MLA Formatting

MLA Checklist

• A legible font like Times New Roman at 12 pt.
• Double-spaced
• 1-inch margins on all sides
• 1 space after periods
• Pages numbered in the top right
• The heading should be on the left side and contains your name, your instructor’s name, the course, then the date
• In-text quotations should be cited after the quote with the author name, then the page number: (Smith 225-36)
• When omitting sections of quotes, use ellipses with spaces between each period:

( . . . )

• Works cited on a separate page unless instructed otherwise

 

Works Cited Guide

• All citations have hanging indents
• Citations are in alphabetical order
• If a source has no author, first make sure the source is credible, then cite by the source’s name: Encyclopedia of Indiana. New York: Somerset, 1993. Print.

 

E.G. Citation for a book with one author:

Lastname, Firstname. Title of Book. City of Publication: Publisher, Year of Publication.

Medium of Publication.

APA Formatting

A Basic Checklist of APA Style

• A legible font like Times New Roman at 12 pt.
• Double-spaced
• 1-inch margins on all sides
• 1 space after periods
• Each page has a running head with the page number

Title Page: Running Head: Title of Essay 1

Second and Every other page: Title of Essay 2

• Page numbers in running head are flush right

 

TITLE PAGE REQUIREMENTS:

• title of the paper for example: Balzac and Metaphysical Symbolism
• the author’s name for example: John Smith
• the institutional affiliation: Northern Arizona University

*Instructors may have their own requirements for title pages

 

ABSTRACT TIPS:

• The abstract should have the word abstract centered above it
• No indentations
• Summarize the main points of the text
• In-text quotations should be cited in parentheses after the quote in the author, year of publication, page number format: (Smith, 1994, p. 42)

 

Works Cited Guide

• Citations have hanging indents
• Citations should be in alphabetical order of the last name of the first listed author
• Authors are listed by last name, then initials
• Citation for a book with one author:

Author, A. A. (Year of publication). Title of work: Capital letter also for subtitle. Location: Publisher.

 

Chicago Formatting

Chicago Notes and Bibliography Style

 

The Chicago Notes and Bibliography style allows writers a system to reference their sources through footnote and endnote citations.

The NB system should include a note (endnote or footnote) each time a source is used, such use can be accomplished through a direct quote or through a paraphrase or summary.

 

• Citation has a hanging indent
• Arranged alphabetically by author’s last name
• Author’s name is inverted, last name is first
• Titles of books and journals are italicized. Titles of articles, chapters, poems, etc. are placed in quotation marks
• All major elements are separated by periods

 

Author Last name, First name. Title. Publishing location: Publisher name, date published.

Smith, Jerry. The Big Books of Things. New York: Penguin Group, 2006.

 

General Format Guidelines

• Margins are set to no less than 1” and no greater than 1.5”.
• Font should be legible, such as Times New Roman or Palatino.
• Preferable font size is 12pt.
• Text is consistently double-spaced, with the following exceptions:
  • Block quotations, table titles, and figure captions should be single-spaced.
  • A prose quotation of five or more lines should be blocked.
  • Block quotations do not have quotation marks
  • An extra line space should immediately precede and follow a blocked quotation.
  • Block quotes have a .5” indentation
• Notes and bibliographies should be singled-spaced internally; however, leave an extra line space between note and bibliographic entries.
• Page numbers begin in the header of the first page
• Subheadings are used for longer papers.
• Put an extra line space before and after subheadings, avoid ending them with periods.

 

Footnotes

• In the NB system, the footnote or endnote itself begins with the appropriate number followed by a period and then a space
• Added to the end of the page which the source is referenced
• Endnotes are to be compiled at the end of the document
• For both footnotes and endnotes a superscript number should correspond to bibliographic information for your sources and be placed in the document in the sentence in which your source is referenced

 

Notes

• The first note for each source must include all relevant information about the source: author’s full name, source title, and facts of publication
• If you cite the same source again, the note need only include the surname of the author, a shortened form of the title (if more than four words), and page number(s).
• If you cite the same source and page number(s) from a single source two or more times consecutively, the corresponding note should use the word “Ibid.,”
• If you use the same source but a different page number, the corresponding note should use “Ibid.” followed by a comma and the new page number(s).