Why do you care? All college papers are in either MLA or APA style. If you know MLA, you can figure out APA. If you can t use this style, you won t be eligible for CIS or PSEO next year. All Humanities papers are required to have this style. ALL.
What is it? Modern Language Association s guidelines for formal papers. Tells you fonts, margins, punctuation, bold, italics, page numbering, spacing, etc.
General Formatting Margins: 1 all around Spacing: Always double spaced; no extra spaces between paragraphs or titles Font: 12 pt font in either Times New Roman, Calibri, Eurostyle, or Arial Narrow Page Numbering: begins on page one; ½ from the top right and includes your last name (Peck 1) Title Page: none unless requested by the teacher Indentation: ½ or one Tab space at the beginning of each paragraph First Page -begin page numbering -Heading: 1 from top left of page should include your name, teacher name, class name, date; all double spaced -Title should also be double spaced, centered, no all CAPS, no quotes, no bold font, no underlining, no italicizing.
Short Quotes (four typed lines or less) -If author s name was mentioned in your writing, before your quote, then only put the page number in parentheses. According to Foulkes's study, dreams may express profound aspects of personality (184). -If author s name was not mentioned in your writing before your quote, then put the author s last name and the page number in parentheses. According to some, dreams express profound aspects of personality (Foulkes 184), though who others the disagree. author is and the page number Basic rule-of-thumb: I have to be able to find somewhere on that page of your paper -Never put the page number in your writing On page 56 it says, ls;dfkjaspdfjka[spdkfjas;dflkadsf;lj;a (Tan). -Always put the quote s end punctuation AFTER the parenthetical citation -Always put the parenthetical citation AFTER the last quotation mark. -Never put a comma between the last name and the page number in a parenthetical citation. adspofijaspdofjkaspdlfkas[pdofkas[dpf (Tan 56). -If an author has already been cited, and there are no quotes from others in between, then you only need to put the page number in the parenthetical citation.
All pages -include page number Quoting: -No more than 10% of paper should be quotations -Author and page number (if available) should always be mentioned either in your writing or in the parenthetical citation after a quote. -The first time you cite a source in your paper, you should introduce the author, the next time just cite the page number. -failing to enclose borrowed language in quotation marks is considered plagiarism. -You do not have to cite any information that is considered common knowledge. -You must cite a source even if you paraphrased or summarized the information
Short Quotes with no author or page number -Mention the title of the work in your writing before using the quote- Basic or- rule-of-thumb: put the title the work I need in quotes to or be italics able (whatever to is appropriate) in parentheses at the end of the quote, after the quickly last quotation find mark the and source before in the your ending works punctuation. cited, so in In-text your Example: paper make sure whatever information begins your works cited entry is mentioned We see so many global warming hotspots in North America likely because somewhere this region has more on readily the accessible page climatic whether data and more it is the comprehensive programs to monitor and study environmental change... ( Impact of Global Warming 6). author or the title. Corresponding Works Cited Entry: The Impact of Global Warming in North America. Global Warming: Early Signs. 1999. Web. 23 Mar. 2009.
In-text Example: Long Quotes (more than four typed lines) -The quote begins on it s own line -The entire quote is indented (two Tab spaces) -Because of the unique indentation, the quote SHOULD NOT be in quotation marks -Punctuation goes at the end of the quote and the citation comes in parentheses after. Nelly Dean treats Heathcliff poorly and dehumanizes him throughout her narration: They entirely refused to have it in bed with them, or even in their room, and I had no more sense, so, I put it on the landing of the stairs, hoping it would be gone on the morrow. By chance, or else attracted by hearing his voice, it crept to Mr. Earnshaw's door, and there he found it on quitting his chamber. Inquiries were made as to how it got there. (Bronte 78) Long Quotes with no page number -Put the Author s last name in parentheses at the end of the quote, after the ending punctuation.
In-text Example: Wordsworth stated that Romantic poetry was marked by a spontaneous overflow of powerful feelings (263). Romantic poetry is characterized by the spontaneous overflow of powerful feelings (Wordsworth 263). Wordsworth extensively explored the role of emotion in the creative process (263). Corresponding Works Cited Entry: Wordsworth, William. Lyrical Ballads. London: Oxford UP, 1967. Print.
