1. Formatting a Research Paper
Using MLA style
Note to instructor: There are many aspects to the MLA format standards that are NOT included in this lesson. Only the most commonly encountered aspects of the MLA format are addressed in this lesson.
Note to instructor: The statistics presented in the research paper example are completely fictional and were only produced for the purpose of teaching MLA format; not to present factual information or sway anyone’s opinion on any of the topics presented.
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2. Principles of IT TEKS Associated with Lesson
(7) The student applies word-processing technology. The student is expected to:
(A) identify the terminology associated with word-processing software and its functions;
(C) edit a variety of text documents using functions such as pagination, appropriate white space, tab settings, and font style, size, and color;
(E) apply formatting techniques to a multipage research paper using approved publication standards such as American Psychological Association and Modern Language Association
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IT: Principles of IT – Formatting a Research Paper Using MLA Format
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3. Lesson Objectives
Identify the purpose of the Modern Language Association
Identify the steps to apply MLA format
Identify the characteristics of MLA format
Identify functions of word processing software tools associated with research paper format
Apply MLA format to a research paper including quotations and works cited
For this lesson we are going to assume that students already know how to gather information for a research paper and how to write a draft of the research paper.
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IT: Principles of IT – Formatting a Research Paper Using MLA Format
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4. Modern Language Association
Purpose of MLA
The object of the association shall be to promote study, criticism, and research in the more and less commonly taught modern languages and their literatures, and to further the common interests of teachers of these subjects.
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(taken from
IT: Principles of IT – Formatting a Research Paper Using MLA Format
Trade & Industrial Education

5. MLA Publications
MLA Handbook for Writers of Research Papers seventh edition
Step-by-step instructions for formatting a research paper for high school and undergraduate work at college
This format is widely accepted across the world by schools, colleges, universities, literary journals and magazines
MLA Style Manual and Guide to Scholarly Publishing third edition
Step-by-step instructions for formatting research documents for graduate level work such as thesis or dissertations
You can purchase the printed version or the electronic version
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(taken from
IT: Principles of IT – Formatting a Research Paper Using MLA Format
Trade & Industrial Education

6. MLA Publications
When you purchase the printed version of the handbook, you receive an account code
The account code will allow you to create a user account on their website
The website allows you access to the electronic version
The electronic version contains items and examples that aren’t in the printed version
The electronic version also has a search function for quick, easy locating of the item in question
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MLA Handbook for Writers of Research Papers – page xxi
IT: Principles of IT – Formatting a Research Paper Using MLA Format
Trade & Industrial Education

7. MLA Research Paper Select your topic Obtain writings on this topic
Type a draft of your paper
Decide where you can insert quotations
For this example we are going to assume that steps 1-4 have already been completed. The image shows an example of a draft of a research paper with NO formatting applied.
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IT: Principles of IT – Formatting a Research Paper Using MLA Format
Trade & Industrial Education

8. MLA Research Paper Formatting Steps
Look up the formatting guidelines in the MLA handbook and apply them to your paper
a) Choose Font Style and Size
- this is sometimes given to you by the instructor
- if not given by the instructor use Times New Roman size 12
Tip: Hold Ctrl while pressing the A key on the keyboard. This will select all the text of your document which makes formatting quick and easy.
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MLA Handbook for Writers of Research Papers – page 116
IT: Principles of IT – Formatting a Research Paper Using MLA Format
Trade & Industrial Education

9. MLA Research Paper Formatting Steps
(CONTINUED) Look up the formatting guidelines in the MLA handbook and apply them to your paper
b) Left align text
c) Tab once at beginning of new paragraph
d) Set Page Margins:
Top, Bottom, Left and
Right margins should
be set at 1”
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MLA Handbook for Writers of Research Papers – page 116
IT: Principles of IT – Formatting a Research Paper Using MLA Format
Trade & Industrial Education

10. MLA Research Paper Formatting Steps
(CONTINUED) Look up the formatting guidelines in the MLA handbook and apply them to your paper
e) Set line spacing to double
f) Leave one space after the period at the end of a sentence (unless otherwise noted by the instructor)
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MLA Handbook for Writers of Research Papers – page 116
IT: Principles of IT – Formatting a Research Paper Using MLA Format
Trade & Industrial Education

11. MLA Research Paper Formatting Steps
(CONTINUED) Look up the formatting guidelines in the MLA handbook and apply them to your paper
g) Create the Title Block (1st 5 lines of report)
- Start at left of first line
- Type your full name
- strike enter
- Type instructor’s name
- Type course name
- Type the date
The first 5 lines of the document are called the Title Block.
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MLA Handbook for Writers of Research Papers – page 116
IT: Principles of IT – Formatting a Research Paper Using MLA Format
Trade & Industrial Education

