A Few Notes re Research Papers in MLA Format
2. The top and bottom margins for an MLA paper are one inch.
3. The side margins for an MLA paper are one inch.
4. An MLA research paper is written in third-person.
5. An MLA paper is always doubled spaced.
6. In the USA the dimensions for letter paper are 8½ inches by 11 inches.
7. The thesis / thesis statement, for our purposes, states what the paper will demonstrate or prove, and is the first sentence.
8. The writer of an MLA paper cites sources so that the research can be verified. Citation is also a matter of honesty.
9. Plagiarism is falsely taking credit for someone else’s work. Avoid committing plagiarism accidentally by carefully re-reading and reviewing the drafts to make sure every source is cited.
10. Plagiarism is unethical and, in some circumstances, a crime.
11. A paraphrase or indirect quote is rewording a sources original wording, usually for clarity; a paraphrase or indirect quote is always cited, just as a direct quote is.
12. Much knowledge is common, and need not be sourced – Columbus wandered into the Caribbean in 1492, Eli Whitney invented the concept of mass production with standardized parts, and the sun always rises in the east. If in doubt, cite the source.
13. Quotation marks are for direct quotes; they are never employed for sarcasm, even in informal writing.
14. An ellipsis (three dots) (...) is used in a direct quote to indicate that the writer of the paper is deliberately omitting part of a quotation, usually for the sake of brevity. Again, this is a matter of being fair both to the reader and to the source.
15. Although some instructors distinguish between the two, for our purposes bibliography and works cited are synonyms.
16. In a bibliography / works cited, sources are sequenced alphabetically.
17. Never, never, never single-space any part of an MLA paper. Never. No.
18. The reader’s last name and the page number, separated by exactly one space, repose at the top, right-hand corner of each page of an MLA paper.
19. Except for direct quotations, the writer never begins a paragraph with the pronoun "it." Be careful of pronouns.
20. The writer's personality, sex, and culture never, never, never reveal themselves in an MLA research paper. A research paper is about the topic, never about the writer. Be detached and objective always. This is quite difficult in our highly personalized, me-me-me culture.
21. I’ve been negligent in noting this: after an end-stop, always hit the space bar twice. There are always two spaces between sentences in a manuscript.
22. Occasionally take a look at the sample research papers provided. They will help you greatly.
23. In your inexpensive little book read the chapter on research, pp. 335-406, and on MLA documentation, pp. 409-454. The model on pp. 449-454 is especially useful as a visual aide.
24. If you use really large blocks of quotation, lengthen your paper accordingly. No filler, please.
25. Take a look at p. 451 for the spacing of a long (4 or more lines) quotation – indent 10 spaces on the left and do not use quotation marks. For 1-3 lines, don’t indent and do use the quotation marks. Also note that the internal citation varies.
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