Using MLA Style 7th Edition writingcenter.txstate.edu

Why MLA? There are two main reasons we use MLA citation: To have a uniformed convention for documenting research To avoid plagiarism MLA is also a complete formatting and style guide.

MLA Formatting Basics No separate cover page 1” margins Double space everything One space after periods 12 pt. Times New Roman Indent paragraphs .5” Indent block quotes 1” from left margin

MLA Formatting Basics Names of large works are italicized books, periodicals, album titles, etc. Names of works within larger works are placed in quotation marks articles, chapters, essays, poems, songs, etc.

(Page scanned from The Bedford Handbook, 8th ed.) Header on first page only Start page numbering here Title is not bold Do not put an extra space between paragraphs (Page scanned from The Bedford Handbook, 8th ed.)

Page numbering

Margin settings

Open paragraph settings

Select “First line” indent Indenting paragraphs

Avoiding space after paragraphs Change default to 0 pt.

(Page scanned from The Bedford Handbook, 8th ed.) Continue page numbering from first page Block quotes: Indent 1”, no quotation marks, and period comes before citation Block quote when quotations run over four lines (Page scanned from The Bedford Handbook, 8th ed.)

Indenting block quotes

Citing Sources in the Text Author’s name in text: Robertson states that “fish sleep with their eyes open” (136). Author’s name in reference: It is true that “fish sleep with their eyes open” (Robertson 136).

Citing Sources in the Text Paraphrasing: In his aquatic research, John Robertson explains that sleeping fish do not close their eyes (136). Sleeping fish do not close their eyes (Robertson 136).

Practice

Practice

Practice

Practice

Practice

Practice

Works Cited: Making the List Identify the source Find a sample of citing this type of source “Mirror” the sample

(Page scanned from The Bedford Handbook, 8th ed.) Do not bold!!! Continue page numbering Hanging indent (Page scanned from The Bedford Handbook, 8th ed.)

Select “Hanging indent” Indenting Works Cited

Basics of Works Cited Book Johnson, Roberta. Gender and Nation in the Spanish Modernist Novel. Nashville: Vanderbilt UP, 2003. Print. Work in an Anthology Bordo, Susan. “The Moral Content of Nabokov’s Lolita.” Aesthetic Subjects. Ed. Pamela R. Matthews and David McWhirter. Minneapolis: U of Minnesota P, 2003. 125-52. Print.

Basics of Works Cited Journal Web database Williams, Linda. “Of Kisses and Ellipses: The Long Adolescence of American Movies.” Critical Inquiry 32.2 (2006): 288-340. Project Muse. Web. 8 Feb. 2009. In print Williams, Linda. “Of Kisses and Ellipses: The Long Adolescence of American Movies.” Critical Inquiry 32.2 (2006): 288-340. Print. Online journal Williams, Linda. “Of Kisses and Ellipses: The Long Adolescence of American Movies.” Critical Inquiry 32.2 (2006): 288-340. Web. 8 Feb. 2009.

Practice: True/False The works cited list is organized alphabetically by authors’ last names (or by title for a work with no author). When a work’s author is unknown, the work is listed under “Anonymous” in the list of works cited. The list of works cited is titled “Bibliography.” An entry for a web source in the list of works cited includes the date the source was accessed. In-text citations and a works cited list is only required if a professor requests it. Adapted from:

Online Resources Citation generators??? The Bedford Handbook Writing Center website Owl Purdue: owl.english.purdue.edu www.worldcat.org Texas State library databases MLA style guide

Group Activity Exercise 53-3, MLA documentation: in-text citations (Hacker/Sommers, Working with Sources: Exercises for The Bedford Handbook, 8th ed. [Boston: Bedford, 2010])