How to Write a Research Paper in MLA format

Both the content and the form of a research paper matter. In case your assignment requires using a certain format, do not neglect specific rules for every formatting style. The most common formats for research papers include MLA, APA, Turabian, Chicago, and Harvard, and they are all unique. Let us examine the MLA format.

MLA (Modern Language Association) is the formatting style most commonly used for research papers in the fields of humanities, linguistics, liberal and other arts. When writing a research paper in MLA format, you are to devote special attention to the page layout and bibliography. Non-compliance with format guidelines may spoil the entire impression of your paper, and lower your mark as well. To avoid this, you need to master MLA formatting rules.

MLA formatting rules are narrowed down to the following aspects:

• Title Page – This is sometimes an optional component of an MLA formatted paper; however, in most cases the title page contains information about the research paper topic, your name, and the name of your scientific advisor/tutor.
• Page Header – This presupposes placing your last name and page numbers in the upper right hand corner of every page.
• General Document Settings – The research paper is most commonly created with Microsoft Word with 12-point Times New Roman font. The margins should be 1 inch on all sides, and the paper is to be double-spaced.
• Citation Rules – Citations are to be carefully formatted as well. You may use in-text citations and list the sources used at the end of the paper. The rules differ in accordance with the citation you need (block or in-line quotations, paraphrase citing, etc.).
• Works Cited (not “References” or “Bibliography”) – Be sure to include the list of cited sources on a separate page at the end of the research paper. This page will contain all the periodical, non-periodical, web, or print publications used in the research process and should be listed in alphabetical order. Also, do not forget to include full details for every source (the author’s name, the book’s title, number of pages, publication year, etc.).

In the majority of cases, you will only need to master the rules of MLA research paper formatting once and then use them while composing your papers. Still, you are always free to use custom research paper service. In this case, professional editors and writers will grant their services to you. Quick and accurate formatting is carried out for every research paper. Ordering custom formatting for your written assignment will save your time and effort you could spend on more pleasant activities.

Writing a research paper is always challenging. It is a multistage process that requires much time and effort from a student, especially from an inexperienced one. Beginners usually have many difficulties because research writing includes many things a student should be aware of to succeed. One of the worst things is to format a paper according to the assigned format requirements. 

Unfortunately for students, there are many formatting styles. The most popular are:

• MLA research paper format for linguistic assignments
• APA research paper format for tasks in Psychology
• IEEE research paper format for Electronics and Management
• AMA research paper style for Medical and Biological assignments
• ACS research paper style for assignments in Chemistry
• APSA research paper style for assignments in Politics
• Harvard research paper style
• Vancouver research paper style
• Chicago research paper style

Sometimes, tutors assign a specific format that the college identifies as the best one. Pretty often, it has nothing to do with discipline. The most disturbing fact is all these formatting styles have different requirements. The text looks somewhat similar, but the bibliography sections differ a lot. Formatting is more complex for in-text citations and citation of sources at the end of a paper. 

So, what is so special about this format? If you do not want to lose points for wrong punctuation, font selection, or margins, it is high time to clear out things concerning MLA format.

The Roots of MLA Format

The Modern Language Association includes people who think about what font and spacing to choose to meet the requirements and improve the usability of papers. Scholars chose elements of Word documents and now ask students, professors, writers, and other people to format their research papers using the assigned parameters. 

Thanks to this MLA format for research paper, the text is easy to read. The visual look of a paper influences our perception. If the font is bad, you will have difficulties in reading it and learning the core idea because of poor readability. When readers cannot read quickly, it irritates them, and they do not want to continue. Eventually, they stop perceiving the content properly. Previously, MLA was only for Language and Literature, but soon it became popular among scientists of other disciplines. 

The Modern Language Association has released several versions of MLA formatting, each time changing some details to improve the readability. The last edition was released in 2021. It is MLA 9th edition that comes together with a handbook that tells how to cite sources in a text and in the bibliography section. 

How Can You Learn MLA Formatting?

As a rule, a student needs much time to clear out things and learn the proper MLA format for research paper. As a result, they have no time for other home assignments or sacrifice their free time for the sake of holly formatting. What is the way out?

