MLA Citation Guide. What is MLA? Formatting your paper

Transcription

1 MLA Citation Guide What is MLA? MLA style is the citation style put together by the Modern Language Association. It s the most commonly used style to write papers in the Liberal Arts and Humanities. Research papers may seem like a daunting task, especially citing your references, but don t worry, MLA is very easy to use and understand. Formatting your paper While the format of your paper may change from professor to professor, MLA has some very basic guidelines: Font must be size 12 Paper must be double spaced Margins must be set to 1 inch You can set your font and paragraph settings to be the default choice by clicking on the icon in the font and paragraph sections of the home tab:

2 Format for the first page 1. In the upper left corner, list your name, your professor, the course, and the date, each on their own line 2. On the next line, click the center paragraph button and type in the title of your paper. 3. Start your paper on the next line, using the left paragraph setting, indenting the first line Inserting the Header and Page number 1. Click on Header and select Blank 2. Tab over to the right side of the page and type in your last name 3. Click on Page Number, choose Current Position, then Plain Number

3 Reference Page 1. Must start on a brand new page, with the title Works Cited centered 2. References are listed alphabetically 3. Must be double spaced 4. Must use hanging indent 5. Include all works cited DO NOT TRY AND MANUALLY PLACE YOUR HANGING INDENTS! It will not work. Set your paper to Hanging in the paragraph defaults. Basic Rules Author Entries start with the Author s name: Last name, First name Middle Name or Initial. Do not include titles (Dr.) or degrees (PhD) Do include suffixes (Jr.; III). Multiple authors Multiple works by the same author The first author s name is listed as above, all following authors names are listed in direct order. If you have cited more than one work by the same author, order the entries alphabetically by title, and use three hyphens (- - -) in place of the author s name for every entry after the first. If an author appears as both a sole author and as the first author of a group, list the solo entry first. Doe, John Kirk, James T. King, Martin Luther, Jr. Baggins, Frodo, and Samwise Gamgee Foucault, Michel. The Archaeology of Knowledge The History of Sexuality Pratchett, Terry Pratchett, Terry, and Neil Gaiman... No author Use the title of the work in place of the author. Boring Postcards USA... Italics and capitalization, Titles of books and magazines are Italicized. Titles of articles, short stories, poems, etc. are in quotation marks. Capitalize all words in the title except articles, prepositions, or conjunctions unless they are the first word. The Lord of the Rings Babycakes Gone with the Wind

4 Print References The Basic Format is: Books Last name, First name. Title of Book. Publisher, Publication Date. Rowling, J.K. Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince. Arthur A. Levine Books, And Articles Last name, First name. Title of Article. Title of Journal, Volume, Issue, Year, Pages O Shaughnessy, Nicholas. Selling Hitler: Propaganda and the Nazi Brand. Journal of Public Affairs, vol. 9, issue 1, 2009, pp Book by an Organization Books American Allergy Association. Allergies in Children. Random House, Republished Book Butler, Judith. Gender Trouble Routledge, Translated Book Emphasize the work: Foucault, Michel. Madness and Civilization: A History of Insanity in the Age of Reason. Translated by Richard Howard, Vintage-Random House, Emphasize the translation: Howard, Richard, translator. Madness and Civilization: A History of Insanity in the Age of Reason. By Michel Foucault, Vintage-Random House, Anthologies and Collections Hill, Charles A., and Marguerite Helmers, editors. Defining Visual Rhetoric's. Lawrence Erlbaum Associates, Book Chapter/Entry in a Collection Harris, Muriel. Talk to Me: Engaging Reluctant Writers. A Tutor s Guide: Helping Writers One on One, edited by Ben Rafoth, Heinemann, 2000, pp Short Story in a Collection Malamund, Bernard. My Sone the Murderer. The Oxford Book of American Short Stories, edited by Joyce Carol Oates, Oxford University Press, 1992, pp ). Encyclopedia/Dictionary entry Ideology. The American Heritage College Dictionary. 4th ed., Magazine Articles Articles Poniewozik, James. TV Makes a Too-Close Call. Time, 20 Nov. 2000, pp Newspaper Articles Krugman, Andrew. Fear of Eating. New York Times, 21 May 2007, late ed. p. A1. Local Paper Trembacki, Paul. Brees Hopes to Win Heisman for Team. Purdue Exponent [West Lafayette, IN], 5 Dec. 2000, p. 20. Reviews No Title Armistead, Henry T. Review of Wild Things, Wild Places: Adventurous Tales of Wildlife and Conservation on Plant Earth, by Jane Alexander. Library Journal. vol. 141, no. 14, p Title Seitz, Matt Zoller. Life in the Sprawling Suburbs, If You Can Really Call It Living. Review of Radiant City, directed by Gary Burns and Jim Brown. New York Times, 30 May 2007, p. E1.

