Basic Guidelines for MLA Format Essay

Are you stuck with essay formatting? Are you facing issues due to a lack of familiarity with MLA formatting? If yes then you are at the right place. This article is for the students who need assistance to write their essays in MLA. Paper formatting is an essential part of essay writing. Besides content and instructions, professors set credit for the correct formatting so that assignments can be efficient and of high quality.

The main reason for formatting is to generate well-structured work that readers can easily understand. There are various types of formats for an essay like APA and Chicago but MLA is the most common format used for essay writing. I will provide you complete guidance and tips about the format that will help you complete your essay assignment on time. All an essay writer needs is to read through the points attentively so that he doesn’t miss any information about MLA formatting.

General Format

MLA stands for “The Modern Language Association” that is used in academic writing. Below are the points that are necessary to consider while writing your work in MLA.

• Keep your page margins on 1 inch throughout your essay.
• Paragraphs should be double spaced.
• Headers should contain the last name of the author along with page number.
• There is no title page in MLA and details like author and instructor’s name, date, and course name come at the right side of the first page. Students are required to start their work just below this information.
• After the essay, a work cited page has to be generated to add references.

Essay Structure

The essay structure remains the same in MLA. However, it is preferable not to add the heading of “introduction” at the start.

• If you are required to add headings in your essay then it comes at the left side in bold.
• Sub-headings also lie on the left side in italics but not bold.
• Use readable font style like “Times New Roman” if no specific font style is mentioned in instructions.
• Underlining or italics are used to add titles in an essay but it should not be used consistently.
• Quotation marks are used for referring to someone else’s work in the essay.

Work Cited

If you are using other’s work in your essay then it is necessary to add a work cited page just after you add the last line of your essay. The work cited page is considered as the last page of the essay in MLA format.

An essay without a work cited page is considered as plagiarized work that is prohibited in almost every educational institute. Therefore, don’t forget to add in-text citations in your essay and its reference in the work cited page. To create a work cited page, the following points should be considered.

• Keep the title “Work Cited” in the center and don’t make it bold, italic, or underlined.
• Start adding your references from the left side of the paper.
• References should come in alphabetical orders.
• Remove hyperlink unless professor ask you to add them
• If there is an empty page after the work cited page then remove it.

Bonus Point

After completing your essay according to the points shared above, recheck your professor’s instructions so you don’t miss any point. Most of the time professors ask hard copies for submission. If you have to submit your work in hard copy then use white paper only. Also, the size of the paper should be 8 ½-by-11-inch. If you are looking for some other size then it is better to consult your supervisor first.

This guide will help you understand the complete MLA format. However, if you are unsure about citing your sources appropriately, consult an essay writing service now.