Elements of MLA Format and Documentation

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Elements of MLA Format and Documentation

• Presentation by Katie Bierach 09
• California Lutheran University Writing Center

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Format
In the academic community, submitting a paper
with incorrect formatting is like running around
without your pants on. -Dr. Marja Mogk

• Black ink on white paper
• 12 point, Times New Roman font
• Double space it all (heading, title, notes,
  quotes and works cited)
• One inch margins on all sides
• Indent the first word of each paragraph one-half
  inch
• No extra spaces between paragraphs
• No title page necessary
• Place last name and page number in the top, right
  corner, ½ inch from the top of the page, against
  the right side margin.
• In Word, click View ? Header Footer, tab twice

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Example of First Page Format
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Quick Tips

• Be brief, clear, and accurate.
• Remember your job is to argue a point.
• Use your MLA handbook! Use it for all questions
  of formatting, citation, or style. It is not a
  scary book.
• Italicize titles of books, magazines, films,
  albums, and websites.
• Enclose in quotations titles of chapters,
  articles, scenes, songs, and particular website
  pages.

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Using Quotes

• If you quote or paraphrase someone, you need to
  cite the source.
• If the source is questionable, your paper loses
  credibility.
• Quotation marks mean you give the words and
  punctuation marks exactly as presented in the
  original.
• Use ellipsis to indicate omissions from the
  quoted passage. Use spaces between each period .
  . .
• Use single quotation marks for quotations within
  the passage you are quoting.
• Semicolons, colons, exclamation points and
  question marks go outside closing quotation marks
  unless part of the quoted material.

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Using Quotes

• A quote running one to four lines should be
  incorporated into the text.
• If the quote is longer than four lines on your
  page, start it on a new line, indent the whole
  block one inch and do not use quotation marks.
• For poetry up to three lines can be incorporated
  into the text. Use a slash with a space on each
  side ( / ) to indicate line breaks.

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Parenthetical Documentation

• As Joseph Gibaldi states in the MLA Handbook for
  Writers of Research Papers, at the end of the
  sentence containing a quotation or paraphrase,
  identify the location of the borrowed
  information as specifically as possible (239).
• Notice that because the authors name is in the
  text, it is not needed in the reference for that
  sentence.
• References in the text must clearly point to
  specific sources in the list of works cited
  (Gibaldi 238).
• Notice that the reference is after the closing
  quotation mark and followed by the punctuation
  mark.
• If citing multiple works by the same author, put
  a comma after the last name, add the title of the
  work and the relevant page number.

If the quotation, whether of poetry or prose, is
set off from the text . . . Type a space after
the concluding punctuation mark of the quotation
and insert the parenthetical reference. (241)
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Formatting Your List of Works Cited

• Works Cited
• A list of every source that was cited in the
  paper (listed only once).
• Type Works Cited at the top of the page.
• Goes at the very end of the paper (after the
  conclusion).
• Each source in the Works Cited is listed in
  Alphabetical Order by the authors last names.
• If a source has no documented author, it goes
  behind all the others with authors.
• If there are more than one of this type, they are
  organized in Alphabetical Order by their titles.
• Use hanging indentation only the first line of
  each source touches the left margin all others
  are indented one half inch (one tab space).

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Citing Periodicals

• Here is the order to arrange your information
  when citing periodicals
• Authors name
• Title of article
• Name of periodical
• Series number or name (if relevant)
• Volume number (for a scholarly journal)
• Issue number (if needed)
• Date of publication
• Page numbers
• Bierach, Katie. A Fascinating Article.
  Scholarly Journal 3.2 (2007) 127-43.
• 3.2 indicates volume 3, issue 2.
• Citing a Newspaper Article
• Chang, Kenneth. The Melting (Freezing) of
  Antarctica. New York Times 2 Apr. 2002, late
  ed. F1.
• (Gibaldi 186)

Punctuate correctly!
(Gibaldi 184)
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Citing a Published Book or Textbook

• The order to arrange information when citing a
  book
• Authors name
• Title of a part of the book
• Title of the book
• Name of the editor, translator, or compiler
• Edition used
• Number(s) of volume(s) used
• Name of the series
• Place of publication, name of the publisher, and
  date of publication
• Page numbers
• The Basic Book Entry
• Bierach, Katie. The Novel Ill Write. Penguin
  New York, 2011.
• And for textbooks
• Crane, Stephen The Red Badge of Courage An
  Episode of the American Civil War. 1895. Ed.
  Fredson Bowers. Charlottesville UP of
  Virginia, 1975.

