What Is The Font Size For Mla Format

MLA Commendation Format and Style Guide

MLA (Modern Language Association) is one of the several standard formatting styles recommended for academic work. Past formatting and citing the paper in a uniform manner, the reader is better able to place and empathize the diverse types of sources that were used for the newspaper. In add-on, beyond being able to understand the citations, the reader can look through the sources themselves. While using a formatting style such as MLA can exist dull and fourth dimension-consuming, professors take it very seriously. In fact, failure to correctly format the paper ofttimes makes a difference in the paper's terminal grade.

Given its importance, the general guidelines for citing and formatting a paper based on MLA recommendations tin can be constitute below.

Additional aid with formatting and writing a paper tin be found here:

How to practice MLA Format Properly

In-text Citation

Whenever you use an outside source for your paper, yous will either quote the fabric directly or paraphrase. Direct quotes involve taking material from a source and writing it verbatim into your paper. It should exist written in quotation marks. A paraphrase, on the other hand, involves taking material from other sources and expressing it in your own words. Whether you are using directly quotes or paraphrasing information from someone's works, they both require proper attribution. In both cases, y'all would include an in-text citation MLA within the body of your project. An MLA in-text citation should expect every bit follows:

"Direct quote" or paraphrase (author's terminal proper noun followed by folio number)
A recent study concluded that "exposure to violent media content leads to aggressive behavior"
(Patterson 26).

Although MLA does not require a cover folio, professors often want their students to include ane because it makes the paper look more than organized and professional. Professors volition more often than not provide guidelines for how they would prefer the encompass page to look. Here is how to do it in proper MLA style:

Apply double-spacing and centered characters.
Include the proper name of your higher or university 1 inch from the top of the paper.
Around ane-third down the page, blazon the title of your newspaper and if necessary the subtitle below it.
Hit return several times and blazon your name, the course championship and number, the proper noun of your professor/instructor, and the due date of your assignment.

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MLA Format Header

In MLA format, the header simply consists of your terminal proper name and the folio number. (Note that this is distinguished from the APA header, which past contrast features the championship of the paper and page number).

Information technology should be placed on the right manus side and gear up at ½ inch from the pinnacle of the paper. The content of the paper should be set at one-inch margins from all sides; top, bottom, left and right.

MLA Font Guidelines

In this format, your paper should be 12 pt font size using a legible font style. Times New Roman is the most mutual font mode used, although Arial is also adequate. Ultimately it depends on your instructor'due south preferences.

Bibliography Page

Your list of cited sources should be placed on a separate page following the end of your paper. The centered championship should always exist called Work Cited in italics and never use terms similar "References," "Bibliography" or "Sources." The entries should be in alphabetical order based on the author's terminal name. Exercise not utilise spaces and other punctuation with the names. If the author's name is unknown, apply the title instead, keeping it alphabetized and omitting any A, an, or The.

Regarding dates, you volition spell out the names of the months in the in-text citations, but abbreviate them on the Piece of work Cited page with the exception of May, June, and July. Whether you choose to get by month-day-yr (i.e., Aug 31, 1996) or the day-calendar month-yr (31 Aug 1996) is up to you, although the sometime is generally expected in U.South. colleges and universities while the latter is common everywhere else. Either style, make sure to be consistent. Notation that a comma is used if applying month-day-year whereas it is omitted when using day-month-year.

Underlining versus italics

In one case upon a time before computers became the universal method for writing papers, typewriters were the standard. Simply since there was no way to impress italics, names of publications were underlined. Every bit a rule, if yous are still using a typewriter or are writing the bibliography past hand (although professors exercise not ordinarily allow this) you would nonetheless want to underline. Of course, if you are firmly planted in the 21^st century like nigh people and use a computer, always use italics for publication names. In any event, enquire your professor/instructor when in doubt. Our examples use italics.

Read likewise: How to make MLA format bibliography?

Hanging Indents

In MLA formatting, the citations should include hanging indents in which the commencement line of an entry is flush left, and all of the remaining lines should exist indented ½ inches.

