MLA Format!!!

What’s This For???  Plagiarism is a serious offense in the educational world.  In high school, you will either lose significant marks, or be assigned a failing grade, depending on the seriousness of the offense.  In university and college, you will face expulsion if charged with plagiarism!

OK, so what do I do?  First, determine which system your class uses.  There are three major systems of reference: MLA (Modern Language Association), APA (American Psychological Association), and Chicago.  For HUMANITIES courses, the majority use MLA. Learn it; Love it!

Documentation  MLA Style  APA Style

Documentation  MLA = Modern Languages Association (used in humanities, i.e. English)  APA = American Psychological Association (used primarily for social sciences)

Standard format  Last name of author, first name. Title of book italicized. City of publication: name of publisher, date of publication.  Walker, Alice. The Color Purple. Toronto: A Harvest Book Harcourt, Inc., 1982.

8/20/20157 Citing from an anthology  To cite an anthology that was edited by someone else whose name appears on the title page  Conrad, Ronald, ed. The Act of Writing. 4 th ed. Toronto: McGraw-Hill Ryerson Ltd., 1995.

Citing Works in anthologies:  Richler, Mordecai. “1944: The Year I Learned to Love a German.” The Act of Writing. Ed. Ronald Conrad. 4 th ed. Toronto: McGraw Hill Ryerson Ltd.,

When do I need to reference?  When you quote material VERBATIM.  When you PARAPHRASE material.  When you include STATISTICS or findings from a survey or study.  When you incorporate facts, ideas and opinions that ARE NOT COMMON KNOWLEDGE (this one is a tricky one)

How do I cite a source?  Whenever possible, MLA dictates that you acknowledge your source with the author’s surname and page number(s).  If the author’s name is used within the sentence, only the page number(s) need to be cited.  If the work has no page numbers, then you must cite the entire work (full title and author)

Examples  Blah blah Ackerman, “blah blah blah” (94).  “Blah blah blah blah blah” (Ackerman 94).  Blah blah blah blah bladiddly blah blah (Ackerman and Morgenstern 103).  Blah blim blam blooey (Jorgenson par. 21)  Blah blah blah (Gardiner et al )

More citation types  If a work is part of a multi-volume set, the volume number appears before the page, i.e. (Smith 3:345)  If the author is unknown, the full title can be used, or a shortened version of the title, i.e. (The Dreams of a Century State ), or (Dreams )

STILL more citation types!  If you are citing more than one book by the same author, you must include the title as well within the parenthetical reference, i.e. (Jones, This Way Out 87), (Jones, Tomorrow Country 17).

Rule of Thumb  When in doubt, CITE IT!

Works Cited (aka bibliography)  General Form for BOOKS:  Author. Title of Book. City: Publisher, Date.  Example:  Coggins, Gordon. A Guide to Writing Essays and Research Papers. Toronto: Van Nostrand Runhold, 1977.

More works cited  If there is more than one author, the first listed author’s name is reversed, as usual. The remaining authors may be written in normal form.  Example:  Dorland, Michael, and Maurice Charland. Law, Rhetoric and Irony in the Formation of Canadian Civil Culture. Toronto: University of Toronto Press, 2002.

Other sources  Periodicals – General form:  Author’s name. “Article Title.” Publication Name volume.issue (year): page-range  If a periodical is not listed with volume and issue, use the publication date instead.

Still more sources!!!!  Electronic Sources  Example:  Author’s Name. “Title of Document”. Name of Print Publication if Applicable Date of print publication if applicable: page range if applicable. Title of Website. Date of Electronic Publication. Name of Institution or Organization. Date of access  Author’s Name. “Title of Document”. Name of Print Publication if Applicable Date of print publication if applicable: page range if applicable. Title of Website. Date of Electronic Publication. Name of Institution or Organization. Date of access  Confused????

Electronic Sources  Entire Website – Civilization.ca 24 Jan, Canadian Museum of Civilization Corporation. 6 Mar,

Electronic Sources  Online Periodical – Lederberg, Joshua. “Infectious History”. Science 14 April 2000: Science Magazine American Association for the Advancement of Science. 6 Mar, 2007  Online Periodical – Lederberg, Joshua. “Infectious History”. Science 14 April 2000: Science Magazine American Association for the Advancement of Science. 6 Mar, 2007

Piece of Advice  If you are EVER going to take a humanities course during university (and you all will, because you have to, whether you like it or not), I HIGHLY recommend purchasing the MLA handbook. You can get a used copy for about $5. Best 5 bucks you ever spent.