2/23/20101DeCicco: MLA Basics. MLA Rules for Essays General Guidelines Type your paper on a computer...

MLA WRITING RULES

2/23/2010 1DeCicco: MLA Basics

MLA Rules for EssaysGeneral GuidelinesType your paper on a computer and print it out

on standard, white 8.5 x 11-inch paper, Double-space the text of your paper, and use font

Times New Roman. Font size 12Set the margins of your document to 1 inch on all

sides.


Create a header that numbers all pages consecutively in the upper right-hand corner, one-half inch from the top and flush with the right margin.


Use either italics throughout your essay for the titles of Books, Name of Periodical, and longer works of poetry.


In text citation…QuotationsThe author's last name and the page

number(s) from which the quotation or paraphrase is taken must appear in the text, and a complete reference should appear on your Works Cited page.

Example Wordsworth stated that Romantic poetry was

marked by a "spontaneous overflow of powerful feelings" (263).


How to Cite Another Person:Quoting Another Source

Short QuotationsTo indicate short quotations (under 5 lines for

prose or three lines of verse) in your text, enclose the quotation within double quotation marks.

Provide the author and specific page citation (in the case of poetry, provide line numbers) in the text

Include a complete reference on the Works Cited page.


Short Citation ExamplesAccording 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).

Poetry) Cullen concludes, "Of all the things that happened there / That's all I remember" (11-12).


Long Citation (more than 5 lines)End sentence before quote with : (colon) Start the quotation on a new line, with the

entire quote indented one inch from the left margin; maintain double-spacing

The happy camper stated: They entirely refused to have it in bed

with them, or even in their room, and I had no more sense, so, I put it on the landing of the stairs, hoping it would be gone on the morrow. (Smith 12)

Your own words to explain the quote start here.2/23/2010 8DeCicco: MLA Basics

Adding or Omitting Words In QuotationsIf you add a word or words in a quotation,

you should put brackets around the words to indicate that they are not part of the original text.

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).


If you omit a word or words from a quotation, you should indicate the deleted word or words by using ellipsis marks, which are three periods ( . . . ) preceded and followed by a space. For example:

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).


In-text Citations for Print Sources with Known AuthorFor books, magazines, scholarly journal

articles, and newspapers, provide the author’s last name) and page number either in your text or at the end of the quote.

ExampleHuman beings have been described by Kenneth

Burke as "symbol-using animals" (3). Human beings have been described as "symbol-using animals" (Burke 3).


In-text Citations for Print Sources with No Known AuthorWhen a source has no known author, use a

shortened title of the work instead of an author name. Place the title in quotation marks if it's a short work (e.g. articles) or italicize it if it's a longer work (e.g. plays, books, television shows, entire websites) and provide a page number.…region has “more readily accessible climatic

data and more comprehensive programs to monitor and study environmental change . . . ” (“Impact of Global Warming” 6).


In-Text Citation of a Work by Multiple AuthorsFor a source with three or fewer authors, list

the authors' last names in the text or in the parenthetical citation:The authors state "Tighter gun control in the

United States erodes Second Amendment rights" (Smith, Yang, and Moore 76).


For a source with more than three authors, use the work's bibliographic information as a guide for your citation. Provide the first author's last name followed by et al. or list all the last names.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).

OrLegal 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).


Citing Non-Print or Sources from the InternetWhen creating in-text citations for electronic,

film, or Internet sources, remember that your citation must reference the source in your Works Cited.

For electronic and Internet sources, follow the following guidelines in the order from first to last.


Include in the text the first item that appears in the Work Cited entry that corresponds to the citation (e.g. author name, article name, website name, film name).

Only provide partial URLs such as when the name of the site includes, for example, a domain name, like CNN.com or Forbes.com as opposed to writing out http://www.cnn.com or http://www.forbes.com.


Internet Citation ExamplesOne online film critic stated that Fitzcarraldo

is "...a beautiful and terrifying critique of obsession and colonialism" (Garcia, “Herzog: a Life”).

The Purdue OWL is accessed by millions of users every year. Its “MLA Formatting and Style Guide” is one of the most popular resources (Stolley et al.).


Works Cited PageThis is the page that let’s the reader know

where you found your sources. It is the very last page of your essay.

The works cited page is on a separate page from your essay and stapled at the end.

The page number for the work cited page follows the page number of the last page of your essay.


Basic FormatLastname, Firstname. Title of Book. Place of

Publication: Publisher, Year of Publication. Medium of Publication.

Book with One AuthorGleick, James. Chaos: Making a New Science. New

York: Penguin, 1987. Print.

Book with More Than One AuthorThe first given name appears in last name, first

name format; subsequent author names appear in first name last name format.

Gillespie, Paula, and Neal Lerner. The Allyn and Bacon Guide to Peer Tutoring. Boston: Allyn, 2000. Print.


Book with More Than Three AuthorsFirst authorlast, authorfirst, et al. Title of Book.

Place of Publication: Publisher, Year of Publication. Medium of Publication.


Book by a Corporate Author, Organization, or no Author

American Allergy Association. Allergies in Children. New York: Random, 1998.

Print.

A Work in an Anthology, Reference, or Collection(Your Text Book)

Lastname, First name. "Title of Essay/Story/Poem." Title of Collection. Ed. Editor's Name(s). Place of Publication: Publisher, Year. Page range of entry. Medium of Publication.


MLA Works Cited: Electronic SourcesWeb sites are different that books or

magazines. Sometimes there will not be an author while other times there may not even be a title. To cite a web site, use the following list. Put down what ever is available from the web site. Follow the order from first to last.


1. Author or editor's last name, then first name. 2. Title of the article in quotation marks. 3. Web site name, italicized. (Underlining is no longer used.)4. Edition or version number. 5. Web site owner or sponsor if available. 6. Date of publication (DD MM YYYY as in 15 June 2009).7. If a publication date is not available, use n.d. for "no date." 8. The word Web and a period to indicate the publication medium. 9. The date you accessed the site and a period. 10. include the URL of the document <in angle brackets> followed by a period. <http://www.webnme.com >use n.p. if no publisher name is available

and n.d. if no publishing date is given.2/23/2010 23DeCicco: MLA Basics

Web Works Cited ExampleEditor, author, or compiler name (if available).

Name of Site. Version number. Name of institution/organization affiliated with

the site (sponsor or publisher), date of

resource creation (if available). Medium of publication. Date of access. <Web Address>

Kirk, James T. “I Just Got To,,,Spock.” Warp Drive. 5 Ed. Star Fleet Academy, 23 February 2099. Web. 11 May 3012.<http://www.StarFleet.com >2/23/2010 24DeCicco: MLA Basics

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