MLA 7th EditionFormatting and Style

GuideWebsites like this prevent

you from having to memorize it all!!

Overview

This presentation will cover:• General MLA guidelines• In-text citations (parenthetical and footnote)

• Formatting quotations• Works Cited page• Formatting your paper in MLA using

Microsoft Word and/or Google Docs

What is MLA?

MLA (Modern Language Association) style formatting is often used in various humanities disciplines.

What does MLA regulate?

MLA regulates:

Document FormatIn-text citations (way we refer to any method for acknowledging sources while writing)

Works Cited (a list of all sources used in the paper)

Your Instructor Knows Best

#1 Rule for any formatting style:

AlwaysFollow your instructor’s

Guidelines

The #2 Rule is BE CONSISTENT. Your formatting style should not change, but remain

consistent throughout the paper.

FORMAT YOUR PAPER How to

Format: General Guidelines

Type on white 8.5“ x 11“ paper (duh)

Double-space everything *except the heading*

Use 12 pt. Times New Roman font (or similar font)

Set all margins to 1 inch on all sides

Indent the first line of paragraphs one half-inch - do

not skip extra lines between paragraphs

No “fun fonts”

Format: General Guidelines (continued)

Formatting the 1st Page

No title page unless specified

Create heading in the upper left corner 1st page

Your NameDue DateInstructor/Period

Center the paper title (no underlining, italics, quote, or bold)

Insert Page numbers in upper right corner, in the header (different from heading). Include your last name and page number.

Sample 1st Page

Smith 1Peter SmithOctober 12, 2008English / Period 6Current Issues Essay

Building a Dream: Reasons to Expand Ross-Ade Stadium

During the 2000 football season, the Purdue Boilermakers

won the Big Ten Conference Title, earned their first trip to the Rose

Bowl in thirty-four years, and played every game in front of a sold-out

crowd. Looking ahead….

MLA CITATIONSHow to create a

The Basic Pattern

Whatever the style (MLA, APA, Chicago)…

Each style has strict rules that MUST be followed for consistency and proper citation of all research.

Trying to memorize the format for every type of source in each style is CRAZY. If you learn the pattern and always have something to check it against you will be much happier.

Works Cited Page: BooksLastname, Firstname. “Chapter”. Title of Book. Place of

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

Examples:

Gleick, James. Chaos: Making a New Science. New York:

Penguin, 1987. Print.

Gillespie, Paula, and Neal Lerner. The Allyn and Bacon Guide to

Peer Tutoring. Boston: Allyn, 2000. Print.

Palmer, William J. Dickens and New Historicism. New York: St.

Martin's, 1997. Print.

---. The Films of the Eighties: A Social History. Carbondale:

Southern Illinois UP, 1993. Print.

Works Cited Page: Periodicals

Article in a Magazine Format

Author(s). “Title of Article.” Title of Periodical Day Month Year:

pages. Medium of publication.

Example:

Buchman, Dana. “A Special Education.” Good Housekeeping

Mar. 2006: 143-8. Print.

Article in Scholarly Journal FormatAuthor(s). “Title of Article.” Title of Journal Volume.Issue (Year):

pages. Medium of publication.

Example:

Duvall, John N. “The (Super)Marketplace of Images: Television

as Unmediated Mediation in DeLillo's White Noise.” Arizona

Quarterly 50.3 (1994): 127- 53. Print.

Works Cited Page: Web

Editor, author, or compiler name (if available). “Article Name.” Name of Site. Version number. Name of institution/organization

affiliated with the site (sponsor or publisher). Date of last update. Medium of publication. Date of access.

Examples:Bernstein, Mark. “10 Tips on Writing the Living Web.” A List

Apart: For People Who Make Websites. A List Apart Mag., 16 Aug. 2002. Web. 4 May 2009.

Felluga, Dino. Guide to Literary and Critical Theory. Purdue U, 28 Nov. 2003. Web. 10 May 2006.

“How to Make Vegetarian Chili.” eHow.com. eHow. n.d. Web. 24 Feb. 2009.

