How do I show the blank space between stanzas when quoting from a poem?
Use a single line space to separate stanzas of poetry, as in this excerpt from Felicia Hemans’s “The Image in Lava”: Thou thing of years… Read More
Posts related to formatting a paper
What is the advantage of MLA-style date format over the format recommended by the International Standards Organization (ISO)?
The International Standards Organization recommends writing dates with numerals in year-month-day format (e.g., 2018-10-24) because it is useful when people need to convey information across… Read More
If my college requires that I include a table of contents in my paper, where should I place it?
A table of contents is generally used for longer projects such as theses or dissertations, but if you are required to include a table of… Read More
How do I format an appendix and style its heads?
There are many possible ways to format an appendix. A rule of thumb is to let the content guide the choice of format. Types of… Read More
How to Format Your Essay with Advanced Pattern Matching
Mistakes in formatting can be complicated to resolve, but you can customize solutions . . . Read More
How to Write an Abstract
An abstract of a work, usually of an essay, is a concise summary of its main points . . . Read More
Is the page after the title page of an essay numbered 1 or 2?
The first page of an essay should be numbered 1. Therefore, if you are preparing an essay that includes a title page, do not number… Read More
Does the MLA offer guidance for outlines?
The MLA has never offered guidance on formatting outlines. The seventh edition of the handbook notes that there are many types of outlines and that… Read More
When creating a sortable list of alphabetized titles, where should the initial article be placed?
In an index or sortable list of titles, MLA style follows the The Chicago Manual of Style, which recommends placing initial articles at the end of the… Read More
How do I style names of headers or titled sections that I refer to in my prose?
When you refer to the names of headers or titled sections in a work, you may style them with or without quotation marks as long… Read More