Current Guide for MLA Formatting 8 th Edition

Current Guide for MLA Formatting 8 th Edition

*Documenting sources establishes the writer s credibility and is required in academic writing. *The style of the documentation depends upon the requirement of the particular assignment or the individual professor.

*MLA (Modern Language Association) used in English, foreign languages, and other humanities *APA(American Psychological Association) used in psychology & other social sciences *Chicago (University of Chicago Press) used in history, philosophy, and other specified humanities *CSE (Council of Science Editors) used in physical and biological sciences and mathematics.

MLA style requires: *specific format for the research paper Use ONLY Times New Roman font 12 Always double space each line. Do not double, double space between any paragraphs or citations. *brief in-text documentation Follow specific MLA (Eighth Edition) formatting rules *complete list of works cited after the text of research. Use any approved models as templates (Library s or Instructor s) the

*Each paragraph is indented according to directions. *Each line is double spaced. *Margins: 1 from top, bottom, left and right. First Page Only: *Header: Writer s last name and page number. ½ from top on the right. *Heading: Against Left Margin. Writer s Name Professor s Name Course Name and Section Date: day Month year *Paper s Title (centered)

All other pages of the paper: *Spacing and indents: Entire paper including the Works Cited page is double spaced. The first line of each paragraph should be indented one-half inch from the left margin. *Long quotations (within the essay s body): Specific longer quotes (3-4 lines) need to be set off from the rest of the essay. (1 or 10 spaces from the left margin with NO quotation marks but correctly cited according to formatting rules.)

*Recognize the Fair Use rule. *Distinguish among the direct quote, summarizing, and paraphrasing. *Understand the definition(s) and ramifications of plagiarism. *Become familiar with basic MLA citation.

According to Merriam-Webster: a legal doctrine that portions of copyrighted materials may be used without permission of the copyright owner provided the use is fair and reasonable, does not substantially impair the value of the materials, and does not curtail the profits reasonably expected by the owner HUH.?

What this Fair Use Rule means is Students may use copyrighted material IF: * its use is fair and reasonable *; * its use does not change or alter the material in any way; * its use does not interrupt any payment and/or credit due to its originator. fair and reasonable : kept brief and always annotated with source Ten Percent Rule: 10% Source/90% Writer

A collection of reference material organized and dropped into an essay format. Cut and Paste Rewriting, paraphrasing, and summarizing reference material without giving any or incorrect source information. Pulling a Fast One Data drop is a violation of the 10% Rule and constitutes Plagiarism!

*Parenthetical Citations (within the essay) Keeping Fair Use percentage in mind, any piece of research MUST be cited correctly within the essay according to current MLA rules *Works Cited Page (last page of the essay All citations used within the research essay are crossreferenced on the Works Cited page of the research paper.

Material in the research paper that is quoted, summarized, paraphrased, and/or otherwise learned from either a primary or secondary source requires a citation within the body of the research paper. Examples following will come from: McCullough, David. John Adams. Simon & Schuster, 2001.

Tips for Parenthetical Citations: *citation is within parentheses at the end of the sentence. *period always FOLLOWS the parentheses; if the quote has any other end mark (question mark or exclamation) that remains before the parentheses. *if available, put author s name and page number in the parentheses. *if there is no author, put enough of the title so it can be cross-referenced on the Works Cited page. Don t forget the page number.

Examples of in-text citations: 1. with direct quotation He was John Adams of Braintree and he loved to talk. He was a known talker. He himself wished he talked less (McCullough 17). 2. with signal phrase According to David McCullough in his biography John Adams, Adams was a known talker, even he himself wished that he talked less (17).

A signal phrase assists with the essay s coherence in that it provides a transition into a piece of cited research. Examples: According to McCullough,.. (17). McCullough describes Adams as a talkative man by saying. (17). The 2001 biography of John Adams by David McCullough suggests that Adams was.. (17).

Students often wonder whether using a signal phrase is a requirement each time they want to use a referenced citation. The answer is simple: It depends of the citation. Direct Quotes, using the exact wording, definitely requires a signal phrase. However, once authority is established, the signal phrase may not be required, only the parenthetical. For citations with no author, insert a title signal which will signal the beginning of the referenced material.

