CHEM 100 Chemistry & Society: Writing

Here are some quick links to important information about writing research papers and properly citing your sources.

One of the easiest ways for a beginner to follow MLA style is to type over a template or paper already in APA style. With a template, the margins, font, headings, and other style features are already set. You just insert your content.

Microsoft Word includes an MLA template you can start with. It may be installed on your computer with Microsoft Word.

For Microsoft Word 2010:

• Open Microsoft Word and
• Click on the File in the Ribbon.

• Click New.

• In the box Search for online templates, enter MLA. Click Enter.

• Click on an appropriate MLA template and a popup box tells you more about the template. Click Research Paper in MLA Style. Notice that it is Provided by Microsoft Corporation. Other MLA templates are available but are not necessarily created by Microsoft.

If you don't see the template, you can download the MLA template from Microsoft. Go to the Microsoft Office Web site below. Search for MLA.

Any template is not necessarily guaranteed to be free of errors, but I have looked over the MLA template and I have not yet found any errors. This is not an endorsement of Microsoft or its products. Students and other authors of papers are always responsible for any errors so check your work!

Follow the style guide – ALWAYS.  This is not time to be creative.  Don’t agonize about why the guide tells you to do something, just do it!

Be consistent.  If the style guide says to use italics for the title of the book or journal (and Chicago does) use italics ALWAYS.

Don’t mix style guides.  Chicago and MLA cannot be used simultaneously in a paper.  Choose one and stick to it.

If you don’t know how to cite a particular source, look it up.  The style guide has thought of nearly every type of source.

Print off the citation of the source you consulted, when you consult it. Don’t say, “I’ll do it later,” or “I am not sure I want to use this source, I’ll go back to it if I do.”  Going back later without the citation is often impossible.