MLA 8

Creating Works Cited Lists

what is it?The Modern Language Association created the MLA Style Guide to provide

researchers with guidelines for writing and documenting scholarly borrowings.

There are other style guides; we use MLA.

MLA provides standard rules to follow so that most research papers are

formatted in a similar manner. This makes it easier for readers to comprehend

the information.

MLA’s citation and bibliographic standards allow readers to easily comprehend

the different parts of a citation for referencing purposes.

why do you care?

Trivia - the word plagiarism is derived from a Latin word that

means “kidnapper”. (plagiarius)

how do you avoid it?

● Cite your sources!

● Use EasyBib or another citation tool.

Some changes - For those of you who have had this lesson before changes in between MLA7 and MLA8 will be highlighted throughout this presentation.

One standard citation format that applies to every source type

Another change: Inclusion of “containers” in citationsContainers

The concept of containers is crucial to MLA style. When the source being documented forms part of a

larger whole, the larger whole can be thought of as a container that holds the source. For example, a short

story may be contained in an anthology. The short story is the source, and the anthology is the container.

More about containers later.

what do you need for a citation for a BOOK👀The author’s full name

👀Titles of any chapters or sections that were used

👀The title of the book ( or container )

👀Volume number of the book (if applicable)

👀The publisher of the book

👀The year the book was published

👀The name of any editors or translators, if applicable

👀Page numbers or ranges that were used

Oh Yeah!

You can omit the CITY of

publication for a book!Don’t need it, Don’t need to find it, Not necessary.

let’s try one ourselves - citing a BOOK

Using the books on your table work with a partner and find the following information from the book. Complete the form.

The author’s full name

Titles of any chapters or sections that were used

The title of the book or container

Volume number of the book (if applicable)

The publisher of the book

The year the book was published

The name of any editors or translators, if applicable

Page numbers or ranges that were used

let’s put it into EASYBIB

Structure of an MLA 8 citation for a book in print:

Easy bib will put all your information in MLA 8 format - but you must enter the information correctly. Here

is an example of what your citation should look like:

Author’s Last name, First name. “Title of chapter or section.” Title of the work,

translated by or edited by First name Last name, Vol. number, Publisher, Year the

book was published, page number(s).

Obviously, I’ve added different font to highlight the different sections of a citation.

You would not do that on your works cited page 😏

what about a WEBSITE?📌 Author - if none available, you can skip.

📌 Title of the article.

📌 Website name.

📌 Website sponsor or publisher - often found at the bottom of the page.

📌 Date of last update of webpage - often found at the bottom of the page.

📌 URL

What’s missing?

You no longer have to list the day that you accessed the webpage!

Whats new….The ability to use pseudonyms for author names

It is now acceptable to use online handles or screen names in place of authors’ names.

Example:

@WSJ. “Generation X went from the most successful in terms of homeownership rates in 2004 to the least

successful by 2015.” Twitter, 8 Apr. 2016, 4:30 p.m., twitter.com/WSJ/status/718532887830753280

let’s try one ourselves

Website practice examples: Travel.State.Gov - Website with NO author

Gizmodo - Website with author

EASYBIB

let’s find the information on the website.

Author if applicable

Title of article

Website title

Website Publisher

Date of last update

URL

let’s put it into EASYBIB

and a database?

Use a WCPSS database.

It will do it for you.

questions?