MLA DOCUMENTATION GUIDELINES

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1 ACADEMIC SUCCESS CENTER THOMAS JEFFERSON UNIVERSITY EAST FALLS CAMPUS MLA DOCUMENTATION GUIDELINES The Academic Success Center... a bright idea!

2 IMPORTANT: Read This Note This booklet provides instruction and examples of how to cite some of the most frequently used types of sources, as based on the Eighth Edition of the MLA Handbook. If you have used MLA before, be aware that the approach to citing sources has changed. Instead of focusing on the type of source, the new edition organizes their information by providing a universally applicable template for identifying the relevant information from the source itself. However, although the approach has changed, the way the citations will look remains largely the same. There are three key differences in the Eighth edition: the URL for web sources should now be included (although you should follow your instructor s guidelines), the medium of publication (print, web, etc.) should NOT be included, and commas should be the only type of punctuation used between pieces of information in the works cited entry, except for after the author s name and the title of the item. For information on citing types of sources not included in this booklet, refer to an up-to-date standard writing handbook, or consult a reputable website like the Purdue OWL: The Academic Success Center s professional writing tutors can answer your questions about citing sources and help you understand how to be sure you are using sources appropriately. To schedule a writing tutoring appointment, you can use your Starfish account, us at tutoring@philau.edu, or call our front desk at (215) This document, as well as other aids to writing papers, can also be found on our website: Revised June 2017

3 OVERVIEW: MLA In-Text Citations MLA in-text citations take the form of parentheses, within which you credit your source and guide readers to your Works Cited list for the complete source location information. Document a quote by following it with parentheses (immediately or at the end of the sentence). The parentheses should contain the author s last name and the number of the page on which the quote can be found. Example: Traditional hikers and nature lovers consider mountain bikers an alien and dangerous element in their midst (Schwartz 75). or: David Schwartz describes how traditional hikers and nature lovers consider mountain bikers an alien and dangerous element in their midst (75). When the author s name is not provided by the source, you should provide the title of the document. Example: Hundreds of freshmen will participate in hiking trips as part of college orientation programs this year ( Into the Wild A6). If a quote is taken from an electronic source, the parentheses will contain the author s last name, or, if this is unavailable, the title of the web page/article. Do not cite URLs in the parentheses. Document a paraphrase by following it with parentheses, the same way you would document a quote (see above). The omission of quotation marks tells readers that you are using your own words to communicate the ideas or viewpoint of the source you are crediting. Example: David Schwartz claims that mountain bikers threaten the safety of hikers and nature lovers (75). Document graphics by placing a parenthetical citation immediately beneath the graphic. If you reproduce the graphic exactly as it appears in your source, the parenthetical citation contains the same information as if you were quoting (see above). If you alter the graphic in any way, begin the parenthetical citation with the words, adapted from Your MLA Works Cited list should provide relevant specific publishing information for all of the sources you quoted or paraphrased from or referred to in your paper. Alphabetize sources by the author s last name. If the author is not identified, alphabetize the source by its title. Double space entries, placing the first line of an entry at the left margin and use the hanging indent setting to indent subsequent lines ½ inch. Do not number entries. (See sample Works Cited list at the end of this booklet.)

4 OVERVIEW: MLA Works Cited Entries In your citation, the elements should be listed in the following order: 1. Author. (Last name, First name.) 2. Title of source. ( In Quotation Marks if it is in a container, or Italicized if not) 3. Title of container, (Italicized: JSTOR, Hulu, title of book/edited collection, etc.) 4. Other contributors, (editor, illustrator, translator, etc., are no longer abbreviated) 5. Version, (3 rd ed., Authorized King James Version, etc.) 6. Number, (vol. 6, no. 2, or season 2, episode 21, etc.) 7. Publisher, (does not include self-published works, or websites like YouTube, Wordpress, etc.) 8. Publication date, (publication date that is most relevant, e.g. online v. print) 9. Location. (URL or DOI for online sources, page #s for print sources, name of building and city for physical objects and performances) Each element should be followed by the punctuation mark paired with it in the list shown above. Remember these changes from previous editions: Commas are used instead of periods between Publisher, Publication Date, and Pagination. Medium of publication is no longer necessary. Containers are now a part of the MLA process, in light of the rapid developments in technology. Periods should be used between Containers, if there is more than one. DOIs should be used instead of URLS when available. Below is the general format for any citation: Author. Title. Title of container, Other contributors, Version, Number, Publisher, Publication Date, Location. 2 nd container s title, Other contributors, Version, Number, Publisher, Publication date, Location, Date of Access (if applicable). Unlike earlier versions, the eighth edition refers to containers, which are the larger wholes in which the source is located. For example, if you want to cite a poem that is listed in a collection of poems, the individual poem is the source s title, while the larger collection is the title of the container. The title of the container is usually italicized and followed by a comma, since the information that follows next describes the container. Some examples of other containers include television series, music albums, websites, etc. In some cases, a container might be within a larger container. It is important to cite these containers within containers so that your readers can find the exact source that you used. Examples of citations for sources with two containers: 94 Meetings. Parks and Recreation, season 2, episode 21, NBC, 29 Apr Netflix, 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 2009.