Clearly, many students are reluctant to read long manuals, so it is better to explain everything in detail. Sometimes, advanced students use MLA online generators, but AI machines can make mistakes. How to understand that the generated citation is made correctly? There are several variants.

The first one is to ask a tutor to check it, but you risk looking silly because you are too lazy to learn the requirements on your own.

The second variant is to ask a professional to check citations, but it requires additional expenses.

The third variant is to ask a senior student, but who knows what are his or her formatting skills? What if he is a formatting loser?

Finally, you can learn everything on your own. It does not mean you have to spend months trying to find everything out. Everything you need is to read this article till the end. It will take you several minutes, but you will learn all the required information. Afterward, you will be able to use MLA generators and test their reliability. If you see wrong punctuation or word order, it will be better to look for another one. 

What is MLA Format: General Requirements

To write a paper in MLA format, it is necessary to be aware of its requirements. Even though it is a traditional formatting style for Literature and Language papers, other faculties can also demand it for their assignments. This style includes standard font and margins to make the paper readable and attractive. The basic requirements for MLA papers are:

• The first thing that a tutor pays attention to is the outer margins. They must be one inch on all sides, meaning on the left and right sides, top and bottom. 
• Then, there must be distinct paragraphing that involves one-half inch before the first word in a paragraph.
• The choice of font is also significant, and it must be 12 Times New Roman. 
• Spacing between lines equals two inches through the entire paper. 
• A center-oriented title is expected on the front or the first page.
• If you use quotations, you should introduce them with the help of blocks. It is necessary to indent each of them by one inch.
• A tutor must find your surname near the page number in the top right corner of a page.
• You must introduce other details, like your first and last name, the first and last name of a supervisor, and the date at the top of the first page.
• You need to introduce the bibliography section at the end of the paper. It must be a separate part of your research. Do not forget to mention it in the format research paper outline.

First, everything seems a bit difficult, but if you follow the guide below, you will learn how simple it can be.

Steps to Format Your Paper in MLA Style

Beginners often have problems with formatting papers properly because they know a little about the writing tools. As a rule, modern youth use apps and Gboard to write messages and create PPTs. Most of them do not know how to apply margins or where to search for the needed font size. So,  how to format a research paper MLA? Below, you can find several tips and instructions to follow.

How to Set the Needed Margins?

Where to look for the margin settings? If you use Google Documents, you should search for the page settings. You can find them in the File section. Click it, and you will see Page Settings. Click it, and you will see Margins and their sizes. You should choose one inch and click OK. Since that, your document will have 1-inch size margins by default.  

Tip: Do not forget to apply the setting to the entire document, not only to the chosen page.

Where to Look for the Correct Size and Its Font?

How to select the needed font for the MLA format research paper? You can find settings at the top of the page. It can be different, but you need to click Times New Roman to meet the requirements. Just beside the font type, you will see the size icon. Your size is 12. If you have already started typing your research paper, it is necessary to Ctrl + A or to select (highlight) all the text before choosing the font and its size. Otherwise, it will not work.

How to Insert a Header in the Text?

If you need to insert a header in your research paper, it is necessary to do the following steps.

1. Find the Insert section at the top of the page.
2. Choose Headers and Footers
3. Select Header
4. Click the right align button
5. Afterwards, you should type your surname and click Space
6. Then, you should find the Insert section at the top of the page
7. Click it and find Page numbers
8. Choose the first option

That is how numbers will appear on your research paper pages.

How to Choose the Correct Spacing?

If you need to change the spacing between your research paper lines, it is necessary to click the spacing sign. It looks like lines with a two-sided arrow near them. Choose double spacing if you have not started your paper yet. If you have written several words or pages, highlight the whole text and then change the spacing.

How to Create a Title Page?

A title page must contain passport information about the research paper. Each new information should be given in a separate line. 

1. the first line is for your name
2. the second line is for your tutor’s name
3. the next line is for your course name
4. the final line is for the due date
5. the last one is for the title of your research paper

This information must be left-side-oriented, but the title of your research paper must be center-oriented. You should highlight the text and choose the desired text orientation.