Capitalization, Abbreviation, and Punctuation

When to capitalize, abbreviate, and punctuate

Unlike other formats, MLA guidelines require the use of championship case capitalization. The first words, last words and all master words – including those that follow hyphens in compound words – should be capitalized. When identifying different elements of the piece of work (i.e., vol. for volume, ed. for editor) type the abbreviations in lowercase except when these designations follow a period. With publisher's names, abbreviations should mostly exist used equally well (i.e., Penguin for Penguin Publishing).

The author, title, and publication information should be separated with a period and a single space. Colons and a infinite should be used when separating the championship from a subtitle. Apply other types of punctuation only if it is included in the title of the piece of work. Quotation marks should exist used when making reference to short works inside a larger collection of works. (i.e., "Start Day of School." Tales of Youth.) Quotation marks should also be used for titles of articles/stories/songs that are unpublished.

Tables and Illustrations

Try to put tables and illustrations as nearly to the respective text every bit possible. A table should exist labeled Table , numbered, and titled. A table and title should be capitalized and placed flush left on split lines above the table. The source of the information provided in the tabular array should exist identified directly below the table, along with whatsoever boosted notes. In order to distinguish notes to the text and notes to the table, notes related to the table should be assigned a lower case letter equally opposed to numbers. Utilise double-spacing and dividing lines when necessary. An example is illustrated below.

MLA Format Examples

Books

Format:
Author's last name, first proper noun. Book championship. Boosted data. City of publication: Publishing company, publication date.

Examples:

Alberts, Jacob T. Life on the Range. Chicago :American History Association, 1998

Blake, Kimberly A. Penguins of the Due south Pole : Flightless Birds of Magic. Los Angeles : Penguin, 2005.

Hirchak, Oksana Y. 1001 Jokes To Never Share With Friends. London : Pennington, 2017.

Pumpkins, David S. A Guide to Spooky Lift Rides. New York : Wacky, 2016.

Vale, Emerge. Sugar. Ed. Spencer B. Boykins. New York : Thompson, 1994.

Encyclopedias and Dictionaries

Format:
Author's last name, first proper noun. "Title of Article." Championship of Encyclopedia. Date.

Note: If the lexicon or encyclopedia articles are organized alphabetically, y'all can exclude volume and folio numbers.

Examples:

"Antidisestablishmentarianism." Oxford Dictionary. 15^thursday ed. 2009.

Jenkins, Henry Robert, Jr. "The Soviet Union." Encyclopedia Dramatica. 1986.

Jones, Jane. "Churchill, Winston." Encyclopedia Blahblahblahca. 2009 ed.

Magazines and Articles

Format:
Author'southward last name, kickoff proper name. "Commodity title." Periodical title Book # Date: inclusive pages.

Examples:

Bamgardner, Kevin. "Penguins Invade Pocket-sized Russian Town." Los Angeles Times. 12 June 2011: sec. B: 1

Draber, George. "Why You Should Visit China." Red china Tourism. 2 December. 1997: 25-28.

Feeley, Brian. "A Guide To Eating Toothpaste." Dental Delicacies. 21 Feb. 2013: eleven-sixteen.

Sandberg, Marvin. "The Sun Didn't Rising Yesterday, Leaving Scientists Puzzled." Chicago Tribune. 8 Jan. 2005, late ed.:G2+

Websites and Web pages

Format:
Author's last name, first name (if mentioned). "Title of work within a projection or database." Championship of site, projection, or database. Editor (if mentioned). Electronic publication information (Date of publication or of the most current update, and name of whatever sponsoring establishment or organization). Date of access and <full URL>.

Note: If you are unable to find all of this data, cite whatever is available.

Examples:

Bompkins, Jason. "Dolphin speaks English." Amazing Animal News. half dozen Sep. 2011. 10 Oct. 2012 <http://animalnews.com/dolphinspeaks/index.htlm>.

Danger, Richard. "Fun with Pickles." The Comprehensive Guide to Cucumbers. Ed. Dale Schwind. 1985. Main Lib., U of Iowa. 11 Feb. 2001 <http://etext.lib.uiowa.edu/subjects/afam.html>

Elvin, Barbara. "Are We All Just Chilling Ghosts?" Supernatural Magazine 15 June 1999 <http://world wide web.supernatural.com/article/2852.asp>.

Ferth, Patrick. Homepage. 20 Mar. 2004. 11 May 2005 <http://www.chass.utoronto.ca:8080 /~patferth/>.