5 CONVENTIONAL (NON-ELECTRONIC) PRINT SOURCES Book with One Author Applebaum, Anne. Gulag: A History of the Soviet Camps. Penguin, Book with More Than One Author Gillespie, Paula, and Neal Lerner. The Allyn and Bacon Guide to Peer Tutoring. Allyn and Bacon, If there are three or more authors, list only the first author followed by the phrase et al. Lopez, Geraldo, et al. China and the West. Little, Brown, Two or More Books by the Same Author List works alphabetically by title. Provide the author s name in last name, first name format for the first entry only. For each subsequent entry by the same author, use three hyphens and a period. Palmer, William J. Dickens and New Historicism. St. Martin's, The Films of the Eighties: A Social History. Southern Illinois UP, Book by a Corporation, Association, Foundation, etc. United States Dept. of Labor. Child Care: A Workforce Issue Encyclopedia of Indiana. Somerset, Book with No Author A Translated Book Foucault, Michel. Madness and Civilization: A History of Insanity in the Age of Reason. Translated by Richard Howard, Vintage-Random House, Work in an Anthology or Chapter in Edited Collection Murray, Albert. The Blues as Dance Music. Reading Jazz: A Gathering of Autobiography, Reportage, and Criticism from 1919 to Now, edited by Robert Gottlieb, Vintage/Random House, 1999, pp Article in a Reference Book "Ideology." The American Heritage Dictionary, 3rd ed., (continued on next page)

6 MORE CONVENTIONAL (NON-ELECTRONIC) PRINT SOURCES An Introduction, Preface, Foreword, or Afterword Duncan, Hugh Dalziel. Introduction. Permanence and Change: An Anatomy of Purpose, by Kenneth Burke, 1935, 3rd ed., U of California P, 1984, pp. xiii-xliv. Article in Scholarly or Professional Journal Trotter, Joe W. and Johanna Fernandez. Hurricane Katrina: Urban History from the Eye of the Storm. Journal of Urban History, vol. 35, no. 5, July 2009, pp Article in Monthly or Bimonthly Periodical Vogelstein, Fred. The Great Wall of Facebook. Wired, July 2009, pp Article in Weekly Periodical Whitford, David. Nuclear War: Inside the Takeover Battle of America s Electricity. Fortune, 20 July 2009, pp Article in Newspaper France Considers Sunday Shopping. Philadelphia Inquirer, city edition, 16 July 2009, p. A17. A Government Publication United States, Congress, Senate, Committee on Energy and Natural Resources. Hearing on the Geopolitics of Oil. Government Printing Office, th Congress, 1st session, Senate Report A Pamphlet Women's Health: Problems of the Digestive System. American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists, Dissertations and Master s Theses Published: Bishop, Karen Lynn. Documenting Institutional Identity: Strategic Writing in the IUPUI Comprehensive Campaign. Dissertation, Purdue University, UMI, Unpublished: Stolley, Karl. "Toward a Conception of Religion as a Discursive Formation: Implications for Postmodern Composition Theory." MA thesis, Purdue University, 2002.

7 NON-PRINT SOURCES Art in Museum Goya, Francisco. The Family of Charles IV. 1800, oil on canvas, Museo del Prado, Madrid. Art: Reproduction in a Book or Periodical Goya, Francisco, The Family of Charles IV. 1800, Museo del Prado, Madrid. Gardener s Art Through the Ages, 10 th ed., by Richard G. Tansey and Fred S. Kleiner, Harcourt Brace, p Advertisement Chanel for Men. Advertisement, GQ, December 1993, pp Films or Movies Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon. Directed by Ang Lee, Sony Pictures, Song on a Compact Disc Billie Holiday. Billie s Blues. The Essence of Billie Holiday, Columbia, Speeches, Lectures, or Other Oral Presentations Stein, Bob. Reading and Writing in the Digital Era. Discovering Digital Dimensions, Computers and Writing Conference, 23 May 2003, Union Club Hotel, West Lafayette, IN. Keynote Address. Recorded Television Show "The One Where Chandler Can't Cry." Friends: The Complete Sixth Season, written by Andrew Reich and Ted Cohen, directed by Kevin Bright, Warner Brothers, Broadcast TV or Radio Program The Great Apes. National Geographic Special. PBS, WGBH, Boston, 12 July Personal Interview Venturi, Robert. Personal interview. 24 September Published Interview (Print or Broadcast) Gaitskill, Mary. Interview with Charles Bock. Mississippi Review, vol. 27, no. 3, 1999, pp