How to Create Paragraphs?

Paragraphs help to present new ideas separately. If the text lacks paragraphs, it is hard to identify new thoughts, and reading becomes more complicated because of a long text without separations. To create a new paragraph with the required indent, you should use the Tab key. 

How to Create Quotations?

A good research paper is impossible without reliable sources. If you do not cite them and show them graphically, a tutor will regard your paper as mere plagiarism. So, you should avoid such problems and cite your literature properly. In-text citations will be discussed later. First, let’s discuss a long citation that must be inserted between the lines.

1. First, you need to highlight the text of the citation.
2. Then, find the section Format.
3. Select the required one-ich option on the left side indent and click Apply.

Except for after-text citations, you should know how to cite someone within the text. This citation type is easy to create because the requirements are minimal. However, one should be careful and do not confuse sources. How to create an in-text citation in MLA style?

First, you need to cite the source in your research paper. It can be a direct quote ( sentence without changes) or a changed saying. For example, you can read a book and cite its ideas in your paper. There is no need to copy the whole book because you can paraphrase the author’s saying.  After you do it, you should mention the source in the brackets. 

Look at the example:

“To be or not to be” (Shakespeare, 12).

Shakespeare’s “Hamlet” is full of sayings one can use as life quotes. (Shakespeare 12)

The word in the brackets is the author of the cited source, and 12 is the number of the source on your citation list. What is the difficulty? The main difficulty is to mention all the sources you have used and number them alphabetically. Afterward, you should not forget to mention the correct number in the brackets.

Professionals recommend taking notes while writing. For example, you use a citation and then write the author in the brackets. When the paper is finished, you can go back to the list of cited works and mention the required ABC number. 

The Creation of the Sources Page: How to Do That?

Research paper MLA format is impossible without this section. This step is one of the hardest in formatting because the sources are divided into online and offline, textbooks and books, and each type of literature has different presentation requirements. So, how to start?

First, it is necessary to start with a new page. You should use a page break to make sure your list will appear on a separate page. It must be done the following way:

• Choose the Insert section
• Go to Break
• Click Page break

Second, you need to add a title. It is necessary to make the title center-oriented. You should find the centrally aligned button after highlighting the title of your paper.

Finally, you need to add the used sources in alphabetical order. You should be careful and cite each source properly. The dropdown menu can help you do that correctly. The Hanging 0.5-inch indent is required. After that, you should click Apply. 

General requirements for MLA citations include an author, a title of source, the type of literature, different contributions, versions, number, publisher, publication date, location, and access. There are slight differences in the citations of different sources, so you should follow these rules.

If You Want to Cite a Website

Today, more and more students use online literature instead of printed sources. Consequently, you should know how to cite a website in MLA format in a research paper. The problem is that some websites do not mention an author, a publication date, or other details. So, your job is to search for all possible clues. The more information you can find, the better your citation will be presented. You should not forget to mention the URL address and the date you accessed and cited it. That is how it should look like:

McNamara, Damian. “How What You Eat Is Linked to Midlife Weight Gain.” WebMD, WebMD, 28 Sept. 2023, www.webmd.com/diet/news/20230928/what-you-eat-linked-to-midlife-weight-gain. Accessed 29 Sep. 2023

As you can see, it consists of information about the author, the title of the article, the name of the website and the sponsor, other contributions (number, version, etc.), date of publication, and access. 

Essays and Pics

Sometimes, you need to cite someone’s essay with illustrations. For example, students read free samples on the Internet on available websites. Later, they can introduce these writings in their sources as cited because students have to list them according to academic integrity. This content helps students understand the topic better, especially good photos of some natural phenomena, exclusive plants, animals, and more. They do not contain printed information that one can easily copy and paste, but they are also the source of information.

However, the source must be reputable. That is why students usually use the Library of Congress in their research papers. In this case, the format of the cited source is similar to the website citation. This is a good example:

“10 Successful Harvard Application Essays: 2021.” The Crimson, 2021, Elite Educational Institute, www.thecrimson.com/topic/sponsored-successful-harvard-essays-2021/. Accessed 29 Sept. 2023. 

