M.L.A Modern Language Association Documentation Style

When do we document sources? What sources do we document?

Other peoples' ideas for a speech or for writing Other peoples' words (quotation marks) Pictures/Images Statistics Videos Lectures What should I document?

Begin With A Proper First Page Michael Smith Mr. Teacher ENG 3U February 21, 2011 Smith 1 Interesting Title Begin essay here always using point 12 font, indenting paragraphs, and double spacing. Identifying information Last name and page number

All borrowed words or information must be documented within the body of the text.  Use author's last name and page number in parentheses...“(Dickens 21).  This is not necessary if the name was already used in the lead up...” (21).  Use square brackets to show a change. “ He [Macbeth] was ambitious” (7).  Write (sic) to show an error in the original.  If you underline or bold something in a quotation, write (emphasis added).  Final punctuation gets dropped and a period is placed after page reference, unless the quote ends with an exclamation mark or question mark...?”(23).

But what if there is more than one author?  If there are two or three authors, include the last name of each: (Winks and Kaiser 176) (Choko, Bourassa, and Baril )  If there are more than three authors, include the last name of the first author followed by "et al." without any intervening punctuation: (Baldwin et al. 306)

Long quotations are quotes over four typed lines.  Introduce the quote with a colon:  Offset the quote 10 spaces from the left.  Drop the extra quotation marks.  The final punctuation is placed before the parenthetical reference..... (24) Use long quotations sparingly; they are there to support your points.

An entry for any text mentioned in the body of the essay must appear in the Works Cited.  List alphabetically by author's last name  Use hanging margin  Essay/article titles are placed in quotation marks  Book titles are placed in italics ( NO UNDERLINE OR BOLD)  The medium must now be given (Web, Television, Film, Lecture)  The address is no longer required. Shakespeare, William. MacBeth. London: Penguin Classics, Print.

 When in doubt, consult a guide for M.L.A. Documentation such as Or

Works Cited “A Quick Guide to Plagiarism.” Youtube. n.d. Web. 10 Nov Gibaldi, Joseph. ed. MLA Handbook for Writers of Research Papers. 6 th ed. New York: MLA Association of America, Print.

Activity Time  In groups of two you will be given a document.  On the chart paper write out the citation for your work like you would do on a Works Cited page.  Feel free to consult the MLA package you received today.  Give the chart paper a title indicating what type of citation it is. ( ex: Works Cited- Book with 4 or more authors)