The MLA Forest

THANK YOU!

Works Cited:

8th ed.

MLA Sample Paper

• Motlow State Community College: Meagan McManus and Calleb Capshaw, "MLA Basic Formatting and Citation Style Quick Guide (8th Edition)" Created: Summer, 2015. Edited: Fall, 2016.

• Calleb Capshaw. "Two Roads Diverged in Interpretation." 2016.

The MSCC

Writing Center is

Awesome!!!

• Prezi designed and developed by: Calleb Capshaw, Writing Tutor. Created: Spring 2017.

For additional resources that were designed to help you develop your skills as a writer, please follow the link below:

http://www.mscc.edu/writingcenter/resources.aspx

It looks like there is a clearing up ahead. We finally made it out of the MLA Forest!

... It looks like

someone left there

MLA paper behind for

everyone to see.

Let's take a look!

Works Cited Citations:

Author:

Publication Date:

Location:

Single Author:

For print sources you should use either the most current copyright or the most meaningul date associated with the source that you find listed on the frontispiece or colophon of your respective container.

The name of the author can usually be found near the title of a work. You should begin the entry with the author's last name, followed by a comma and the rest of the name (as presented in the work). End this section with a period.

Depending on the medium of publication, the location of your source should simply be

where/when you got the information. For example, print documents should use page numbers while online documents should use the URL.

Two Authors:

If your piece of literature has two authors, include them in the order that they were presented in the work. You should reverse the first name as described above, follow it with a comma and "and", and give the second name

For online sources you should cite the date on which the article/periodical/etc. was published. If no specific date was given, you should use the website's most current copyright date.

Three (+) Authors:

More than one container?

If your piece of literature has three or more authors, you should revers the first name as decribed above and follow it with a comma and "et al.

While the previous information are all the core elements, many sources may have a second or even third container. For example, if you watched an episode of a television series on Netflix, the the first container would be the title of the television series, and the second container would be Netflix. Another example would be a scholarly article found via a database. The first container would be the scholarly journal the article was originally published in, and the second would be the name of the database.

Publisher:

Title of the Work:

The publishing information follows next. The publisher is simply the organization that is primarily responsible for publishing the container.

The next element of your works-cited entry should be the title of the work. Your entry should include the title of the work in full, including subtitles (capitalization and punctuation are standardized between the title and subtitle) if applicable. Your title will be placed in quotation marks if the work is part of a larger work (like an article from a scholarly journal; italicized if the source is self-contained and independent (like a book).

More specific examples of when to use quotation marks and when to use italics can be found in the latest edition of the MLA handbook.

Number:

Title of Container:

If the container you are citing is part of a numbered sequence (i.e. volume set), you would put that information following the version number in your works-cited entry.

When the work you are citing is part of a larger whole/document (i.e. an anthology or magazine). You should cite the title of the container next!

Version:

Other Contributors:

Aside from the author listed as the main contributor to the work you have cited, there may be additional people to credit; this is where they would go!

If the container has an indication that there are different versions available, this is where you would put that information. This section is simply the edition of the respective text that you are utilizing.

Possible entries can include the following: adapted by, directed by, edited by, illustrated by, introduction by, narrated by, performance by, translated by, etc.

You should choose the most relevant entry applicable to your work. Most collegiate papers you will be writing will potentially use "edited by;" this information - as well as most of the following entries - can be found on the frontispiece or colophon (the page in a book or journal with the publishing and copyright information) or at the very bottom of the web page.

MLA Works Cited Page

The basic format for all MLA works cited entries, no matter what the source, includes the following core elements (if relevant to your specific piece of literature). Not all Works Cited entries will contain every one of these elements!

Formatting Reminder:

Please pay careful attention to the punctuation used at the end of each entry in the list below!

• Author.
• Title of Source.
• Title of Container,
• Other Contributors,
• Version,
• Number,
• Publisher,
• Publication Date,
• Location

In-Text Citation Examples:

Here are some examples of in-text citation:

If the author IS named in signal phrase:

If using an INTERNET/ELECTRONIC source with NO author or page number:

If the author is named while introducing the quotation, or if the author can be easily assumed from surrounding material (as is often the case in literature papers), then only a page number is necessary in your citation:

Author Unknown:

Use the complete title in the signal phrase or an abbreviated title in the citation: ("Lawmakers" 2)

• Quotation:

Page Number Unknown:

MLA has stated that an "element [of the core entries related to the works-cited list] should be omitted from the entry if it's not relevant to the work being documented" (20).