If you do not have an author, you start with the title of an essay. Then comes a sponsor, and finally, the online source in the form of a URL address.

How to Cite an Illustration or a Photo

As been said, the use of illustrations is really great. They manifest how things work and support the main purpose of your research paper. These things are especially significant for research papers in History. How to make a research paper in MLA format when using someone’s photo, picture, illustration, or diagram? Look at this example.

“The Carter Center.” Photo. Britannica, https://www.britannica.com/story/an-interview-with-jimmy-carter-global-challenges-to-the-united-states-in-a-new-millennium. Accessed 29 Sept. 2023. 

You should cite an author, the title, the type (illustration, photo, cartoon, etc.), the title of the source and its URL, the publication date, and the date when you accessed the photo. 

How to cite a film or a video

Videos are essential in education because they replicate historical events, the function of a body, and other things that words can hardly describe. Naturally, many students use videos when writing research papers that require a lot of information due to the required volume. Sometimes a person has to search for different sources to fill in the informational gaps. You should mention all watched videos on the list of cited literature to avoid problems with plagiarism. 

Musker, John and Clements, Ron, directors. “Moana.” Walt Disney Studios, Motion Pictures, 2016, https://www.bilibili.tv/en/video/4788178482895360?bstar_from=bstar-web.homepage.recommend.all. Accessed 30 Sept. 2023. 

As you see, a citation includes information about directors, distributors, title of a movie, and release date. It is essential to pay attention to punctuation marks and other details when citing videos or movies in MLA format.

A book

It goes without saying that books are the most popular sources of information for English Literature faculty students. They read novels, stories, autobiographies, and other books they have to cite in their research paper format MLA. That is what a book citation looks like:

Maugham, William Somerset. Theatre. Vinnytsia, New Book, 2006

So, this kind of citing is the simplest one because one needs only to mention some book details, a publisher, and the year of publication. 

If you need to cite concrete pages, your citation will look like this:

Maugham, William Somerset. Theatre. Vinnytsia, New Book, 2006, pp. 45-67.

Maps and charts

Traditionally, we use Google Maps to get to some destination. However, maps can be a verified source of information. They can show the battle movement or geographical discoveries. Consequently, you can use maps and charts to support your ideas with visual facts. Cite them like this one:

Anne Wittke, Eckhart Olshausen, Richard Szydlak (eds.). New Pauly: Historical Atlas of the Ancient World. Brill, Leiden, NL, 2009.

Newspapers

Newspapers are great because they post articles written by researchers and advanced journalists. If a journalist publishes fakes, he or she risks losing a job unless the press is yellow and allows such fakes. That is why it is essential to choose newspapers that have a spotless reputation. The New York Times, Der Spiegel, and other governmentally controlled newspapers can be a perfect source of trustworthy information. That is what a newspaper citation looks like:

Edmondson, Catie, “Right Wing Tanks Stopgap Bill in House, Pushing Government Toward a Shutdown.” The New York Times, 29 Sep. 2023. The New York Times, https://www.nytimes.com/2023/09/29/us/politics/shutdown-mccarthy.html

The citation includes information about the author, the title, the newspaper, the publication date, and the source.

Oral History interviews

Sometimes, the source of the information is not published on the Internet. It happens when the source of the information is a live person who gives an interview to a researcher. How to cite a source that is not published?

In this case, you should know his or her name, create a title for the interview, and remember the date of the interview and the interviewer. That is how such a citation should be created:

Mariam, Webster. “Wedding ceremony in 1998: customs and traditions.” By Alison Black, 2022-02-04.

