English MLA Style Sheet

All formal papers for English classes are required to conform to these
guidelines.

1. All papers must be typed and double-spaced.
a. Use 12 pt. Times or Times New Roman font.
b. Added spacing and larger fonts are NOT ACCEPTABLE.
c. Do NOT skip extra lines between paragraphs.

2. Margins on papers should be set at 1 inch per side (no more, no
less).

3. Use the standard MLA heading for the first page of your paper. (See
Writer's Inc.)

4. All papers should have an original title, centered above the first
paragraph (after the
heading).
a. Your title CANNOT be the title of the book you are analyzing; it
must be original,
unique, clever, and give some idea of the paper's main
idea. Thus, for a paper on
Macbeth, the title is not Macbeth or Macbeth's
Ambition (boring!) but something like
To Be or Not to be King: Indecision in Macbeth.
b. Your title CANNOT be: underlined, italicized, ALL CAPITALS,
boldfaced, or in
quotation marks, unless your title is a quotation or
makes use of the title of a text [as
in the example above].

5. DO NOT include a cover page. If you do, it will be removed and
discarded.

6. DO NOT use any kind of folder or cover. If you do, it will be
removed and discarded.

7. Clearly state your thesis at or near the end of your introductory
paragraph. Remember to
answer: WHAT is the author doing (e.g., "uses figurative
language") and WHY does the
author do that (e.g., "in order to reveal…")?

8. A good thesis statement:
a. fits the whole argument of your paper into a single sentence
b. demands documentation and support; it requires/obligates further
discussion
c. clearly defines the scope and intent of the discussion and fits the
length of the
assigned paper (not too broad; not too simple)
d. reveals a thoughtful reading and understanding of the work under
discussion
e. interests both the reader and the writer by being clever,
insightful and intriguing

9. A good thesis statement IS NOT:
a. based on a misreading or misinterpretation of the work
b. too broad/too narrow in scope
c. vague (because vague terms are used)
d. making a statement that is perfectly obvious (e.g., Thoreau uses
nature imagery.
Note also that this example is bad because it is too
broad and too vague.)
e. expressed in the first person ("I believe," "I think," "I feel,"
"In my opinion," etc.)

10. All pages must be numbered. These page numbers must follow MLA
format: placed in the
upper right hand corner, preceded by your last name. (See
Writer's Inc. for an example.)

11. You will also need to follow these typing conventions:
a. titles of books, plays, and long poems are underlined: The
Crucible, Song of Myself,
Ethan Frome or placed in italics.
b. titles of short stories, poems, and essays are placed in quotation
marks: "The
Minister's Black Veil," "Self Reliance," "The Road Not
Taken."
c. when referring to a person, author, or character do NOT use titles
(Mr., Dr., Mrs.,
etc.) and use the full name (e.g., Emily Dickinson)
ONLY the FIRST time you refer
to that person. After that, use the last name only
(e.g., Dickinson).
d. A dash is typed by using 2 hyphens (--); a hyphen uses just one
hyphen mark (-);
know the difference in typing and usage.
e. spacing must be uniform and follow these rules:
2 spaces after every period (except for quotation marks)
1 space after every comma, colon, and semi-colon
1 space AFTER each closing parenthesis/quotation mark
0 spaces after each opening parenthesis/quotation mark
0 spaces before/after dashes
f. when using quotation marks: periods and commas are placed inside
(e.g., "Yes." and
"Yes,") but colons and semi-colons go outside (e.g.,
" ": and " ";)

12. Always write in the literary present: that is, you must use the
present tense to refer to
events in a novel or play (e.g., John Proctor has an affair with
Abigail Williams, but he
ultimately rejects her.)

13. Use of direct or indirect quotations from primary and secondary
sources, AND paraphrases
of ideas taken from secondary sources MUST be documented in the
text. Failure to
properly document the source of quotations and/or scholarly
interpretations is
considered plagiarism, or theft of intellectual property. If you
fail to document your
sources, you will receive a failing grade. In college and the
workplace, plagiarism is a
cause for dismissal.
a. use the MLA format for documenting your sources. This requires that
you indicate
the author's last name and the page number where the
quotation of idea is found in
parentheses after the quotation or at the end of the
paraphrase. Example: (Miller
62).
Further explanations, variations, and examples can be
found in Writer's Inc. Other
than the MLA Handbook, this is the BEST source for
advice on how to format your
paper.
b. Do NOT place a comma between the author's name and the page number
c. The sentence-ending period goes after the closing parenthesis of
the reference (see
example above).
d. MLA format does NOT use footnotes.
e. The last page of your paper is your alphabetized list of Works
Cited. Consult
Writer's Inc. for proper formatting of this page.

14. NEVER
a. use the first person (I, we, our) or 2nd person (you) (unless
paper is informal or
personal essay)
b. use contractions of any kind, or other informal, "spoken" English
form such as slang
or colloquialisms (e.g., not "Romeo and Juliet got married and
then they
croaked" but "Romeo and Juliet were married and later died
tragically";
not "Tom Joad is beaten up by the cops" but "Tom Joad is battered
by the
police")
c. tell when you can SHOW; always let the evidence and discussion do
the talking.
(Avoid resorting to phrases such as: "it is clear," "this quote
tells the reader that,"
this paper will prove that," "the author means that," etc.). By
using "telling"
statements, you create the impression that the paper and its
evidence is not strong
enough or good enough to speak for itself.
d. discuss the assignment in the introductory paragraph…or anywhere
else! (e.g., "In
this paper, I am going to show that…")

15. AVOID weak verbs (e.g., forms of the verb "to be" or "to have,"
especially as
helping verbs (e.g., "There is…", "There are…", "It seems to be…",
"It appears that…", "It has been shown that…", etc.) passive voice
("courage was shown by Proctor"); rephrase as ACTIVE VOICE ("Proctor
shows courage")

16. All of the points made in this Style Sheet are explained in
greater detail and with a wide
variety of examples in Writer's Inc and/or Write for College.
Use these books as your
ultimate guide to proper format, usage, and punctuation. It
will save you much grief.

Copies of Writer’s Inc., Write for College, MLA Style Sheet (5th ed.)
can be found in the library and in English classrooms. The SJP
Bookstore also has a limited # of copies for sale to interested
students.

You can also visit the English Department page on the Prep Web site to
find links to other sites, such as the Purdue OWL (On-Line Writing
Lab). The OWL has detailed information on MLA format.

http://owl.english.purdue.edu/handouts/research/r_mla.html

Some of the information presented here was adapted from the Style Sheet
used by Regis High School and Preston High School.