Helpful Instructions For Creating An Essay In The MLA Format


There are many ways that a paper can be written and formatted. The Modern Language Association has created one that is extremely popular with universities and is known as MLA. If your paper is expected to be written in this style here are a few helpful instructions you should follow if you intend to do it right.


  • Read the guide booklet
  • It may seem obvious to you but it is very commonplace for people to attempt to cut corners in their assignments to save time. This is not an area where you should do that. Reading the guideline will show you exactly what you need to do in details as specified by the governing body. The official guide booklet will be exactly what needs to be done and even if it may be tedious to read, at least you will know it is accurate.


  • Look for supplementary instruction material
  • Having completed the official guide it is not a bad idea to read another supplementary booklet. These tend to be a bit shorter and more reader friendly. These can be thought of as the fun summary that can help you to revise the information you have already absorbed. Just remember that you should use these to supplement the unabridged version you have already read.


  • Look for other essays that were well formatted
  • Examples of properly styled MLA essays will help you immensely because they show what the finished product is supposed to look like You can even do a side by side comparison between your work and that of the other writers'. This will make it easy to spot all the areas where you fall short.


  • Get someone to look over your work for you
  • Sometimes it is hard to see your own errors. You may become blind to them after a while especially if you have been up late rushing to meet a deadline. You may be able to get that done by a friend or a tutor.


  • Use a template
  • Templates can make it easy for you by labeling all of the information you have to input o that you know exactly where to put it.


  • Look for help on the web
  • Online help can save you some time as well. Try this company if you are in need of a great resource for that extra push past the finish line as your deadline nears.