GENERAL REQUIREMENTS FOR THE BODY OF THE PAPER
ILLUSTRATIONS
PAPER
Always use a good quality white bond paper for your essay.
FONT or TYPEFACE
Use an easily readable "serif" font (such as Palatino, Courier, or Times New Roman) in
12 point size.
SPACING BETWEEN SENTENCES
In the past, it was recommended that you type two spaces following the end of a sentence.
More and more writers, however, are now typing only one space after the period (or other
punctuation at the end of a sentence). Either one or two spaces is now acceptable (unless
your instructor indicates a preference for one or the other); make certain, however, that
the spacing between sentences is consistent throughout your paper.
PAGE HEADERS
1/2 inch from the top of each page, include a header, with the author's last name, and the page number.
HEADER INFORMATION (AUTHOR NAME, INSTRUCTOR, COURSE, DATE)
1 inch from the top of the page, type the author name, instructor, course, and date; double space.
PAPER TITLE
Double space after typing the header information, and type the title, centered. Capitalize all significant words
in the title.
LINE SPACING
Double space all portions of the paper body. This means you should leave a full line between
each line of text in the paper.
Footnotes or endnotes should be single spaced, with two spaces between each endnote.
PARAGRAPH INDENTATION
Paragraphs in the body of the paper should be indented 5 spaces, or about 1/2 inch.
MARGINS
The margins for your paper should be uniform on all sides, set to at least 1" or 2.54
cm on all sides: top, bottom, left and right. Line length for each typed line should
be no more than 6.5" (16.51 cm), and the maximum number of lines of text per page is
27.
TEXT ALIGNMENT
Set the text alignment to "Left," so that the right edge of the text on the page is uneven.
SECTION HEADINGS
Section headers are not necessary for MLA style, but sometimes help
your readers follow the organization of a discussion.
If you use section headers, use them consistently, and make them
reflect the organization of your discussion.
QUOTATIONS
For short quotations (less than 40 words):
A quotation of less than 40 words should be enclosed in double quotation marks and incorporated into the sentence.
For long quotations (more than 40 words):
Longer quotations should be set apart from the surrounding text, without quotation marks, in block format,
indented 1 inch (or ten spaces) from the left margin, and double spaced.
If the quotation is more than one paragraph, indent the first line of the second paragraph about 1/2 inch (5 spaces).
Quotations within a quotation:
In block quotations, use double quotation marks to indicate that a phrase is a direct quote.
For shorter quotations, use single quotation marks.
Material removed from a quotation:
Sometimes it is necessary, for brevity, to remove a portion of a paragraph.
Use an ellipsis to indicate that a portion of the quotation has been omitted:
three periods with spaces before and after when the words have been omitted in
the middle of a sentence, four periods (with spaces before and after) when the
end of a sentence has been left out.
Material inserted into the quotation:
Sometimes it is necessary, for clarity, to insert a word into a
direct quotation.
Use square brackets [like this] to highlight words that have been added to the quotation by someone other
than the original author.
Remember that all quotations, as well as paraphrased text from your research materials must be properly cited.
Theresa James, Environmental Law and Ethical Fences (New York: Beacon, 1999).
James, Theresa. Environmental Law and Ethical Fences. New York: Beacon, 1999.
Warren Lentz, Three Trees (New York: Preston, 2000).