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“Works Cited Page Checklist” by JM Paquette
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List the rules for a works cited page.
Works Cited Page Checklist
by JM Paquette
Did I do this right? A checklist for your Works Cited Page!
We get it: formatting can be tough, especially when you’ve been working on a paper for a while and your eyes are starting to cross and the letters are bleeding into one another. If you find yourself nearing the end, use this handy checklist to make sure your Works Cited Page follows all of the rules!
- Is your Works Cited on a new page of the paper? For instance, if your essay is four pages long, your Works Cited Page should be on page five. While you’re checking out page numbers, do a quick scan of your page layout. You should have your header in the upper right hand corner (last name page number) and the words “Works Cited” centered above your list. That’s it!
- Is your list double-spaced? Nicely done. How about those margins? Still one inch all the way around? Great!
- Are your entries in alphabetical order by the last name of the author or, if there is no available author, by the title? Scan your list now and remember your alphabet.
Also, keep in mind that when alphabetizing, you should ignore the words “The,” “a,” and “an.” For instance, a source called “This article is awesome” should go under “A” for “Awesome,” not “T” for “The.” (It took ITunes many years to figure this out—don’t make the same mistake!) - Scan the left side of your page. The first line of each new entry should be aligned with the margin. The rest of each citation (each line of text below the first one) should be indented. This makes it easier for readers to find the source they are seeking without wading through extra information.
- Did you add any unnecessary extras? Scan your page now and delete any bullet points or numbers. Your list is alphabetized—that’s enough organization for MLA. Also, you do not need to repeat your first page heading on this page (Name, teacher name, class, date). Just the upper right hand corner name and page number is enough.
You made it! Now your readers can use the Works Cited Page as MLA intended. Thanks for being a courteous MLA format user.
Important Concepts
if your essay is four pages long, your Works Cited Page should be on page five
Licenses and Attributions
CC LICENSED CONTENT, ORIGINAL
Composing Ourselves and Our World, Provided by: the authors. License: Attribution 4.0 International (CC BY 4.0)
Works Cited Page Checklist, by JM Paquette, Writing Commons. This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs 3.0 Unported License, CC BY-NC-ND 3.0 or CC BY-NC-SA 3.0
MULTIMEDIA CONTENT INCLUDED
Video 1: MLA Works Cited Page Checklist, Editor JMPaquette. License: Standard YouTube License.
