What would be the causes of plagiarized work? How plagiarism can degrade the quality of your academic work? Undoubtedly, plagiarism creates a negative impact on academic work. That’s why you need to understand the significance of citations or referencing styles. In this write-up, you will uncover the guidelines and information on MLA format for essays. It will help to get an idea of the citation and allows you to cite plagiarism-free essays.
Before going into the depth of MLA format, you need to go through the following guidelines:
- Use font Times New Roman 12.
- Apply an inch page margin.
- Use double line spacing
- In MLA format, you do not require a title page. However, you should start your first page with four lines and double space. It should describe your name, course instructor, the name of the course, and date.
How To Use MLA Format For Essays?
Essay writing is the most interesting but time-consuming activity. In order to make your essay perfect in every sense, use a proper citation. Keep the following key points in your mind while writing an essay in MLA format.
For Document Setting in MLA Format
Header and title
As we discussed, you do not require a title page in MLA format but the header must be there. Make sure to left-align your header on the first page of your paper. In the header, you need to include: your name, your course instructor name, course name, and the date of the essay.
Moreover, use title case capitalization in the title of your essay. If you have to include more than one author in your essay, use a separate title page.
Running Head
Including the first page, you need to insert your last page and page number at the top of every single page. It is called running head. Keep the following steps in your mind to write a running head in your docs, double-click at the top of the page, and write your last name. Additionally, use an automatic page number and keep your essay to the right side.
Quotations in MLA format
Quotations play a vital role in writing an essay. Through quotation, you can defend an argument, justify your viewpoint, and add emphasis. However, you cannot include quotes in the complete article.
Use external sources to find the right quotes related to your topic or information. Quotations are the words of an individual that reflect his or her emotions. So, it is essential to give credit to them. That is called an in-text citation.
Use three methods to add quotations in your essays
- Include the author’s name in the sentence.
For example,
Stephen Chbosky shares the totally different aspects of love in common life by saying “We accept the love we think we deserve.”
Here, Stephen Chbosky is the author of the book “The Perks of Being a Wallflower.”
- No need to include the author’s name in a sentence. You can use the author in parenthesis called parenthetical citation.
For example, sharing the variation of feelings explores the need for love in life, and “we accept the love we think we deserve” (Chbosky 5)
- Using footnotes and endnotes, you can use long quotes of more than 4 lines.
Paraphrasing
Another significant element of writing essays in MLA format is paraphrasing. In paraphrasing, you choose a particular text or speech from another source in order to add to your essay. However, you articulate the text and weave it in your writing style.
Although you modify the speech, it is good to include the name of the author. In MLA format, it is necessary to credit sources. Therefore, do not forget to include the author’s name even if you are paraphrasing the information.
Abbreviations
Whether you compose website blogs or blog posts or journals, you use abbreviations. While writing essays in the Modern Language Association (MLA) format, you need to follow proper instructions. It is recommended to spell out abbreviations in their full forms and meanings. It allows you to avoid misunderstanding or any confusion.
For examples:
- Vol. for volume
- Ch. for chapter
- no. for number
- rev. for revised
- Co. for company
- Corp. for corporation
- Ltd. for limited
Tables and Figures
While citing tables and figures in your essay, make sure to include them as close to the relevant text as possible. You also need to follow proper guidelines for presenting figures in your essay.
Include numbers or labels while citing figures in your essay with captions. Keep your caption in the center of the image. For writing text to label figures, use the abbreviation “fig.” and then mention the figure number.
Use numbers and labels along with a descriptive title to cite a table in MLA format. Place the title and label above the table on different lines. You do not need to mention the source of the table if it is created by yourself.
Wrapping Up:
Referencing or citation is a vital part of essay writing. Being a writer of your essay, you need to follow proper guidelines irrespective of any referencing style. If you are writing an essay in MLA format, gather complete information. Read the above-mentioned instructions carefully. It will help to get proper information on the MLA formatting. A good essay must be free from plagiarism.