MLA STYLE GUIDE PAPER FORMATTING AND DOCUMENTATION STANDARDS

MLA STYLE GUIDE PAPER FORMATTING AND DOCUMENTATION STANDARDS

MLA CITATION STYLE MLA format, from the Modern Language Association, is usually used for papers in the Humanities. If you use another s words, thoughts, or ideas, you must cite the source within your paper in text as well as in a Works Cited list at the end. The Works Cited list contains the publication information for each source used, alphabetically arranged by author. (See detailed explanations on the following pages). The in-text citation usually consists of the author s last name and page number in parentheses within the text wherever you have borrowed material. (See detailed explanations & examples on page 14 of this booklet). PLAGIARISM/Why We Cite What Is Plagiarism And Why Is It Important? In school, we are continually engaged with other people s ideas: we read them in texts,. hear them in lectures, discuss them in class, and incorporate them into our own writing. As a result, it is very important that we give credit where it is due. Using others ideas and words without clearly acknowledging the source of that information is plagiarism. How Can Students Avoid Plagiarism? To avoid plagiarism, you must give credit whenever you use another person s idea, opinion, or theory; any facts, statistics, graphs, drawings any pieces of information that are not common knowledge; quotations of another person s actual spoken or written words; or TABLE OF CONTENTS a paraphrase of another person s spoken or written words REMEMBER: When in doubt, CITE! Writing Tutorial Services. Plagiarism: What It is and How to Recognize and Avoid It. 1998. Indiana University, Bloomington, IN. Web. 31 May 2002 2

MLA CITATION STYLE BOOKS General Format and Punctuation for MLA Citation Style: 1. Author s (or editor s) last name, first name. 2. Title of the Book [in italics]. 3. City of publication: [followed by colon] 4. Publishing company, [followed by comma] 5. Year of publication. [followed by period] 6. Medium. [i.e. Print or Web] [followed by period] CITATION EXAMPLES For all examples, the first example is how citation appears in your works cited page. The second example shows how you would cite that source in your paper. A BOOK BY ONE AUTHOR OR EDITOR Stone, Wanda. Suicide. New York: Random, 1985. Print. Johnson, James, ed. Drug Abuse. Boston: Norton, 2001. Print. In-text Citation: Citing a sentence from this book (Stone 34). In-text Citation: Citing a sentence from this book (Johnson 26). TWO OR THREE AUTHORS OR EDITORS Brown, Charles, and Genny Harvard. The Indian Ocean. Princeton: Princeton UP, 1998. Print. Smith, John, Robert Anderson, and Susan Tyler, eds. By These Words. Chicago: Harcourt, 2000. Print. In-text Citation: Citing a sentence from this book (Smith, Anderson and Tyler 45). 3

MORE THAN THREE AUTHORS OR EDITORS Jones, Mary, et al. Computers. Hartford: Macmillan, 1996. Print. In-Text Citation: Citing a Sentence from this book (Jones et. al. 45). EDITION Hart, Jan. World History. 2 nd ed. Ames: U of Iowa P, 1995. Print. In-Text Citation Citing a sentence from this book (Hart 45). BOOK IN A SERIES Gerdes, Louise I., ed. Professional Wrestling. At Issue Ser. San Diego: Greenhaven, 2002. Print. In-Text Citation: Citing a sentence from this book (Gerdes 45). ESSAY, ARTICLE, CHAPTER, SHORT STORY, POEM, ETC. IN A COLLECTION OF WRITINGS OR ANTHOLOGY: Give article/chapter data, and then add book information. Gabler, Neal. Professional Wrestling Is a Form of Political Protest. Professional Wrestling. Ed. Louise I. Gerdes. At Issue Ser. San Diego: Greenhaven, 2002. 41-67. Print. In-Text Citation: Citing a sentence from this book (Gabler 56). 4

REFERENCE BOOKS Smith, Lloyd. DNA Sequencing. Macmillan Encyclopedia of Chemistry. Ed. Joseph J. Lagowski. 4 vols. New York: Simon & Schuster Macmillan, 1997. Print. In-Text Citation: Citing a sentence from this book (Smith 67). ENCYCLOPEDIAS AND DICTIONARIES Anthrax. Merriam-Webster s Collegiate Dictionary. 11 th ed. 2007. Print. Spain. World Book Encyclopedia. 4 th ed. 2002. Print. In-Text Citation: Citing a sentence from this source ( Spain ). In-Text Citation: Citing a sentence from this source ( Anthrax ). Note: When citing an encyclopedia or dictionary there is no need to put the page number where the entry is located. REVIEW MLA CITATION STYLE BOOKS General Format and Punctuation for MLA Citation Style: 1.Author s (or editor s) last name, first name. 2. Title of the Book [in italics]. 3. City of publication: [followed by colon] 4. Publishing company, [followed by comma] 5. Year of publication. 6. Medium. [i.e. Print or Web] [followed by period] 5

