The acronym stands for Modern Language Association in full. It is very useful in cultural studies, literature, foreign language, comparative literature, and English studies. It gives a proper guideline for documentation and writing of research on English literature and humanities. 

Formatting the front page

The MLA rules have four essential elements to apply as you set up a research paper. Ensure that the page margin is exactly one inch on both sides. Also, double-space the lines. This setup makes your text readable and allows whoever is reading to neatly ass comments. Ensure that your document has a header and a footer. The header should have a page number and your last name. It helps the reader track the ordering of the pages and gives it an aesthetic value. Finally, the top-left corner of the first page should have your course information, such as the due date of the assignment, the name of the course, the teacher’s name, and your full name.

In-text citation

There are two sections you can include the references, and they are at the end of the page or quotes used within the paper. The citations you make within the paper using quotes is what we call in-text citation. A common use of this format is when you directly quote the source or reference the author or the title. 

You should also put down the page number and the writer’s last name and enclose it with a parenthesis after making a quote from it. If you have the author’s name within the quote, you will only need to include the page number in parenthesis. 

Detailed information

• When giving references inside your paper, it should educate the perusers about the starting point of the sources from where you are referring to your data. The reference page is known as the “Works Cited”. This page is the place where the creator offers credit to the source. Things set inside a reference include a sequence of the writer’s last name, article title, and date published.
• Electronic sources: Electronic sources use the innovator’s name and page number or zone number for in-substance references. It is just if the data does not have page or area numbers by any strategies. By at that point, you would remember the creator’s name for the part after you have alluded to the recorded data.

Choosing the right in-text citation method                

We use parenthesis in most cases for citations meaning that they need to be added at the end of the sentence. However, if one of the information that should be in the citation is already in the quoted text, you do not need to add it again in the citation. 

How to arrange in-text citation

Sometimes you might find more than one sources that you need to cite in the same text. If you do not place it correctly, you might end up confusing the readers. To avoid this, you should give the short title to identify which citation they refer to.

Conclusion

There are several formatting styles, and MLA is one of the most used. MLA is quite time-consuming, especially if you are dealing with several references. The above tips will help you find it a bit easier to cite your sources.

• Begin on a broad perspective and narrow it down

In the initial paragraph, provide a brief description of the research area and pinpoint your focus on the particular points. It will go along to ensure that your topic falls into the broader scope and hence will make your work get accessed by a large audience.

• Provide the aims and the vitality

State what you wish to achieve and what your reader should base their interest in while finding out whether you have nailed it or missed it.

• Have a thorough citation but avoid overdoing it

After narrowing down your focus to the particular topic you have, cover the latest and relevant literature in line with your research. The review of the literature should get completed but not lengthy. It would be best if you understood that you are not jotting a review. If you realize that you have stuffed your intro with many citations, review them instead of writing all of them.

• Quit providing many citations for a single point

Providing a lot of citations for a point might make the intro look vague and overly done. Your professor might also question your understanding of the concept if all you do is refer to other people’s work hence losing the originality.

• State the research question or hypothesis clearly

When researching the sciences, you can help frame your research by framing your research. For exploratory studies and formal sciences, you could state a research question. You don’t necessarily need to say a research question is an interrogative form. You can instead twist the problem in a declarative way.

• Keep it short

Avoid jotting lengthy introductions. The best target is between 500 to 1000 words. To get the most transparent guidance, consider checking the guidelines of the journal.

• Be sure to show and avoid telling

The main goal of your introduction is to tell the reader why the research is worth reading. Instead of loosely saying the topic or subject is important, show the audience why it is vital. 

• Do not provide too much detail

If you are writing a paper in a field that mostly sums up the study’s main results before telling the methods, you should keep off from stating too many detailed results. The products should get developed in the body of the paper so that the reader fully understands.

• Check the requirements of your journal

Several journals have requirements that get specific for the intro in the guidelines for the writers. For instance, you might get given a maximum word count for the project you get given.

• Last remarks

When you start jotting your project, plan for the intro first. It will guide you through the rest of the paper. You will get to provide details about your background, the aims, the research question, or the hypothesis. The introduction is an integral part of the paper as it sets the scene for all that follows through. Several authors must jot the methods, discussion, and results in completion before coming back to the article to write the introduction.