MLA Paper Format Template

The Modern Language Association (MLA) format is a widely used citation style for academic writing in the humanities. Here’s an MLA format template for a research paper, which includes the main components and formatting guidelines:

[Your Name]
[Professor’s Name]
[Course Title]
[Date in format: Day Month Year]

Title of Your Paper (centered, no bold, no italics, no underlining)

Indent the first line of each new paragraph by 0.5 inches (1.27 cm). The document should be double-spaced with 1-inch (2.54 cm) margins. Use a legible 12-point font, such as Times New Roman.

I. Introduction (bolded, centered)

A. Background information

B. Thesis statement

II. Body (bolded, centered)

A. Topic Sentence 1 (1st-level heading, flush left, bold)

1. Supporting Point 1 (2nd-level heading, flush left, italics)

2. Supporting Point 2 (2nd-level heading, flush left, italics)

B. Topic Sentence 2 (1st-level heading, flush left, bold)

1. Supporting Point 1 (2nd-level heading, flush left, italics)

2. Supporting Point 2 (2nd-level heading, flush left, italics)

III. Conclusion (bolded, centered)

A. Restate the thesis

B. Summarize main points

C. Closing thoughts

Works Cited (centered, no bold, no italics, no underlining)

[Entries should be alphabetically ordered by the author’s last name and use a hanging indent.]

Last Name, First Name. “Title of the Article.” Title of the Journal, vol. #, no. #, Year, pp. #-#.

Last Name, First Name. Title of the Book. Publisher, Year.

Remember to cite all sources used throughout your paper and on the Works Cited page.
Use in-text citations with the author’s last name and the page number where the information was found (e.g., Smith 25).