Research and term paper writing guidelines

Our editorial team consists of academic writers, editors and professors who have joined their efforts to build a free online resource for students.

• Creating an introduction on bullying
• A 7th grade research project
• Home

» Plagiarism reports

In recent years, thousands of students were expelled and punished for plagiarism issue with their papers. Learn how to protect yourself using well-known plagiarism detection software.

Consider yourself an expert in writing academic papers? Want to help fellow college students from US, UK and Canada? Join our team!

How to write an MLA research paper: doing your best

An MLA styled research paper has always been a burden to the students, but truth be told to properly write one it does not take much skill. The basics for organization, creativity, and even grammar are all that are really needed for a professional and perfect MLA research paper. MLA is otherwise known as Modern Language Association and is the most common type of writing style used when it comes to papers, especially for citing sources and topics that deal with liberal arts as well as the humanities.

Formatting Options:

There are two different formats for an MLA paper; the two formats are a general one and a paper one. For the general one, there is a certain way for the manuscript to be formatted and the English language needs to be used a certain way, it is meant to provide writers with a way to properly reference the sources they are using for the paper through citing them in the essay as well as on the Works Cited page. As for the paper format the set-up is the same.

Basic Guidelines:

• Double space your paper
• Paper needs to be typed and printed out on standard paper
• Font needs to 12 pt. and Times New Roman
• Can only have one space between each period or other punctual mark.
• The margins need to be one inch on all sides
• A header should be made and the pages should be numbered on the upper right hand corner.
• Italics can be used throughout the essay such as for titles and even to provide emphasis.
• In the end, before the Works Cited page is where, if any, endnotes should go.

Actually writing and formatting the Paper:

• Do not make a title page unless one is specifically asked for
• The upper left hand corner of the first page should have your name, the instructors name, the course and even the date. *This should be double spaced as well.
• Quotation marks and or Italics are used throughout the writing when referring to other works in the paper.
• There should also be a double space between the first line of the text and the title of the paper.
• A header should be made and should be placed in the upper right hand corner, which includes your last name and then the number of the page you are on. The first page with your name and date is marked as page one.

Other information:

Writing an MLA paper can be a lot of work and very detailed depending on the topic, the length, and the duration give to complete as well as many other factors. For writing section headings can be involved such as a new note in each paragraph and then one or two things to point out on each paragraph which turns out to be details to help you elaborate on the points you want to make throughout the essay. After a few times of writing an MLA paper, you will have the pattern and the format down to a science, being able to set one up and write one properly will be able to be a breeze to you.