Sound Recordings

Sometimes, students use a sound record to evidence their idea or thought. Nevertheless, not all recordings have enough information to create a citation. Generally, it must include the following data:

• author
• title
• performers
• format of the audio
• year of publishing
• italicized website or database
• source (DOI or URL)
• date of your access to it

Eventually, your citation should look the following way:

Karpiuk, Oksana. “Smiling Sam Song”. Rec. December 2023 by Oksana Karpiuk. Libra Terra. https://www.libra-terra.com.ua/download/audiododatky-dlia-vilnoho-zavantazhennia/. Accessed 30 Sep. 2023

Citation in Google Docs

Google Docs has an installed generator of citations, and you should know how to use it. You can create automatic citations when needed. The only thing is to provide the correct settings. This tool is indisputably useful because it helps students stop worrying about the requirements and lets the program do everything independently. What should you do to create the heading for MLA format research paper? 

1. Choose the Tool section
2. Select Citation on the list of available options
3. Choose MLA among the available variants
4. Click and add a source 
5. Select the source type from the introduced menu
6. Add the details that the Google tool requires
7. Click it to add the citation to the list of cited sources
8. Move the cursor to the needed place (in-text or at the end of the paper)

If you want to create a list of used sources, you should break the page to make it start from a new page. However, you should better check the created citations to be sure no mistakes were accidentally made by AI. 

Another option is to use a Google template that has several academic variants, including MLA. The template has text that you need to replace with yours. To find a template, you should:

• find File at the top of a new Google Doc and select New
• click the required Form template
• choose Education and select the required template in the required style
• replace the template with your text

Note! Do not forget to double-check everything before handing in your paper to your tutor. Generators are great, but they can wrongly comprehense some information and generate wrong citations.

The Best MLA Generators Online

Students can cite sources using two variants – learn all the requirements by themselves or use online generators. The first option is the best one, but it takes too much time. How to write a research paper MLA format using online generators? As a rule, you should find the required field and insert the link of the needed source. Afterward, you should click Generate and copy the generated citation. 

Below, you can find several citation generators you can use to format your paper in MLA style.

BibGuru: Simple and Easy-to-Access

“What is the MLA format for a research paper?” Many students download manuals but still cannot format a paper according to the rules. BibGuru belongs to good-quality generators that can generate citations in MLA, Chicago, Harvard, APA, and a number of other styles. There are several pros of BibGuru:

• The website has guides for different citation styles for free. 
• One needs to copy a link to the source and insert it to provoke generation. 
• The site has no ads that distract you from generating. 
• It does not require registration and sign-in options.
• It has automatic options for books, websites, and articles.
• It is free.

If you want to cite something except for websites, books, and articles, you should open a template and fill in the required information. After you finish filling in the gaps, the system will generate the source, and you will copy it to place in your Cited Works section.

Scribbr: A Lot of Automatic Citing Options

This citation generator is simple and easy to use. Moreover, the website is available for everyone, and one can find a lot of available styles for citations. Everything one needs is to visit a site, click the preferred citation style, and insert the required information. If you use the online source, you will need only the URL, and the system will get the needed information automatically. 

Another benefit of the chosen online generator is the option to find the needed source by using keywords, DOI, URL, or ISBN. Due to that, citation becomes easier and faster.

This website got 4.9/5 stars from Trustpilot! You can get access to the generated citations when you need them. The only thing you need is to use the same digital device. Besides, it does not have ads and pop-ups, so nothing can distract you from creating and checking MLA citations. 

Citation Machine: Free and Simple

This citation generator is free and quite popular among students. It has several citation styles available and type of sources. You can easily choose one of the following sources to cite:

• journal
• website
• book
• online database
• blog
• Bible
• film
• cartoon
• Chapter
• report, etc.

Afterward, you should copy the created citation and insert it in the document. The website saves the generated citations, so you have access to them 24/7. You can sort them in alphabetical order or according to the recently accessed ones. Thanks to that, you can cite all the sources and then copy all of them in ABC order at once. 

However, you should be careful because MLA has different versions, and you should choose the variant you need. Your tutor mentions the requirements for your citations, and you must follow them to get the desired grade. 

Takeaways

Paper formatting is not a simple task, but you can manage it with this guide and online generators. However, you should not completely depend on AI citation generators. Machines are still machines, so you should better check the created citations to make sure everything is right. The best option is to compare the generated citation and a verified sample. If AI citations have the same structure as in the example, then you can go on generating citations.