MLA Style 8th Edition

Introduction to MLA Style

What is MLA Style and, why do I need to cite? MLA, short for the Modern Language Association, is “a system for documenting sources in scholarly writing” (“MLA Style”). Using a specific style and format for academic papers ensures consistency and uniformity. MLA style is just one type, often used for English, literature, and humanities papers; other styles include APA (American Psychological Association), Chicago, and Turabian. Why Cite? To acknowledge the source of information for any ideas, quotations, or pictures that you used. Claiming that another person’s ideas are your own or failing to acknowledge sources that you used is called plagiarism --using someone else’s work without giving them credit. To provide enough information about the source you used to help a reader easily find it. To show that you have read information about your topic and have conducted research. To protect your own original ideas and words. When you cite others’ work, it is very easy to see which ideas are yours and which came from other sources. The consequences for plagiarism can be severe. Many colleges expel students for plagiarism, businesses may terminate employees for it, and it can cause great embarrassment for public figures when they fail to give credit to their sources.

When should I cite? In general, you should include citations when you: Quote. If you are quoting more than two consecutive words from another source, place the words or phrase in quotes and include a citation. For example, the following quote is taken from an article in Issues & Controversies: “Critics of international adoption argue that there are better ways of helping children in poor countries that do not involve talking them abroad. Providing financial support to children’s communities allows relatives and other local caregivers to look after them”, opponents say (“International Adoption”). The information in parentheses at the end of the quote is an in-text citation and points the reader to the complete corresponding entry in your Works Cited. Paraphrase. If you use an idea or fact from another source and put it into your own words, you should include a citation. For example, you should include a citation if you paraphrased the quotation above as follows: Opponents of international adoption claim that adoption is not the best way to help children in poor countries. They argue that financial support would help children more as it allows relatives to look after them. (“International Adoption”).

Use unfamiliar information Use unfamiliar information. You do not need to cite facts if they are considered “common knowledge” or facts that people take for granted. For example, you do not need to cite the fact that the Empire State Building is in New York City. However, if you use information that you think is unfamiliar, you should cite the source. For example, you should cite the fact that the Empire State Building was built on the location of the first Waldorf-Astoria Hotel (Empire State Building). If you are not sure whether a certain fact is common knowledge or not, assume that it is unfamiliar and cite the source. Use non-text sources. If you include photographs, graphs, tables, maps, audio material, film, material from Web sites, or other formats, make sure to include a citation.

Core elements of MLA Style

Core Elements of MLA Style The principle behind MLA style is to provide references which contain “core elements” about the source, making it easier for the reader to find the source. The first two-and most important- elements answer the questions “Who?” (author or creator of source) and “What?” (title of source). While not every source will provide ALL elements, writers should find and document as much as they can about the source, adding validity to the research. Always use this order (and punctuation) when citing a source. Skip the elements that do not pertain to your source. 1 Author. 2 Title of Source, 3 Title of container, 4 Other contributors, 5 Version, 6 Number, 7 Publisher, 8 Publication date, 9 Location. 10 Access date.

Author Reverse the author’s name so it appears as last name followed by a comma and then the first name followed by a period.   Shaw, George Bernard. Pygmalion, Prestwick House, 2005.   Martin, George R. R. A Game of Thrones: A Song of Fire and Ice Book 1, Bantam, 22 Mar. 2011.   Note: do not use a second period if the author's name ends in a period   When a source has two or more authors, present them in the order they appear in the source. Reverse the first name to appear as described above, follow it with a comma and and, and provide the second name in normal order.

Two authors: Give their names in the same order as on the title page Format: Last name, first name, and First name last name Example: Jonas, David, and Sharon Handy. Three authors: Format: Last name, first name, First name last name, and First name last name. Example: Foule, Seth, George Main and Clyde Clodhopper.   More than three authors: Give the name of the first author listed on the title page followed by et al. Example: Shuster, James, et al. In each case above, use the first author’s last name in the in-text citation. In the case of EDITORS, we must follow their name with a descriptive label: One editor only Hollis, Meredith, editor. Two or more editors Brown, Carl, et al., editors. Corporate authors In the event a work is published by an organization that is also the author, skip the author, and list the organization only as the publisher.