12. MLA Research Paper Formatting Steps
(CONTINUED) Look up the formatting guidelines in the MLA handbook and apply them to your paper
g) Create the Title Block
- Type the title (Line #5)
Center the title
- Do not use bold, italics, or change the font size
- Use Title case – not all
caps
Title case is when you capitalize only the first letter of the first word, last word, and the other major words of the title.
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MLA Handbook for Writers of Research Papers – page
IT: Principles of IT – Formatting a Research Paper Using MLA Format
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13. MLA Research Paper Formatting Steps
(CONTINUED) Look up the formatting guidelines in the MLA handbook and apply them to your paper
h) Create the Header
Your last name
a space
page number
Right aligned
½” below top edge of paper
The header options in Microsoft Word have the ½” option.
Also the header option will allow an automatic page numbering function.
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MLA Handbook for Writers of Research Papers – page 117
IT: Principles of IT – Formatting a Research Paper Using MLA Format
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14. MLA Research Paper Formatting Steps
6 Format the quotations
a) Locate each quote and place quotations marks at beginning and end
Add ( ) at end of quote followed by ending punctuation mark
Place page number of quote inside the parentheses
Anything copied word for word from a source must be enclosed in quotation marks.
Following the ending quotation mark should be parentheses with the page number of the source where the quote was taken from.
The ending punctuation mark of the copied quote is moved from inside the quotation marks to after the parentheses.
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MLA Handbook for Writers of Research Papers – page 93
IT: Principles of IT – Formatting a Research Paper Using MLA Format
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15. MLA Research Paper Formatting Steps
(CONTINUED) Format the quotations
b) Titles should be italicized:
Books Magazines Journals Websites
Newspapers Music Albums Movies
Title of Books, Magazines, Journals, Websites, Newspapers, Music Albums, Movies should all be italicized.
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MLA Handbook for Writers of Research Papers – page 88
IT: Principles of IT – Formatting a Research Paper Using MLA Format
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16. MLA Research Paper Formatting Steps
6 (CONTINUED) Format the quotations
c) Titles of articles that appear inside these publications should be in quotation marks:
Books Magazines Journals Websites
Newspapers Music Albums Movies
Titles of ARTICLES inside of books, magazines, newspapers etc. should be placed in quotation marks.
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MLA Handbook for Writers of Research Papers – page 89
IT: Principles of IT – Formatting a Research Paper Using MLA Format
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17. MLA Research Paper Formatting Steps
6 (CONTINUED) Format the quotations
d) If a quote takes up more than 4 lines it should be set apart by beginning it on a new line and indenting it from the left margin by 1”.
The first line of the quote is not tabbed in further than the following lines.
To indent the text, click on the paragraph dialog box button. Look for the Indentation section. Next to the Left option, change the number of inches to 1.0; click OK.
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MLA Handbook for Writers of Research Papers – page 94
IT: Principles of IT – Formatting a Research Paper Using MLA Format
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18. MLA Research Paper Formatting Steps
6 (CONTINUED) Format the quotations
d) If a quote takes up more than 4 lines it should NOT have quotation marks and the punctuation mark should NOT be moved to outside the parentheses. The quotation should be preceded by a colon
Most often, the quote should be preceded by a colon. But there are a few instances in which it might be preceded by a comma or even by nothing.
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MLA Handbook for Writers of Research Papers – page 94
IT: Principles of IT – Formatting a Research Paper Using MLA Format
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19. MLA Research Paper Formatting Steps
6 (CONTINUED) Format the quotations
e) If quoting a short piece of a poem or lines of lyrics, place in quotation marks and separate the lines by a slash mark (/)
Again, the quotation marks are followed by the parentheses with page number of the source with final punctuation mark after.
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MLA Handbook for Writers of Research Papers – page 95
IT: Principles of IT – Formatting a Research Paper Using MLA Format
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20. MLA Research Paper Formatting Steps
6 (CONTINUED) Format the quotations
f) If quoting a long piece of a poem or lines of lyrics (more than 3 lines), it is formatted the same as a long quote
Start on next line, indent paragraph by 1”, do NOT use quotation marks, do NOT put ending punctuation after the parenthesis.
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MLA Handbook for Writers of Research Papers – page 95
IT: Principles of IT – Formatting a Research Paper Using MLA Format
Trade & Industrial Education

21. MLA Research Paper Formatting Steps
6 (CONTINUED) Format the quotations
g) If the author of the quote isn’t presented in the text preceding the quote, then add the author’s last name inside the parentheses, before the page number
This rule applies to all quotations, short or long. If the author’s name is not mentioned in the sentence preceding the quote, then the last name of the author should be placed inside the parentheses with the page number. A space should be added between the author last name and page number.
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MLA Handbook for Writers of Research Papers – page 127
IT: Principles of IT – Formatting a Research Paper Using MLA Format
Trade & Industrial Education

22. MLA Research Paper Formatting Steps
6 (CONTINUED) Format the quotations
h) Using a chart
Identification goes below the chart
The chart is numbered in sequence
A descriptive caption is given
Each picture, graphic, image, etc., is considered a Figure.
Beneath each figure should appear the abbreviation Fig.
Following Fig. should be a space then an Arabic number (1, 2, )
These numbers should be sequential as the images appear in the report.
After the number is a period, then a space then a text description of what the image is about.
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MLA Handbook for Writers of Research Papers – page 118
IT: Principles of IT – Formatting a Research Paper Using MLA Format
Trade & Industrial Education

