Have you been assigned a research paper? In college years, students are given lots of paper writing assignments which require extensive research and then proper compilation of the data. You must invest enough time for research so that the right data and information can be collected for further procedure. After the research you must thoroughly check the requirements before starting to write the paper. If the requirements are not clear, your paper can be ruined, and then automatically the marks will be affected.

The most important thing to check in the requirements after the information compilation details is the format of the paper in which you are supposed to write. There are different types of formats including APA, MLA, Harvard, Chicago, Turabian, IEEE, and Vancouver etc. All of these are different from each other and you must understand the specific formatting for each in order to construct the paper correctly and appropriately. Messing up the format of the paper can also mess up your grades since it is graded particularly. Following are the tips to format a paper according to the MLA format.

 

What is MLA?

First, understand the concept of MLA and what it basically is. It stands for Modern Language Association and like the name suggests, it is mostly required in papers from the language courses. It is the second most used citation style after APA. Mostly in the courses of humanities and arts, this format is required.

If you are supposed to format your paper according to this specific style you must ensure that you are following the right guide. There are hundreds of articles and blogs present on the internet concerning the format but not all of them are right and you must not risk any wrong pattern. Additionally, read the following text to understand the format perfectly.

 

General Format

The general format of any paper refers to the overall appearance of the paper in terms of text placement and style. Each citation style has its own specifications and must be followed thoroughly.

Font specifications

The font of the entire document must be either in Times New Roman or Calibri. That includes both the headings and the paragraphs. As for the size of the font, headings must be in 14 pts and the body text in 12 pts. The specialty of this format is that the headings are italicized along with bold.

Margin specifications

The margin on each side of the page must be one inch. However, it is just for the text and page numbers are not included in this particular spacing format.

 Spacing specifications

The entire document should be double-spaced which means 2.0 from the settings. In a double spaced document, there is a single blank line between every two written lines.

Indentation specifications

Each paragraph must be indented from the first line at one-half inch from the left margin. Indentation must be done from the settings tab or through the tab key. People who use the spacebar for indentation can ruin the entire format by the time they reach the end of the document.

Page number specifications

Mentioning page numbers is an essential part of the document and must not be missed at any cost. The page numbers are supposed to be placed on the top-right corner of the page at a distance of half-inch from the top margin. Running head is also placed in the same line; but just on the top left corner.

 

Referencing format

The format used for referencing the used sources is called the referencing format. In MLA format, all the references are mentioned on a single page in the end and that page is titled as ‘Works Cited’. The references here are supposed to include authors name, title of the article, and the year in which the publication was conducted. There is also in-text citations in which the last name of the author along with the page number, where the information is found, is supposed to be mentioned.

Citing the used sources is very important because otherwise your paper can be reported as plagiarized. Citations and references help in avoiding plagiarism issues because the original researcher is rightfully credited.

 

Cover page format

The cover page in any academic document is the title page before the introduction paragraph is started. On this page you are supposed to mention the name of your institute, title of your paper, subtitle (if applicable), your name, name and number of the respective course, name of the instructor, and the date of the work. The font style on this page must be similar to that in the rest of the document and the size of the font must be 12 pts.

Formatting the paper according to the MLA style is not a tough task if the right set of instructions is followed. You can format the paper according to above guidelines or you can also reach out to us and our qualified writers at 6dollarsessay will make sure to perfectly format your research paper.