Examples: Direct Quote-- McCullough suggests that Adams was very intuitive when it came to knowing others: [Adams] warned: the most fiery spirits and flighty geniuses frequently obtained more influence than men of sense and judgment (418). SIGNAL Established Authority--Adams continued that the weakest man may carry foolish measures in opposition to wise ones proposed by the ablest (McCullough 418). NO SIGNAL Title Signal--In the article, John Adams Revealed, Adams was known to be intuitive in many aspects of politics as well in knowing when to debate and when to keep silent (4-5). SIGNAL

The Citation Sandwich: *found within the essay, usually the body *provides the reader with clarity of where the research begins and ends *assists the essay s coherence The Citation Sandwich has three parts: *the signal phrase *the citation (quoted, paraphrased, or summarized) *the correctly formatted parenthetical citation

Basic Examples of MLA Formatting: Author is known, direct quotation, ending with a question? (Author s Last name #). Two listed authors, direct quotation (Last name, Last name #). Three or more listed authors, direct quotation (Last name et al. #) The first author s last name followed by et al (others) No authors listed, only the title of the work and no page listed ( Every Patient s Nightmare ).

It s all about Cross Referencing *Anything cited within the essay must be correctly formatted on the Works Cited page. Everything not original MUST be cited. *Do NOT pad the Works Cited page with references not cited within the essay. *Whatever appears within the citation (or signal phrase) is immediately found at the Works Cited entry. (Don t make the reader search for the citation within the entry.)

The Works Cited page: *is the last page(s) of the document, entries all double spaced; * has Works Cited, as a title to the page, centered at the top; *contains ONLY the references cited within the essay; *has each entry beginning against the left margin (1 ). *alphabetizes each entry by author s last name, or by title (excluding articles) if no author is listed in the entry. *indents subsequent lines of each citation ½ (hanging indent). *

1 Author. 2 Title of source. 3 Title of container, 4 Other contributors, 5 Version or Volume 6 Number, 7 Publisher, 8 Publication date, 9 Location. Accessed on ddmonthyear

*List up to two authors (Last name first, First name, comma and First name, Last name.) Lunsford, Andrea, and Lisa Ede. Starting Your Own Business and Keeping It. Southern Illinois UP, 1990. *Three or more authors, use et al. ( and others ) Sebranek, Patrick, et. al. Monkey Business on Main Street. Random House, 1993. *Spell out editor, editors, performer, translator, etc. Trainor, Stephen F., translator. Communism vs. Capitalism. By Nikita Fyordachev, World Books, 1982.

Titles appear in italics or in quotes using the following rules: A books = italics chapter of a book = quotes Titles of periodicals, movies, television shows, and other large works = italics Articles in periodicals, episodes of tv shows, poems, short stories, etc. = quotes A website title = italicized A page inside a website = quotes.

Writer creates entry by consulting the list of core elements 1 Author: Nugent, Patricia M. and Barbara A. Vitale. 2 Title of source: Test Success: Test-Taking Techniques for Beginning Nursing Students. 3 Title of container: 4 Other contributors: 5 Version: 4 th ed., 6 Number: 7 Publisher: F.A. Davis, 8 Publication date: 2004. 9. Location: Nugent, Patricia M. and Barbara A. Vitale. Test Success: Test-Taking Techniques for Beginning Nursing Students. 4 th ed., F. A. Davis, 2004.

1. Author: 2. Title of source: Should More Gun Control Laws Be Enacted? 3. Title of container: ProCon.Org 4. Other contributors: 5. Version: 6. Number: 7. Publisher: 8. Publication date: 28 June 2016, 9. Location: gun-control.procon.org/ 10. Date of Access: 15 Jan. 2017 Should More Gun Control Laws Be Enacted? ProCon.org., 28 June 2016. gun-control.procon.org/. Accessed 15 Jan. 2017.

1. Author: Goodman, Leah McGrath. 2. Title of source: The Hurting Heroes of 9/11. 3 Title of container: Newsweek Global 4. Other contributors: 5. Version: 6. Number: vol. 167. no. 10, 7. Publisher: 8. Publication date: 16 Sept. 2016, 9. Location: pp. 24-33. ****************************************************************************************** 10. Title of container: Academic Search Complete, 11. Other contributors: 12. Version: 13. Number: 14. Publisher: 15. Publication date: 16. Location: db14.linccweb.org/login?url=http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direc t=true&db=a9h&an=117836221&site=ehost-live.

