerusalem Bible. Ed. Henry Wansbrough. New York: Doubleday, 1985. Print.In-text Citation example: (New Jerusalem Bible, Ezek. 1.5-10)

Periodicals:Name of author inverted. “Title of article.” Name of periodical (omit any introductory a, an, or the) Volume number or issue number (Date of publication): Page numbers for the entire article. Print.Beets, Nicholas. “Historical Actuality and Bodily Experience.” Humanitas 2.1 (1966): 15-28. Print.Where 2.1 means: volume 2, issue 1.

Basic template in reference to Electronic Sources

Website:Name of author inverted.Full Title. Publisher, Publication date. Web. Access date.Nguyen, Stephen. MLA Format Works Cited. 17 Oct. 2011. Web. 11 Feb. 2012.

Newspaper Article (Print):Name of author inverted. “Article Title.” Name of Newspaper Year or date of publication: page numbers. Print.Harris, Nicole. “Airports in the Throes of Change.” Wall Street Journal 27 Mar. 2002: B1+. Print.

Newspaper Article (Found on the Internet):Name of author inverted. “Article Title.” Name of Newspaper Year or date of publication: page numbers. Web. Access date.Achen, Joel. “America’s River.” Washington Post 5 May 2002. Web. 27 Feb. 2012.

Magazine Article (Print):Name of author inverted. “Article Title.” Magazine Title. Date: Pages. Print.Simpson, Rhonda P. “Exercising in the New Millennium: A Plan to Meet the Modern Woman’s Needs.”Health and Fitness 15 June 1995: 56-61. Print.

Magazine Article (Internet):Name of author inverted. “Article Title.” Magazine Title. Date: Pages. Web. Access date.Brooks, David. “The Culture of Martyrdom.” Atlantic Online June 2007. Web. 22 Sept. 2005.

Scholarly Journal Article (Print):Name of author inverted. “Article Title.” Title of Journal Volume (Year): Pages. Print.Melborne, Samuel. “Living in Iran.” Mosaic 19 (1986): 133-49. Print.

Scholarly Journal Article (Internet):Name of author inverted. “Article Title.” Title of Journal Volume (Year): Pages. Web. Access date.Sohmer, Steve. “Opening Day at Shakespeare’s Globe.” Journal of Modern Literary Studies 3.1 (1997). Web. 27 May 2009.

E-Library:Palmer, Aaron. “Colors and Blood: Flag Passions of the Confederate South.” History. 2 Mar. 2005: 64-6.ELibrary. ProQuest. Trabuco Hills High School Library. Web. 3 Feb. 2004.

Dictionary Online:“Word searched.” Website Title. Created or updated date if available. Sponsoring organization of applicable. Web. Date of access written in MLA style.“Hysteria.” Bartlett’s Familiar Quotations. 2000. Web. 25 Sept. 2006.

Government Publication (Print):Author or Government Agency. Title of publication. Publication Information, date. Print.United States Dept. of Health and Human Services. Healthy People 2010: Understanding and Improving Health. Washington: GPO, 2000. Print.

Government Publication (Internet):Author or Government Agency. Title of publication. Publication Information, date. Web.United States Dept. of Health and Human Services. Healthy People 2010: Understanding and Improving Health. Washington: GPO, 2000. Web.

Class Notes, Lecture, etc…

Class Notes:Name of lecturer inverted. Class Notes. Course. Location. Date of lecture. Lecture.Stewart, Ms. Class Notes. English 3 Honors/IB. Trabuco Hills High School, Mission Viejo. 26 Sept. 2003. Lecture.

Speech:Name of speaker inverted. “Title of Presentation.” Sponsoring Organization. Location. Date.Harris, Muriel. “Writing Labs: A Short History.” 2003 Writing Center Conference. National Writing Centers Association. La Swank Hotel, Seattle. 28 Mar. 2003.

Interview:Interviewee last name, first name. Personal Interview. Date of interview.Purdue, Pete. Personal Interview. 1 Dec. 2000.

Film:Title. Dir. Director’s name. Perf. Performer’s name(s). Distributor, year of release. Film.The Usual Suspects. Dir. Bryan Singer. Perf. Kevin Spacey, Gabriel Byrne, Chazz Palminteri, Stephen Baldwin, and Benecio del Toro. Polygram, 1995. Film.

Basic template in reference to Other Items

Sources come in many forms. As a general rule, arrange the information in your Works Cited in the following order:Author. Title. Place of publication. Publisher. Date and any information that could help with retrieval. Medium.