MLA Format Essay Template

Document Settings: • Font: Times New Roman, 12pt • Margins: 1 inch on all sides • Line Spacing: Double-spaced throughout (including Works Cited) • Paragraph Indent: 0.5 inch (first line of each paragraph) First Page Header (top left, double-spaced): Your Name Professor's Name Course Name Date (Day Month Year format: 15 December 2025) Running Header (top right, every page): Last Name Page# (e.g., "Smith 1")

Title Formatting: • Centered, same font as body text • NOT bold, italicized, underlined, or in quotes • Title case capitalization • One double-space below header, one double-space above first paragraph Introduction Elements: • Hook: Engage the reader with relevant opening • Context: Provide necessary background for your argument • Thesis: Clear, arguable claim at the end of the intro MLA essays often analyze texts, so your thesis typically addresses how/why an author achieves an effect or what a text reveals.

Standard Body Paragraph Structure: • Topic sentence making a claim • Evidence (often a quote from the text) • Analysis explaining the evidence • Connection back to thesis In-Text Citation Formats: Author named in sentence: According to Smith, "quoted text here" (45). Author not named in sentence: The evidence suggests that "quoted text here" (Smith 45). No author (use shortened title): The article argues that "quoted text here" ("Title" 12). Block quotes (over 4 lines): • Start on new line • Indent entire quote 0.5 inch from left • No quotation marks • Period BEFORE parenthetical citation

Signal Phrase Examples: • Smith argues that... • According to Johnson... • As Thompson explains... • The author contends... Short Quote (under 4 lines): Fitzgerald uses color symbolically, noting that Gatsby's dream was "a green light" that represented hope (180). Long Quote (4+ lines): The narrator describes the scene in detail: Gatsby believed in the green light, the orgastic future that year by year recedes before us. It eluded us then, but that's no matter—tomorrow we will run faster, stretch out our arms farther. (180) This passage reveals Gatsby's persistent optimism despite evidence of failure. Modifying Quotes: • Use [...] for omitted text • Use [brackets] for added clarification • Use (sic) for errors in original

Conclusion Elements: • Restate thesis in new words (don't copy exactly) • Synthesize main points (don't just repeat them) • Broader implications or significance • Closing thought that resonates In MLA literary essays, conclusions often: • Connect the text to larger themes or contexts • Suggest what the analysis reveals about the human condition • Note the text's continued relevance Avoid: • Introducing new quotes or evidence • Starting with "In conclusion," • Making claims beyond your argument's scope

Page Setup: • Starts on new page • "Works Cited" centered at top (not bold, italicized, etc.) • Entries alphabetized by author's last name • Hanging indent: first line flush left, subsequent lines indented 0.5 inch • Double-spaced throughout Core Elements (in order): Author. "Title of Source." Title of Container, Other contributors, Version, Number, Publisher, Date, Location. Common Formats: Book: Last, First. Title of Book. Publisher, Year. Journal Article: Last, First. "Article Title." Journal Name, vol. #, no. #, Year, pp. #-#. Website: Author. "Article Title." Website Name, Publisher, Day Month Year, URL. Note: Include only elements that apply to your source.