Paper Formatting Basics
This font and font size is recommended for MLA.
What is Times New Roman, 12pt?
When numbering your pages of a paper, this is what you need for MLA:
What is your last name and page number? DO NOT USE p., pg., PG., PAGE, or page when numbering the pages. For example,
Sewell 3
At the top right corner.
The works cited appears here in your paper.
What is a separate piece of paper from your paper?
This must placed around the words of others when citing them from a book, article, etc.
What is quotation marks?
A hit-and-run quotation, or a drop-in quotation, does this (page 50, They Say / I Say).
It drops in a quotation without framing it or explaining it, like this:
Nicholas Carr uses a lot of examples. "When the mechanical clock arrived, people began thinking of their brains as operating 'like clockwork.' Today, in the age of software, we have come to think of them as operating 'like computers'" (Carr).
This form of spacing is used in MLA formatting.
What is double spacing?
This kind of spacing should be used on your works cited page.
What is double spacing?
Correct this. According to Sewell, one of the "key things affecting student success is the bubble gum craze Page 143"
According to Sewell, one of the "key things affecting student success is the bubble gum craze" (143).
This is an example of a template for introducing quotations. They Say / I Say (51).
According to X, "______."
X complicates matters further when she writes, "_____."
In X's view, "_______."
More on page 51 of They Say I Say.
These are the margins needed for the top, bottom, and sides of the page.
What are one-inch margins?
Yes or no: MLA format calls for a title page.
What is no? (unless specifically told otherwise)
This must be capitalized; also, this must not be capitalized.
What is titles must be capitalized, but articles (the, a, an) must not?
How must you cite the quote if you are using something from that author for the first time?
What is use the author's last name and page number in parentheses?
This is an example of commentary, or explanation language:
In other words, Car believes...
In making this comment, Carr urges us to...
Carr's point is important because...
The essence of Carr's argument is...
When indenting a paragraph, this is mandatory for MLA format.
On tab over, or 1/2 an inch.
This is used to identify the titles of longer works that you talk about in the paper (such as a book title, a movie title, a magazine title).
What is italics?
This is the order your works cited entries should go in.
What is alphabetical?
Correct this: "Never has a communications system played so many roles in our lives—or exerted such broad influence over our thoughts—as the Internet does today. Yet, for all that’s been written about the Net, there’s been little consideration of how, exactly, it’s reprogramming us. The Net’s intellectual ethic remains obscure. (Carr page #7)"
"Never has a communications system played so many roles in our lives—or exerted such broad influence over our thoughts—as the Internet does today. Yet, for all that’s been written about the Net, there’s been little consideration of how, exactly, it’s reprogramming us. The Net’s intellectual ethic remains obscure" (Carr 7).
These are ways not to introduce quotations. See They Say / I Say (55).
A quote by X says...
Y asserts an idea that...
A quote from the article is...
List the information that you must include in your heading.
What is name, teacher's name, course name, and date (number first, month second)?
These are used when using the words of others in the title of your paper.
What is quotes?
What must you do to identify the titles of shorter works in your works cited entries (poems, articles, etc.)?
What is put quotes around it?
Correct this: I was walking along the street she said when I saw a cat and a dog chasing each other Smith 24
What is: "I was walking along the street," she said, "when I saw a cat and dog chasing each other" (Smith 24).
PIE stands for this when it comes to paragraph structure:
Point (Topic sentence, main idea!)
Illustration ("for example," "for instance," "according to X")
Explanation ("What this means is," "This is important because," "In other words")