23. MLA Research Paper Formatting Steps
Format the Works Cited Section
a) Begin the works cited section on the next page
(Hold Ctrl and press Enter to go to the top of next page)
Type the title Works Cited
Center the title – do not bold or use caps
The works cited section will contain a list of the books, magazines, etc., that you took quotes from for your research paper. The list needs to contain items such as titles, authors, publishing information, how you viewed the material (online, electronic or printed).
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MLA Handbook for Writers of Research Papers – page
IT: Principles of IT – Formatting a Research Paper Using MLA Format
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24. MLA Research Paper Formatting Steps
7 (CONTINUED) Format the Works Cited Section
b) Each entry begins on a new line
Each entry begins at the left margin
Set the paragraph format to hanging indent
Hanging indent is when the first line starts at the left margin and the following lines of that entry are indented 1”.
To format hanging indent click the paragraph dialog box button.
Under the Indentation section, locate the Special option. Click on the drop down arrow under the Special section and choose hanging; then click OK.
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MLA Handbook for Writers of Research Papers – page 131
IT: Principles of IT – Formatting a Research Paper Using MLA Format
Trade & Industrial Education

25. MLA Research Paper Formatting Steps
7 (CONTINUED) Format the Works Cited Section
c) Books are formatted using this structure:
Last name of author, First name of author. Title of Book. Publication City:
Name of Publisher, Year of Publication. Manner in which you viewed the
book.
Every punctuation mark matters in the structure. The title of the book should be in italics.
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MLA Handbook for Writers of Research Papers – page
IT: Principles of IT – Formatting a Research Paper Using MLA Format
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26. MLA Research Paper Formatting Steps
7 (CONTINUED) Format the Works Cited Section
c) Books are formatted using this structure:
Last name of author, First name of author. Title of Book. Publication City:
Name of Publisher, Year of Publication. Manner in which you viewed the
book.
Every punctuation mark matters in the structure. The title of the book should be in italics.
If the author’s middle initial or name is given then it should be used.
Also, if there is a suffix such as Sr., Jr., or III etc, these should be used.
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IT: Principles of IT – Formatting a Research Paper Using MLA Format
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27. MLA Research Paper Formatting Steps
7 (CONTINUED) Format the Works Cited Section
d) Books with two authors are formatted using this structure:
Last name of author, First name of author, and First name of author Last name of author. Title of Book. Publication City: Name of Publisher, Year of Publication. Manner in which you viewed the book.
Every punctuation mark matters in the structure. The title of the book should be in italics.
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MLA Handbook for Writers of Research Papers – page 154
IT: Principles of IT – Formatting a Research Paper Using MLA Format
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28. MLA Research Paper Formatting Steps
7 (CONTINUED) Format the Works Cited Section
e) Magazine Articles are formatted using this structure:
Last name of author, First name of author. “Title of Article.” Name of Magazine Date of the Issue: Page numbers of the article. Manner in which you viewed the article.
Every punctuation mark matters in the structure.
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IT: Principles of IT – Formatting a Research Paper Using MLA Format
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29. MLA Research Paper Formatting Steps
7 (CONTINUED) Format the Works Cited Section
e) Magazine Articles are formatted using this structure:
Last name of author, First name of author. “Title of Article.” Name of Magazine Date of the Issue: Page numbers of the article. Manner in which you viewed the article.
If the article spans non-consecutive pages, list the first page number of the article followed by a plus sign.
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IT: Principles of IT – Formatting a Research Paper Using MLA Format
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30. MLA Research Paper Formatting Steps
7 (CONTINUED) Format the Works Cited Section
f) Poem within a book is formatted using this structure:
Last name of author, First name of author. “Title of Poem.” Trans. Name of Translator. Name of Book. Ed. Name of Editor. City of Publication: Publisher, Publication Date. Page numbers of the poem. Manner in which you viewed the article.
Every punctuation mark matters in the structure.
The abbreviation Trans. Means translator. Ed. Means editor. You can usually find this information on the first few pages of the book, or near the back of the book.
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IT: Principles of IT – Formatting a Research Paper Using MLA Format
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31. MLA Research Paper Formatting Steps
7 (CONTINUED) Format the Works Cited Section
g) The final step of the works cited page format is to alphabetize the entries by the first letter of the entry.
8 Submitting Completed work
a) place pages in sequential order
b) staple or paper clip together in upper left corner
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MLA Handbook for Writers of Research Papers – page 121 – 122, 131
IT: Principles of IT – Formatting a Research Paper Using MLA Format
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32. Resources
Structure and format rules were taken from the MLA Handbook for Writers of Research Papers 7th edition.
ISBN:
Published by the Modern Language Association of America
Published in New York, 2009
All images of the Research Paper on Pit Bulls were provided by Paula Clothier.
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IT: Principles of IT – Formatting a Research Paper Using MLA Format
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