Research your paper. Process essays generally describe a specific process or procedure and may require references to support the implicit claim your essay will make, which is that the process you describe is the correct or best one to use.
Format your paper according to MLA guidelines by double-spacing the text, selecting a traditional 12-point font such as Times New Roman and setting the margins of the document to 1 inch on each side.
Add a header to the upper right-hand corner of your paper. This header will include your last name and the page number.
Type your name, your instructor's name, your course name and number and the date on separate lines in the top left corner of your first page.
Center the text on the next line after the date and type your title.
Indent and begin writing your paper on the next line.
Introduce each of your references using the author's first and last name and the title of the work the first time you quote or paraphrase them in your process essay. For example, the first time you quote the article "Writing a Process Essay" by John Smith, write:
In the article "Writing a Process Essay," John Smith asserts that "..."
If the article has no author, introduce it by title only.
Cite each initial quote or paraphrase using a parenthetical in-text citation that includes the page number of the quote if it came from a print source and the title or a shortened version of the title of the article if no page number is available. Punctuate with a period after the parenthetical citation. For example, for a quote from the print article "Writing a Process Essay" by John Smith, write:
In the article "Writing a Process Essay," John Smith asserts that "..." (13).
If you found the article online and it does not have page numbers, you may omit the parenthetical citation.
Continue to cite all quotes and paraphrases used in your paper, referring to previously introduced authors by last name only. When you name the author in the text, include only the page number in your parenthetical citation:
Smith argues that process essays require clear organization (35).
If there is no page number, you may omit the parenthetical citation.
When you do not name the author in the text, include both the author's last name and the page number in the parenthetical citation:
Writers may need to define technical terms in process essays (Smith 25).
If the author's name is not available, cite using the title of the work referenced:
Writers may need to define technical terms in process essays ("Writing" 25).
Center the first line of a new page at the end of your paper and type "Works Cited."
List all of your references in MLA format. Do not use blank lines between references. Basic MLA format for Works Cited references looks like this:
Author's last name, author's first name. Title of work in italics if a long work, such as a book, or in quotation marks if a short work, such as an essay or article. Italicized title of work the source is in, such as a collection or magazine, if necessary. Place of publication: publishing company, year of publication. Medium (such as print or web).
For example:
Smith, John. "Writing a Process Essay." Tips for Writers (in italics). New York: Academic Publishers, 2009. Print.
Find specific formats for different source types in your MLA stylebook or an online MLA guide.
Indent the second and subsequent lines of each of your Works Cited reference listings.