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Christopher Martinez

Mr. Metcalfe

Language Arts 3

23 April 2011

MLA Format for High School Essays

All essays written in high school and college should follow MLA format, unless your teacher or professor specifically request an alternate format. The entire essay should be double-spaced throughout, including the heading and the title, and use a 12 point font size. The font size should not be increased or decreased anywhere in the essay. Use only highly legible fonts such as Times New Roman, Cambria, Helvetica, Arial, or Calibri. Do not use decorative fonts. The essay itself should be aligned to the left of the paper—do not center or justify the body of the essay. The first sentence of each paragraph should be indented half an inch.

The heading of the essay is located at the top left of the paper, one inch from the top, and should include the following four items each on a separate line: The student’s first and last name, the teacher’s name, the title of the class, and the date. The title of the paper is centered and appears on the line following the heading—do not skip an extra line. The title should not in bold, underlined, or italicized. At the top right of each page, half an inch from the top in the page header should be the student’s last name and page number.

MLA Format

Style, Heading, and Header

Style: MLA style requires essays have one-inch margins on every side of the paper. That means that there is one inch of space between the text and the edge of the paper. MLA style requires all papers to be double-spaced and use a readable, 12-point font that looks like a typeface one might find in a book. Do not use fonts that look like handwriting or other decorative fonts.

Heading: Place in the upper left corner, double-spaced—a title page is not necessary in MLA style.

Information required in header: writer’s name, teacher's name, course title, and date.

Example: Christopher Martinez

Mr. Metcalfe

Language Arts3

23 April 2011

Header: Included on every page (including the first page and Works Cited pages), in the upper right corner, ½ an inch from the top of the page.

Example: Martinez 1

In-text Parenthetical Citations

Every quotation in your paper must be integrated smoothly into your writing and followed by a parenthetical page citation, according to MLA guidelines. The author’s last name and page number, without "#" or "p." or "page" should appear either directly after the quotation or at the end of the sentence. Note: When dealing with only one novel, short story, play, or poem in an essay, the author’s last name need only appear in the first parenthetical citation. Each subsequent parenthetical citation need only include the page number.

• Place the parenthetical citation directly after the quotation marks

• End the sentence with a period

If the author's last name is not included in the text introducing the quotation:

• Place author's last name and page number in parentheses

Example:

• Henry claims that Catherine’s "spirits were always at a high water mark" (Hemingway 42) during the time that her father was ill and her brother was away.

• On school of thought contends that the human brain is “the greatest unexplored territory in the world" (O'Brien 15).

If the author's name is in the text, include only the page number:

Example:

• O'Brien asserts, “The greatest unexplored territory in the world is the space between the ears” (15).

When you use a whole sentence to introduce a quotation, use a colon rather than a comma before the quotation.

Example:

• O’Brien claims that much can be learned by exploring and using one's own mind: “The greatest unexplored territory in the world is the space between the ears” (15).[pic][pic]

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½inch[pic]

1 inch ‘inch[pic]

Heading is double-spaced and flush with the left margin. The title is centered, in 12 pt. font, not in bold, underlined, or italicized. The essay starts on the following line.

Page header includes last name and page number

Entire essay is double-spaced

1 inch Margin

½inch[pic]

1 inch Margin

MLA Format

Sample First Page

1inch[pic]

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