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  • What is MLA format?
  • Why do I care about it?
  • How is it different from APA?
  • How do I actually do it?

How is it different from APA?

This video will walk you through how to do it step-by-step using MS Word 2010

Here is an explanation of each part

Another crucial component of MLA formatting is in-text citations.

This video is great for explaining in-text citations

So why is formatting important?

Basically, we cite and use proper formatting because it is respectful, proper, organized, and systematic.

Basic

Formatting

MLA

Language

Modern

Association

(7th Edition)

What You Will Learn:

If you’ve been asked to submit a paper in MLA format, your instructor is asking you to format the page and present the content in a specific way.

This prezi will show you how to format a paper in MLA style

using MS Word 2010

...as well as other things

Just as football referees dress a certain way, and Japanese chefs cook a certain way, writers in certain disciplines follow a certain set of conventions, known as MLA format or MLA style.

What is MLA?

What is MLA Style?

Three Reasons Why Citation is Important

There are a number of different citation formatting systems, but the primary systems in university use today are the American Psychological Association system, which we call APA, and the Modern Language Association system, which we call MLA.

In academic writing, students are often required to conduct research and then use that research in their essays. When they do, they must cite where they found this source material so that readers are able to seek it out and determine for themselves whether or not it actually exists and that it is reliable.

Citation is important because it is the basis of academics. In the academic endeavor, individuals look at evidence and reason about that evidence in their own individual ways. That is, taking what is already known, established, or thought, they use their reasoning power to create new knowledge. In creating this knowledge, they must cite their sources accurately for three main reasons:

Reason One: Because ideas are the currency of academia

First, citing sources is important because the currency of academia is ideas. As a result, academics want to accumulate that currency; they want to get credit for their contributions. When a writer cites ideas, that writer honors those who initiated the ideas.

Reason Three: Because academics need to be able to trace the origin of ideas

MLA is generally used in the humanities, foreign languages, English, and literature.

Third, keeping track of sources is important because academics value being able to trace the way ideas develop. Consider the scientist who looks at an experiment described in a new publication, and then decides to perform an experiment to extend the results. At the same time, other scientists are planning experiments to test the findings, to contest the findings, to relate the findings to their own research: all of these "second generation" experiments owe their inspiration to the original idea. If another person reads one of the "second generation" ideas, proper citation will allow that person to explore the original publication to trace the way the idea has developed. In general, scholars must be able to trace how ideas develop in order to consider, think about, and test them accurately. So giving credit to the original source of ideas is the right thing to do, as well as the basis on which academia is built.

Writers generally use APA formatting in fields such as psychology, sociology, criminal justice, health sciences, and education.

Why Do People Use MLA?

MLA allows essays to be formatted in a similar fashion so that papers reflect individuality through writing rather than format. MLA style also facilitates easy access for researchers constructing papers or developing presentations.

Reason Two: Because failing to cite violates the rights of the person who originated the idea

Second, keeping track of sources is important because, if you use someone else's idea without giving credit, you violate that person's ownership of the idea. To understand this violation, envision the following scenario: You and your friend are discussing some ideas from class during lunch one day, and you make what you consider to be a particularly insightful observation. During class discussion that afternoon, your friend brings up your observation but neglects to point out that it is yours, not his. The professor beams and compliments your friend on his clear and insightful thinking.

In this scenario, you likely feel that there's something unfair about your friend’s implicit claim that your idea was his or her own. After all, you had been thinking about the idea, perhaps had devoted time to developing it, and you are not getting credit for it. Worse, someone else is. That sense of violation you feel, the sense that something valuable has been stolen from you, suggests why failure to cite sources hurts another person.

How do I do it?

Here’s an example of APA formatting both as it appears “in-text” and as it would appear in the “References” list:

MLA is fairly simple, once you get the hang of it

Here’s an example of MLA formatting both as it appears “in-text” and as it would appear in the “Works Cited” list:

APA

In Text:

click it

For more help with MLA, visit Purdue's website at:

http://owl.english.purdue.edu/owl/resource/747/01/

Critics of the cartoon have even stated that "Bugs Bunny may appear to be a cuddly wiseacre who means no harm, but the fact is that he is a hostile, destructive force" (Ellis, 1994, p. 409).

MLA

In Text:

Author's Last name, date, and page #

Critics of the cartoon have even stated that "Bugs Bunny may appear to be a cuddly wiseacre who means no harm, but the fact is that he is a hostile, destructive force" (Ellis, 409).

Author's Last name, page #

APA

Reference Page:

MLA

Works Cited Page:

click me

Ellis, N. (1994). Bugs bunny is not what you think he is. Cartoon Studies Quarterly, 63, 406-21.

For EVEN MORE help, visit http://www.easybib.com/

This site does most of the work for you, but always double check it for accuracy!

Ellis, Nancy. "Bugs Bunny Is Not What You Think He Is." Cartoon Studies Quarterly 63 (1994): 406-21.

the Journal title, should be italicized

Similarities between APA & MLA

Differences

1. Papers are double-spaced

2. Margins are one inch all around.

3. Page numbers must be included and positioned in the upper-right corner of the paper.

4. Page headings are positioned on the upper-right hand corner.

5. Sources must be cited at the end of the paper.

6. Title headings are placed above the introduction.

APA

MLA

Requires a title page

Does not require a title page. The writer's name, instructor's name, course #, and date is placed on the top-left corner of the first page.

Requires an abstract

Does not have an abstract

Block quotations are indented five spaces from the left margin

Block quotations are single spaced and double indented (10 spaces) from the left margin.

In-text citation places the author's last name and page number of the reference in parenthesis.

In-text citation places the author's last name, date of publication, and the page number of the reference in parenthesis.

Bibliography is titled

"Works Cited."

Bibliography is titled "References."

If you have any other questions about MLA, please talk to your professor or consult your textbook. Thank you!

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