8 ELECTRONIC SOURCES Entire Website Eurasianet.org. Central Eurasia Project of the Open Society Institute, 28 Nov. 2005, Accessed 27 June Page on a Website Athlete s Foot Topic Overview. WebMD, 25 Sept. 2014, Accessed 6 July An Image of a Physical Artwork (e.g. a Painting, Sculpture, Photograph, etc.) Klee, Paul. Castle Garden Museum of Modern Art, New York. Accessed 18 Feb An Image that Is Only Available on the Web Adams, Clifton R. People relax beside a swimming pool at a country estate near Phoenix, Arizona, Found, National Geographic Creative, 2 June 2016, natgeofound.tumblr.com/. Article in a Web Magazine or Newspaper Bernstein, Mark. "10 Tips on Writing the Living Web." A List Apart: For People Who Make Websites, 16 Aug. 2002, alistapart.com/article/writeliving. Accessed 4 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 Article in an Online Scholarly Journal that Also Appears in Print Wheelis, Mark. "Investigating Disease Outbreaks Under a Protocol to the Biological and Toxin Weapons Convention." Emerging Infectious Diseases, vol. 6, no. 6, 2000, pp , wwwnc.cdc.gov/eid/article/6/6/ _article. Accessed 8 Feb An Article from an Online Database 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 (continued on next page)

9 MORE ELECTRONIC SOURCES (including Interviews) Kunka, Andrew. "Re: Modernist Literature." Received by John Watts, 15 Nov Online-only Published Interviews Zinkievich, Craig. Interview by Gareth Von Kallenbach. Skewed & Reviewed, 27 Apr. 2009, reviewed-interviews-craig. Accessed 15 Mar A Listserv, Discussion Group, or Blog Posting Salmar1515 [Sal Hernandez]. Re: Best Strategy: Fenced Pastures vs. Max Number of Rooms? BoardGameGeek, 29 Sept. 2008, boardgamegeek.com/thread/343929/best-strategy-fencedpastures-vs-max-number-rooms. Accessed 5 Apr A From Orpheus to Faiz,song & poetry have been closely linked. Dylan is the brilliant inheritor of the bardic tradition.great choice. #Nobel. Twitter, 13 Oct. 2016, 5:35 a.m., Accessed 27 June A YouTube Video McGonigal, Jane. Gaming and Productivity. YouTube, uploaded by Big Think, 3 July 2012, Accessed 19 July A Comment on a Website or Article Not Omniscent Enough. Comment on "Flight Attendant Tells Passenger to Shut Up After Argument After Pasta." ABC News, 9 June 2016, 4:00 p.m., abcnews.go.com/us/flightattendant-tells-passenger-shut-argument-pasta/story?id= Accessed 14 Aug

10 Sample MLA Works Cited Page Below is a sample Works Cited page, which can also be found on Purdue OWL s website: Each entry on this alphabetized list is included because it has been referred to, quoted from, or paraphrased in the body of its paper: Works Cited Dean, Cornelia. "Executive on a Mission: Saving the Planet." The New York Times, 22 May 2007, Accessed 12 May Ebert, Roger. Review of An Inconvenient Truth, directed by Davis Guggenheim. rogerebert.com, 1 June 2006, Accessed 15 June 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 An Inconvenient Truth. Directed by Davis Guggenheim, performances by Al Gore and Billy West, Paramount, Leroux, Marcel. Global Warming: Myth Or Reality?: The Erring Ways of Climatology. Springer, Milken, Michael, et al. "On Global Warming and Financial Imbalances." New Perspectives Quarterly, vol. 23, no. 4, 2006, p. 63. Nordhaus, William D. "After Kyoto: Alternative Mechanisms to Control Global Warming." American Economic Review, vol. 96, no. 2, 2006, pp "Global Warming Economics." Science, vol. 294, no. 5545, 9 Nov. 2001, pp , DOI: /science Shulte, Bret. "Putting a Price on Pollution." US News & World Report, vol. 142, no. 17, 14 May 2007, p. 37. Ebsco, Access no: Uzawa, Hirofumi. Economic Theory and Global Warming. Cambridge UP, 2003.

MLA System- The Most Frequent And The Most Important Stuff

MLA System- The Most Frequent And The Most Important Stuff 1. FIRST PAGE Do not make a title page for your paper unless specifically requested. In the upper left-hand corner of the first page, list your