5 eresources eresources all require: A URL without the Or the DOI (Digital Online Identifier) E.G.: /tox Date Accessed (Day Month Year) if possible If found in a Database, include that information as well Article that is only online Brown, David. "Why is NASA Neglecting Venus?" The Atlantic, 19 Jan. 2017, science/archive/2017/01/venus-lost-generation/ /. Accessed 21 Jan Online Article or Ebook that also appears in print Article Fater, Tori. Why Spooky Ghost Stories Keep People Coming Back to Willard Library. Evansville Courier and Press, 21 Oct. 2017, pp. B1 B2, www. courierpress.com/story/news/local/2017/10/21/ why-spooky-ghost-stories-keeppeople-comingback-willard-library/ /. Accessed 23 Oct ebook Horowitz, Alexandra. Inside of a Dog: What Dogs See, Smell and Know. Scribner, 2009, Google Books, books.google.com/booksid=pqjrcixafsgc= Frontcover&dq=dog&hl=en&sa=x&ved=0ahUKE wizrvs_4bxahwk64mkhvcbasoq6aeildab#v= Onepage&q=dog&f=false. Accessed 23 Oct Items found in a database Articles Langhamer, Claire. Love and Courtship in Mid-Twentieth-Century England. Historical Journal, vol. 50, no. 1, 2007, p ProQuest, doi: /s x Accessed 27 May "You can finally find out who Fido is related to with a new 'family tree' for dog breeds." Christian Science Monitor, 27 Apr Opposing Viewpoints in Context, link.galegroup.com/ apps/doc/a /ovic?u=vinc01522&xid= 85bb15b0. Accessed 17 May ebooks Marcus, Dawn A. The Power of Wagging Tails : A Doctor's Guide to Dog Therapy and Healing. Demos Health, EBSCOhost, dbprox.vinu. edu/login?url= login.aspx?direct=rue&db=nlebk&an=373003& site=ehost-live&scope=site. Accessed 23 Oct Webpage Lundman, Susan. "How to Make Vegetarian Chili." ehow, Accessed 6 July Online Video McGonigal, Jane. Gaming and Productivity. YouTube, uploaded by Big Think, 3 July 2012, Accessed 7 Jun. 2017

6 In Text Citations All citations must include the author last name and the page number (except for webpages) for both quotes and paraphrases. Citations can take two forms: Smith states (4) In a recent article (Jones 255). 2 authors Smith and Jones state (5) The data suggests (Kirk and O Malley 29). 3 or more authors According to Spock, et al., (26) In a study...(johnson, et al., 19). Multiple works by same author Add an abbreviation of the title. Italics for books, quotation marks for articles. Crane states ( Help 19) (Crane, Food distribution 86). 2 authors with the same last name C. Smith (23) R. Smith (55) No author Classic and literary works with multiple editions Use abbreviation of the title. According to Live the Revolution... A trend ( Live the Revolution ). Include volume, chapter, section, or paragraph. Marx described (79; ch. 1) (Marx 79; ch. 1) Less than 40 words: The period goes AFTER the page number: (C. Smith, 2010, p.98). Quotations More than 4 lines of prose or 2 paragraphs: You use a block quote that starts on a new line. Do not use quotation marks. The period goes BEFORE the page number. More than 3 lines of poetry Use a block quote as above Keep formatting as close as possible to the original Adding words for clarity Place brackets around the added words: Brunvard states some individuals [who retell urban legends] make a point of learning every rumor or tale (78). Removing words from a quote Use ellipsis ( ) in place of the deleted words... Some individuals make a point of learning every recent rumor or tale and in a short time a lively exchange of details occurs (78).

7 Additional Tools MLA Style: Works Cited Quick Guide style.mla.org Purdue Online Writing Lab (OWL) owl.english.purdue.edu OneVU citation generator NOTE: CITATION GENERATIOR IS FOR MLA 7th ED! ALWAYS CHECK YOUR REFRENCES! Database generators are always correct as they can be out of date or just completely wrong! Microsoft Word References will not properly format your citations Most online citation generators are completely wrong Database citation generators Still Need Help? Call us: us: Chat with us: live chat box located on the left of the library home page Visit us: Sun: 2pm-Midnight M-Th: 7:30am-Midnight Fri: 7:30am-9pm Sat: 11am-9pm