MS. Berry's cheat sheet for MLA

1. Ms. Berry’s Cheat Sheet of MLA formatting
Huh? Ms. Berry what is MLA Formatting?
Just as football referees dress a certain way, and Japanese chefs cook a certain way, writers in certain disciplines follow a certain set of conventions, known
as MLA format or MLA style. MLA style is used to form a research paper. Without guidelines for a style and formatting of a manuscript, there could be several
different ways a person could write a word, format a page, or format a paragraph. The Modern Language Association of America developed a handbook that
provides a comprehensive reference guide to writing using the MLA style. This document will show you how to format an essay in MLA style.
Simple Requirements
1. Font must be Times New Roman or Arial size 12 only
2. Page must have one inch margins on all sides (This is a preset for MS Word)
3. Heading must appear in the top left hand corner of the page
4. All work must be double spaced
5. Save the document with your last name and assignment number
Steps:
1. Font- Font in MLA papers mustbe Times New Roman or Arialsize12 only.
On the“Home” ribbon, in the“Font” box, click on thefont drop-down menu (the
small arrow next to theword “Calibri”) to showavailablefonts. Usethedrop down
menu to scroll down and select “Times New Roman” font.
On the “Home” ribbon, in the “Font” box, click on the small arrow on the box that
states “11.” Using the drop down menu, scroll down and select font size “12” for the
paper.
2. All documents turned in in MLA format mustbedoublespaced. Onceyou arefinished typingyourdocument, doublespaceit so
it can be read easily by others. On the Home Ribbon, thereis abox labeled Paragraph thereis abutton (shownbelow) that
changes theline spacingof your document. Highlight ALL text in thedocument then clickthe Line SpacingButton and select
2.0.

2. 3. Each paper must haveaproper heading. A heading includes your name, thedate, theclass or section and thegeneral
assignment. Skip oneline, and center thetitleof your work.
4. Savingyour work is important. Our school system giveseach student spacewherethey can savedocumentsand access them
on any school computer. You should get in thehabit of savingyour work on thenetwork, so you can open and print anywhere!
1. On the File Ribbon, click Save As
2. A box will pop up allowingyou options tosave. In order tosaveyourworkto beaccessed laterfind your
student ID number under thetab labeled Computer in thesidebar
5. Saveyour work by usingyour lastname.assignmentname. Click Save.
Side bar with Computers Tab;
look for ID number