STYLE SHEET 8 th edition of the MLA Style * for research papers on literature

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1 STYLE SHEET 8 th edition of the MLA Style * for research papers on literature Institute of English and American Studies, UD This style sheet should serve as your guidelines when working on your research papers on literature. Failure to conform to these guidelines will result in the rejection of the research paper. I. PLAGIARISM When using other people s ideas either in the form of direct quotation or as paraphrasis (that is, a summary in your own words), the source of the ideas must at all times be indicated in your text. The failure to indicate the source of the ideas and words you are using is called plagiarism. Plagiarism is a very serious offence and the student who is convicted of deliberate plagiarism will be duly punished. So that you will not be accused of stealing other people s ideas and words, always observe these guidelines as a reference as you are working on your paper. II. THE OVERALL ORDER OF THE RESEARCH PAPER Title page (student s name, instructor s name, course title and code, hand-in-date e.g. 12 th April, 2011 or 12/04/11 in British English 04/12/11 in American English) Body of paper (with footnotes if necessary) Works Cited III. HOW TO INDICATE THAT YOU ARE USING VARIOUS SOURCES? 1. Direct quotations A direct quotation is a group of words copied word-for-word from a source. a. short quotations (less than four lines): Enclose the exact words within quotation marks in the text. Example: * In case of something not covered in this style sheet, you can consult the Purdue Online Writing Lab site for the MLA style or one of the printed editions of the MLA Handbook available in the Institute s library in Rm 101. Ask the librarians if you are not sure where to find the volume. 1

2 In describing himself, the author observed: I like Tristan, goat s milk, short novels, and simple folk (Hughes 102). Or: In describing himself, Langston Hughes said that he liked short novels, and simple folk (102). b. longer quotations (more than four lines) Indent the entire quotation 10 spaces (two tabulators) from the left margin. No quotation marks are used around such indented or block quotations. The block quotation is not separated from the body of your text in any way and it is set in double space just like the rest of your text. Example: His semi-anthropological essay, A Study of Dionysus, attempts to be objective about the cult but contains such implicit value judgments as the following: A type of second birth, from first to last, [Dionysus] opens, in his series of annual changes, for minds on the look-out for it, the hope of a possible analogy, between the resurrection of nature, and something else, as yet unrealised, reserved for human souls; and the beautiful, weeping creature, vexed by the wind, suffering, torn to pieces, and rejuvenescent again at last... becomes an emblem or ideal of chastening and purification, and of final victory through suffering. (Pater 44) 2. Punctuation of Titles Wherever you are using them, titles of longer works such as books (novels, novellas), plays, motion pictures, television series, newspapers, magazines, journals and albums or CDs must always be italicised. (e.g. Moby Dick, Romeo and Juliet, Return of the Jedi, EastEnders, Daily Telegraph, Playboy, Comparative Literature, The Wall, etc.) Titles of shorter works (poems, short stories, essays, articles, book chapters, songs) are enclosed in quotation marks ( Ode; The Garden Party; Tradition and the Individual Talent; A Hard Day s Night ) The first word and all the important words (including subordinating conjunctions e.g. after, although, as if, as soon as, because etc.; adverbs e. g. slightly, down) in all titles should be capitalised. Non-important words are: prepositions, articles (a, an, the), coordinating conjunctions (and, but, for, nor, or, so, yet), to in infinitives. 2

3 3. Internal Citations and Notes When in your essay you quote from your sources or use ideas from them, refer to the sources parenthetically. It is not necessary in the text to provide detailed bibliographical information about your sources: indicate only the name of the author and the page number. The detailed information should be provided at the end of your essay, in your Works Cited section. The sole function of the parenthetical notes is to enable the reader of your essay to identify the source in the Works Cited. Used with short quotations, the parenthetical note is placed after the quotation marks which close the quotation, and before the end punctuation of the sentence. Example: In describing himself, the author said that he liked short novels, and simple folk (Hughes 102). With an indented/block quotation, the parenthetical note is placed at the very end, after the end punctuation. Example: His semi-anthropological essay, A Study of Dionysus, attempts to be objective about the cult but contains such implicit value judgments as the following: A type of second birth, from first to last, [Dionysus] opens, in his series of annual changes, for minds on the look-out for it, the hope of a possible analogy, between the resurrection of nature, and something else, as yet unrealised, reserved for human souls; and the beautiful, weeping creature, vexed by the wind, suffering, torn to pieces, and rejuvenescent again at last... becomes an emblem or ideal of chastening and purification, and of final victory through suffering. (Pater 44) When paraphrasing (when you sum up others ideas in your own words), you should also use a parenthetical note for the source of the original idea. Example: Langston Hughes once claimed that he liked Tristan but was not so keen on Aida (102). In most cases, the author s name and the page number are sufficient in your parenthetical note. Example: (Hughes 102) 3

