Why Use MLA?
Using MLA Style properly makes it easier for readers to navigate and comprehend a text through familiar cues that refer to sources and borrowed information. Editors and instructors also encourage everyone to use the same format so there is consistency of style within a given field. Abiding by MLA's standards as a writer will allow you to:
Provide your readers with cues they can use to follow your ideas more efficiently and to locate information of interest to them
Allow readers to focus more on your ideas by not distracting them with unfamiliar or complicated formatting
Establish your credibility or ethos in the field by demonstrating an awareness of your audience and their needs as fellow researchers (particularly concerning the citing of references)
Use white 8 ½ x 11” paper
Make 1 inch margins on the top, bottom, and sides
The first word in every paragraph should be indented one half inch
Indent set-off quotations one inch from the left margin
Use any type of font that is easy to read, such as Times New Roman. Make sure that italics look different from the regular typeface.
Use 12 point size
Double space the entire research paper, even the works cited page
Leave one space after periods and other punctuation marks, unless your instructor tells you to leave two spaces
Source: Purdue OWL