MLA Style An Introduction

MLA format follows the author-page method of in-text citation. There are two key requirements for MLA style: –Parenthetical citations –Works Cited page

Parenthetical Citations Do not use footnotes Immediately following a quotation or a paraphrase, you place the author’s name followed by a space and the relevant page number(s): Human beings have been described as "symbol- using animals" (Burke 3).

Examples…. 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). Wordsworth extensively explored the role of emotion in the creative process (263).

Quotations, Short Ones If they are short (less than three typed lines), then they stay in the regular body of your essay. Example: Clara Wieland, the narrator of Wieland, begins the novel by warning those who are going to read it that their "efforts at consolation must necessarily fail" (8).

Quotations, long ones If they are longer than three typed lines, you start the quotation on a new line, indenting the whole quotation:

Pleyel, with whom Clara is supposedly in love and who shares her house, seems to be reading Clara as if she herself is a book. Pleyel tells Clara that I knew that to pry into your papers was criminal but I reflected that no sentiment of yours was of a nature which made it your interest to conceal it... I had only to throw a glance upon the paper to secure [my curiosity's] gratification. (142) Of course, if there was nothing to gain of significance from reading her papers, then why would Pleyel have bothered in the first place?

Don’t break the flow…. To integrate a quotation smoothly within a paragraph, a good writer usually writes one sentence to introduce the quotation, a second sentence that includes the quotation, and a third sentence to comment on the significance of the quotation. You should not end a paragraph with a quotation!!

Handling quotes, cont. Two options: Integrate the quotation: Jack claimed that “she was lying” (Citation here) Introduce the quotation: Jack cast doubt on Carol’s honesty: “I know she was lying” (Citation here) Avoid ending paragraphs with quotations!

Quick writing reminders: The title of the text being explored should be in your introduction. If you are dealing with a novel or a play published on its own (like 1984), the title of the work must be underlined or italicized. When discussing the events of a text, use the present tense. Abigail threatens the other girls if they tell on her. Abigail threatened the other girls.

Works Cited Begins on a new page Label the page Works Cited do not underline the words Works Cited or put them in quotation marks center the words Works Cited at the top of the page.

Building Citations. A great resource

Works Cited Entries Are alphabetical by author’s last name. Contain the following information, in the following order: Last Name, First Name. Title. Where published: By whom published, when published. Miller, Arthur. The Crucible. Toronto: Penguin, 1976.

Book Byatt, A. S. Babel Tower. New York: Random House, Article in a Magazine Klein, Joe. “Dizzy Days.” The New Yorker. 5 Oct. 1998: Web page Poland, Dave. “The Hot Button.” Roughcut. 26 Oct Turner Network Television. 28 Oct Works Cited: Some Examples