MLA STYLE

Orientation Plan

Citations within your paper Plagiarism Works cited list

Key Book

Gibaldi, Joseph. MLA Handbook for Writers of Research Papers.

7th ed. New York: Modern Language Association of

America, 2009. Call number: Reference: LB 2369.G53 2009.

Citations within your paper

Two types: quotations and paraphrases.

Citations within your paper How to quote: chapter 3.7 Basics: double quotes around words. If you mention author’s name,

no need for author in parentheses. If you don’t, put author’s name in parentheses. Either way, put a page number(s) in parentheses.

Also, if quote is longer than four lines, begin new line, set off by ten spaces, and do not use quotes.

Citations within your paper Quotations: examples

Short:

“He was obeyed,” writes Joseph Conrad of the company manager in

Heart of Darkness,“ yet he inspired neither love nor fear, nor even

respect” (87).

Citations within your paper

Long quotation:

At the conclusion of the Lord of the Flies, Ralph and the other boys realize the horror of

their actions:

The tears began to flow and the sobs shook him. He gave himself up to them now

for the first time on the island; great, shuddering spasms of grief that seemed to

wrench his whole body. His voice rose under the black smoke before the burning

wreckage of the island; and infected by that emotion, the other boys began to

shake and sob too. (186)

Citations within your paper

For more specifics on quotations, such as how to quote poetry, see 3.7 of the handbook.

Citations within your paper

Paraphrases Basics: Tied into the works cited list which is coming

next. The author’s name followed by page number in parentheses : (Swift 29).

Citations within your paper

Example of a paraphrase; This point has already been argued (Tannen

178-85). If you mention the author’s name within your

paper, you only need to give the page number (23).

For more specifics, for example on books with more than one author, or books with no author, see chapter 6.

Plagiarism Using someone else’s words or ideas without giving them credit,

without saying where the words came from. Plagiarism is on a continuum from unintentional use of an idea to

deliberate turning in of someone else’s essay as your own. Some ideas and facts are so well established you need not cite a

source. For example, Barrack Obama was elected president. If you are not sure however, err on the side of caution.

Plagiarism

Ohlone on plagiarism: http://www.ohlone.edu/org/studentservices/academicdishonesty.html

Plagiarism

Example: http://catalog.ohlone.edu:2048/login?url=http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=aph&AN=7454403&site=ehost-live

Works cited list

Reason for number of details needed Formats for many types of items, such as

government documents, sound recordings, interviews, online books, and more.

Electronic source citations are more complicated.

Do your best and expect to have a few mistakes.

Works cited list

Automatic generators; databases, Word, www.citationmachine.net and others – use with caution

Works cited list

Basics: http://www2.ohlone.edu/org/library/

MLA7th.pdf Book, journal article, database article

Works cited list

Tutorial: http://support.library.ewu.edu/reference/

tutorial/flash/citation.html Try it out