Claremont Graduate University

MLA Manuscript Format

From A Writer’s Reference by Diana Hacker

http://www.dianahacker.com/resdoc/humanities/manuscript.html

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OverviewPage Set-up

TitlesSpacing and Indentation

QuotationsPagination

PunctuationOther Common Problems

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PurposeThese are the most common

errors students make when formatting their papers

Learning to follow one style guide makes it easier to adhere to others in various disciplines

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Materials Use only white paper Use only black ink Use a paper clip to fasten pages

(unless the instructor specifies a staple)

Do not use a binder or folder unless specified by instructor

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Headings No title page

necessary Set 1” to 1 ½”

margins at top and on sides

Use “File” pull-down menu and select “Page Setup”

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First PageAt left margin, list

on separate lines: Your name Instructor’s name Course name and

number Date

Double Space the entire paper!

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Titles Compose a title that is descriptive of

the main idea in your paper Capitalize first word, last word, and

all other words besides articles, prepositions, and coordinating conjunctions (see S3-c)

Don’t underline, “quote”, italicize or bold your own title

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Double Spacing

Click “Format” then “Paragraph” to find dialog box

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Spacing Dialog Box will

appearSelect Double Space(Set indentation and tabs here also)

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Indentation Indent each

paragraph with one tab (five spaces)Do not add an extra “return” between paragraphs

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Long Quotations (more than four typed prose lines or three lines of

poetry) Indent two tabs (ten spaces) Do not use quotation marks Double space just like the rest of

the paper Place citation outside of

punctuation (see P6-b)

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Pagination Use the “header”

function to place your last name and page number on each page

Click “view” and “header and footer”

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Pagination

Type in your last name, space, then click on the # symbol

Do not use p., pg., #, or any other symbol with your page numbers

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Pagination

Link to Microsoft Word

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Punctuation: ellipses

Leave a space between periods for an ellipsis mark

The typing should look like this . . . and not this…so your reader can see the ellipsis clearly

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Punctuation: Dashes To type a dash, type two

hyphens without a space before or after:

Typing like this: . . . any work of literature--most specifically a novel--can be adapted into film . . . 

Should turn out like this: . . . any work of literature—most specifically a novel—can be adapted into film . . . 

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Caution:Using only one hyphen

connects, rather than separates the words:

. . . any work of literature-most specifically a novel-can be adapted into film . . .

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Typing an Internet Address

Remove the hyperlink if it is set automatically.

Right-click the hyperlink you want to remove, and then click “Remove Hyperlink.”

Add a space where you want to begin a new line, and the margins will remain consistent.

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Subject HeadingsCheck with your instructor

before using internal headings in your paper

Make sure the text of your paper includes smooth transitions in addition to the headings

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Visuals:(graphs, charts, maps, pictures)

Label each visual (Table 1, Figure 4) If you cannot drop the visual into the

text, create an appendix and refer to it in the text

Visuals should always be referred to in the text and should not be expected to stand alone.

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Sample Paper You can view a sample MLA formatted paper at the Diana Hacker website:

http://www.dianahacker.com/resdoc/humanities/pdf/dalypaper.pdf

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Acknowledgements MLA Format Rules: Hacker, Diana. A Writer’s Reference. New

York: Bedford/St.Martins, 2003. http://www.dianahacker.com/ writersref/

For header function image: http://www.utexas.edu/ its/training/handouts/word/

Good hypertextual site for many writing issues—especially good for citing sources: http://web.uvic.ca/wguide/Pages/ StartHere.html

Good Microsoft Word Tutorial and place where I copied images for tool bars: http://www.baycongroup.com/wlesson1.htm#title

Other images from a good interactive Word tutorial site: http://www.internet4classrooms.com/msword_toolbar.htm

Page Setup Image & header and footer image: http://graduate.gradsch.uga.edu/help/numbering.htm

Powerpoint Templates: http://www.brainybetty.com/ educators1.htm

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Acknowledgements First Page Image: http://home.earthlink.net/

~jlsterk/format.html Formatting Paragraphs Image (single space):

http://www.qcc. mass.edu/booth/wordprocess.html Formatting Paragraphs Image (double space):

http://ponce. inter.edu/acad/cdi/TutorialWord.html Header/footer images, paragraph pulldown:

http://www.word-medex.com.au/formatting/pagemsw60_mac.htm

Indenting image: http://www.oit.umass.edu/hds/docs/ thesis/word2000/about-template.html

Sample paper layout: http://www2.gasou.edu/facstaff/ jwalker/tutorials/mlaword.html