What is the MLA Format - Mr. Wolfe's English Class



What is the MLA Format?

The MLA format is a writing style established by the Modern Language Association that governs:

• The Paper Format

• Punctuation and Quotations

• Documentation of Sources and Works Cited

It is used for research papers in many college and university classes, including English, but it is not the only research paper format. Other formats include APA (American Psychological Association), Chicago, and Turabian.

Why Is the MLA Format Important?

The MLA Format is important because it provides a consistent format for writing papers. It also guides us in documenting[pic] and citing[pic] our sources. You must cite your sources in order to...

• Lend authority and credibility to your work

• Allow your readers to cross-reference your sources

• Acknowledge your academic debts

• Avoid Plagiarism.

What is Plagiarism?

Plagiarism is the simple act of presenting words, ideas, or other creative work of another as your own. This is done whenever you present these ideas without acknowledging the person’s contributions either verbally or in citation.

Essentials of the MLA Format:

Paper Format & The First Page Paper Format

***Always follow your instructor's directions!***

• One inch margins[pic] on all sides

• Recommended font is 12-point Times New Roman[pic]

• Double spaced[pic]

• A header[pic] on each page in the upper right-hand corner, half (1/2) inch below the top edge that includes:

o Your last name

o The page number

The First Page

• No title page

• In the upper left-hand corner provide:

o Your name

o Your instructor's name

o The course

o The date

• Center the title of your paper in the next line (see example below)

Essentials of the MLA Format: The Works Cited Page The Works Cited page lists all the sources you used (or cited) in your paper.

• Begin "Works Cited" on a new sheet of paper

• Title it Works Cited in the center[pic] of the first line

• Arrange entries in alphabetical order

o If no author is provided for a source, alphabetize the source by its title

o If you use more than 1 source by the same author, only provide the author's name for the first source. For each additional source, use three dashes (- - -) in place of the author's name.

• Begin each entry at the left margin and indent all additional lines of the entry by a half (1/2) inch. This is called Hanging Indentation. Each entry will look something like this:

Berg, Orley. Treasures in the Sand: What Archaeology Tells Us About the

Bible. New York: Pacific, 1993. Print.

Essentials of the MLA Format: Quotations and Punctuation

Short Quotations

When you use somebody else's words, you are quoting them. Short quotes must be inside quotation marks. For example:

Victor Hugo once said, "He who opens a school door, closes a prison."

Quoted in "Victor."*

Block Quotations

A quotation longer than 4 lines must be put into a block quote.

• NO quotation marks

• Start on a new line

• Indent[pic] 1 inch from margin

Citing Your Sources 

 Whenever you use somebody else's ideas in your research paper you must cite your sources by:

1. Listing the complete source citation in your works cited list.

2. Acknowledging the source in the text of your paper (in-text documentation).

You must cite your sources when...

• Quoting any words that are not your own.

Quoting means to repeat another source word for word, using quotation marks "".

• Summarizing facts and ideas from a source.

Summarizing means to take the key ideas from another source and shorten them, using your own words.

• Paraphrasing a source.

Paraphrasing means to put somebody else's ideas into your own words.

• When using factual information that is not common knowledge.

Common Knowledge

Common knowledge is information that appears in more than 5 sources.

Examples of information that is "common knowledge":

General Custer lost the battle at Little Big Horn.

Franklin Pierce, 14th President of the United States, was born in 1804 and died in 1869.

If in doubt, cite your source!

Anatomy of a Citation

No matter the type or medium of the source, all citations in MLA format share the same basic elements: 

• Author or editor

• Title of part and Title of whole

• Publication information (i.e. publisher or sponsor, date of publication, and page numbers)

• Medium: Print, Web, or other specific medium such as radio, television, or DVD.

• Additional information, if needed (For example, you must provide date of access for web sources.)

How to Cite Web Pages

Information you will need about the source:

• Author or editor[pic] (if given)

• Title of article. essay, entry or project accessed  (in quotes)

• Title of web site[pic], database, periodical, or professional site (underlined)

• Any additional information[pic] required for a comparable type of source

• Publisher or organization sponsoring the Web site[pic]. Use "N.p." for no publisher, if not given.

• Date of material (if given) or use "n.d." for no date (if not given)

• Date you accessed the information

• Only provide the URL (address of Web page) if the website is difficult to find (enclosed in brackets  ).

Many times you will have to consult a Web page other than the one you are viewing to identify author, date, and/or page publisher. Examine the home page or page just before the one you are viewing. You will usually not be able to find all of the information listed above.

Typical Web Page

Karper, Erin. "Creating a Thesis Statement." The OWL at Purdue. Purdue University, 28 Sept. 2006. Web. 31 Mar. 2007.

Web Page with No Author

"Alzheimer's Disease." MedlinePlus. U.S National Library of Medicine, 2007. Web. 2 Apr. 2007

No Author and No Date Given

"Cars, Trucks, & Air Pollution." Clean Vehicles. Union of Concerned Scientists, n.d. Web. 3 Aug. 2009.

 In-Text Documentation

In-text documentation is sometimes called parenthetical documentation because it requires the use of parentheses ( ). For every fact or idea you borrowed from another source, you must provide the author's last name and the page of the source. There are two ways you can do this:

1. Begin the quote or paraphrase with the author's last name and end the borrowed information with the page number in parentheses. For example:

According to Gary S. Becker, human capital, "the knowledge, information, ideas, skills, and health of individuals," is the greatest form of capital in the 21st century (3).

2. Or, provide the author's last name and the page number inside parentheses at the end of the borrowed information. For example:

Human capital, "the knowledge, information, ideas, skills, and health of individuals," is the greatest form of capital in the 21st century (Becker 3).

No Author

If the source you borrowed information from does not list the author's name, use the first significant word of the title. Use quotation marks and italics as appropriate.

For Example: The difference in earnings between the average American with just a high school diploma and the average American with a college degree has increased in the past twenty years, with most college graduates earning at least 23 percent more than those with just a high school diploma ("Rising" 35).

No Page Numbers

If the source does not have numbered pages, you are not required to provide a page number. However, you may provide the number of the paragraph, if possible. 

Example: The evidence clearly proves that the benefits of a college education to an individual and society prevail over the cost of earning a college degree (Porter par. 11).

More Than 1 Page Used

If the pages are continues, use a dash between the first and last page used.

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Bill Jones Jones 1

Professor Smith

English 1302

1 September 2009

Global Warming May Be Hazardous to Your Health

Can you imagine a planet where tropical diseases like malaria, cholera, typhoid, and dengue run rampant? Can you imagine asthma and respiratory diseases occurring in the majority of the population? Can you envision a world where heat strokes would become a common reason for death? All of this may very well happen here – on our planet – Earth!

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