MLA Style Guide. Resource: Purdue Online Writing Lab ( owl.english.purdue.edu/owl/resource/747/1 ) Plagiarism 2. Titles 3

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1 MLA Style Guide The Modern Language Association (MLA) created standard style guidelines for document formatting and citations in academic writing. MLA style is most commonly used in the liberal arts and humanities. These standard guidelines help create consistency for the audience, and they help you, as the writer, verify the credibility of your information. Use this MLA Guide when writing academic pieces that require cited information. It should be used as a resource in all your classes (Language Arts, Social Studies, Science, Band, Health, etc.). Resource: Purdue Online Writing Lab ( owl.english.purdue.edu/owl/resource/747/1 ) Table of Contents Plagiarism 2 Titles 3 Paraphrasing, Quoting, & Summarizing 4 In-Text Citations 6 Full Citations - Works Cited 8 Nine Core Elements 8 How to Cite Different Types of Sources 9 Authors - Frequently Asked Questions 10 How to Write Abbreviations 10 Works Cited Formatting 11 Document Formatting 12 Formal Writing Reminders 13 1

2 Plagiarism It is a writer s responsibility to give proper credit to his or her sources and to ensure that those sources are cited correctly using MLA guidelines. If a writer fails to give proper credit to a source, it is an act of plagiarism. What is Plagiarism? Taking credit for someone else s work/ideas and passing them off as your own. Taking credit for work you didn t do. Intentional or unintentional, it s still considered a type of theft. Results in heavy consequences in terms of academic punishments and loss of respect. What is the best way to avoid plagiarism? Do your own work and properly cite your sources! Examples of Plagiarism: True or False? TRUE Copying someone else s ideas without giving credit to them TRUE Copying someone else s words, word for word, without using quotation marks TRUE Turning in a paper someone else wrote and claiming it as your own TRUE Giving your work to a classmate to copy and turn in as their own TRUE Turning in an old paper you wrote as if it is a new one TRUE Giving false information about the source of a quotation Consequences of Plagiarism Zero on assignment, detention Suspension Lose credit for entire class Lose job, damage career (and reputation) Lose money/fines/sued Resource: Student Handbook (p. 13 ) - Emily Gray s Cheating/Plagiarism Policy 2

3 Titles Capitalizing Titles Always capitalize the first word, the last word, and every word in between, but DO NOT CAPITALIZE Articles Prepositions Conjunctions a, an, the at, above, below, by, for, in, from, into, of, off, from, over, to, with, without, near, far from, etc. Coordinating = for, and, nor, but, or, yet, so Subordinating = after, although, as, because, before, if, how, since, than, that, where, when, though, while, etc. Example: the count of monte cristo The Count of Monte Cristo Resource: Capitalize My Title (select the MLA tab) ( capitalizemytitle.com ) Punctuating Titles Italics ( underline with handwriting) Books Websites Magazines Newspapers Plays Movies Pamphlets TV Series Musicals *Containers (larger whole where a source is located, such as a book that is a collection of poems ) Quotation Marks Song Poem Short Story Episode of TV Show Chapter of Book Essays Article from a Periodical (journal, magazine, newspaper) *In the example below, quoted is the title of a short story, and italicized is the title of the container (in this case, a book with a collection of short stories). Kincaid, Jamaica. Girl. The Vintage Book of Contemporary American Short Stories,... 3

4 Paraphrasing, Quoting, & Summarizing Paraphrasing, quoting, and summarizing information is an important part of writing research papers and explanatory essays. All three are essential because they help you Enhance your writing. Develop your credibility (ethos). Add depth to your writing. Provide relevant and supporting evidence. Avoid plagiarism accusations. Paraphrasing is... When a writer puts someone else s ideas into his or her own words. More specific than a summary; it focuses on an individual idea/detail. About the same length as the idea from the original text. Must be attributed to the original source. (This means you need a citation!) Used when a writer needs to reference a large section of original text, but he or she wants to limit the amount of direct quotes being used. EXAMPLE OF A PARAPHRASE : In The Gettysburg Address, President Lincoln affirms that the soldiers of the Civil War sacrificed their lives to protect the freedoms of all Americans, and he ensures that their sacrifices will not be in vain (1). Notice: A paraphrase focuses on specific details from the original text. The writer communicates those details using his or her own words, not by copying words from the text. Quoting is When a writer copies an author s original words ( word for word ), placing quotation marks around the quote. Must be attributed to the original source. (This means you need a citation!) Used when paraphrasing or summarizing would take away from the original author s intended meaning. Meaningful and relevant ; it must help support the essay s main ideas. 4