In-text Example: Human beings have been described by Kenneth Burke as symbol-using animals (3). Human beings have been described as symbol-using animals (Burke 3). Corresponding Works Cited Entry: Burke, Kenneth. Language as Symbolic Action: Essays on Life, Literature, and Method. Berkeley: U of California P, 1966. Print.
Work by Multiple Authors In-text Examples: Smith, Yang, and Moore argue that tougher gun control is not needed in the United States (76). The authors state Tighter gun control in the United States erodes Second Amendment rights (Smith, Yang, and Moore 76). Jones et al. counter Smith, Yang, and Moore's argument by noting the current spike in gun violence in America compels law makers to adjust gun laws (4).
Miscellaneous Non-Print Sources In-text Example: Werner Herzog's Fitzcarraldo stars Herzog's long-time film partner, Klaus Kinski. During the shooting of Fitzcarraldo, Herzog and Kinski were often at odds, but their explosive relationship fostered a memorable and influential film. Corresponding Works Cited Entry: Herzog, Werner, dir. Fitzcarraldo. Perf. Klaus Kinski. Filmverlag der Autoren, 1982. Film.
Sources from the Internet In-text Example: One online film critic stated that Fitzcarraldo is...a beautiful and terrifying critique of obsession and colonialism (Garcia, Herzog: a Life ). Corresponding Works Cited Entry: Garcia, Elizabeth. Herzog: a Life. Online Film Critics Corner. The Film School of New Hampshire, 2 May 2002. Web. 8 Jan. 2009.
In-text Examples: According to some, dreams express profound aspects of personality (Foulkes 184), though others disagree. According to Foulkes's study, dreams may express profound aspects of personality (184). Is it possible that dreams may express profound aspects of personality (Foulkes 184)? Cullen concludes, Of all the things that happened there / That's all I remember (11-12).
-Always goes in alphabetical order by author s last name or by title if there is no author. -The name of a book, play, magazine, newspaper or larger work is always italicized NEVER underlined -The title of a poem, article or short story is always put in quotation marks. -Your works cited page is always double-spaced and the second line of each entry is always indented -Works Cited should include all sources you used, not just those cited
Sample Works Cited Page:
Basic Format: Lastname, Firstname. Title of Book. Place of Publication: Publisher, Year of Publication. Medium of Publication. Examples: Gleick, James. Chaos: Making a New Science. New York: Penguin, 1987. Print. Gillespie, Paula, and Neal Lerner. The Allyn and Bacon Guide to Peer Tutoring. Boston: Allyn, 2000. Print. Palmer, William J. Dickens and New Historicism. New York: St. Martin's, 1997. Print. ---. The Films of the Eighties: A Social History. Carbondale: Southern Illinois UP, 1993. Print.
Article in a Magazine Format Author(s). Title of Article. Title of Periodical Day Month Year: pages. Medium of publication. Example: Buchman, Dana. A Special Education. Good Housekeeping Mar. 2006: 143-8. Print. Article in Scholarly Journal Format Author(s). Title of Article. Title of Journal Volume.Issue (Year): pages. Medium of publication. Example: Duvall, John N. The (Super)Marketplace of Images: Television as Unmediated Mediation in DeLillo's White Noise. Arizona Quarterly 50.3 (1994): 127-53. Print.
Web Source Format: Editor, author, or compiler name (if available). Article Name. Name of Site. Version number. Name of institution/organization affiliated with the site (sponsor or publisher). Date of last update. Medium of publication. Date of access.
Works Cited Page: Web Examples: Bernstein, Mark. 10 Tips on Writing the Living Web. A List Apart: For People Who Make Websites. A List Apart Mag., 16 Aug. 2002. Web. 4 May 2009. Felluga, Dino. Guide to Literary and Critical Theory. Purdue U, 28 Nov. 2003. Web. 10 May 2006. How to Make Vegetarian Chili. ehow.com. ehow. n.d. Web. 24 Feb. 2009.
Personal Interview Example: Purdue, Pete. Personal interview. 1 Dec. 2000. Speech Example: Stein, Bob. Computers and Writing Conference. Purdue University. Union Club Hotel, West Lafayette, IN. 23 May 2003. Keynote address.
Works Cited Page: Other Film Example: The Usual Suspects. Dir. Bryan Singer. Perf. Kevin Spacey, Gabriel Byrne, Chazz Palminteri, Stephen Baldwin, and Benecio del Toro. Polygram, 1995. Film.