The following is an excerpt from the听MLA Handbook for Writers of Research Papers, Theses, and Dissertations, ed. Joseph Gibaldi and Walter S. Achtert (New York: The Modern Language Association of America, 1977), pp.听44鈥�48.
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19听 听 Spacing
The research paper should be double-spaced throughout, including quotations and notes. (On the placement of notes, see 搂30.) 鈥�
20听 听Margins
Leave margins of one inch at the top, bottom, and both sides of the text. 鈥� Indent the first word of a paragraph [0.35 inches] from the left margin; indent quotations [0.5 inches] from the left margin (see 搂14). 鈥�
21听 听 The Title
A research paper [should have] a title page [that includes] the title, author鈥檚 name, instructor鈥檚 name, course number, and date of submission. 鈥� [Note that this page] is not counted as the first page of the paper鈥�.
The title is never put in quotation marks, [italicized,] underlined, or capitalized in full. (For capitalization, see 搂15.) Words are [italicized] in the title only if they would also be [italicized] in the text (see 搂10h).
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The Attitude toward Violence in Anthony Burgess鈥櫶�A Clockwork Orange
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The Use of the Noun听Chevisaunce听in Chaucer and Spenser
A period should not be used after titles or any centered headings, including Roman numerals used alone as section headings (see 搂22). The title ordinarily does not carry a symbol or number referring to a note. (Editors will occasionally violate this practice to cite the source of the work being printed.)
22听 听Divisions of the Text
Term papers rarely have formal divisions. Related groups of paragraphs may be separated from the preceding and following groups of paragraphs by skipping three lines (i.e., by double-spacing twice). In longer papers 鈥�, unified sections of thought are sometimes numbered (usually with Roman numerals); a subtitle may also be added (II.听From 1965 to 1971). The number and the subtitle appear four lines below the last line of the previous section and are either centered on the page or typed flush with the left margin. The first paragraph of the new section begins four lines below the subtitle. 鈥�
23听 听Tables and Illustrations
Illustrative material should be placed [on separate pages after the main text and before the bibliography]. Tables are usually labeled as 鈥渢ables,鈥� given Arabic numerals, and captioned; both label and caption should be completely in capital letters. Place the statement of the source of a table and any notes to the table immediately below the table; do not number the notes in the same series as the notes to the text (common practice is to use lowercase letters for notes to tables). Double-space throughout, ruling as needed.
Other types of illustrative material鈥攑hotographs, maps, line drawings, graphs, charts, and so forth鈥攕hould be labeled as 鈥渇igures鈥� (often abbreviated), assigned Arabic numbers, and given titles or captions (Fig.听1. Cousin,听Eva Prima Pandora, Louvre). 鈥�
24听 听Pagination
Number pages consecutively throughout the manuscript in the upper right-hand corner. 鈥� Do not punctuate page numbers by adding periods, hyphens, or other characters. 鈥�
25听 听Corrections and Insertions
Proofread and correct the research paper 鈥� carefully [before听printing the final draft for submission]. 鈥�
26听 听Binding
[All the pages of the research paper] should be [secured by a single staple听before being] handed in. 鈥