Name (that’s you)

Assignment (that’s what you’re currently working on)

Class (that’s what class you’re in now)

Teacher (that’s me)

Date (the date this was assigned, due, handed in, or anywhere in between)

Centered Title (should be interesting and relevant)

        Feel free to make a copy of this for yourself and use it as a template. Notice that the paper is written using a size 12, easily read font. The margins of your paper should be a 1’’ border around your text, top, bottom, right and left. The text of your paper should be double spaced. Also worth noting, I have not put extra, wasted space after my heading, or after my title. The title remains size 12, and does not take up a third of my page.

        There is no need to skip lines between paragraphs in a double spaced paper. Indentations serve as a note to the reader that the topic has changed and you are beginning a new paragraph.

        More to notice: there should be one space at the end of sentences. Your papers, whether they are essays, short stories, research reports, reviews, quote reflections, etc. should all receive this formatting (no matter what class you are taking). For most papers you write you’ll want to make sure that there is a well-defined beginning, middle, and end. Any information you bring up within your paper should be substantiated and easily verified. Basically, back up what you are saying!

         Do not start a new page unless you have more than two lines to add to the end of your current page. If you do not have enough information to add to make your paper longer then find something in the paper to edit and/or delete. You may also want

Fila 2 (Last name #)

to go through your paper to see if there is anything you’d like to add, specify, substantiate, etc. Page numbers should be added to your paper as the final step as changing your paper can mess with the page number formatting.

        Proof-reading is a very important part of the writing process. Double check your spelling/grammar for items the computer may have missed or words that may be spelled properly, but are not the words you want in your paper. Common mistakes are substituting then for than; their, they’re, there; are/our; among many others. Make certain that what you turn in is exactly what you want your teacher to see. A common method for checking for errors is to read your paper backwards. This ensures that you are not focusing on content but each word individually.

        Please notice that I am not ending this paper with the words, “The End” in big, bold letters. If the paper stops, it’s a pretty safe assumption that’s the end. No need to call any extra attention to yourself when your paper should probably be a few more pages.

        When saving your document please consider your title. For example, if the assignment is a final essay, the name of your file should not be “final essay.”  Your instructor will have no way of quickly determining which student the file is from. Try something like: Doe, John-Final Essay. It will be saved in alphabetical order and let the teacher know what it is and who wrote it. It is more professional and respectful to your reader.

Fila 3 (Last name #)

        And finally, when emailing the assignment, be sure to include a subject line informing your instructor what you are turning in. Your instructor should inform you whether or not a document was received. If you have not heard back from her/him, within a day or two, be sure to ask. Emailing assignments is not every instructor’s preferred method of turning in assignments. Be sure to find out before sending the file.

        Using these techniques will make your paper look better and make for an easier read. The idea is to draw as little attention to the formatting as possible. Every minor mistake can stop the flow of the document for your reader. The idea is to convey your information to your audience as efficiently as possible. I’m sure you will agree that a well-formatted MLA document is a thing of beauty and a joy forever.

Saving Your Work

When naming your file, please include: your last name, first name and the name of the assignment.

When emailing your assignment please include a proper subject so your instructor knows what (s)he is opening.

Works Cited (notice the separate page?)

The list of works cited should be in alphabetical order, and double spaced. Indent the 2nd-3rd (4th?) lines of any work requiring more than one line. Titles should be in italics, not underlined/bold. For an annotated bibliography, annotations should be placed after the initial citation. Do not write annotations unless specified in the assignment

Examples:

Fila, Jon. Indent Extra Lines When Your Cited Work Takes Up More Than One Line. 1. 

Minneapolis, MN: Book Publishing Company for How Your Citations Should Look, 2006.

Fila, Jon. This is How Your Papers Should Look From Now On!. 1. Minneapolis, MN:

Papers Inc., 2006.

[Annotation] This work describes how properly formatted MLA style papers should look, including the works cited page. It is helpful to see examples of formatting so students can simply copy the style, but substitute their own information. Anyone using MLA style, or writing a research paper would find this a helpful tool for paper formatting. This work does an excellent job explaining why papers should look a certain way; and it is a recent edition so the information is accurate. This book is categorized by type of paper (i.e. essay, literature review, research, etc.)  The difficult part of using this book is that a writer will still have to put some effort into formatting their papers.

Fila, Jon. "Works Cited Pages." Why Students Don't Format the Way I Want Them To.

Great English Teachers of America. 8 Apr 2008 <http://mrjonsclassesarethebest.edu>