WRITING GUIDE & STYLE SHEET

MLA Formatting and Style Guide

Paper Format: General Guidelines

 

• Type your paper on a computer and print it out on standard, 8.5 x 11-inch paper.

• Double-space the text of your paper, and use a legible font (e.g. Times New Roman). No extra spaces—just double-space throughout. 

• The font size should be 12 pt.

• Set the margins of your document to 1 inch on all sides.

• Indent the first line of paragraphs one half-inch from the left margin. MLA recommends that you use the Tab key, not pushing the Space Bar five times.

• Create a header that numbers all pages consecutively in the upper right-hand corner, one-half inch from the top and flush with the right margin. Include your last name, followed by a space with a page number.

• Use italics throughout your essay for the titles of longer works and, only when absolutely necessary, providing emphasis.

• Do not make a title page for your paper unless specifically requested.

• In the upper left-hand corner of the first page, list your name, your instructor's name, the course, and the date. Again, be sure to use double-spaced text.

• Do not underline, italicize, or use quotation marks; write the title in Title Case. 

 

Sample 1st Page of MLA Formatted Paper

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

MLA Sample Works Cited Page Entries

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

This abbreviated guide for MLA research writing was created in conjunction with The Writing Lab & The OWL at Purdue and Purdue University. For further online MLA assistance: http://owl.english.purdue.edu/owl/resource/747/1/

 

 

 

APA Formatting and Style Guide

Paper Format: General Guidelines

• Type your paper on a computer and print it out on standard, 8.5 x 11-inch paper.

• Double-space the text of your paper, and use a legible font (e.g. Times New Roman). No extra spaces—just double-space throughout. 

• The font size should be 12 pt.

• Set the margins of your document to 1 inch on all sides.

• Indent the first line of paragraphs one half-inch from the left margin. APA recommends that you use the Tab key, not pushing the Space Bar five times.

• Use italics throughout your essay for the titles of longer works and, only when absolutely necessary, providing emphasis.

• Include a page header (also known as the "running head") at the top of every page. To create a page header/running head, insert page numbers flush right. Then type "TITLE OF YOUR PAPER" in the header flush left using all capital letters. The running head is a shortened version of your paper's title and cannot exceed 50 characters including spacing and punctuation.

 

 

Major Paper Sections

Your essay should include four major sections: the Title Page, Abstract, Main Body, and References.

 

Title Page

• The title page should contain the title of the paper, the author's name, and the institutional affiliation. Include the page header (described above) flush left with the page number flush right at the top of the page. Please note that on the title page, your page header/running head should look like this:

 

Running head: TITLE OF YOUR PAPER

 

• Pages after the title page should have a running head that looks like this:

 

TITLE OF YOUR PAPER

 

• Type your title in upper and lowercase letters centered in the upper half of the page. APA recommends that your title be no more than 12 words in length and that it should not contain abbreviations or words that serve no purpose. Your title may take up one or two lines. All text on the title page, and throughout your paper, should be double-spaced.

• Beneath the title, type the author's name: first name, middle initial(s), and last name. Do not use titles (Dr.) or degrees (PhD).

• Beneath the author's name, type the institutional affiliation, which should indicate the location where the author(s) conducted the research.

 

Sample APA Title Page

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Abstract

• Begin a new page. Your abstract page should already include the page header (described above). On the first line of the abstract page, center the word “Abstract” (no bold, formatting, italics, underlining, or quotation marks).

• Beginning with the next line, write a concise summary of the key points of your research. (Do not indent.) Your abstract should contain at least your research topic, research questions, participants, methods, results, data analysis, and conclusions. You may also include possible implications of your research and future work you see connected with your findings. Your abstract should be a single paragraph double-spaced. Your abstract should be between 150 and 250 words.

• You may also want to list keywords from your paper in your abstract. To do this, indent as you would if you were starting a new paragraph, type Keywords: (italicized), and then list your keywords. Listing your keywords will help researchers find your work in databases.

 

Sample APA Absract Page