5 EXAMPLE OF A QUOTATION : In The Gettysburg Address, President Abraham Lincoln proclaims the government of the people, by the people, for the people, shall not perish from the earth (1). Notice: The sentence does not begin with a quote. Instead, the sentence begins with an introduction written in the writer s own words. Then, the quote is included at the end of the sentence. Altogether, it reads as one seamless sentence. Shortening Long Quotes If you only need to use part of a quote, use an ellipsis (...) in place of the information you do not use. However, you MUST make sure the whole quote still sounds like a complete sentence. Example: Environmental sociologist Robert Brulle warns that often money amplifies certain voices above others...giving them a megaphone in the public square (Fischer 2). Summarizing is... When a writer writes the broad main ideas of an entire text or a large portion of a text in his or her own words. Shorter than the original text. Must be attributed to the original source. (This means you need a citation!) Used when the audience needs to know the main ideas, but not all of the specific details. EXAMPLE OF A SUMMARY : Eighty-seven years after the United States won its freedom from Britain, President Abraham Lincoln delivered his famous Gettysburg Address. In the speech, President Lincoln said the country was in the middle of a civil war and that the people should dedicate some of the battlefield as a final resting place for the fallen soldiers. Additionally, he said that it was for the people who still lived to carry on the soldiers work. President Lincoln urged that the United States, which is a government founded on the liberty and equality of the people, should not cease to exist (Lincoln 1). Notice: A summary is considerably shorter than the original text. It gives an overview of the text as a whole, rather than focusing on individual details. Let s Review: True or False? TRUE A good writer does not use too many quotes; it can make a paper too long and boring. TRUE Changing out four words for synonyms and calling it a paraphrase is still plagiarism. TRUE Summary is a tool used to provide context for the audience; it is not a form of analysis. 5

6 In-Text Citations When a writer uses the words or ideas of someone else--whether it is a quote, a paraphrase, or a summary--the writer MUST cite the source. In-text citations allow writers to use a combination of signal phrases and parenthetical citations to tell the audience WHO said the information and WHERE the information was originally found. Essential Information In-text citations must include the following essential information from the original source: Author s last name Page number (the exact page where the info was originally found) One author (Smith 10) Two authors (Gillespie and Lerner ) last names only; keep the original order Three or more authors (Wysocki et al ) et al. is Latin for and others No author? No page number? Give the TITLE instead, properly capitalized and punctuated. LONG TITLE? Shorten it to the first three to four words for an in-text citation only (the reader can find the full citation on your Works Cited page). Y ou may leave it off; there is no substitution. Parenthetical Citations A parenthetical citation is a citation in parentheses at the end of a sentence. It includes the author s last name (if it has not already been given in a signal phrase) and the page number (if available). If the author s name is not available, the title of the source is given instead. EXAMPLES OF PARENTHETICAL CITATIONS In Go Figure, the amount of money earned by NFL teams in 2014 through licensing and broadcasting was $187.7 million per team (Gorant and Keith 18). A 2013 survey of 1,500 National Education Association (NEA) teachers revealed that 52 percent believe too much time is spent in school on standardized testing ( What Makes Testing Toxic? 14). Both Lady Gaga and President Barack Obama tweet at a seventh-grade level (Johnson). Notice: With parenthetical citations, the period MUST go AFTER the parentheses. 6

