MLA Style — General format

• Use white 8.5 x 11 inch paper with 1-inch margins on all four sides.

• Double-spaced lines throughout, including body text, headings, footnotes, and Works Cited pages.

• Choose a clear and legible font. The example commonly uses 12-point Times New Roman, while the body text uses regular Roman.

• Leave a space after punctuation at the end of sentences; if the instructor has different requirements, prioritize following them.

• Indent the first line of each paragraph by 0.5 inches from the left margin. It is recommended to achieve this through the first-line indent settings rather than using spaces or repeatedly pressing Tab.

• Create a header in the upper right corner of each page, approximately 0.5 inches from the top of the page, right-aligned.

• The header typically consists of the author's last name and the page number, separated by a space, such as "Li 1", "Li 2".

• Some courses may require the first page not to display the last name + page number combination; adjust accordingly according to the course instructions.

• Use italics in the text to indicate the titles of longer works (such as books, full journal titles, etc.); use italics only when necessary for emphasis.

• Titles of short works (such as articles, short stories, poems, etc.) should be enclosed in quotation marks within the text.

• Generally, a separate title page is not created unless specifically required by the teacher or writing assignment.

• In the top left corner of the first page, list four lines of information in order, double-spaced:

1. Student's name;

2. Instructor's name;

3. Course name or course number;

4. Date, usually written as "Day Month Year" (e.g., "12 March 2025").

• After double-spaced again, center the paper title, without underlining, italics, or quotation marks, and write it according to the title case, avoiding all capitalization.

• If the title includes other works' names, continue using italics or quotation marks inside the title, for example, *Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas* as Morality Play, Human Weariness in "After Apple Picking," etc.

• Maintain double-spaced spacing between the title and the first line of the main text.

• Create a header in the top right corner containing the author's last name and consecutive page numbers, using Arabic numerals starting from 1.

• If using endnotes, place them on a separate page before the Works Cited section.

• The page should begin with a centered “Notes” heading, with double-spaced text.

• Longer papers or manuscripts can use chapter titles to improve readability.

• When dividing an article into multiple sections, MLA recommends using the format “Arabic numeral + period + space + title,” such as “1. Early Writings,” “2. The London Years.”

• For headings with only one level, maintain grammatical consistency (e.g., all phrases, not a mix of phrases and complete sentences).

• If multiple levels of headings exist, use different formatting to distinguish the levels (bold/italic, centered/left-aligned, etc.), but maintain consistency and clarity throughout the text. Explain the hierarchy to your teacher or editor if necessary.

• The above rules only apply to the appearance and layout: paper size, margins, line spacing, font, first page information, headers, and heading levels.

• For the format of bracketed references and the writing style of Works Cited entries, please refer to other MLA pages on Purdue OWL or the official MLA Handbook. Before submission, be sure to double-check the course or journal requirements.