MLA Format - 2015: Refer to these guidelines for all essay writing for me.

MLA FORMAT - 2015

1. 1-inch margins all around; font size 12; Times New Roman
2. Entire document is double-spaced (including heading and title; no extra spaces between heading and title or title and first sentence).
3. Essay heading in top left:

Name

Mrs. Henrion

Course Title-Period __

__ Month 2015

4. Use header tab to create page numbers in top right corner of each page, including the first page. Each page number should be Last Name # (i.e. Shmoe 1, Shmoe 2, Shmoe 3 and so forth 

5. Title of essay is centered. Capitalize first letters of first word and important words. a) Novel and play titles are italicized. Size 12, Times New Roman. No underlines, no bold type, no quotation marks. b) Poem, short story, or song titles are quoted, with no underlines or bold type.

6. Indent the first word of each paragraph. No extra spaces between paragraphs.

7. Use quotation marks around quoted passages. Keep quotes short by choosing only the part that best supports the idea you are trying to convey in your discussion and integrate the quote into your sentence. Do not use the ellipsis (…). Use in-text citations (also called parenthetical citations) for quotations as follows : 

a.     The MLA recommends using the author’s name in a signal phrase to introduce the quotation and citing only the page number(s) in parentheses. (example:  Crystal, a noted linguist, explains that Monty Python’s humor often relied on “bizarre linguistic interactions” (108). When you do not mention the author’s name in a signal phrase, do the following:

b.     From novels/short stories: write (Author last name page #) after the quote for the first in-text citation in an essay paragraph. Subsequent quotes in the same essay paragraph from that same text only need (#). If a quote from another text is used within that same paragraph it must be followed by that author’s name and page # and so forth.  Start over with (Author last name page #) in next paragraph for the first quote.

                      (example: A noted linguist explains that Monty Python’s humor often relied on “bizarre linguistic                                   interactions” (Crystal 108).

c.     From poems/songs: write (line(s) #) after the in-text citation for the first quote in an essay paragraph.  Subsequent quotes in the same essay paragraph should have (#) as the in-text citation.

(example: Whitman speculates that “All goes onward and outward, nothing collapses” (line 129).

d.     From plays: give the act, scene, and line number(s) separated by periods.

(example: As Macbeth begins, the witches greet Banquo as “Lesser than Macbeth, and greater” (1.3.65).

e.     For all quotes, punctuation comes after the in-text citation, not before it. If the quote itself is a question, place a question mark within the quotation mark and a period after the in-text citation.