7 Signal Phrases A signal phrase introduces a quote, paraphrase, or summary, and it tells the audience that the information has been taken from a source. It usually includes the author s name and/or the title of the source. EXAMPLES OF SIGNAL PHRASES In the article How Smart Are Your Tweets?, Dave Johnson claims that 20-year old Justin Bieber tweets at a fifth-grade reading level. Environmental scientist Stan Smith states, many global warming hotspots are seen in North America likely because this region has more readily accessible climatic data and more comprehensive programs to monitor and study environmental change" (12). Notice: When using signal phrases, verbs need to be in present tense. Verbs for Signal Phrases adds claims derives illustrates reasons argues compares differs introduces remarks aspires concludes disagrees justifies shows assumes contends disputes maintains specifies believes contrasts establishes objects stresses calculates defends exaggerates offers suggests challenges demonstrates feels presents questions Transitions for Introducing Quotes, Paraphrases, and Summaries Examples: Explain and introduce ideas Contrast: Show opposition between ideas Emphasis: Highlight an idea s importance Similarity: Show the similarity between ideas Addition: Add info to a previous ides Sequence: Provide order for example, to illustrate, in other words, in particular, to explain, accordingly, for instance, thus, as an illustration, to demonstrate, to clarify on the contrary, on the one hand, nonetheless, although, instead, even if, notwithstanding, on the other hand, however, in contrast, despite, whereas, while above all, more importantly, most of all, essentially, notably, even more, to emphasize, certainly, primarily, particularly similarly, likewise, furthermore, in the same way, in addition, additionally, also additionally, equally important, also, in addition to, furthermore, likewise, again first, second, third, consequently, since, subsequently 7

8 Full Citations - Works Cited MLA requires academic papers to include a Works Cited, or bibliography, at the end. On this page, a writer creates full citations to correspond to the in-text citations found throughout the paper. A Works Cited is important because it gives credit to the original authors and allows others to locate the original sources if desired. Nine Core Elements The MLA guidelines use nine core elements to guide writers as they create full citations. These elements are found in most sources, but all nine will not be used for every single source. These elements are always arranged in a specific order and use specific punctuation. Optional: For online sources, adding the date accessed as a tenth element is highly recommend, but not required. 8

9 How to Cite Different Types of Sources Book: Author s Last name, First name. Title of Book. Publisher, Year of Publication. ONLINE BOOK? Take off the final period from above and add:, URL. Accessed Day Month Year. Example: Hinton, S. E. The Outsiders. Puffin, Anthology, Reference, or Collection: Author s Last name, First name. Title of Source (Story, Essay, Poem, etc.). Title of Container, edited by Editor s Name(s), Publisher, Year, page range of entry. Example: Kipling, Rudyard. Rikki-tikki-tavi. Elements of Literature: First Course, edited by Kylene Beers, Harcourt, 2007, pp Periodical (Newspaper, Magazine, Academic Journal): Author s Last name, First name. "Title of Article." Title of Periodical, Day Month Year, pages. ONLINE PERIODICAL? Take off the final period from above and add:, URL. Accessed Day Month Year. Example: Jabr, Ferris. Can Prairie Dogs Talk? New York Times, 12 May 2017, Accessed 20 Oct Encyclopedia or Dictionary: Last name, First name of author or editor. "Article Title." Encyclopedia Name, Edition, Year. Online Encyclopedia? (No Wikipedia!) Last name, First name of author or editor. "Article Title." Encyclopedia Name, Date last updated, URL. Accessed Day Month Year. Example: Hassler, Warren W., and Jennifer L. Weber. "American Civil War." Encyclopedia Britannica, 11 May 2016, Accessed 15 Oct Website: Last name, First name of editor/author/compiler (if available). Title of Webpage. Name of Website. Publisher, Publication date or last update, URL. Accessed Day Month Year. Example: Abraham Lincoln. History. A+E Networks, 2009, Important Info on URLs Accessed 23 Oct For any source with a URL, tidy up the link. Delete Delete the last / at the end. If you need to break up the URL in order to fit it onto a line, keep it neat by spacing after a slash (/), underscore (_) or dash (-) Make sure it is NOT hyperlinked (it should NOT be blue or underlined) 9