MLA CITATION STYLE EBOOKS & VIDEOS/DVDS General Format and Punctuation for MLA Citation Style: 7. Author s (or editor s) last name, first name. 8. Title of the Book [in italics]. 9. City of publication: [followed by colon] 10. Publishing company, [followed by comma] 11. Year of publication. 12. The Electronic Database Name [in italics]. 13. Medium of the Database (Web) 14. Date [day Month year] you accessed the article online. BOOKS & BOOK ESSAYS FROM ON-LINE DATABASE Roe, Karen. Child Abuse. Miami: ABC-CLIO, 1995. netlibrary. Web. 1 Feb. 2009. In-Text Citation: Citing a sentence from this book (Roe 15). EBOOKS AVAILABLE THROUGH AN INTERNET SITE Fitzgerald, F. Scott. This Side of Paradise. New York: Scribner, 1920. Bartleby.com, 1999. Web. 17 Mar. 2009. In-Text Citation: Citing a sentence from this book (Fitzgerald 115). VIDEOs & DVDs Give title, distributor, and release date. Include director, performers, producer, & original release date (if relevant and available: medium (DVD or Video). Much Ado About Nothing. By William Shakespeare. Dir. Kenneth Branagh. MGM Home Entertainment, 2003. DVD. In-Text Citation: A quote from this movie (Much Ado About Nothing). 6

MLA CITATION STYLE PERIODICALS (MAGAZINES, JOURNALS, NEWSPAPERS) 1. Author s last name, first name. [for multiple authors, see p. 4] 2. Title of the Article [in quotation marks ]. 3. Name of the Periodical [in italics] 4. For a magazine - Date of the periodical [day Month year]: page range [or start page, if from database]. For a scholarly journal - Volume. Issue (year): page range. For a newspaper Date, Edition [if available]: Section page. 5. Medium (i.e. Print) 6. For articles or books taken from electronic full-text subscription database sources, add the following information: The Electronic Database Name [in italics]. Medium of the Database (Web) The date [day Month. year] you accessed the article online. CITATION EXAMPLES The first example is how the citation appears in your works cited page. The second example shows how you would cite that source in your paper. MAGAZINE Works Cited (Database): Hale, Leo. Managing Y2K Problems. Time 12 Dec. 1999: 97. Academic Search Premier. Web. 26 Jan. 2009. Works Cited (Print): Hale, Leo. Managing Y2K Problems. Time 12 Dec. 1999: 97-. Print. In-Text Citation: Citing a sentence from this article (Hale 99). 7

SCHOLARLY JOURNAL Indicate the Volume and Issue Number Journal title (i.e. 5.1) Works Cited (from Print): Cole, Mary. Whales. Journal of Biology 5.1 (1997): 107-135. Print. Works Cited (Database): Cole, Mary. Whales. Journal of Biology 5.1 (1997): 107-135. Academic Search Premier. Web. 16 Jan. 2009. In-Text Citation: Citing a sentence from this article (Cole 116). NEWSPAPER CITATIONS Works Cited (Print): Potter, Cass. HIV Prevention Pill. New York Times 17 Mar. 1998, late ed.: D2. Print. Works Cited (Database): Potter, Cass. HIV Prevention Pill. New York Times 17 Mar. 1998, late ed.: D2. Custom Newspapers. Web. 4 Jan. 2009. In-Text Citation: A sentence from this article (Potter 3). 8

MLA CITATION STYLE INTERNET 1. Author s Last Name, First [if available]. 2. Title of Short Work, Article, or Internet Page [if applicable, in quotation marks ]. 3. Name of Complete Work, Book, or Internet Site [if applicable, in italics]. 4. Date of electronic publication or of the latest update [if available]. 5. Institution or organization (university, association, etc.) associated with the web site [if applicable]. CITATION EXAMPLES For all examples, the first example is how citation appears in your works cited page. The second example shows how you would cite that source in your paper. Note: Works Cited for Internet web sites: MLA does not require that works cited entries contain the URL (www ) for sources. However, some instructors do require URLs as part of the citation. If so, include the entire URL in brackets at the end of the citation: <http://www.fmcc.edu> Be sure to check the requirements for your assignment. Note: In-text citations for Internet web sites: Since most documents found on Internet web pages do not have fixed page numbers visible on the screen, most in-text citations of these articles will omit the page numbers and consist only of the author s last name in parenthesis. If you cite a document that has fixed page numbers (i.e. a PDF file), you can use those page numbers. 9

WEB SITE WITH AUTHOR Martin, Robin. Napoleon I Emperor of France. 11 Aug. 1995. Web. 12. Feb. 2009. In-Text Citation: A quote from this webpage (Martin). WEB SITES WITH NO AUTHOR INDICATED Focus on Anthrax. Nature. 2001. Macmillan Publishers. Web. 16 Dec. 2003. In-Text Citation: A quote from this webpage ( Focus on Anthrax ). E-MAIL Young, Kevin. Re: Interview Questions. E-mail to the author. 17. Jan. 2009. E-mail. In-Text Citation: Citing a sentence from this e-mail (Young). GOVERNMENT PUBLICATIONS If the author is unknown, state the name of the government, then the agency. United States. Dept. of Health and Human Services. Center for Disease Control and Prevention. National Diabetes Fact Sheet. Web. 7 Aug. 2008. In-Text Citation: A quote from this publication ( National Diabetes Fact Sheet ). 10

