Making Sense of MLA Format Proper citation & styling for the study of English

Why do I have to do this? Once upon a time in a boring land far, far away, the Powers That Be gathered atop Mount Finicky to decide how each academic discipline would cite its sources. Some disciplines, like history and psychology, chose footnoting. English, however, felt it was too special for footnotes. It selected MLA format and the Powers that Be declared that all those who study English must cite using MLA format

The Internet has Information! Stuck? Google “MLA format” No excuse for inaccuracies

Part One Titles and 1st Page

A good title is interesting AND informative NOT “Formal Essay” or “Essay #2” Try a two-parter title  interest catcher: informative piece “Death Becomes Her: A Psychological Examination of Lady MacBeth’s Homicidal Tendencies

First Page of Essay

More Rules The essay must be double spaced and written in Times New Roman or Arial 11pt or 12pt font The title is not bolded, underlined or written in a larger font Simply center it

Part Two Works Cited

Works Cited Works cited = work is CITED (quoted) in the essay Must start on a new page and include the same header as every other page of the essay The title is centered (as above) Alphabetical list All second and subsequent lines are indented

Citing a Book Last name, first name. Complete Title. Place of publication: publisher’s name, year. Print. This is new! For EVERY source, you must indicate its medium! Italics, not underline! MLA has stopped using underline!

Example: To Kill A Mockingbird Lee, Harper. To Kill A Mockingbird. New York: Grand Central, 1982. Print.

You might also need to cite… A book with more than one author A website A movie An article in an online journal or newspaper TV or radio program Work of art A government publication

Amazing Websites Concordia university  has help guides for all styles, including MLA & Chicago http://library.concordia.ca/help/howto/citations.html Purdue University Online Writing Lab http://owl.english.purdue.edu/