MLA Formatting Rules English III

General Guidelines Double-Spaced, Times New Roman, 12 point 1-inch margins all around 1 space after all punctuation Create a header that numbers all pages consecutively in the upper right-hand corner, one-half inch from the top and flush with the right margin.

Formatting the First Page of Your Paper Do not make a title page In the upper left-hand corner of the first page, list your name, your instructor's name, the course, and the date. Double space. Double space again and center the title. Do not underline, italicize, or place your title in quotation marks Use quotation marks and/or italics when referring to other works in your title Double space between the title and the first line of the text. Create a header in the upper right-hand corner that includes your last name, followed by a space with a page number; number all pages consecutively one-half inch from the top and flush with the right margin.

In-text Citations Wordsworth stated that Romantic poetry was marked by a "spontaneous overflow of powerful feelings" (263). Romantic poetry is characterized by the "spontaneous overflow of powerful feelings" (Wordsworth 263). The authors state "Tighter gun control in the United States erodes Second Amendment rights" (Smith, Yang, and Moore 76).

In-text citing of non-print or sources from the Internet Include in the text the first item that appears in the Work Cited entry that corresponds to the citation (e.g. author name, article name, website name, film name). Do not need page or paragraph number One online film critic stated that Fitzcarraldo is "...a beautiful and terrifying critique of obsession and colonialism" (Garcia, “Herzog: a Life”).

Block Quotes For quotations that are more than four lines, place quotations in a free-standing block of text and omit quotation marks. Start the quotation on a new line, with the entire quote indented one inch from the left margin; maintain double-spacing. Your parenthetical citation should come after the closing punctuation mark.

Block Quote Example At the conclusion of Lord of the Flies, Ralph and the other boys realize the horror of their actions: The tears began to flow and sobs shook him. He gave himself up to them now for the first time on the island; great, shuddering spasms of grief that seemed to wrench his whole body. His voice rose under the black smoke before the burning wreckage of the island; and infected by that emotion, the other little boys began to shake and sob too. (186) **KEEP EVERYTHING DOUBLE-SPACED**

Works Cited Page Begin your Works Cited page on a separate page at the end of your research paper. It should have the same one-inch margins and last name, page number header as the rest of your paper. Label the page Works Cited (do not italicize or put in quotation marks) Double space all citations; list alphabetically Use a hanging indent for any citation over 1 line long.

Other guidelines No 1 st or 2 nd person pronouns No contractions Avoid saying “In this quote…” or “This quote shows…” For quotations within quotations, use single quotation marks

Other guidelines, cont. What words are capitalized in titles? “The rules for capitalizing are strict. In a title or subtitle, capitalize the first word, the last word, and all principal words, including those that follow hyphens in compound terms” (MLA 86). These are commonly referred to as heading caps. Do not capitalize the following unless they begin a title or follow a colon: Articles: a, an, the Prepositions: against, between, in, of, to Conjunctions: and, but, for, nor, or, so, yet Infinitive: to

How do I know whether to paraphrase or quote? Use a paraphrase as your basic note form unless you have a good reason to quote or summarize. Use a quotation When an idea is especially well-stated When a passage is memorable When the exact quotation is important because of its literary or historical merit

Integrating Quotations Introduce a quotation either by indicating what it is intended to show or by naming its source, or both. For non-narrative poetry, it's customary to attribute quotations to "the speaker"; for a story with a narrator, to "the narrator." For plays, novels, and other works with characters, identify characters as you quote them. Do not use two quotations in a row, without intervening material of your own. Tense is a tricky issue. It's customary in literary analysis to use the present tense; it is at the present time that you (and your reader) are looking at the text.

Integrating quotes, cont. Patterns for Incorporating Quotations into Sentences It is permissible to quote an entire sentence (between two sentences of your own), but in general you should avoid this method of bringing textual material into your discussion. Instead, use one of the following patterns. An introducing phrase or orienter plus the quotation: Gatsby is not to be regarded as a personal failure. [argument sentence] "Gatsby turned out all right at the end" (176), according to Nick. [data sentence; orienter after quote]

Integrating quotes, cont. An assertion of your own and a colon plus the quotation: Fitzgerald gives Nick a muted tribute to the hero: "Gatsby turned out all right at the end" (176). An assertion of your own with quoted material worked in: For Nick, who remarks that Gatsby "turned out all right" (176), the hero deserves respect but perhaps does not inspire great