Works Cited Page: The BasicsSample Works Cited Page:

IN-TEXT CITATIONS The Basics of

In-Text Citations: the Basics

MLA most commonly uses PARENTHETICAL CITATIONS – this is what you will use in English class

Parenthetical citations depend on the medium (e.g. Print, Web, DVD)

Parenthetical citations also depend on the source’s entry on the Works Cited page

Signal word in the text is the first thing in the corresponding entry on the Works Cited page

Author-Page Style

In-text Example:

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

Corresponding Works Cited Entry:Wordsworth, William. Lyrical Ballads. London: Oxford UP, 1967. Print.

FOOTNOTES/ENDNOTESThe Basic of

Footnotes and Endnotes

Footnotes and Endnotes are a one way to tell your readers where you got the information and quotes that appear in your paper.

Your goal is to make it easy for your readers to see what sources you used -- and easy to find any that they might want to study further.

Unlike other citation formats you may be used to, Footnotes and Endnotes do not appear in the body of the paper, but rather at the end of the page (in the case of a footnote) or the end of a document (in the case of an endnote).

Footnotes – The BASICS

Your HISTORY CLASSES most commonly uses FOOTNOTE CITATIONS –

Use continuous superscript numbers to indicate in-text citations

Corresponding numbers appear at the bottom of the same page, where citations is located

The FIRST TIME you cite a source, include the full bibliographic entry

Every SUBSEQUENT time you cite that source in the same paper, you may use the abbreviated citation.

Formatting Long Quotations

In-text Example:

Nelly Dean treats Heathcliff poorly and dehumanizes him

throughout her narration:

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. By chance, or else attracted by hearing his voice, it crept

to Mr. Earnshaw's door, and there he found it on quitting his

chamber. Inquiries were made as to how it got there; I was

obliged to confess, and in recompense for my cowardice and

inhumanity was sent out of the house. (Bronte 78)

REMEMBER!!!

Even if you paraphrase, summarize, or just mention an

author’s work, you have to give a reference! Don’t risk plagiarizing!

MICROSOFT WORD(WINDOWS 2010)

Formatting in

This is a Footnote

1. Make sure your cursor is in the location where you want to add the citation.

2. Choose the REFERENCES tab at the top of the page.

How to add a Footnote

3. Click the icon that says INSERT FOOTNOTE

4. The Footnote should appear at the bottom of the page you are typing on. Now you can add your citation

How to add a Footnote(Continued)

To Edit your Footnotes:

•Select the small icon at the bottom right-hand corner near footnotes.

How to add a Footnote(Continued)

To Edit your Footnotes:

•Now you can edit the location and number format of your footnotes.

How to add a Footnote(Continued)

Adding a Endnote is very similar to adding a Footnote. Under the REFERENCES tab choose the INSERT ENDNOTE icon. You can still make changes to your endnotes in the same way you did with the footnotes.

How to add an Endnote

OTHER FUN FEATURES ON WORD.Have you ever wondered how to:•Change the margins•Add page numbers•Add a header•Hanging Indent

How to Insert Page Numbers

How to Change Margins

Creating a Hanging Indent

Use this when creating your bibliography.

GOOGLE DOCSFormatting in

1. Make sure your cursor is in the location where you want to add the citation.

2. Choose the INSERT tab at the top of the page.

3. Click FOOTNOTE

How to add a Footnote

OTHER FUN FEATURES ON GOOGLE DOCS.Have you ever wondered how to:•Change the margins•Add page numbers•Add a header•Hanging Indent

How to Insert Page Numbers

How to Change Margins

Creating a Hanging Indent

There is no easy way to do this

on Google unfortunately… but there is a

hard way

Creating a Hanging Indent

1. Make sure your bibliography is single spaced

2. Place your cursor on the second line of the bibliography entry

3. Click ENTER (only click it once. You won’t actually see anything change)

Creating a Hanging Indent

4. Click the INCREASE INDENT icon at in the toolbar at the top of the page

EXAMPLES

The Title Page

Notice the Following:•No page numbers

The Essay

Notice the Following:•page numbers (with name)

•Superscript Numbers (indicate Endnote)

The Notes Page

Notice the Following:•page numbers continue•Full citation for first reference only

Bibliography

Notice the…•Hanging Indent•Page numbers continue•Alphabetical Order

For More Information

The Purdue OWLhttp://owl.english.purdue.edu

Purdue Writing Lab @ HEAV 226

Composition textbooks

MLA Handbook for Writers of Research Papers, 7th ed.

The End