MLA Notes 1
X What is MLA? MLA stands for Modern Language Association What is it? MLA is a set of rules writers use to give credit to original sources for copied material. When is MLA used? MLA should be used when you're writing and use someone else's views, ideas, or words. 2
X When should students cite their work? Students should use MLA when they: > Copy direct quotations > Include ideas which are not their own > Include facts or statistics not obvious to the general population: Not Cited: George W. Bush is the forty third president of the United States. Needs to be Cited: George W. Bush was first elected in 2000 becoming the 4th president in US history to be elected without a plurality of the popular vote after the 1824, 1876, and 1888 elections (www.whitehouse.gov). 3
X The Two Pieces of MLA Documentation MLA requires documentation in two places: within the body of the essay, and at the end in a works cited page. 4
X Examples of MLA documentation within the Essay William Shakespeare lived during the time of the English Renaissance. William grew up in a large family, Born on April 23rd, 1564, in the town of Stratford, William was the third in eight children (Bender 1). 5
The Works Cited Page A works cited page is like a bibliography; it lets the reader know from which sources the author of the paper took information. The format is very specific. All facts (quoted or not) must be cited. If the author of the paper included direct quotes or X made references to information or ideas from any book, encyclopedia, magazine, journal, newspaper, website, online publication, interview, or television show in their paper, a complete citation must be included in the works cited page. 6
X Example 7
X The Works Cited Format The works cited page is the last page of the essay/paper. The entire page is double spaced. Works Cited is centered at the top (1 inch margins) All citations are alphabetized. All second and third lines of the same citation are indented one tab. Nothing is numbered. 8
Basic Information X X BIG STUFF GETS ITALICIZED OR UNDERLINED! Titles of books, magazines, newspapers, TV shows, albums, and plays get italicized (or when it s handwritten underlined. Little stuff gets quotes Articles, poems, songs, and TV episodes get put in quotation marks. 9
Whole Pizza vs. Piece of Pizza 10
X For More Info... Check out MLA s website: > http://www.mla.org Or, here s a trustworthy, helpful site (google owl MLA): > http://owl.english.purdue.edu/owl/resource/ 557/01/ For help with works cited, this one is sometimes very helpful: www.easybib.com Or, just ask any English department member. 11
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Practice Source 1 information Book Author: Edward Cornish Title: Futuring: The Exploration City of Publication: Bethesda, Maryland Publisher: World Society Date: 2004 13
Source 1 information Book Author: Edward Cornish Title: Futuring: The Exploration City of Publication: Bethesda, Maryland Publisher: World Society Date: 2004 14
Practice Source 2 information: Magazine Article Author: Carmen Wong Ulrich Article Title: "Stop Stressing Now!" Magazine Title: Health Date: April 1, 2006 Pages: 126 128 15
Source 2 information: Magazine Article Author: Carmen Wong Ulrich Article Title: "Stop Stressing Now!" Magazine Title: Health Date: April 1, 2006 Pages: 126 128 16
Practice Source 3 information: Webpage on a Website Title of Webpage: "Children s Alliance: Child Obesity" Title of Site: Children s Alliance Date of access: use today s date URL (Web address): http://www.ca.org/childfacts/ 17
Source 3 information: Webpage on a Website Title of Page (or article): "Children s Alliance: Child Obesity" Title of Site: Children s Alliance Date of access: use today s date URL (Web address): http://www.ca.org/childfacts/ 18
Two details to add... Webpage with a Website: Last name, first name (if provided). "title of Webpage or article." Title of Website. Date of Web site update. Sponsoring Agency or publisher. Date Accessed <URL>. Smith, Bob. "Shakespeare's Education." The Bard's Website. N.D., Scholastic. 23 Mar. 2014 http://www.bardweb.com/education.html Movie Title. Dir. First Name Last Name. Medium (videocassette, dvd). Distributer, year. The Usual Suspects. Dir. Bob Smith. DVD. Lionsgate Films, 1996. 19
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