MLA essay format (Modern Language Association) is a favored writing format for all the students. This format is widely applied in all the educational institutions for writing academic papers in humanitarian and art disciplines. Also, this style tends to be used for the religious and social sciences. You should know that there exists a standard set of the MLA rules and requirements. If you are one of those diligent students who take care of their grades and reputation, you have to learn a few effective tips and secrets for the successful essay writing. We hope that the following article will become your source of inspiration.
Check Carefully Every Piece of Information
Indeed, the requirements for writing an MLA paper change with every year, so you have to be very careful choosing a writing manual. Usually, every college or university releases its own MLA guide where all the up-to-date rules are collected. If you have some doubts regarding some aspect of MLA formatting, do not hesitate to ask your professor for assistance, and he will be glad to help you. Try to use the most updated versions of MLA manuals and you will get the desired results.
General Requirements for MLA Formatting
MLA format essay has to be typed, double-spaced, with 1’ inch margins on all the sides. The quotes, list of references and the writer`s notes should be double-spaced as well. This technique will make your essay easier to read and understand your key ideas. The professors find this requirement particularly important since it allows to make notes and correct student`s mistakes if any.
How to Quote in MLA essay format
If you need to quote somebody`s work using the MLA citation format, be sure to use parenthetical citations and note this source in your list of references. You have to use parenthetical citations if you have to insert direct quote, indirect quote, and paraphrased or even completely rewritten idea of another writer. To make your essay coherent, be sure to explain the in-text citation or inform the reader why it was particularly important for your essay to include this idea. Use the present tense in most cases, but feel free to choose the past tense if your quote is in the past tense too. If you do not know how to write an essay in MLA format, do not hesitate to find some brilliant MLA samples on the web, and you will understand how to create a true masterpiece.
A Few Words about Plagiarism in Your MLA Paper
Everybody knows that plagiarism is the deliberate attempt to present the ideas of another person as your own. We can talk for hours about the ethical aspects, but, what is more important, plagiarism is considered as a serious academic crime. Being a “smart plagiarizer” a person demonstrates disrespect for the work of another person. Thus, we assure you that every source used in the paper should be carefully cited. Feel free to use in-text citations and note the information about the source in your list of references. In MLA formatting, the list of references is called a Works Cited page and has some special requirements for its organization. First and foremost, all the sources have to be put in alphabetical order. Be sure to mention the name of the author, the name of the source, the date of publication, the publisher and the way you have found this source – web or print.
Some students deal with such a notion as unintentional plagiarism. It may happen when after reading of many books and articles, some of your ideas may coincide with the ideas of other people written earlier. To avoid these problems, be sure to check your paper with some plagiarism detection software. Fortunately enough, there exist many plagiarism checkers online which the students may use to avoid the inconveniences.
As well as many other essay formats, MLA essay formatting is widely used in many colleges and universities. The students and professors love it for its simplicity and universality.