4 When you include the author s name in your text as part of the passage that leads up to the quotation and it is quite clear which source you are quoting or paraphrasing, it is enough to give the page number in your parenthetical note. You also need only the page number if the source is the same as for the preceding quotation. Example: In his Autobiography, Hughes said that he did not like pretentious folk, and bridge (102). Or (when you are paraphrasing): In his Autobiography, Hughes claimed that he did not like pretentious people (102). When you quote or refer to more than one text by the same author in your essay, the parenthetical note should also contain the title of the work to avoid confusion. Note that long titles can and should be shortened to save space (but only in parenthetical notes; the Works Cited section should always contain the full title). Example: (Hughes, Autobiography 102) or: (Hemingway, Old Man 99) (short for The Old Man and the Sea) 4. Informational or Content Notes. Do not use footnotes or endnotes simply to indicate your sources. For this purpose, always use parenthetical reference. Use footnotes only if you want to insert some additional information that you have not included in the main body of the text yet it is somehow relevant to your argument. Example: 1 This problem is examined in detail in John L. Johnson s useful article Why did Langston Hughes Hate Aida? 5. Works Cited/Works Cited and Consulted The Works Cited section, placed at the end of your text, is where you should list all the sources that you have used in preparing your research paper. If your entries include only works that you actually quoted in your paper, the source list is entitled Works Cited. If you also list other works which you read but did not quote, the source list should be entitled Works Cited and Consulted. General guidelines to preparing the Works Cited and Consulted section: List your entries in alphabetical order by the last name of the author. The first line in each entry is not indented, but all additional lines are indented five spaces from the left margin. The entries are not numbered. The entries should include all relevant bibliographical information: Surname of the author, Given name of the author. Full Title. Place of publication*, Name of publisher, date of publication. page numbers. (this latter component is necessary only if the entry refers to a part/chapter/ essay of an edited book/anthology). When the author of the source is Hungarian, no comma should be used between the surname and the Christian name. 4

5 *Note: the City of Publication should only be used if the book was published before 1900, if the publisher has offices in more than one country, or if the publisher is unknown outside North America. Here is a sample source list, showing accepted form, punctuation, and information. Book by a single author: Mansfield, Katherine. The Collected Short Stories. Penguin, Book by a Hungarian author: Földényi F. László. A medúza pillantása. Budapest, Lánchíd, Book by a single author, translated: Otto, Rudolf. The Idea of the Holy. Trans. John W. Harvey. Penguin, Book by two authors (only the name of the first author has to be reversed): Horkheimer, Max, and Theodor W. Adorno. The Dialectics of Enlightenment. Cambridge UP, Book by more than three authors ( et al means and others ): Jung, Carl Gustav, et al. Man and His Symbols. Doubleday and Co., Edited book: O'Sullivan, Vincent, editor. Poems of Katherine Mansfield. Oxford UP, Multi-volume book: Murry, John Middleton, editor. The Letters of Katherine Mansfield. Vols. I-II. London: Constable, Article from a scholarly journal: Jameson, Fredric. Magic Realism in Film. Critical Inquiry, vol. 12, no , pp Article from an Online Database (or Other Electronic Subscription Service): Langhamer, Claire. Love and Courtship in Mid-Twentieth-Century England. Historical Journal, vol. 50, no. 1, 2007, pp ProQuest, doi: /s x Accessed 27 May Article from an edited book: Punter, David. Essential Imaginings The Novels of Angela Carter and Russell Hoban. The British and Irish Novel Since 1960, edited by, James Acheson, Macmillan, 1991, pp

6 Article from a book written entirely by the same author: Malinowski, Bronislaw. Magic, Science and Religion. Magic, Science and Religion and Other Essays. Doubleday and Co., 1954, pp More than one books by the same author: Rushdie, Salman. Imaginary Homelands. Granta Penguin, The Moor s Last Sigh. Vintage, Motion picture (list films by their title): If relevant, list performer names after the director s name. The Usual Suspects. Directed by Bryan Singer, performances by Kevin Spacey, Gabriel Byrne, Chazz Palminteri, Stephen Baldwin, and Benecio del Toro, Polygram, To emphasize specific performers or directors, begin the citation with the name of the desired performer or director, followed by the appropriate title for that person. Lucas, George, director. Star Wars Episode IV: A New Hope. Twentieth Century Fox, Government publication (since there is no stated author, alphabetise the entry under government body): United States, Congress, Senate, Committee on Energy and Natural Resources. Hearing on the Geopolitics of Oil. Government Printing Office, th Congress, 1 st session, Senate Report Unsigned encyclopaedia entry (you do not have to include volume and page, only edition year): A Vocational Education. Encyclopaedia Americana ed. Citing an Entire Web Site: Felluga, Dino. Guide to Literary and Critical Theory. Purdue U, 28 Nov. 2003, Accessed 10 May Article in an Online-only Scholarly Journal Dolby, Nadine. Research in Youth Culture and Policy: Current Conditions and Future Directions. Social Work and Society: The International Online-Only Journal, vol. 6, no. 2, 2008, Accessed 20 May

7 The Title of Your Essay: The Subtitle of the Essay (not compulsory) Hereby I certify that the essay conforms to the international copyright and plagiarism rules and regulations. signature of the student Name of the student Name of the instructor Title and code of the course Hand-in-date 7

8 Guidelines for the cover sheet: the title should be capitalized (check the Style Sheet for the capitalization of important and non-important words) the title of the essay is the only component which can be set in another font style than Times New Roman and also should be set in a slightly larger font than 12, the rest of the essay must be in Times New Roman, font size 12, double spaced, 2,5 cm margins on all sides subtitle is not compulsory only in case your title is too abstract (i.e. not revealing enough) title should be positioned at one third from top of the cover page the bottom right hand corner pieces of information (name of the student, etc.) should be given directly, that is, for instance, Name of the student is not needed only the name itself the date should be given as: 28 th November, 2013 or November 28 th, 2013 or 28/11/13 (GB) or 11/28/13 (US), not as or etc. 8

STYLE SHEET for research papers on literature (MLA format) *

STYLE SHEET for research papers on literature (MLA format) * Institute of English and American Studies This style sheet should serve as your guidelines when working on your research papers on literature.