WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW ABOUT MLA. HOW TO USE MLA IN YOUR WRITING. THESE NOTES WILL BE CHECKED FOR A CLASSWORK GRADE EVERY WEDNESDAY. MLA Format

Why use MLA? give you specific guidelines for documenting the sources that you use most college programs will want you to use MLA or something similar being able to use MLA makes you a more credible writer and protects you from PLAGIARISM  PLAGIARISM = purposeful or ACCIDENTAL uncredited use of source material by other writers (what that really means is intentionally or UNINTENTIONALLY copying someone else’s work and passing it off as your own  PLAGIARISM in high school can get you a zero on the assignment and a discipline referral  PLAGIARISM in college can get you a zero on the assignment, possibly an F in the class, or even dismissal from school (YES, they may even kick you out!)

Basic MLA Guidelines Type your paper on a computer and print it out on standard, white 8.5 x 11-inch paper. Double-space the text of your paper, and use a legible font (e.g. Times New Roman). font size should be 12 pt. Leave only one space after periods or other punctuation marks Set the margins of your document to 1 inch on all sides. Indent the first line of paragraphs one half-inch from the left margin. (Tab key) Create a header that numbers all pages consecutively in the upper right-hand corner and displays your last name Use italics throughout your essay for the titles of longer works

Formatting Your Paper Before You Write Step 1: Open a new Word document Step 2: Press Ctrl+2, to double space all text Step 3: Click on the “Page Layout” tab at the top; click on “Margins” and select “Normal” Step 4: Click on the “Insert” tab at the top; click on “header” and select “blank”; press Ctrl+R; type your last name and a space; click on “Page Number” near the top left corner; select “current position” and then “plain number”; then make sure your font is Times New Roman, size 12 Step 5: Double-click under the blue dotted Header line (or just press Esc) to put the cursor in the main body of the paper Now you are ready to type the header for the 1 st page

Formatting the Heading for the 1 st Page Step 1: Make sure the text is double-spaced (you should have already done this earlier when you pressed Ctrl+2) Step 2: Type the following information:  Your name (then press enter ONCE)  Your teacher’s name (then press enter ONCE)  Your class name (then press enter ONCE)  The date (military style: 8 Feb 2012) (then press enter ONCE) Now you are ready for your title and the actual written part of the paper

Rules for the Title of your Paper YES, your paper has to have a title do NOT make a title page CENTER your title on the page (Ctrl+E is a shortcut for centering) DO NOT DO ANYTHING ELSE TO YOUR TITLE EXCEPT CAPITALIZE THE APPROPRIATE WORDS  no italics, no fancy font, no font bigger than 12 point, no underlining, no clip art, etc. After typing your title, press Enter ONCE, press Ctrl+L to put the cursor back to the left side, press Tab ONCE to indent your first paragraph; you are now ready to begin typing your paper

FOLLOW THESE RULES WHEN YOU ARE SEARCHING FOR INFORMATION IN A BOOK, IN A MAGAZINE OR NEWSPAPER ARTICLE, OR ON A WEBSITE. THESE RULES MUST BE FOLLOWED WHILE DOING RESEARCH, OR YOU WILL NOT BE ABLE TO CREATE A CORRECT WORKS CITED PAGE. THESE NOTES WILL BE CHECKED EVERY WEDNESDAY FOR A CLASSWORK GRADE. Guidelines for Gathering Research

Find a book, article, or website that is relevant to your specific topic Start a NEW sheet of notes for every NEW book, article, or website that you use At the top of each sheet of notes, you need to write down the citation for that particular book, article, or website.  What is a citation?? It is a listing of a source that was written by someone else that you used in your paper.  Why the do I have to do this? MLA guidelines require it, Ms. Gay requires it, and it protects you from being accused of stealing someone else’s work (PLAGIARISM).  Why the do I have to do this NOW? You may not be able to find this source again 2 months from now when you are writing your final draft and creating a works cited page (a WHAT?!?), so if you do it NOW, while the book, article, or website is right in front of you, you won’t have to worry about it again in the future.

The Easiest Way to Create a Citation Have the book, article, or website in front of you (DUH!) Go to a citation-building website such as easybib.com or citationmachine.net or OR just search Google (or your search engine of choice) for “citation builder”easybib.com citationmachine.net Some websites will allow you to copy and paste the website address or enter the ISBN (the # on your book) and can automatically create it for you; do that, or enter the information in the boxes it provides for you When you have finished entering info in all the boxes (MAKE SURE TO CAPITALIZE THINGS LIKE A NORMAL HUMAN BEING, PLEASE!), click on “create citation” Copy the citation down WORD FOR WORD.

An Example Citation for You to Copy The OWL Lab, P. U. "MLA Formatting and Style Guide."Purdue online writing lab. Purdue University, Web. 8 Feb 2012

Other Things to Keep in Mind DO NOT LOSE THESE NOTES Go to this website for help with MLA formatting:  (search for MLA) Failure to use MLA properly in your research paper for this class will result in major points being deducted from the paper You are writing these notes for a reason – YOU WILL USE THEM FREQUENTLY (Therefore, do NOT ask Ms. Gay a question about this stuff just b/c you couldn’t take the time to WRITE IT DOWN!)