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MLA Formatting
FORMATTING THE FIRST PAGE OF YOUR PAPER
- 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.
- Double space again and center the title. Do not underline, italicize, or place your title in quotation marks. Write the title in Title Case (standard capitalization), not in all capital letters.
- Use quotation marks and/or italics when referring to other works in your title, just as you would in your text. For example: Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas as Morality Play; Human Weariness in "After Apple Picking"
- Double space between the title and the first line of the text.
- Create a header in the upper right-hand corner that includes your last name, followed by a space with a page number. Number all pages consecutively with Arabic numerals (1, 2, 3, 4, etc.), one-half inch from the top and flush with the right margin. (Note: Your instructor or other readers may ask that you omit the last name/page number header on your first page. Always follow instructor guidelines.)
Formatting an MLA paper
MLA Formatting Tips
- MLA does not require a title page. On the first page of your paper only, in the upper left-hand corner, list your name, your instructor's name, the course, and the date.
- Begin the body of your paper with a half inch indent by hitting the tab key one time. Each new paragraph should also be indented half-an-inch.
- The entire body of your paper should be double spaced with 12 point, Times New Roman font.
- Leave only one space after periods or other punctuation marks, unless your instructor requests that you do otherwise.
- Create a header that numbers all pages consecutively in the upper right-hand, one space after your last name.
- Paper title should be centered on its own line.
- Your header should consist of your last name and the page number only.
