MLA Format

and stuff

General stuff

• Times New Roman Font• 12 Point type• 1 inch margins• Double spaced• Minimum of five sentences per paragraph• All paragraphs are indented

First things first

• Header: Last name, page number…right aligned.– For Word 2007 – click insert– Header– Blank– Page number– Top– Choose the one that is right aligned– Type in your last name– Close header

First page• Header

– Your name– Class– My name– Date = 20 January 2010

• Title of paper– Centered– Not underlined, highlighted, bolded or italicized– There are no additional spaces between the heading, the title and the

beginning of the paperDawn BennettAmerican CompositionMr. E. Baldwin22 January 2010

Why Pigs Should Wear SeatbeltsIt is important that pigs always wear seatbelts when they are in the car.

When to Cite

• All information not your own must be cited.• All statistics, dates and direct quotes must be

cited immediately• Paraphrased information may be lumped

together but must be cited, within the same paragraph it is used in.

• Do not make the last thing in your paragraph a citation. You should be summing up your information with the concluding sentence in each paragraph.

How to Cite• Some students like to eat their boogers. They find it a delicious and

nutritious snack (Bennett and Doo, 123). • One student, ________, said, “They also give me something to do

while attending Bennett’s elluminates” (Baldwin, 154) although everyone thought he was just being mean.

• If there is no last name of the author, use the organization name.• Looking at Shemar Moore can cure all diseases (CDC, n. pag.).

– Because there is no page numbers for websites, please use n. pag. as the substitute page number.

• If there is no author or organization name, use the first two words of the article (Booger Eaters, n. pag.). – Note: if there is no author or organization name, double check to

make sure it is credible.

Works Cited

• The words “Works Cited” is centered. It is not underlined, highlighted, bolded or italicized.

• Sources are listed in alphabetical order. • Second and subsequent lines are indented.• Any source used in your paper MUST appear

on your works cited page.• Any source on your works cited page MUST

appear within your paper.

Works Cited

Bennett, Dawn. Students Are Champion Booger Eaters. New York: Dover Publishing, 2001.

Bennett, Dawn and Scooby Doo. “Bennett Students Win Booger Eating Contest.” Strange Hobbies, 34: 3, 12 January 2009, 23 – 45.

“Boogers Can Be Substituted for Play-doh,” Winter 2009. 21 January 2010 http://boogers.com/play-doh

Center for Disease Control. “Looking at Shemar Moore Cures Ailments,” 2009. 21 January 2010 http://www.cdc.org/shemarmoore/diseases.

Paper Construction -- Introduction• Introduction– First sentence should hook, hint and relate.

• Hook the audience – get their attention• Hint to the audience what your paper will be about.• Relate it to the audience, tell them why they should care.

– Provide basic information about what the paper will be about• What your arguments are, and what the opponents

argument is about. Very briefly

– Thesis statement: A one sentence statement that sums up your entire paper.

Body Paragraphs• Topic sentence

– Should relate directly to the points brought up in your introduction. For example, your first point should discuss the first point made in your introduction.

• Three support sentences (minimum)– This is where you find sources to back up your argument.

• Conclusion/transition– Your paragraph should never end with a citation. Use

your own words to sum up the message in the paragraph.

– Should lead into the next paragraph

Conclusion

• Restate your thesis in different words.• Highlight the most important points in your

paper.• A statement that leads your reader something

to remember your message by.

• NOTE: All paragraphs have a minimum of five sentences.

Grammar Issues• Make sure that the antecedent and pronoun

agree.– The individual ate his/her ice-cream.• Individual is singular, his/her is singular.

– The individual at their ice-cream.• The individual is singular and their is plural.

• You have to be especially careful when going through the paragraph.

The individual was hungry. The ice-cream store was nearby. He/she bought a vanilla ice-cream and they ate it fast.

More Grammar

• There, Their and They’re– There is place– There is plural possessive– They’re is contraction for they are. • Avoid using contractions in formal writing.

• Then, Than– Then indicates time. First I ate, then I danced– Than is comparison. I am more beautiful than she

is.

More Grammar

• Too, To and Two– Too is adverb: I love you, too. Or, her mustache is

too hairy.– To is a preposition – direction word: I think she

should go to the farmer to have it sheared off.– Two is a number – adjective: While we were

talking he ate two boogers.

• People are WHO not THAT• Animals and objects are THAT not WHO

More Grammar• Avoid using “that” excessively. That should

only be used when indicating specific objects or ideas. – I hate that she went to that party with that guy, because

that guy is so cute and I had a crush on that guy until I saw him eating boogers.

– I hate that she went to the party with him because he is cute and I had a crush on him until I saw him eating his boogers.

• That, which– That indicates a specific idea or object.– Which indicates an option, example, etc.