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Writing Styles: Basic MLA Style

Basic APA, Chicago Style and MLA documentation.

MLA Generalities

Paper format

  • Compose using Times New Roman, 12 pt
  • One inch margins, all around
  • DOUBLE SPACE entire paper
  • No title page. Use a heading on left that is double spaced with name, instructor's name, course, and date.
  • Title appears centered on line above text
  • Right header: Your last name page number.    Fullhart 1

What requires a citation?

  • Borrowed words (direct quotes)
  • Borrowed works (ex: photos, charts, diagrams, computer graphics, audio/video clips)
  • Ideas or parallel sentence structure
  • Statistics

                         

Abbreviations and other asssitance: MLA

Standard MLA Abbreviations

  • n.d.    no date
  • n.p.    no publisher
  • Dates:    Date Month Year.  ex: 19 FEB. 2013
  • Abbreviate all months except May, June, July.
  • Numbers: spell numbers of one or two words.  ex:  three million
  • Use numerals for numbers taking more words or with units. ex: 3.56    9 volts

Refer to Purdue University's Online Writing Lab (OWL) for MLA