MLA Formatting Checklist for Essay #1

  1. Do you have a “Running Head” at the top right hand corner of the page, ½” from the top and 1” from the right hand margin, that includes your last name and the page number?

o Yes                 o No

  1. Does the Running Head appear on each page?

o Yes                 o No

  1. Are all the pages numbered consecutively?

o Yes                 o No

  1. Does the following information appear on the first page, placed at the left margin, 1” down from the top of the page, each on a separate line, double spaced (no extra spaces):  your name, your instructor’s name, the class name, and the date?

o Yes                 o No

  1. Does the date look like this example?  14 February 2008

o Yes                 o No

  1. Are all your margins 1”—no bigger, no smaller, including your bottom margin?  (NOTE:  If your word processor does not want to let you “fill” the page to the bottom margin, go to Format, then Paragraph, to Line and Page Control, and turn the “Widow and Orphan” control off.)

o Yes                 o No

  1. Do you have an interesting title?

o Yes                 o No

  1. Do the font and style of the title match the rest of your text (no bold, no italics, no underlining, no quotation marks)?

o Yes                 o No

  1. Have you used regular double spacing before and after your title and between all your paragraphs (no extra spacing)?

o Yes                 o No

  1. Is every single quotation you have used “tied in” to your text?  (That is, as explained in the Handbook, have you used “a brief introductory remark to provide a context for the quotation” [385]?)  Check each quotation.

o Yes                 o No

  1. Does every single quotation you have used have a correctly formatted citation?  Check each quotation.

o Yes                 o No

  1. Is any quotation longer than 4 lines set up in block format?

o Yes                 o No

Any item that is checked “NO” is incorrectly formatted and should be fixed at this time.

Last Updated 02/09/08