10 Authors - Frequently Asked Questions One Author Two Authors Three or more authors Corporate author or organization last, first. last, first plus middle initial. last, first, and first last. Order the names in the same way they are presented. list only the first author as last, first followed by the phrase et al. May include a committee, government agency, or group instead of an individual member. Guarino, Ben. Said, Edward W. Gillespie, Paula, and Neal Learner. Wysocki, Anne, et al. American Allergy Association. No author given Skip to the title Mailman Bites Dog. How to Write Abbreviations Months Jan. Feb. Mar. Apr. May June July Aug. Sept. Oct. Nov. Dec. Example: 20 Oct (day/month/year - European order) Common Abbreviations ch. for chapter dept. for department ed. for edition et al. for multiple authors vol. for volume no. for number p. for page pp. for multiple pages * DELETE business abbreviations from the citation - Corp., Inc., Co., and Ltd. 10

11 Works Cited Formatting The Works Cited page contains all of the full citations for sources cited throughout your essay. It is the last page of your essay and is on its own separate page. When typing your Works Cited, follow these steps: 1. Start a new page in your document. 2. Add a header in the top right corner of the document. Include your last name and page number. 3. Set the font to Times New Roman, size Double space the entire page. 5. Type Works Cited and center it at the top of the page. Do not use bold, italics, underline, or quotations. 6. Alphabetize sources by the first main word in the citation. Usually, this will be the author s last name or the first key word in the title (ignore articles, such as a, an, the). 7. Use a hanging indent when the citation is longer than one line. (Hit the enter key, then tab.) 8. Do not number your sources. Note: Do NOT use EasyBib.com. EasyBib often has mistakes. If you use it, your citations will be incorrect. Sample Works Cited Page Smith 3 Works Cited Dean, Cornelia. "Executive on a Mission: Saving the Planet." The New York Times, 22 May 2007, Accessed 14 Nov Gowdy, John. "Avoiding Self-organized Extinction: Toward a Co-evolutionary Economics of Sustainability." International Journal of Sustainable Development and World Ecology, vol. 14, no. 1, 2007, pp Leroux, Marcel. Global Warming: Myth Or Reality?: The Erring Ways of Climatology. Springer,

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13 Document Formatting MLA format requires a specific set-up when formatting a document for an essay. Before starting your essay, make sure your document is set up correctly. 1. Set 1-inch margins on all sides (automatically done for you in Google Docs!). 2. Set the font to Times New Roman. 3. Set the font size to Double space the entire document. 5. Add page numbers in top right corner. Go to Insert > Header & Page Number > Page Number 6. Add your last name just before the page number in your header. 7. Make sure your header is also in Times New Roman, size Align left and type your heading in the main document ( not in the header!) Heading format: Your first and last name (capitalized correctly!) Teacher s name (spelled correctly and capitalized!) Class Name, Class Period Date (Day Month Year format, no abbreviations) 9. Align center and type the title of your assignment. This should be in Times New Roman, size 12. Do not bold, underline, italicize, or use quotes. 10.Align left for your paragraphs. Tab to indent. Note: Always use the tab key to indent new paragraphs. Do not add an extra space between paragraphs; it is not needed when your paper is double spaced. Sample Document Set-Up Smith 1 John Smith Miss Baechler Pre-AP Language Arts, Period 1 2 September 2018 Sample MLA Document This is an example of a document that is set up correctly in MLA format. If you follow the step-by-step instructions correctly, your document should look just like this example. 13

14 Formal Writing Reminders 1. Use complete, quality sentences with strong word choice. Do not use fragments or run-on sentences Avoid vague words such as stuff or things. Do not start a sentence with vague pronouns such as it, they, or this. Identify who or what you are talking about first. 2. No slang, texting language, or abbreviations. 3. No contractions. Spell out all contractions. (Example: can t = cannot; don t = do not) 4. Use third person objective point-of-view. No first person pronouns (I, me, my, our, we, us, etc.) No second person pronouns (you, your, etc.) The ONLY time you can use first or second person is in a direct quote. 5. Watch your verb tense. Use present tense for writing about literature or current topics If you are writing about history, then past tense is okay. Keep your tense consistent! Don t jump around in tenses. Use present tense for signal phrases that lead in to a quote or paraphrase When referring to a particular study or article in your paper, use present tense. Follow the instructions and tips in this guide, and you will be an MLA pro! 14