MLA Formatting and Style Guide

MLA
Formatting
and
Style Guide
What is MLA?
Modern Language Association
MLA formatting is used to write about subjects in the areas of the arts, literature, and humanities
the MLA guide provides specific rules for citing researched information
using MLA allows one to give proper credit to sources and avoid
plagiarism
Vocabulary

plagiarize
: to steal and pass off (the ideas or words of another) as one's own : use (another's production) without crediting the source

Citations : MLA :: Addresses : USPS
How do you avoid being sued?
or
failing my course?
CITATIONS
Direct Quotes
Block Quotes
Paraphrasing
In-text Citations
When you can not use your own words, use direct quotes.
Direct quotes are... words straight from the author's mouth

Ingredients
Introduction
Quotation marks
Citation
Period
Introduction
Quotation marks
Citation
Period
Common Problems
What to do when there's
more than one
author?
What to do when there's
no known
author?
There's a solution
owl.english.purdue.edu
Use when the quote is more than 4 lines of text & you cannot paraphrase
According to the OWL, when using a block quote:
Start the quote on a new line, with the
entire quote indented one inch from the left margin; maintain double-spacing and do not include quotation marks. Your parenthetical citation should come after the closing punctuation mark. (Owl, 2)


Ingredients
1. Introduction
2. Colon
3. No quotation marks
4. Indention
5. Punctuation before citation
Summarizing
a direct quote,
but in you own
words
When paraphrasing...
reread the original passage
set the original aside and write your rendition
compare your rendition to the original to make sure the main idea/author's meaning is not lost
don't just look in a thesaurus
Citation format:
It is the same as citing a direct quote.
Remember
, even though you put the information into your own words, you still have to give credit to the source of the idea.
Citation
Keep in mind:
Only about
10%
of your final paper should be made up of direct quotes
Try to paraphrase as often as possible
Lets practice
Pulse Check:

Take out a sheet of paper and try paraphrasing the paragraphs below.
Paper Format
General Guidelines:

Type using double space, 12 point font, Times New Roman
Print on white 8.5 x 11 inch paper
Leave only one space after periods and other punctuation marks
Set the margins to 1 inch on all sides
Indent the first line of paragraphs a half of inch from the margins
Create a header with your name and number all pages consecutively in the upper right-hand corner
First Page Formatting:

Do not create a title page
In the upper left-hand corner of the first page, list your name, your instructor's name, the course, the date
Center the title
Use quotation marks or italics when referring to other woks in your title
http://www.webmd.com/diet/features/healthy-lunches-healthy-students
What if I want to cite something other than a book?
Electronic Publications
Blogs
Emails
Online database
Online Journals
Online newspapers
Online videos
Print Publications
Journals
Magazines
Newspapers
Example: A comedian stealing another comedian's jokes


Pulse Check

Please open the following link and answer the questions!

https://docs.google.com/forms/d/1MVWADJaP_3HgyMXuNRbhzPJztXRc5W2Z4o8_JVmR6pI/viewform?usp=send_form



Also known as periodicals
Journals

Name of author
Title of article (in quotes)
Title of journal
Volume
Issue
Year
Page number(s)
Medium of publication
Magazines

Name of author
Title of article (in quotes)
Title of magazine (
Month, Day, Year
)
Page numbers
Medium of publication
Newspapers

Author
Article title
Name of paper
Date of paper
Edition
Page number(s)
Medium of publication
Website
Editor(s)
Author(s)
Name of site
Version number (if available)
Publisher
Date of creation (if available)
Medium of publication
Date of access
Online Journal
Author(s)
Article title (in quotation marks)
Publication title (in italics)
Volume and issue numbers
Year of publication
Medium of publication
Date of access
Email
Sender's name
Subject line (in quotation marks)
Recipient's name
Date the message was sent
Medium of publication
Blog
Author(s)- use screen name if author name is unknown
Posting title (in quotation marks)
Web site title (in italics)
Publisher
Posting date
Medium of publication
Date of access
A Tweet

User's name-followed by his/her Twitter username in parentheses
The tweet (in quotation marks)
Posting date (using the reader's time zone)
Include the word "Tweet" at the end
Building Your Bibliograhy
Vocabulary

Bibliography
: a list of the books, magazines, articles, etc., that are mentioned in a text

A bibliography can also be referred to as a
works cited
page

This is where you summarize all of your citations
Format:
On a separate page at the end of your research paper
One-inch margins and Last name, page number header like the rest of your paper
Label the page Works Cited (centered, do not italicize the words or put into quotation marks)
Double space all citations
Indent the second and subsequent lines of citations by 0.5 inch

Web based bibliography
and
citation
generator:

www.easybib.com