WORKS CITED 1. Center the title Works Cited at top of page. 2. Double space all entries. 3. Alphabetize by author s last name; if no author, use first word of the title (after A An The ). 4. Do NOT indent first line of entries. Brown, Charles, and Genny Harvard. The Indian Ocean. Princeton: Princeton UP, 1998. Print. Cole, Mary. Whales. Journal of Biology 5.1 (1997): 107-135. Academic Search Premier. Web. 16 Jan. 2009. Focus on Anthrax. Nature. 2001. Macmillan Publishers. Web. 16 Dec. 2003. Print. Hale, Leo. Managing Y2K Problems. Time 12 Dec. 1999: 97-. Academic Search Premier. Web. 26 Jan. 2009. Jones, Mary, et al. Computers. Hartford: Macmillan, 1996. Print. Martin, Robin. Napoleon I Emperor of France. 11 Aug. 1995. Web. 12 Feb. 2009. Much Ado About Nothing. By William Shakespeare. Dir. Kenneth Branagh. MGM Home Entertainment, 2003. DVD. Potter, Cass. HIV Prevention Pill. New York Times 17 Mar. 1998, late ed.: D2. Print. Spain. World Book Encyclopedia.4 th ed. 2002. Print. Stone, Wanda. Suicide. New York: Random, 1985. Print. Young, Kevin. Re: Interview Questions. E-mail to the author. 17 Jan. 2009. E-mail. 11

MLA Style Research Paper based on the 7 th ed. of the MLA Handbook for Writers of Research Papers. Created Nov 10, 2009. Your name Professor Course name Date John Smith Professor Williams American Studies 104 14 March 2008 Title is centered Found Voices: Carl Sagan Your last name, and page # on upper right corner of each page ½ inch from top border. Smith 1 Use Times New Roman 12 pt. or similar easy to read font. Double space entire paper Indent 1 inch from left border Carl Sagan was perhaps one of the most influential scientific minds that the world has ever experienced. When he learned that stars were actually extremely distant suns, his world was changed and the magnitude of the universe opened up to him. Another strong motivator into science came with his reading of a popular science fiction book of the time, The Burroughs Tales. The stories were not extremely sound scientifically, but still presented ideals of adventure and the unknown. The idea that life could exist elsewhere in the universe fascinated Sagan and remained with him for Italicize names of books, plays, poems, television shows, newspapers, magazines, websites, databases, art, ships, and space craft. Indent additional ½ inch when beginning a new paragraph the rest of his life (Eicher). In-text citation pointing to a specific source in the works cited list. Perhaps one of Sagan s most famous individual accomplishments was his involvement with the Pioneer 10 Space Probe. The probe was created to be the first object to exit our galaxy. Sagan acknowledged that the chances of anything actually discovering the probe were astronomical, but believed that it was important to promote public appreciation for science and thought the project to be all in good fun (McDonough 50). Citation with page number of quotation. Public appreciation for science was, in fact, what made Sagan the superstar scientist that we hear of today. His ability to portray complex

Arrange sources alphabetically by the author s last name, or if no author, by the first word in the citation. Include the medium of each source: print, web, CD, DVD, television, radio, film, e- mail, film, performance etc. Indent each source 1 inch from border, double space, and indent second and consecutive lines. Online reference source Works Cited Adler, Jerry. Unbeliever s Quest. Newsweek 31 Mar 1997: 64-66. Print. MLA Style Works Cited Medium Smith 4 Broad, William J. Even in Death, Carl Sagan s Influence is Still Cosmic. New York Times. New York Times, 1 Dec 1998. Web. 20 Mar 2008. Carl Sagan Pale Blue Dot. 2 Apr 2007. YouTube. Web. 7 Mar 2009. Chyba, Christopher. Telephone interview. 22 Mar. 2009. Drake, Frank. Personal interview. 5 Mar 2009. Eicher, Dave. "CARL SAGAN, 1934-1996." Astronomy 25.3 (1997): 28. Academic Search Premier. Web. 3 Mar 2009. Harrison, Jane. "Incidental music." The Oxford Companion to Music. Ed. Alison Latham. Oxford Music Online. Web. 14 Dec. 2009. Your last name, and page # on upper right corner of each page ½ inch from top border. <http://www.oxfordmusiconline.com/subscriber/article/opr/t114/e3406>. Print magazine Newspaper online YouTube Telephone interview Personal interview Magazine article from a database McDonough, Tom. "Carl Sagan and the Search for E.T." Skeptic 13.1 (2007):49-51. Academic Search Premier. Web. 13 Mar 2009. Morrison, David "Carl Sagan s Life and Legacy as Scientist, Teacher, Date of article and Skeptic." Skeptical Inquirer. January-February 2009. Web. Magazine article from a database Date you accessed article 7 Mar 2009. <http://www.csicop.org/si/2007-01/sagan.html>. Web site Morrison, David. "Sagan and Skepticism." Skeptic 7.1 (1999): 29-31. Include the URL only if the instructor requires it, or the source cannot be found without it. Academic Search Premier. Web. 13 Mar 2009. Magazine article from a database