MLA FORMAT MLA FORMAT EQ: What is MLA format, and when do I use it?

What is MLA? Modern Language Association MLA Style is “ a system for documenting sources in scholarly writing.” Provides consistency and uniformity. MLA style is just one type of documenting sources, there are many others.

Why document sources? Establish credibility of topic Ensure research has been completed Show respect for other writers Maintain academic integrity No plagiarism! Colleges expel, employers terminate, causes embarrassment, ruins your credibility.

What does MLA offer you? Guidance of formatting and documenting Works cited page Style for typing paper

What is a container? Container 1. Author. 2. Title of Source. 3. Title of container, 4. Other contributors, 5. Version, 6. Number, 7. Publisher, 8. Publication date, 9. Location. Sources can be found in multiple ways. The “container” is the host of the source, or where the writer FOUND the source.

Glossary of helpful terms: Attribution: acknowledgement to the author or copyright holder of a work. Citation: a quotation or paraphrase from another source. Parenthetical citation: source information given in parentheses found throughout the essay. Signal Phrase: a phrase within a paper that gives the source information. Works Cited: a list of sources at the end of a paper (i.e. bibliography).

What is a Works Cited Page? List of all parenthetical notes Last page of the essay Listed in alphabetical order Title your page Works Cited centered on the page Left justified, double spaced, 12 font Indent the second line (and any thereafter) of citation

What is a Works Cited Page?

MLA Format of a Paper and Works Cited Page Staple or cut and paste the format pages into your notes

In-Text Citations/Parenthetical Notes A writer can use a mixture of signal phrases and parenthetical citations to tell the audience WHO said it and WHERE the information/quote was found. These can be: Direct quote Paraphrase Statistics Summary of what the author stated. You MUST cite the source.

Signal Phrase A signal phrase tells the reader that something is taken from a source (direct quote, paraphrase, or summary). Most signal phrases will include the author’s name and/or the title of the work.

Signal Phrase Examples According to Chuck Milem, American History II instructor, Harriet Beecher Stowe’s Uncle Tom’s Cabin served as a catalyst for the Civil War. “Thirty-three percent of tweets test at a fourth grade reading level,” Dave Johnson said in a Time.com study. In “How Smart Are Your Tweets?”, Johnson claims that 20-year old Justin Bieber tweets at a fifth-grade reading level.

Practice!

Parenthetical Citations A parenthetical citation is a citation in parenthesis at the end of the sentence or paragraph It will include the author’s name and a page number. If an author’s name is not available, the title of the work will be in parenthesis. The period always goes after the parenthesis! (____).

Parenthetical Citation Examples Both Lady Gaga and President Barack Obama tweet at a seventh-grade level (Johnson 5). “If Go Set a Watchman is subpar…then it could be a huge disappointment for fans” (Sahagian 3).

Practice!