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Citing a Scholarly Journal Article from an Online
Database

• Footnote Template
• Authors First and Last Name, Article Title,
  Journal Name, Volume and Issue s, (City, State
  of Publishing Date of Publishing), pg. , URL
  (date you accessed the article).
• Footnote Example
• Stephen J. Whitfield, Casting a Cold Eye on the
  Cold War, The American Scholar, Vol. 75, No. 1,
  (Washington Winter 2006), pg. 134, Available at
  http//proquest.umi.com/pqdweb?did959290721sid8
  F mt2clientId20964RQT309VNamePQD (29
  Sept. 2007).
• Short Form
• Authors Last Name, Shortened Article Title,
  Journal Name, Available at URL.

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Citing a Magazine Article

• Footnote Template
• Authors First and Last Name, Article Title,
  Magazine Title, Volume and Issue s, Date of
  Publication, (City, State of Publication
  Publishing Company), Page s.
• Footnote Example
• Elizabeth Bentley, How I was Used by the Red
  Spy Ring, McCalls Magazine, Vol. 78, No. 10,
  July 1951, (New York, NY McCall Corporation),
  pg.120-127.
• Short Form
• Authors Last Name, Shortened Article Title,
  Magazine Title, Page s.
• Bentley, How I was Used, McCalls Magazine,
  pg. 123.

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Citing an Internet Website (Not a Scholarly
Journal)

• Note When using the Internet for other sites
  besides scholarly journals, it is important to be
  aware of the level of scholarship that the site
  employs.
• Wikipedia, for example, is not generally
  considered good scholarship because its articles
  can be written by anyone who has an account with
  the website, and they do not have to give their
  name or credentials.
• Footnote Template
• Authors First and Last Name, Page Title,
  Website Title, (Publishers Name or Institution
  Publishing Date), Date Accessed, Available at
  URL.
• Footnote Example
• Mary Wilson, Teaching Vietnam, Incomplete and
  Profoundly Confused A Bibliographic Essay on the
  Vietnam War, (Vanguard University and Mary
  Wilson November 1995), 29 Sept. 2007, Available
  at http//www.vanguard.edu/faculty/mwilson/index.
  aspx?doc_id1724.

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Citing an Internet Website (Not a Scholarly
Journal)

• Works Cited Entry Template
• Authors Last Name, First Name. Page Title.
  Website Title. Publishers Name or Institution
  Publishing Date. Available at URL (Date
  Accessed).
• Works Cited Entry Example
• Wilson, Mary. Teaching Vietnam. Incomplete and
  Profoundly Confused A Bibliographic Essay on
  the Vietnam War. Vanguard University and Mary
  Wilson November 1995. Available at
  http//www.vanguard.edu/faculty/
  mwilson/index.aspx?doc_id1724 (29 Sept,
  2007).

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Citing an Article or Separate Source Within a
Published Collection with Authors/Editors

• Works Cited Entry Template
• Source Authors Last Name, First Name.
  Article/Source Title. in Author/Editor of
  Publications Last Name, First Name.
  Publication Title, Edition and Volume s. City,
  State of Publication Date.
• Works Cited Entry Example
• Kemal, Mustafa. Speech to the Congress of the
  Peoples Republican Party. In Andrea, Alfred
  J. and Overfield, James H., eds. The Human
  Record Sources of Global History, Fifth ed.
  vol. II Since 1500. Boston Houghton Mifflin
  Company, 2005.

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Citing a Professors In-Class Lecture Material

• Footnote Template
• Professors First and Last Name, Lecture
  Title, Date of Lecture, Given at School or
  University where Lecture took place, Date you
  accessed/reviewed the information.
• Footnote Example
• Dr. Michaela Reaves, The Presidency of Harry S.
  Truman Lecture, 31 January 2007 7 February
  2007, Given at California Lutheran University,
  February 22, 2007.
• Short Form
• Professors Last Name, Shortened Lecture
  Title, Date you accessed/reviewed the
  information.
• Reaves, Harry S. Truman, February 22, 2007.

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Any Questions?