• Paraphrase:

When the pages of a web source are fixed (as in PDF files) supply a page number. Although printouts from websites sometimes number their pages, MLA recommends that you treat them as if they did not have pagination and allows the omission of the page number all together. If a web source numbers its paragraphs, give the abbreviation "par." or "pars." in the parentheses: (Smith, par. 4).

According to MLA, if an essential part of information commonly used in most works-cited entries is irrelevant, then do not include it in the final works-cited entry (20).

Note that the above source is paraphrased and not quoted. When paraphrasing specific information from a source that source still must be cited in the paper and in the Works Cited list.

Indirect quotation:

While you should always try to reference material from the original source, at time, you may have to use a second-hand or indirect source, that is, a quotation you find in another source that was quoting from the original. Use "qtd. in" to indicate the source.

If the author IS NOT named in signal phrase:

• Quotation:

Sir Thomas Malory describes, "the barons espied in the sieges of the Round Table" (qtd. in Loomis 419).

In most instances of many pieces of literature, "the author's name is usually prominently displayed in a work, often near the title" (MLA 21).

• Paraphrase:

The writer of a specific piece of literature can usually be found near the title of the specific work one is looking at (MLA 21).

Long/Block quotations:

Sometimes, you will want to use long quotations. If your quotation is longer than four typed lines, you will omit the quotation marks and start the quotation on a new line. This block quote should be indented one inch from the left margin throughout and should maintain double spacing throughout. With a block quote, your ending punctuation will come before the parenthetical citation.

If using TWO OR MORE works by the SAME author:

An example of block quote can be found in the sample paper provided at the end of this Prezi!

Double Vision,

In Northrop Frye claims that one's death is not a unique experience, for "every moment we have lived through, we have also died out of into another order" (85).

The above example includes the book title in the signal phrase, and therefore only a page number is necessary in the citation. In the example below, the title of the book is not used, and so a recognizable abbreviation of the title belongs within the citation. The abbreviated title is not punctuated.

For Northrop Frye, one's death is not a unique experience, for "every moment we have lived through, we have also died out of into another order ( , 85).

Double Vision

Adding the Final Touch to your First Page

This is the header section that we worked on and discussed about in the formatting section of the MLA Forest

The first page of your MLA paper will be the first thing you see when your entire paper is complete. If you recall from our time in the formatting

section of the MLA

Forest, the first page of

your MLA paper has

something special that

sets it apart from the

rest of your paper!

This is the part of the MLA Formatting that makes the first page of your paper different from the rest.

In the upper left-hand corner of the first page, list your name (first and last), your instructor's name, the course, and the date.

Basic MLA Formatting

This section of the MLA Forest has everything you need to know about formatting your MLA paper. Let's dive in!

Pagination

Paragraphs

Your MLA paper should have a header that numbers all pages consecutively in the upper right-hand corner (starting on your first page).

You should indent (Tab) the beginning of a new paragraph by 0.5 inches throughout your MLA paper.

This can be achieved by adding a page number from the header section, followed by typing your last name.

Now that the page number is there, double click next to the number and type out your last name (adding a space between your last name and the page number).

Now that the header for your MLA paper is complete, it is time to focus on the last part of MLA formatting for your paper!

Font Type and Font Size

You should use Times New Roman (12 pt.) for the text in your MLA paper.

Spacing

Your MLA paper should be double-spaced throughout, including your works cited page.

Margins

Your MLA paper should have 1 inch margins on all sides.

What Does an MLA Paper Look Like?

MLA style will lay the ground work for practices of written communication concerning:

• Formatting and page layout
• stylistic technicalities
• citing sources

As we make our way through the MLA Forest, we will look at each of the three practices that make up an MLA Paper. However, we need to discuss proper formatting first!

Welcome to the MLA Forest!

MLA - also known as the Modern Language Association - is one of the two commonly practiced writing styles that a typical student will use throughout his/her college career.

MLA style - unlike its cousin, APA, in the social sciences department - is more focused on the literature department (English Studies, Literature, etc.)

An Important Disclaimer

Please remember that the majority of the information used in this presentation is based on a general guideline for MLA formatting.

These guidelines may or may not be following the specific writing guidelines provided by your instructor.

You should prioritize your instructor's guidelines over the guidelines provided in this presentation.

I will be your guide as we navigate through this thick, dangerous forest.

Let's begin!!!

The MLA Forest

Your Comprehensive Guide for MLA Formatting