General Guidelines

• Type your paper or write it on a computer and print it out in black on standard-sized white paper (8.5 X 11 inches).
• Use Times New Roman 12 point type. Do not use bolding. 
• Double-space your paper.
• Set the margins of your document to 1 inch on all sides.
• Create a header that numbers all pages consecutively in the upper right-hand corner, one-half inch from the top and flush with the right margin. (Note: Your instructor or whoever is reading the manuscript may ask that you omit the number on your first page. Always follow their guidelines.)
• Use either underlining or italics throughout your essay for the titles of longer works and to provide emphasis.  Do not use ALL CAPITALS except for initials or acronyms like UTEP or MLA.  
• Normally, do not use footnotes. If you have any notes, include them on a page before your works cited page and format them the same way as your works cited list.  

Formatting the first page of your paper

• Do not make a title page for your paper unless specifically requested.
• Provide a double-spaced entry in the top left corner of the first page that lists your name (in normal order, not last-name-first), your instructor's name, the course, and the date.
• Create a header that numbers all pages consecutively in the upper right-hand corner, one-half inch from the top and flush with the right margin. (Note: Your instructor or whoever is reading the manuscript may ask that you omit the number on your first page. Always follow their guidelines.)
• Center your title on the line below the header with your name, and begin your paper immediately below the title.  The title should be in normal 12 point type.  Capitalize all major words, but do not use ALL CAPITALS for the title, do not underline it, and do not italicize or bold it. 

Here is a sample first page of an essay in MLA style:

Ramírez 1 Guadalupe Ramírez Owen Williamson English 0310 12 November 2008 Building a Dream: Reasons to Expand Ross-Aide Stadium     During the 2000 football season, the Purdue Boilermakers won the Big Ten Conference Title, earned their first trip to the Rose Bowl in thirty-four years, and played consistently to sold-out crowds. Looking ahead...

IMPORTANT NOTE: This is known as the MLA format. This format is used in most English classes at UTEP and in most colleges and universities throughout the USA.  Different formats may apply to different classes, such as psychology or journalism--follow your professor's instructions for paper formats, but if no format is specified, this one will usually serve for any university-level work.  O.W. 9/05

Adapted from http://owl.english.purdue.edu/handouts/research/r_mla.html#General

 

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Owen M. Williamson - Education Bldg 211E - phone: (915) 747 7625 - fax: (915) 747 5655

The University of Texas at El Paso - 500 W. University Ave. - El Paso, TX 79968

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