**MLA has recently made some changes to how things are formatted and cited. Make sure you know if you are to follow the old or new edition. The following are suggestions from the old edition, as most instructors will not change over mid-term.
Include 1” margins on all sides.
Double-space all lines (no extra spaces between header and title and title and text).
Center title. Do not bold, italicize, or enlarge font.
Single space after periods or other end punctuation.
Tab all indents; spacing 5 times is not the same!
Insert a paginated right header. This means to insert your last name only, followed by a space, then the page number. Your instructor may ask that you remove this from the first page, as you’ll have your left header here.
Works Cited should be numbered consecutively after the last page of essay.
Insert 4-line left header on first page only.
All other direct quotes should have quotation marks and in-text citation, followed by period (note: period comes after the citation).
All outside research or sources should be followed with an in-text citation, whether they are a direct quote, paraphrase, or summary.
Direct quotes should have attributive or author tags.
If a source doesn’t have an author, give the title or website.
The in-text citation should match the FIRST WORD the source is listed under on the Works Cited page.
Avoid giving dictionary definitions of a word as an “outside source.” That’s not research.
Always use italics when referring to a book or website; use quotation marks for small works (article or short story) in a larger work (book or newspaper).
The title, Works Cited, should be centered at the top of the final page. Do not bold, italicize or enlarge font.
Works Cited should also be double spaced. NO EXTRA SPACES BETWEEN ENTRIES.
Works Cited should be alphabetized by author’s last name. If no author, alphabetize by the title or website. See Purdue Owl for other listings.
Each entry should have a hanging indent (the opposite of a regular line indent).
Include URL only if instructor requires it, or if the source cannot be found without it.
When using electronic sources, always include the date you accessed the source.
In Microsoft WORD, the default for paragraphs is set to insert an extra line space when you hit ENTER to move to a new paragraph. You must reset this to avoid triple-spacing the header, paragraphs, and Works Cited entries. To do this, go to the PARAGRAPH tab on the toolbar, clicking on the icon that has up and down arrows with five lines, just to the right of the 4 justification icons. Click the arrow on the right to open the tab, and scroll down to the bottom line that says “Add Space After Paragraph”; click this so that it says “Remove Space After Paragraph.” If you have already completed your essay and have triple spaces, highlight the entire text, follow these steps, and it should remove the extra lines.
The default font in Word is usually Calibri 11. MLA is Times New Roman 12, unless otherwise instructed. Make sure you have changed the font to follow MLA.
This list is a very abbreviated editing checklist, and your instructor might have different directives, which we refer to as “instructor preference.” Always follow your instructor guidelines and ask for specifics if you are unsure of anything.
This is only an abbreviated list of editing steps to take to make your essay a perfect as it can be. Hopefully, you’ve read your essay over carefully and had a peer read it as well. Don’t trust Spellcheck! Once you’ve done all you can do, turn it in and let it go. If you’ve followed your instructor’s guidelines and instruction and edited carefully, you should feel confident you’ve done your best work.