Title of Source Titles are provided in full exactly as they appear in the source except for capitalization and the punctuation between the title and the subtitle, which are standardized. Add a colon between the title and subtitle.       A title is placed inside quotation marks if it is part of a larger work.   Quotation Marks Chapter of a book Article on a web site Episode of a TV series Act in a play Article in a newspaper Article in a magazine Song off an album Essay, short story, poem A title is italicized if the source is self-contained and independent. (Use underlining to indicate this when writing.) Italics  Book Web site TV series Play Newspaper Magazine Album Anthology (collection

Michaels, Dudley. “Riding the Big Wave.” Publishers Weekly, 30 Oct. 2007. Taylor, Thomas. “Scholarships & Grants.” Emporia State University, University Press, 10 Aug. 2009, www.emporia.edu/finaid/scholarships/index2.htm. Article Web Article Title of Container Each source represents part of a “larger whole,” the larger whole is called a “container.” The title of the container is italicized and followed by a comma. CONTAINERS Typical Containers: Book that is a collection Periodical (journal, newspaper, magazine) TV series Web site Web Article

Irrelevant elements are omitted Source # ______   Author. Title of source. CONTAINER 1 Title of container, Other contributors, ** Version, Number, Publisher, Publication date, Location. CONTAINER 2 Other contributors, Irrelevant elements are omitted ** Other contributors (include if others are credited as contributors)   Common descriptions Adapted by Directed by Edited by Illustrated by Introduction by Narrated by Performance by Translated by Example: Edited by Amos J. Simon

Version When a source contains a notation indicating it is a specific version of a work, identify the version in your citation. Books are more commonly referred to as editions. Example: 8th ed., Number When consulting one volume of numbered multi-volume set, indicate the volume number in the citation. Example: vol. 4 Source with volume and an issue number Example: vol. 128 no. 1 Journal that does not use volume numbers but numbers all issues in a sequence Example: no. 89

Publisher Look on the title page to identify a publisher. If no publisher is found, look on the copyright page. In the event two or more organizations are cited as publishers, cite each of them, separating the names with a forward slash (/). Examples: Harvard UP,   Web site publishers can typically be located in the copyright notice near the bottom of the home page or on the About page of the site.    One may Omit a Publisher’s Name for the following types of sources, either because the publisher need not be given or because there is no publisher. Periodical (journal, magazine, newspaper) Work published by its author or editor Web site whose title is essentially the same as the name of its publisher Web site note involved in producing the works it makes available Service for users’ content such as WordPress.com or YouTube An archive like JSTOR or ProQuest

Publication Date When consulting an online source that also publishes its articles in print form, use the online date since you consulted the online version and disregard the date of the print version.   Format of dates: 29 Sept. 2016 Months should be abbreviated.   Comment posted on Web pages Include the date AND the time  Example: 29 Sept. 2016, 5:50 a.m.,   Book Start by looking on the title page for a date of publication. Check the copyright page and select the most recent date. Location In print sources, a page number (preceded by p.) or a range of page numbers (preceded by pp.) indicates the location of the text in a container such as an anthology or a periodical.  Examples: pp. 74-94 p. 92 Location of an online work is commonly indicated by its URL. Some publishers assign DOIs, or digital object identifiers, to online publications. When available, citing a DOI is preferable to citing a URL.  URL example: (Note removal of http:// and < >) musingsfromthemiddleschool.blogspot.com/2015/08/teaching-writing-4-1- 1-video-post.html DOI example: doi:10.1002/0470841559.ch1

Date of Access Date of Access Date of Access Date of Access Because online materials change so rapidly, the date on which you accessed the material becomes an important indicator of the version you consulted.  Example: Accessed 26 Sept. 2016. Date of Access Because online materials change so rapidly, the date on which you accessed the material becomes an important indicator of the version you consulted.  Example: Accessed 26 Sept. 2016. Date of Access Because online materials change so rapidly, the date on which you accessed the material becomes an important indicator of the version you consulted.  Example: Accessed 26 Sept. 2016. Date of Access Because online materials change so rapidly, the date on which you accessed the material becomes an important indicator of the version you consulted.  Example: Accessed 26 Sept. 2016.

