September 20, 2014 - Posted to Style and format

There is a mandatory and consistent need to know the sources from where the scholarly information has been brought, while the styles of detailing them might differ as per the document need. MLA style of citation is primarily used in Humanities, Literature and Language related papers. It is also considered to be the simplest of all existing styles of writing. MLA format of writing has been vastly accepted by schools, colleges and academic departments. The MLA guidelines have also been adopted by many literary journals, magazines and newsletters.

 

As a student, when you are asked to write a research paper in MLA style, two things come to your mind. (1) How to write my document in MLA style from the scratch? (2) Where to reach out to in case I want someone else to format/write my document for me? Your answer to the first question is following. We are providing you a step-by-step guide of writing your paper in MLA style yourself. And if you want help getting it written effortlessly from someone else, jump to the last paragraph and seek relevant help.

 

If you have decided to write it yourself, you further need to know 2 essential things:

 

• Format
• Guidelines

 

Format for writing in MLA style:

As MLA style of citation involves mentioning about the resources in the end of the document in a separate page, it also involves proper formatting of the entire document. There are certain ground-rules which have to be mandatorily followed while writing in MLA style.

 

1. If you started to prepare MLA format front page, avoid making it unless it is mentioned in your assignment.

 

2. In the top left corner of your page, before your main content starts, mention 4 things:
   1. Your Name
   2. Your Instructor’s Name
   3. Name of the course you are enrolled in
   4. Latest Date

 

3. Significant to know about MLA style headings is to bring the title of your document in the centre of the page. While working around the MLA format for headings, if you are not sure of how it should finally look like, look at a MLA heading format example.

 

4. Create double space between each line. Make sure to not underline, quote or italicize your title.

 

5. Write the MLA format headings in correct title case

 

6. Italicize only those texts which have been quoted from some other sources.

 

7. Use only Arabic style of numbering (1, 2, 3 etc.)

 

8. Put one inch of margin around each page. And put your Last Name and page number on top-right corner of the page and remove only if your professor asks you to not include.

 

Guidelines for MLA Style:

As soon as you have formatted your research paper as per the steps mentioned above, make sure to check the points listed below:

 

1. As you would be typing your document on your computer or any other such system, make sure to print only on Standard page setup (8.5 * 11 inch paper)

 

2. One has to be careful while dealing with the MLA style front page also. Write your entire document in the most accepted font (e.g. Times New Roman) and 12 point font size.

 

3. Take a look at the MLA format header example to make sure you replicate it, and all the endnotes should be cited separately in another page.

 

4. For citation purpose, make sure to include these:
   1. Mention only necessary information that serves the purpose of identifying the sources
   2. The parenthetical references should be kept nearest to their sources, and should only be inserted in the case of a natural pause. Otherwise, try using them at the end of the sentence only.
   3. Details given in the parenthesis should only be complemented and not repeated with the information given in the text. E.g. If you have already mentioned name of the author in your sentence, you do not have to repeat it in parenthesis.
   4. The sentences, clauses or pauses which contain the cited information should be preceded by punctuation mark in the parenthetical reference.
   5. Online resources are also cited similar to the printed resources.

 

5. While you write the citation part of your paper, make sure of the below key-points:
   1. All the entries should be arranged in alphabetical order of the Author’s Last name.
   2. Make sure to capitalize all the important keywords and sentences.
   3. In case the source has been taken from more than one publisher, keep all of them, separated by semicolons.
   4. In case of more than one city of publication is mentioned, write only one.
   5. Avoid using ampersand (&) as it would be preferable to use ‘and’ while listing down more than one authors of a single document.
   6. Page numbers should not be designated as p. or pp.
   7. The first line’s alignment should be indented left, while all the others in the paragraph should have a hanging indentation below the first line.

 

Examples:

A quick look at how the endnotes in an MLA style look like, would help omit anymore confusions:

The below key aspects are taken note of, while preparing to write the MLA style citation:

1. Name of the author or editor of the source document
2. Title of the source document
3. Edition number (if published more than once)
4. City of source publication
5. Date of publication
6. Medium of publication (Print, online etc.)

 

Basic format looks like this:

<Author’s Last Name, First Name>. <Book Title>. <City of Publication: Name of the Publisher>, <Year of Publication>. <Publication Medium>.

 

Get someone else to write your paper in MLA style

Writing a paper in a specific style is very crucial from the result point of view, as scholarly documents are needed to follow such guidelines strictly. Known as MLA format header example or MLA style heading example, the headers play an important role in giving a firsthand look and so it continues till the end. When there is a lot on stake, it is better to take help from experienced writers, who, in genuine price-deals and quick turn-around time provide you document written in the MLA format of writing and citation. We guarantee providing best-in-class quality of documents due to the expertise we carry and our texts are always hand-picked on your name. You may request a document showing MLA heading format example, the content and citation to see how well we do.