MLA StyleMs. Croney

MLA Style MLA (Modern Language Association)

style most commonly used to write papers and cite sources within the liberal arts and humanities.

Why do we use MLA? Avoid plagiarism Increase credibility Formalize papers

Plagiarism Unknowingly or knowingly using

someone else’s intellectual property as your own.

Don't Steal

Two Types of Citation

Parenthetical Information set off

by parenthesis

Works Cited Located at the end

of the essay Provides more

detailed information of parenthetical information

General Guidelines: Paper Format Typed White 8.5x11 inch

paper Double-space Legible font (e.g.

Times New Roman)

12 pt. font One space after

punctuation marks One inch margins Indent the first

line of paragraphs half-inch from the left margin (Tab key)

General Guidelines: Paper Format Create header that numbers all pages

Upper right-hand corner Use italics for the titles of longer works

Use sparingly when showing emphasis

First Page of Paper NO title page Upper left-hand

corner of paper Your name Teacher’s name Name of class Date

http://rwc.hunter.cuny.edu/reading-writing/on-line/mla-sample-research-paper.html

In-Text Citation Place relevant source information in

parentheses after a quote or a paraphrase.

ALL info in the in-text citation MUST also be on the Works Cited page.

In-Text Citation: Books Author-Page

Author’s last name and the page number(s) from which the quotation or paraphrase is taken

Wordsworth stated that Romantic poetry was marked by a "spontaneous overflow of powerful feelings" (263).

In-Text Citation: Books Romantic poetry is characterized by the

"spontaneous overflow of powerful feelings" (Wordsworth 263).

Wordsworth extensively explored the role of emotion in the creative process (263). (263). Let’s people know that that the

information your mentioned can be found on page 263 of the book in which you gathered your information.

In-Text Citation:Other Print Sources

Magazine & Journal Provide a signal

word or phrase & page number

If you provide signal word/phrase in sentence no parenthetical necessary

Unknown Author Use a shortened

title of the work Quotation marks if

it's a short work (e.g. articles)

Italicize it if it's a longer work (e.g. plays, books, television shows, entire websites)

Page number

Unknown Author Example We see so many global warming

hotspots in North America likely because this region has “more readily accessible climatic data and more comprehensive programs to monitor and study environmental change . . . ” (“Impact of Global Warming” 6).

Authors with same last name provide both authors' first initials in your

citation

Authors with Same Name Example Although some medical ethicists claim

that cloning will lead to designer children (R. Miller 12), others note that the advantages for medical research outweigh this consideration (A. Miller 46).

Multiple Authors Three or fewer authors

List the authors' last names in the text or in the parenthetical citation

More than three authors first author's last name followed by et al.

Multiple Authors Examples Smith, Yang, and Moore argue that

tougher gun control is not needed in the United States (76).

The authors state "Tighter gun control in the United States erodes Second Amendment rights" (Smith, Yang, and Moore 76).

Multiple Authors cont. Jones et al. counter Smith, Yang, and

Moore's argument by noting that the current spike in gun violence in America compels law makers to adjust gun laws (4).

Legal experts counter Smith, Yang, and Moore's argument by noting that the current spike in gun violence in America compels law makers to adjust gun laws (Jones et al. 4).

Non-Print Citations Internet Artwork

Music Film

Selecting the Right Internet Source .edu .org .net .com No Wikipedia

Internet Detective

In-Text Citation of Non-Print Material Citation must be referenced on your

Works Cited page You don’t need page numbers or

paragraph numbers Only include partial URLs (i.e. CNN.com

or Forbes.com NOT http://www.cnn.com or http://forbes.com).

So, you want to quote someone.

Incorporating Short Quotations Quotations should

take up no more than 4 lines of prose and 3 lines of verse (a song or poem or scripture)

Punctuation after the parenthetical citation

Quotation Examples According to some, dreams express

"profound aspects of personality" (Foulkes 184), though others disagree.

According to Foulkes's study, dreams may express "profound aspects of personality" (184).

Is it possible that dreams may express "profound aspects of personality" (Foulkes 184)?

Incorporating Long Quotations Place quotations in a free-standing block

of text and omit quotation marks entire quote indented one inch from

the left margin maintain double-spacing

Long Quotation ExampleIn his poem "My Papa's Waltz," Theodore Roethke explores his childhood with his father:The whiskey on your breath Could make a small boy dizzy; But I hung on like death: Such waltzing was not easy. We Romped until the pans Slid from the kitchen shelf; My mother's countenance Could not unfrown itself. (quoted in Shrodes, Finestone, Shugrue 202)

Adding and Omitting Words in a Quotation When adding use brackets [ ]

Jan Harold Brunvand, in an essay on urban legends, states: "some individuals [who retell urban legends] make a point of learning every rumor or tale" (78).

Adding and Omitting Words in a Quotation When omitting use ellipsis (…)

In an essay on urban legends, Jan Harold Brunvand notes that "some individuals make a point of learning every recent rumor or tale . . . and in a short time a lively exchange of details occurs" (78).

Works Cited Page

Works Cited Basics Is the very last

page of essay Page is titled at

the top as Works Cited

Has same margins as the rest of the page

Double spaced 2nd line of each

citation is indented

Entries are listed alphabetically by the author's last name

Works Cited: Print Material Burke, Kenneth. Language as Symbolic

Action: Essays on Life, Literature, and Method. Berkeley: U of California P, 1966.

Henley, Patricia. The Hummingbird House. Denver: MacMurray, 1999. Print.

Wordsworth, William. Lyrical Ballads. London: Oxford U.P., 1967.

“The Impact of Global Warming in North America.” GLOBAL WARMING: Early Signs. 1999. Web. 23 Mar. 2009.

Other Non-Print examples for Works Cited

Film Herzog, Werner,

dir. Fitzcarraldo. Perf. Klaus Kinski. Filmverlag der Autoren, 1982. Film.

Internet Aristotle. Poetics. Trans.

S. H. Butcher. The Internet Classics Archive. Web Atomic and Massachusetts Institute of Technology, 13 Sept. 2007. Web. 4 Nov. 2008. ‹http://classics.mit.edu/›.

Basic Rules for Internet Citing Author and/or editor names (if available) Article name in quotation marks (if

applicable) Title of the Website, project, or book in

italics. (Remember that some Print publications have Web publications with slightly different names. They may, for example, include the additional information or otherwise modified information, like domain names [e.g. .com or .net].)

Basic Rules for Internet Citing continuedAny version numbers available, including revisions, posting dates, volumes, or issue numbers.Publisher information, including the publisher name and publishing date.Take note of any page numbers (if available).Date you accessed the material.URL (if required, or for your own personal reference).

Works Cited The Purdue OWL. Purdue U Writing Lab,

2010. Web. 03/07/2011.