Your name,

your
teachers
name, the
course, and
the date of
the paper are
doublespaced in 12point, Times
New Roman
font. Dates in
MLA are
written in
this order:
day, month,
and year.

Smith 1
Michael Smith
Mrs. Jones

Page numbers begin on

and with page 1. Type
your last name next to the
page number so that it
appears on every page.

ELA 8
7 January 2013
Formatting Your Second Quarter ELA 8 Summative Research Paper

Titles are
centered and
written in 12point, Times
New Roman
font. The title
is not bolded,
underlined, or
italicized.

The Modern Language Association (MLA) format is standard for papers in courses in
the humanities, including English composition and literature courses. Among the required
features are double-spacing throughout, inch (5 space) paragraph indents at the
beginning of each new paragraph, no extra spaces between paragraphs, and 1-inch
margins. Always use Times New Roman or a similar book font with a 12-point size unless
MLA requires
doublespacing
throughout a
document; do
not singlespace any
part of the
document

otherwise assigned or permitted. The Help files of Microsoft Word will provide directions
for setting these features. The Help tab is accessible through the upper menu bar at the top
of your Microsoft Word page.
Many teachers of other subjects require the use of MLA format for formal papers.
Writing papers in MLA format will help prepare you for future classes in the middle school,
high school, and will even help you in college! Remember, the final copy of your
Summative Research Paper should be at least two pages long, but absolutely no more than
three pages after it is properly formatted. Refer to the assignment sheet and be sure to
include all of the listed requirements. Please see me if you have any questions or are
unable to correctly format your paper.

In-text citations occur after the quote but

before the period. The authors/authors
name/s go before the page number with
no comma in between.

Example: I tell myself that as long as I keep taping my progress reports, nothing will be
lost; the record will be complete (Keyes 171).

Smith 2
Research Paper
The introductory paragraph, or introduction, should set the context for the rest of
the paper. Tell your readers why you are writing and why your topic is important.
The thesis statement usually is the last sentence of the introduction.
A thesis is a clear position that you will support and develop
throughout your paper. This sentence guides or controls your paper.
Body Paragraphs have these four elements: a transition, a topic sentence, evidence,
and a brief wrap-up sentence.
The conclusion wraps-up what you have been discussing in your paper.