When using the MLA format, foreign students should pay attention to the fact that the MLA format is quite different from other general papers, as follows:
-MLA format should use double spacing.
In the -MLA format, the first line of each paragraph needs to be indented by a "Tab" length.
-Don't leave blank lines between paragraphs in MLA format.
-MLA format requires a surname and a page number in the upper right corner of each page of the paper, such as "Amy 3".
The basic structure of a paper in MLA format is:
-The first four lines are aligned to the left, followed by: student name, teacher name, course number and writing date.
-Write the title of the paper in the middle of line 5.
-Line 6 starts from the body (including several paragraphs, namely introduction, body and conclusion).
If you want to use subtitles in the text, you need to pay attention to the following points: ① subtitles should be expressed in a different way from the font style of the text (such as using another font or all subtitles are capitalized and italicized); You need to leave a line of space before the subtitles; (3) The first paragraph after the subtitle should be written in the top box and cannot be left blank.
Note: the conclusion paragraph should also be written according to the subtitle writing method, that is, a blank line should be left before the conclusion title, and the first paragraph after that should also be written in the top box. However, there is no need to mark blank lines in the previous introduction, so please don't confuse international students.
The conclusion is followed by the reference part. Remember to start a new page in the resources section. Write "cited works" in the center of the first line of the reference page, and then attach specific citation items, paying attention to alphabetical order.
After talking about the paper format of MLA, let's talk about the writing details of MLA citation format. There are two kinds of quotation, one is in-text quotation (mainly in the text); The other is to always refer to the list (this needs to be at the end of the article). Let's take a look at the specific introduction of the citation format in the article:
Citation in MLA is quite different from Harvard document format and APA document format. MLA uses the combination of "author's last name+page number", for example:
-Humans have been described as "animals that use symbols" (Burke 3).
(2) If the number of cited authors is too large (three or more cases are introduced here), the abbreviation "et al" should be used in MLA format;
Cite a specific case of no more than three authors: the author states that "the tiger gun control in the United States erodes the rights of the Second Amendment" (Smith, Yang, and Moore 76).
List more than three specific cases that need to be omitted:-Legal experts refute the arguments of Smith, Yang and Moore, pointing out that gun violence in the United States is increasing rapidly at present, and lawmakers need to adjust gun laws (Jones et al.8).
(3) If different documents of the same author are cited, the name of the document needs to be added to the citation:
-Cases of two articles by the same author: Lighten or thinks that computers are not tools used by children ("too fast" 38), although he admits elsewhere that early exposure to computer games will indeed lead children to better develop small motor skills in the second and third years ("hand-eye development" 17).
-Cases of two books by the same author: Murray thinks that writing is a "process that changes with our way of thinking" (writing for learning 6). In addition, Murray believes that the purpose of writing is to "transfer ideas and information from one person's mind to another's mind" (Writers Teach Writing 3).
-If the author's name does not appear in the sentence, the writing case is as follows: Visual Studies, because it is such a new subject, may be "too easy" (Elkins, Visual Studies 63).
The above is the writing introduction quoted in the article. Let's take a look at the writing introduction of the bibliography:
In the MLA reference format, there are mainly two types of documents, the printed version (books and periodicals) and the online version (web reference), which must be marked in the reference list at the end of the article. In addition, each reference entry requires a second line indentation:
(1)- method for marking book reference content:
Author's last name, first name+title (italics)+publisher's location+publisher's name+year+"printing"
For example: Burke, Kenneth. Language as a symbolic act: essays on life, literature and methods. Berkeley: University of California P, 1966.print
(2)- Marking method of journal citation content:
Author's surname, first name+article name+periodical name (italics)+volume. Period (year): page number+"print"
For example: gait skills, Mary. "conflicting nationalism." Mississippi review 27.3 (1999):129-50.print.
(3)- Web page reference Web page reference content labeling method:
Author's name+article name+website name (affiliated institution)+"web"+browsing date (only add the word web, no need to add specific website).
For example: Garcia, Elizabeth "Herzog: Life." Online Movie Review Corner. 2009 1 8/month
The above is a detailed explanation of MLA format shared by 5 1Due. I hope it will be helpful to your study.