MLA Format from Dr. Glockhammer s Guide to Good Citations

Transcription

1 MLA Format from Dr. Glockhammer s Guide to Good Citations The following list of examples should cover most of the documentation skills you will need for formal essay writing. If you need help citing other sources, please ask me or check the MLA handbook. It does not matter whether you quote the material or put it in your own words, if you use observations or research from a book, article, encyclopedia, database, or website, you must give the author of the text credit, not once but twice (within the text of the essay and on the works cited page); if there is no author provided-the title must be used to give proper credit. We call the first instance internal documentation; the second appears as a citation on the Works Cited page. 1. A book: In the essay- Quotation Example: For the two hundred years between 1560 and 1760, Catholics and Protestants in Europe were at one another s throats Catholic countries like Spain and France would go to war at the drop of a hat against Protestant countries like England and Holland (Levy 9). Paraphrase Example (All words except 1560, 1760, Catholic, Protestant, Europe, Spain, France, England, and Holland must be put into different words): Religious conflicts caused Catholic Spain and France to attack England and Holland (Levy 9). Levy, Elizabeth. Cranky Colonials: America s Funny but True History. New York: Scholastic Inc., A novel-because novels are available in different editions, what appears, for example, on page 27 in my edition of Jane Eyre is not necessarily what appears on yours. Hence, in the internal documentation after the author and page number add a semicolon and then the book and chapter. Ex. (Bronte 350;bk. 3, ch. 4). Long quotation example-if the quotation runs more than four lines on your paper, set it off by beginning a new line and indenting ten spaces or tabbing in twice from the left margin. Introduce the passage with a colon. Do not use quotation marks and do double space.

2 Example from the essay: Like Cinderella, Jane Eyre must endure the cruelty of siblings who benefit from financial resources that are rightfully hers. Unlike her fairytale counterpart, however, she fights back: I had indeed leveled at that prominent feature as hard a blow as my knuckles could conflict; and when I saw that either that or my look daunted him, I had the greatest inclination to follow up my advantage to purpose; but he was already with his mama. I heard him in a blubbering tone commence the tale of how that nasty Jane Eyre had flown at him like a mad cat (Bronte 27; bk. 1, ch. 4) Bronte, Charlotte. Jane Eyre. New York: Oxford World s Classics, Books with editors or translators In the essay: Ironically, many of the structures which gave Frank Lloyd Wright fame no longer exist. The Larkin Building (1904) in Buffalo, New York was demolished in 1950 (Hunter 98). Hunter, Sam, ed. Modern Art: Painting/Sculpture/Architecture. Englewood Cliffs, New Jersey: Prentice Hall, Inc., If citing primarily from the translator s words, list the translator s name first: Heaney, Seamus, trans. Beowulf. New York: W.W. Norton & Company, If citing primarily from the work, list the author first (title if author unavailable): Beowulf. Trans. Seamus Heaney. New York: W.W. Norton & Company, An anthology (citing from the anthology itself, not the individual pieces of literature) In the essay: Quotation example: Henry VIII instituted the Oath of Supremacy, affirming the king as head of both church and state and required [the oath] of those in the service of the

3 church or the king, as well as those in the learned professions and those attending Oxford or Cambridge Universities (Pfordrescher, Vleidemanis, and McDonnell 161). Pforrescher, John, Gladys V. Veidemanis and Helen McDonnell. England in Literature. Glenview, IL: Scott, Foresman, If there are more than three editors or compilers listed on the title page, give the name of the first one listed only, followed by et al. (Pfordrescher, et al.) Pfordrescher, John, et al. England in Literature. Glenview, IL: Scott, Foresman, A work in an anthology In the essay: Upon hearing of Lady Macbeth s suicide, Macbeth remarks that [s]he should have died hereafter;/ There would have been time for such a word ( ). Shakespeare, William. Macbeth. England in Literature. Ed. John Pfordrescher, Gladys Veidemanis, and Helen McDonnel. Glenview, IL: Scott, Foresman, Article in a journal(magazine)-if there is no author, use the article title. In the essay: According to Brian Hanson, as computer technology continues to become increasingly sophisticated and widespread, law-enforcement organizations are specifically training to trap cyber-predators (187). Hanson, Brian. Cyber-Predators. Congressional Quarterly 1 Mar. 2002: Without an author listed: Africa. Budget Travel. March/April Vol. 5, Issue 2: Encyclopedia-If there is no author cited, use the title of the article. In the essay: Charters, grants of land and privilege, both enabled expansion of the British empire and corruption of its rulers and representatives ( Royal Charters ). Royal Charters. Encyclopedia of Britannica ed. Royal Charters. Encyclopedia of Britannica Online Encyclopedia Britannica. 8 May

4 8. Internet Sources-Probably the most challenging aspect to this marvel of modern technology is learning how to read pages. Some sites have a page labeled copyright or citation information. You may have to refer to the Home Page of the site or organization to find the necessary information. You MUST put forth the effort to find the information in order to properly cite the pages used. See the list of highly recommended sites for research/reference at the end of this guide. In the essay: The internal documentation will feature either an author or the article name; page numbers are not used because of variations in computers. For the works cited adhere to the content and order of the following: 1. The name of the author; if there is no author, begin with the title. 2. Title of an article, poem, short story, or similar short work in the Internet site (enclosed in quotation marks). 3. Name of the editor, compiler, or translator of the text preceded by the appropriate abbreviations. 4. Publication information for any print version of the source. 5. Title of the Internet site (if given) underlined 6. Name of the editor of the site (if given) 7. Date of electronic publication or the latest update or of posting 8. For a work from subscription service, the name of the service and if a library or a consortium of libraries is the subscriber the name and geographic location 9. Name of any institution or organization sponsoring the site (if not cited earlier) 10. Date when the researcher accessed the source 11. URL of the source or, if the URL is long and very complicated, the URL of the site s search page Munster, Herman. Don t stick your neck out. Website for Bloodsuckers through the Ages. 5 Aug Dracula University. 30 Oct Suggested research sites: NO WIKI SITES!!!! Spartacus Educational at Britannia at History Guide at 9. A film or video recording In the essay: Provide the name of the studio and the year after the film s title. You only have to do this once. In Who Framed Roger Rabbit (Touchstone Home Video, 1988), live action scenes were first shot with the actors pretending the cartoon character were present; later the animated figures were drawn onto the film frame by frame.

5 It s a Wonderful Life. Dir. Frank Capra. Perf. James Stewart, Dona Reed, and Lionel Barrymore. RKO, A Lecture In the essay: The era referred to as the Anglo-Saxon era is often considered a time barbarism, ignorance, confusion, and violence, however, scholars today believe that may be faulty assumption (Kaminsky). Kaminsky, Rachel. Anglo-Saxon Notes. Junior AA English, period 3. Red Mountain High School, Mesa. 18 Aug Internal documentation that features more than one source (if material has been integrated): Use a semicolon to indicate a different source: (Hanson 175; Keliig 24).