Research paper MLA editing
When you finish a research paper, what do you do? If you say, “Turn it in,” and have not edited and proofread it first, you are flirting with a bad grade. There’s a lot involved in editing:
- Does your introduction contain a solid thesis statement?
- Do your paragraphs have topic sentences
- Does the piece flow logically?
- Is your sentence structure good?
- Is your punctuation correct?
- Have you checked that your paper has followed the format style that your instructor requires and that all of your citations are done correctly?
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The Physical Appearance. There are very specific MLA guidelines regarding how your paper must be laid out. Be certain that you have met all of these “rules.”
The First Page
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The first page of our paper is both your title page and the beginning of your content. There is no separate title page as with many other styles.
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Upper left-hand corner of the first page must include your name, then double space, then your instructor’s name, then double space and then the date of submission
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On the first page, your title is centered doubled-spaced below the submission date.
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Still on the first page, your paper content begins, double-spaced after your title
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Your first page is paginated #1. Pagination is in the upper right-hand corner for all pages.
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Beginning with page 2, you have a running header in the upper right-hand corner – your last name followed by the page number.
Margins/Justification
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Margins must be one-inch all around
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Left margin is justified; right margin is not
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The paper is double-spaced
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Each paragraph is indented ½ inch
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Quotations that are more than 40 words are indented one-inch from the margins and single-spaced.
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In-Text Citations. There are two things to consider here – when do you need to cite an author and how do you do it.
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In general, when you take an idea, an opinion, or a concept from a resource, you must cite that author.
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Any time you quote a source, you must cite it.
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Note: Any source you cite within your text must be included in your end-of-text reference page (bibliography).
Example of In-Text Citations
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Following the text you need to cite, you should have the source in parentheses. It should include the authors name and page number(s). Example: (Jones pp. 12-13). This is the same for books, journal articles and web resources.
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If there is more than one author, separate the last names by commas, but do not put a comma between the final name and the page number(s).
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The same citation format is used when you cite a direct quote.
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You may also cite a source within your text like this: “According to Jones (pp. 12-13), food insecurity among children is on the rise.”
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End-of-Text Citations. This requires strong attention to detail. Do not fail to follow these general guidelines:
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Your title should be “Works Cited,” and it should be centered at the top of the page.
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The listing should be double-spaced throughout, both within entries and between them.
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You should only list the resources that you cited within your text.
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Alphabetize by the beginning word of each entry – this includes articles (A, An, The). Most resources will have authors, and they should be alphabetized by last name.
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Indent the 2nd line of each entry 5 spaces
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Underline complete titles
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Entries should not be numbered
Common Examples of Entries
Book:
Jones, E., Children of Poverty, New York: Random House, 2014.
Journal Article
Jones, E., “Children of Poverty,” ASCD Journal, May, 2014, pp. 8+.
(Note: Volume numbers are not used, because dates are always included. The use of “8+” means that the article began on page 8 but the rest was continued on a later page in the journal.)
Web Resource
Jones, E., “Children of Poverty,” ASCD Journal, May, 2014 (accessed Sept., 2014), http://www.ASCD.net/article/children-of-poverty.
Obviously, there are a myriad of other types of resources that you might use. There are a number of citation tools that you can use to craft these citations. Use one of them if you have any questions about how an entry should be formatted.
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Research paper MLA editing is tedious work, but it must be done right. Remember, your instructor is fully familiar with this style and will catch errors.
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Use the style guide provided by your instructor. There may be little tweaks that s/he wants.
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As you become more familiar with MLA style, editing it will get easier too.
- Use your style guide if you are unsure about any format requirement. If your instructor has not provided one, MLA has one online.
- Do use a checklist, like the one provided above, to make sure that you have covered all of the editing/proofing you need to do.
- Do ask your instructor if you do not understand a specification
- Do take breaks, especially as you review the “Works Cited” page – you will get tired and perhaps sloppy.
- Do put in the time necessary to ensure that your format is right.
- Do not speed through this process. Attention to detail is necessary, especially where punctuation is concerned.
- Do not think that formatting is not important to your instructor – you don’t know how much weight s/he places on it.
- Do not guess. Get out that style guide and double-check.
- Do not get sloppy with the physical layout specifications. A one-inch margin means a one-inch margin.
- Do not ignore or guess on punctuation. Check and re-check.
- Not setting margins correctly is a common mistake. If you do not know how to set that up in your word processing program, get someone to help you do it.
- Punctuation consists of periods, commas, and colons. These are tiny details but important ones. You need to “bite the bullet” and check every piece of punctuation.
- The most common errors occur in the “Works Cited” page. Be sure that you check the guide or ask your instructor.
