McStudent 1

Sally McStudent

Mrs. Landers

Honors English 10

23 September 2020

MLA Format and You

All of your formal writing assignments should be formatted like this. The MLA has

determined this format, and we follow it because they say so. Points on your final papers will be

deducted if they are not.

The whole essay should be typed in an easily readable 12-point font (many instructors

requiring Times New Roman specifically); double-spaced with NO extra spaces ANYWHERE;

1” margins on top, left, right. Adjust the bottom margin to 0.75” to print at one inch; your last

name and page number in the header at the upper right-hand corner. The heading consists of

your name, my name, the name of the course (“Honors English 10”), the date in day-month-year

order and should appear in the upper left-hand of the paper. This heading should be within the

margins and not in the header/footer. Each subsequent page must include ONLY your last name

<space> page number. Make sure the font of the header matches the font of the entire essay.

Paragraph Spacing: Each paragraph should be indented, and there should be NO EXTRA

SPACES between paragraphs. (In Word, go to the “Layout” tab. In “Paragraph” is a box labeled

“Spacing.” To ensure spacing, make sure “Before” and “After” are set at “0 pt.”)

Title: Your title should be centered, should NOT be the assignment title but a creative,

unique, and original one specifically for your paper, and absolutely NOT bolded, underlined,

italicized, or in any other font or style other than the 12-point you are using.

Margins and Page Length Requirement: Do NOT change the margins to fit your own

purpose of extending or shortening your paper. Page lengths are typically set at the absolute
 McStudent 2

minimum expected. If the assignment requirement is two pages, your paper must be AT LEAST

two-and-a-quarter pages in length, minimum, not one-and-three quarters, or two pages plus one

line, to be considered complete. This is to cover the amount of space taken up by the heading.

Works Cited: The “Works Cited” page is always its own page. It should include the

header and follow numerically in page number. It should have the title “Works Cited” centered,

on the first line of the page (NOT in quotations). The MLA Citation Guide and the OWL can

help you format your “Works Cited” page. Check the homepage on Canvas for a link directly to

the OWL. Any essay that uses parenthetical citation MUST have a Works Cited page. It is an

automatic 10% deduction for not including one.

This is the standard paper format you will be most likely using throughout college, so we

will practice now. Your first writing assignment will be corrected and evaluated as a learning

experience. All assignments after will lose points for improper formatting.

If you have any questions regarding this process, please feel free to see me. I suggest that

you create a Template on your computer, so all you have to do each time you begin a paper is

open the Template and save it. This will prevent you from making mistakes each time you begin

a paper.

Lastly a word on Google Docs. It takes some trial and error, extra steps, and a close

attention to detail to get the margins and the header correct as Google Docs rarely formats in

MLA correctly. It is incumbent upon you to make sure the formatting is correct. Google docs

not playing nice is not an adequate or acceptable excuse. You will still receive a deduction in

points for improper formatting if your paper appears as such. Again Please Note: Points will

be deducted on your final papers if they are not formatted this way.

NOTES: