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[Music] hi my name is Matt and in this video I'm going to introduce you to a style of writing called MLA format the Modern Language Association or MLA is the organization responsible for developing MLA format often called MLA style MLA
Matt from Chegg explains MLA paper formatting: the heading, running head, one-inch margins, double spacing, indentation, in-text quote and paraphrase citation, and abbreviation rules for publishers.
Key Takeaways
- MLA heading, margins, running head, and spacing rules must be followed precisely
- In-text citations with page numbers are required for both quotations and paraphrases
- Publisher name abbreviations in the works cited follow specific rules that differ from the body text
- The video covers formatting only, not full citation syntax, which requires separate resources
What the video covers
- Introduces MLA format, developed by the Modern Language Association for literature and language fields and now used broadly
- Explains the four heading components: student name, instructor name, course name, and due date, double-spaced, with the title centered below
- Describes the running head: last name and page number in the top right corner, half an inch from the top and one inch from the right margin
- Specifies one-inch margins on all sides and half-inch first-line paragraph indents
- Requires double-spaced lines throughout and warns against artificially adding blank lines to meet length
- Explains using quotations with in-text citations, showing two ways to introduce the author name and page number
- Covers paraphrasing: summarizing a source in your own words while still crediting it
- Lists punctuation rules: one space between sentences, period after the in-text citation, full month names in the body text
- Notes that in the bibliography, certain publisher words (University, Company, Incorporated, Limited, Press) are abbreviated while others are written in full
- Points viewers to easybib.com for citation formatting, work cited pages, and images or tables
Full Transcript — Download SRT & Markdown
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format was developed as a means for researchers students and scholars in the literature and language fields to format their papers and assignments today MLA is used across both academic and non-academic settings this video provides an overview of MLA format in
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relation to paper formatting as outlined in the official style guide that is not associated with the MLA itself also this video will not review mla citation format for help with MLA citations and for additional mla information refer to
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the individual source pages and other guides on easybib.com let's begin by covering the first piece of information on your paper beheading you'll need to include four main components in your heading your full name your instructors name the name of
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the course or class and the assignments due date note the double spaces beneath the name instructors name course name and the due date the assignments title should be placed below the due date after a double spaced align the title to
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the center of the page the title should be written in standard lettering without underlines bold font italicized font or any quotation marks only include italics if your title includes the title of another source do not place a period
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after the title or any headings a running head is a brief heading in the top right corner of every page it consists of the writers last name followed by a space and then the page number the running head is placed half
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an inch from the top margin and one inch from the right margin of the page don't use the word page or an abbreviation like P or PG before the page number the running head and page numbers usually begin on the second page but your
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instructor may ask you to include the running head on the first page of the assignment use one-inch margins around the entire page the running head should be the only item seen in the one-inch margin indent the first word in every
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paragraph one-half inch from the left margin MLA research paper format requires that the paper includes double spaced lines do not place extra lines anywhere in your paper to increase length or artificially hit your page requirement writing instructors can see
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straight through that trick quotations are used to help defend an argument prove a point and add emphasis quotes should strengthen your writing not act as a substitute for your original words words from quotes belong to the individual who spoke or wrote
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them so it is essential to credit that individuals work to do this you will add an in-text citation into the body of the paragraph there are two common ways to add quotes in this first example and Guttman the author of the book that this
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quote is pulled from is named in the sentence leading up to the quote the number in the parentheses at the end of the sentence is the page number where the quote appears in the original text in the second example damn Gutman's name
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isn't included in the sentence instead it's included in the parentheses at the end of the sentence along with the page number para phrases are used when the writer chooses to summarize text or speech from another source and weave in
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their own writing style rather than quoting the text or speech directly even though the writer modifies the information from another source it is still necessary to credit the source using proper MLA format this quote comes from Steve Jobs commencement address at
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Stanford University in 2005 in paraphrasing this quote the writer read the full text of the address carefully to comprehend its meaning then the writer restated the message in his or her own words here are a few guidelines to keep in
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mind in relation to punctuation sentences within a paragraph should be separated by only one space not two spaces when including a quote in your paper place the period at the end of the entire sentence after the in-text citation use the entire name of a month
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when it appears in the body of a research paper or assignment however in your bibliography months with names longer than four letters should be abbreviated one of the quirkiest things about this particular style is how publisher names are structured in the
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bibliography certain words are abbreviated and other words are written in full here's a breakdown of the words that are always abbreviated on the final pages references U is for University CE o is for company I NC is for
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incorporated L P D is for limited and P is for pres all other words related to the names of publishers should be written out in full the official handbook provides a lengthy list of the preferred abbreviations to use for
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classical and Biblical works but here's a quick snapshot of some of the commonly used ones I hope this video has been helpful in introducing you to MLA format there is more information than we have time to cover here such as creating a
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work cited page with MLA format citing images tables and musical scores and more if you need help with any of these or other topics feel free to check out other videos on MLA format at easybib.com [Music] you
Topics:MLA formatMLA stylepaper formattingin-text citationrunning headparaphrasingacademic writingworks citedCheggcitation guidelines
