MLA University of Alaska Southeast’s humanities and English classes use MLA (Modern Language Association) format for formatting essays and research papers.

Where Do You Find MLA?  A Writer’s Reference – the Diana Hacker English handbook  The Diana Hacker website –  The St. Martin handbook  Writing textbooks  OWL website: owl.english.purdue.edu  Google “MLA format”

WHY do you want MLA?  Document your sources for credibility and reference  Protect yourself from plagiarism  Format your essays consistently  Integrate quotations coherently

WHY should you cite sources?

 To be fair & ethical

WHY should you cite sources?  To be fair & ethical  To give your writing credibility

WHY should you cite sources?  To be fair & ethical  To give your writing credibility  To guide readers toward more information on a topic

WHY should you cite sources?  To be fair & ethical  To give your writing credibility  To guide readers toward more information on a topic  To avoid plagiarism problems

What is plagiarism?  Failure to cite quotations  Failure to enclose borrowed language in quotation marks  Failure to put summaries and paraphrases in your own words  Failure to give authors credit for their ideas (Hacker 331)

What does NOT need to be cited? COMMON KNOWLEDGE If you knew the information well enough that you didn’t have to look it up, you probably don’t need to cite a source for it.

No need to cite Common Knowledge…  The Civil War started in  Elephants can’t jump well.  College freshmen have a high drop-out rate.  Alaska is the largest state in the United States.

What should be Cited?  Direct quotations (Hacker 331)

Cite Direct Quotations Martin Luther King Jr. made a strong point when he said, “It may be true that a law cannot make a man love me, but it can stop him from lynching me, and I think that’s pretty important” (King 142).

What should be Cited?  Direct quotations  Borrowed ideas (Hacker 331)

Cite Borrowed Ideas ORIGINAL – “When searching for a college campus with your teen, a parent needs to be aware of more than education when choosing a school. Parents need to be concerned about issues of alcohol use “ (Break Point 3). PARAPHRASE – Parents of teenagers should consider alcohol issues when they help their child look for appropriate colleges (Break Point 3).

What should be Cited?  Direct quotations  Borrowed ideas  Summaries and paraphrases (Hacker 331)

Cite Summaries and Paraphrases ORIGINAL – “What are Zero Tolerance Laws? It simply means that it is illegal for persons under the age of 21 to purchase and publicly possess alcoholic beverages. A zero tolerance makes it illegal for persons under the age of 21 to drive with any measurable amount of alcohol in their blood. The BAC levels vary throughout the States. They range from for drivers under 21. Illinois law is among the strictest in the States at.00 BAC. If any alcohol is detected in the blood stream the driver will be issued a traffic infraction including a fine and the revocation of their drivers license” (Break Point 3). SUMMARY – Because of recent Zero Tolerance Laws, it is illegal for anyone under the age of 21 to possess alcohol or to drive under the influence with BAC levels as low as.00 BAC (Break Point 3).

What should be Cited?  Direct quotations  Borrowed ideas  Summaries and paraphrases  Statistics and other specific facts (Hacker 331)

Cite Statistics and Facts “More 18 year olds died in lower BAC (between.01 and.09) alcohol- related crashes than any other age” (Break Point 3).

What should be Cited?  Direct quotations  Borrowed ideas  Summaries and paraphrases  Statistics and other specific facts  Visuals such as cartoons, graphs, or diagrams (Hacker 331)

Cite Cartoons, Graphs, & Diagrams Fig. 1. Wisconsin Department of Transportation, “Drunk Driving Accidents, Fatalities and Injuries” 2002.

What should be Cited?  Direct quotations  Borrowed ideas  Summaries and paraphrases  Statistics and other specific facts  Visuals such as cartoons, graphs, or diagrams  Anything the reader might question – this can vary depending on the reader

The Works Cited Page Has a VERY SPECIFIC FORMAT

Works Cited Page:  Lists EVERY source that you make reference to in your essay  Is always a separate page  Is alphabetized by first word  Uses reverse indentation  Is double spaced throughout Work Cited = 1 item / Works Cited = 1+

Works Cited Besthoff, Len. “Cell Phone Use Increases Risk of Accidents.” WRAL Online. 11 Nov Jan < tv.com/news/wral/1999-talk driving/>. Haughney, Christine. “Taking Phones out of Drivers’ Hands.” Washington Post 5 Nov. 2000: A8. Lowe, Chan. Cartoon. Washington Post 22 July 2000: A21. Redeimeier, Donald A., and Robert J. Tibshirani. “Association between Cellular-Telephone Calls and Motor Vehicle Collisions.” New England Journal of Medicine 336 (1997): (Hacker 377) Smith 17

Basic Book Format Forrest, Samuel K. MLK - a Contemporary Legend. Seattle: Harcourt, Brace, Jovanovich,

Basic Book Format Forrest, Samuel K. MLK - a Contemporary Legend. Seattle: Harcourt, Brace, Jovanovich, Reverse indentation Period after most items Underline Book title Author last name first City closest to you NO p. or pg. for page number!

Website Citation "Drunk Driving Crashes, Fatalities, and Injuries." Safety and Consumer Protection. 02 Mar Wisconsin Department of Transportation. 4 Apr Title of article, no author available Name of website Date accessed Date Written Web address May be required by your instructor Only break at backslash

Works Cited Besthoff, Len. “Cell Phone Use Increases Risk of Accidents.” WRAL Online. 11 Nov Jan Haughney, Christine. “Taking Phones out of Drivers’ Hands.” Washington Post 5 Nov. 2000: A8. Lowe, Chan. Cartoon. Washington Post 22 July 2000: A21. Redeimeier, Donald A., and Robert J. Tibshirani. “Association between Cellular-Telephone Calls and Motor Vehicle Collisions.” New England Journal of Medicine 336 (1997): Double spaced throughout Alphabatized Period at end of every entry Two authors (Hacker 377)