When you are writing or formatting your thesis, research paper or manuscript, you need to use the formatting style given by your supervisor or as required by the journal you want to get published into. The Modern Language Associate is a style that is commonly used for liberal arts and humanities related manuscripts and theses. MLA style of writing is more common in the US and therefore, if you are submitting a paper here, you must be well-versed with the style to ensure it does not hamper the results of your thesis.
General Formatting guidelines
- Use the Times New Roman font in a 12 point size
- Leave a margin of 1 inch on each side of your writing software
- You must use only one single space after periods in the document
- Each paragraph must have an indent that is half an inch from the left margin. It is recommended to use the tab key to get your indents right rather than using the spacebar.
- There must be a double spacing in the entire essay document
Special Formatting guidelines
- You can use the Italics formatting on your titles to emphasize
- The endnotes must be organized on a different page. They can be added before the bibliography or the cited page.
- You do not require a title page unless specified by your supervisor
- Your name should appear on the upper left corner of the first page of your essay
- Below your name, write your professor’s name, followed by the name of the course, and the date
- Insert the page numbers on the upper right side of your page
- The title of your essay must be centrally aligned below the date
- List the citations in the alphabetical order of the author’s name. Write the name, title of the book/article, publication date, name of publisher followed by the place of publishing
With these simple guidelines, you will be in a better position to submit a flawless and error-free paper or thesis.