MLA paper format is the layout and structure of the research essay or article written in the Modern Language Association (MLA) format.
The paper format in MLA style has one-inch margins, double-spacing, the student's name, course name and number, and professor's name at the left header of the page with the student's last name and page number to its direct right.
The title of the essay or article is centered, and all words begin to the left of the title.
Lines are only double-spaced in the MLA format.
Block quotes come with a one-inch indentation.
Both footnote and parenthetical citation are used in MLA-style papers.
8.
5 X 11 is the standard paper size for MLA-style papers.
One benefit of MLA paper format is that it provides organization for research papers.
A rather chaotic situation would ensue if papers did not have a set standard for organization.
MLA format also familiarizes students with standard academic writing in liberal arts, humanities, and language disciplines.
For students intending to become future researchers and scholars, the format is an essential tool.
Next, MLA paper format increases student confidence in academic pursuit.
Often, formats can seem like impossibilities.
Students often finish writing a paper, only to turn around and say, "Oh, brother, now I have to format it.
" The paper format helps students to know what professors want so that students are not left "in the dark" when it comes to professorial expectations for MLA-style research papers.
Moreover, the paper format creates a research paper that is aesthetically pleasing.
First impressions are often everything; how much more in the academic world? In the same way first impressions make the difference between employment and unemployment, they also make a difference between academic achievement and academic failure.
A student can have great ideas and potential; but should he or she have an improper paper format, his or her ideas may never be appreciated for their brilliance.
A paper's first impression either solidifies a good grade or pulls down a good grade.
In most cases, a letter grade could be legitimately deducted from a student's overall research assessment, should he or she format the research paper improperly.
MLA paper format provides structure, something that humans need in every facet of life.
Structure teaches students to organize, to plan, and to discipline themselves.
The structure of MLA reaches far beyond academic research to every facet of life as humans know it.