Goodman, Leah McGrath. The Hurting Heroes of 9/11. Newsweek Global, vol. 167 no. 10, 16 Sept. 2016, pp. 24-33. Academic Search Complete, db14.linccweb.org/login? url=http:// search.ebscohost.com/ login. aspx?direct= true&db= a9h&an=117836221&site=ehost-live. Accessed 15 Mar. 2017.

Printed Source: Garrard, Greg. Solar: Apocalypse Not. Ian McEwan: Contemporary Critical Perspectives, edited by Sebastian Groes, 2nd ed., Bloomsbury Academic, 2013, pp. 123-136. Source from a Database: Garrard, Greg. Solar: Apocalypse Not. Ian McEwan: Contemporary Critical Perspectives, edited by Sebastian Groes, 2nd ed., Bloomsbury Academic, 2013, pp. 123-136. Ebrary,db14.org/ebrary/book/ stuff/morestoff$$%/ still.more.stuff/ian-mcewancontemporary. Accessed 3 Apr. 2017.

In addition to the authors, sometimes works include other contributors whose participation is either important to the research or essential for helping to identify the source. Include these contributors names preceded by their titles. * adapted by * introduction by * created by * narrated by * directed by * performance by * edited by * written by * illustrated by * translated by Garrard, Greg. Solar: Apocalypse Not. Ian McEwan: Contemporary Critical Perspectives, edited by Sebastian Groes, 2nd ed., Bloomsbury Academic, 2013, pp. 123-136.

Works are often released in more than one form *Versions for books can include: -Editions -Other descriptions (translations, etc.) *Audio visual media may include: -Director s Cut -Unabridged Version -Numbers (indicating a release date) Garrard, Greg. Solar: Apocalypse Not. Ian McEwan: Contemporary Critical Perspectives, edited by Sebastian Groes, 2nd ed., Bloomsbury Academic, 2013, pp. 123-136.

References can at times have separate volumes or issues. For those citations, include the particular number of the reference being used. It will come after the version. *Volume numbers for book sets *Volume and issue numbers for periodicals (i.e. vol. 64, no. 1) Cargil, Oscar. In Defense. College English, vol. 2, no. 1, 1940, pp. 65-67. JSTOR, db14.org.some.more.stuff%?*/lots.more. stuff/goes=here.til.it/makes.%us/crazy/&%cause.its.too.long

Including the Publisher of the reference is necessary in MLA. However, there are exceptions: Omit the publisher for-- *periodicals (magazines, newspapers, journals, etc.) *a work published by its author or editor * websites with same title and publisher *websites which do not produce works; they only make them available (ie WordPress.com or YouTube or JSTOR) Omit the city of publication, unless the reference is published before 1900 and there is no publisher.

--Use the date that is most relevant to your use of the source. *Day Month Year format (10 Apr. 2007) *Month Year format (Apr. 2007) *Month-Month Year format (Nov.- Dec. 2007) *Season Year format (Winter 2007) --If an issue of a scholarly journal is dated with a month or season, the month or season is always cited along with the year --When citing web page comments including dates and times, include both separated by a comma. --Use 3 letter abbreviations for months except for Sept. --Spell out May, June, and July

*The URL (without http:// or https://) is normally given for a web source. No angle brackets necessary. *Use DOIs if available *Use permalinks if available *Place holders like n.d. or N.p. are not used *Date of access is optional, but may be required by the instructor. Check individual assignment sheet. Goodman, Leah McGrath. The Hurting Heroes of 9/11. Newsweek Global, vol. 167. no. 10, 16 Sept. 2016, pp. 24-33. Academic Search Complete, db14.linccweb.org/login?url=http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?dire ct=true&db=a9h&an=117836221&site=ehost-live. Accessed 30 Mar. 2017.

A huge THANK YOU to the following for their assistance: *Ms. Kristen Chancey *Ms. Nora Rackley *Ms. Kristina Van Amerongen Power Point assembled by Leonard M. Miller, English Department, Lake Sumter State College, Leesburg, Florida 34788