1. Research Paper and Citation Basics

2. General Guidelines Font size 12 pt Double-spaced 1” margins
Indent the first line of all paragraphs
Use italics throughout your essay for the titles of longer works and, only when absolutely necessary, providing emphasis.
General Guidelines

3. First Page Guidelines No title page (unless requested)
In the upper left-hand corner of the first page, list your name, your instructor's name, the course, and the date.
Double space and center the title. Do not underline, italicize, or place your title in quotation marks.
Create a header that numbers all pages in the upper right-hand corner. It should include your last name and the page number. (Greene 1)
First Page Guidelines

4. MLA style requires brief citation information to be included in the text of the paper OR in parentheses following a quotation, summary, or paraphrase.
MLA Citation

5. Situation: Author is quoted or paraphrased but not named in the text
Situation: Author is quoted or paraphrased but not named in the text. (MLA Handbook 6.2)
Example: It may be true that “in the appreciation of medieval art the attitude of the observer is of primary importance…”
Correct: It may be true that “in the appreciation of medieval art the attitude of the observer is of primary importance…” (Robert 136).

6. Author is quoted or paraphrased and is named in the text
Author is quoted or paraphrased and is named in the text. (MLA Handbook 6.3)
Example Quote: Sigmund Freud states that “a dream is a fulfillment of a wish.”
Example Paraphrase: Smith developed the argument in his 1997 book.
Correct Quote: Sigmund Freud states that “a dream is a fulfillment of a wish” (154).
Correct Paraphrase: Smith developed the argument in his 1997 book (185-91).

7. Author is quoted or paraphrased and is named in the text but the quoted work has no page numbers.(MLA Handbook 6.4.1)
Example: Chan considers the same topic in the context of Hong Kong cinema.
Correct: Chan considers the same topic in the context of Hong Kong cinema. NO parenthetical citation required!

8. A work with no author (listed by title) is quoted or paraphrased
A work with no author (listed by title) is quoted or paraphrased. (MLA Handbook 6.4.4)
Example: A New York Times editorial called Ralph Ellison “a writer of universal reach.”
Correct: New York Times editorial called Ralph Ellison “a writer of universal reach” (“Death” 18).

9. Quoting an indirect source (a quoted quote) (MLA Handbook 6.4.7)
Example: The critic Susan Aikens has argued on behalf of what she calls “canonical multiplicity.”
Correct: The critic Susan Aikens has argued on behalf of what she calls “canonical multiplicity” (qtd. In Mayers 677).

10. Quoting a webpage with no author:
Include in the text the first item that appears in the Work Cited entry that corresponds to the citation (e.g. author name, article name, website name, film name).
You do not need to give paragraph numbers or page numbers based on your Web browser’s print preview function.
Unless you must list the Web site name in the signal phrase in order to get the reader to the appropriate entry, do not include URLs in- text. Only provide partial URLs such as when the name of the site includes, for example, a domain name, like CNN.com or Forbes.com as opposed to writing out or