English MLA Style Sheet

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

All papers must be typed and double-spaced.

Use 12 pt. Times or Times New Roman font.

Added spacing and larger fonts are NOT ACCEPTABLE.

Do NOT skip extra lines between paragraphs.

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

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

All papers should have an original title, centered above the first paragraph (after the heading).

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.

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].

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

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

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…")?

A good thesis statement:

fits the whole argument of your paper into a single sentence

demands documentation and support; it requires/obligates further discussion

clearly defines the scope and intent of the discussion and fits the length of the assigned paper (not too broad; not too simple)

reveals a thoughtful reading and understanding of the work under discussion

interests both the reader and the writer by being clever, insightful and intriguing

A good thesis statement IS NOT:

based on a misreading or misinterpretation of the work

too broad/too narrow in scope

vague (because vague terms are used)

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.)

expressed in the first person ("I believe," "I think," "I feel," "In my opinion," etc.)

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.)

You will also need to follow these typing conventions:

titles of books, plays, and long poems are underlined: The Crucible, Song of Myself, Ethan Frome or placed in italics.

titles of short stories, poems, and essays are placed in quotation marks: "The Minister's Black Veil," "Self Reliance," "The Road Not Taken."

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)

A dash is typed by using 2 hyphens (--); a hyphen uses just one hyphen mark (-); know the difference in typing and usage.

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

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 " ";)

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.)

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.

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.

Do NOT place a comma between the author's name and the page number

The sentence-ending period goes after the closing parenthesis of the reference (see example above).

MLA format does NOT use footnotes.

The last page of your paper is your alphabetized list of Works Cited. Consult Writer's Inc. for proper formatting of this page.

NEVER

use the first person (I, we, our) or 2nd person (you) (unless paper is informal or personal essay)

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")

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.

discuss the assignment in the introductory paragraph…or anywhere else! (e.g., "In this paper, I am going to show that…")

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")

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.