Core Elements Explained & Example Citations

How to Format a Paper

Format of Paper

When you are ready to type your Works Cited page, follow these rules for formatting: ENTIRE PAPER & WORKS CITED: Double space and use a 12pt. font such as Times New Roman. HEADER: Should continue to have your LAST NAME and PAGE NUMBER (right-aligned). LINE 1: CENTER alignment, type Works Cited; do not use quotations, bold, italics, or underscore. LINE 2: LEFT alignment, begin typing your first citation. NOTE: Your source citations should be ALPHABETIZED by the Author’s Last Name. If there is more than one author, list them in the order they are listed in the original source, and alphabetize as usual by the last name of the first author listed. If no author is given, use the first word in the title as your guide (ignore “A,” “An,” or “The,” in titles: use the second word to alphabetize; if the first word is a number, mentally spell that number and use that spelling as a guide; ignore symbols such as @ and #). SECOND and SUBSEQUENT LINES IN A CITATION: Indent the second and subsequent lines of citations by 0.5 inches to create a hanging indent. NEXT CITATION: Do not skip a line; start typing your next citation in the next line. See next page for example

In-Text Citations

In-Text Citations Composed of the information that appears first in the entry in the Works Cited list (usually an author’s name) plus a page number   NOTE: Information that appears FIRST in the list on the Works Cited page must MATCH the information that appears in the in-text citation; otherwise, the two do not match and thus the information cited will be considered plagiarized!   Placed in a natural pause in the text Typical Citation – Two Approaches  One may identify the author within the text and only include the page number in an in-text citation (see first example), or one may simply cite both the author and page number in an in-text citation.  According to Samantha Banks, success is “comprised of equal parts hard work and play” (187). or Success is “comprised of equal parts hard work and play” (Banks 187). Work Cited  Banks, Samantha. “Defining Success.” Daily Inspiration, 2014, p. 187. Two Authors with Same Last Name Add the author’s first initial (or first full name if the initials are also the same) to create clarity   Example: (S. Banks 187).   In the event one cites two articles by an author, one must also include a short form of the title Example: (Banks, “Defining” 187).

No Author or Organization is also Publisher  When the source provides no author or when the author is an organization and the organization is also the publisher, omit the organization as the author, and use the title as the in-text citation. As with an author, one may reference the title within the composition and only include the page number in the in-text citation or one may include the title and page number within the in-text citation. “Six Ways to be Truly Happy” argues one must learn to accept the negative and the positive developments in one’s life before one can truly learn to be a happy individual. or One must learn to accept the negative and the positive developments in one’s life before one can truly learn to be a happy individual (“Six Ways”). Coauthors When the entry on the Works Cited page begins with the names of two authors, include both last names in the in-text citations. Example: (Walters and Brett 29).  Three or more authors When the source has three or more authors, the entry in the Works Cited list begins with the first author’s name followed by et al. The in-text citation should match.   Example: (Edwards et al. 89). Corporate Author When a corporate author is identified in an in-text citation, abbreviate words that are commonly abbreviated, such as Department (Dept.). If the corporate author is identified by the names of administrative units separated by commas, as in United States, Dept. of Labor, provide all the names in the in-text citation.   Example: (United State, Dept. of Labor 165).

Abbreviating Titles of Sources When an in-text citation requires the use of a title, abbreviate the title if it is longer than a noun phrase. Example: Faulkner’s Southern Novels = noun phrase Faulkner’s Novels of the South = should be shortened to Faulkner’s Novels  An abbreviated title should begin with the word by which the title is alphabetized. If possible, provide the first noun and any preceding adjectives, while excluding any initial article: a, an, the. Titles that begin with noun phrases Full Titles Abbreviations The Double Vision: Language and Meaning Double Vision “Traveling in the Breakdown Lane” “Traveling” “You Say You Want a Revolution?” “You”  Titles that do not begin with noun phrases And Quiet Flows the Don And Can We Say No? Can Under the Volcano Under  Descriptive Terms If a title is identified by a descriptive term, for example, Introduction, use the descriptive term in the in-text citation.  

Punctuation in In-Text Citations No punctuation is used in a basic in-text citation utilizing an author’s name and a page number. Multiple Sources in a Single Parenthesis Separate the sources with a semicolon   (Banks 187; Walters 223) Citation of different locations in a single source Separate the locations with commas   (Banks 187, 205, 223) Multiple Works by Same Author Shorten the titles and connect with and when one is citing two articles; however, if one is citing more than two articles, use commas to connect the articles   (Banks “Defining” and “Reaching”)   (Banks “Defining,” “Reaching,” and Introduction)