Some Help with MLA formatting

In response to some of your questions, here are some helpful tips for MLA formatting.  You can find more details in an MLA handbook, or on a website that explains MLA formatting (I prefer the Purdue website).

Also, please check out sample papers in the dropbox folder, to use as a model of a literary criticism paper in MLA format.

Setting the Header in Microsoft Word

• Start on the first page of the paper
• Go to the "View" Menu 
• Select "Header and Footer"
• Justify to the right (make sure your text is all the way to the right)
• Type your last name 
• Locate the button on the pop-up menu to the far left (# insert page number)

It should look like this:

After you have done this, you want to make sure that you start the header on the second page.  To do this you need to select the button with the number 1 on it (different first page).  This will allow you to start the count on the second page.

Quotes of Four Lines or More

When inserting a quote of four lines or more, you need to format it differently than a regular quote.  

• Introduce the quote with a colon (not quotation marks)
• Indent an inch from the left (total margin from the edge 2 inches)
• Single space the quote
• Cite as normal (author's last name page number)
• Remember that if you introduce the source in your sentence, you only need to put the page number.

It should look like this:

If you have other questions, please feel free to e-mail me or post them and I (or others) can respond!