1. By Benjamin Syn, Member of the Modern Language Association © 2010 by the UCD Writing Center www.cudenver.edu/writingcenter

2. What? Who? What’s New? © 2009 by the UCD Writing Center www.cudenver.edu/writingcenter

3.  MLA Style establishes standards of written communication concerning: ◦ formatting and page layout ◦ citing sources ◦ stylistic technicalities (e.g. abbreviations, footnotes, quotations) ◦ and preparing a manuscript for publication in certain disciplines © 2009 by the UCD Writing Center www.cudenver.edu/writingcenter

4.  MLA Style is typically reserved for writers and students preparing papers in various humanities disciplines such as: ◦ English Studies - Language and Literature ◦ Foreign Language and Literatures ◦ Literary Criticism ◦ Comparative Literature ◦ Cultural Studies © 2009 by the UCD Writing Center www.cudenver.edu/writingcenter

5.  No More Underlining! ◦ Underlining is no more. MLA now recommends italicizing titles of independently published works (books, periodicals, films, etc).  No More URLs! ◦ While website entries will still include authors, article names, and website names, when available, MLA no longer requires URLs. Writers are, however, encouraged to provide a URL if the citation information does not lead readers to easily find the source.  Continuous Pagination? Who Cares? ◦ You no longer have to worry about whether scholarly publications employ continuous pagination or not. For all such entries, both volume and issue numbers are required, regardless of pagination.  Publication Medium. ◦ Every entry receives a medium of publication marker. Most entries will be listed as Print or Web, but other possibilities include Performance, DVD, or TV. Most of these markers will appear at the end of entries; however, markers for Web sources are followed by the date of access.  New Abbreviations. ◦ Many web source entries now require a publisher name, a date of publication, and/or page numbers. When no publisher name appears on the website, write N.p. for no publisher given. When sites omit a date of publication, write n.d. for no date. For online journals that appear only online (no print version) or on databases that do not provide pagination, write n. pag. for no pagination. © 2009 by the UCD Writing Center www.cudenver.edu/writingcenter

6. Where things go and why © 2009 by the UCD Writing Center www.cudenver.edu/writingcenter

7. One inch and no margin for error © 2009 by the UCD Writing Center www.cudenver.edu/writingcenter

8.  Leave an exactly one inch margin: ◦ At the top ◦ At the bottom ◦ On both sides © 2009 by the UCD Writing Center www.cudenver.edu/writingcenter

9. The only exceptions to the one inch rule are the page numbers, which are one- half inch from the top of each page. © 2009 by the UCD Writing Center www.cudenver.edu/writingcenter

10. Each paragraph is indented one-half inch, which is called First Line Indention (Don’t quadruple space between paragraphs!) © 2009 by the UCD Writing Center www.cudenver.edu/writingcenter Everything Is Flush with Left Margin Except…

11. Headings (Such As Your Title and “Works Cited”) Are Centered © 2009 by the UCD Writing Center www.cudenver.edu/writingcenter Everything Is Flush with Left Margin Except…

12. Works Cited pages use Hanging Indention. © 2009 by the UCD Writing Center www.cudenver.edu/writingcenter Everything Is Flush with Left Margin Except…

13. Quotes that are longer than four lines are indented one inch (These are called block quotes) © 2009 by the UCD Writing Center www.cudenver.edu/writingcenter Everything Is Flush with Left Margin Except…

14. Always double space. © 2009 by the UCD Writing Center www.cudenver.edu/writingcenter

15.  Unless your professor says otherwise, DOUBLE-SPACE EVERYTHING. ◦ In previous versions of MLA there were parts, such as block quotations and the works cited page that had different spacing. ◦ However, under current MLA guidelines, everything needs to be double-spaced. © 2009 by the UCD Writing Center www.cudenver.edu/writingcenter

16.  Don’t double (double) space between paragraphs. ◦ Each new paragraph is signified by indenting the first word one-half inch (tab key). ◦ Only hit Enter or Return key once between end of one paragraph and the beginning of the next. © 2009 by the UCD Writing Center www.cudenver.edu/writingcenter

17. Where they go and how they look © 2009 by the UCD Writing Center www.cudenver.edu/writingcenter

18.  Every page needs two things: ◦ Your last name ◦ The page number © 2009 by the UCD Writing Center www.cudenver.edu/writingcenter

19. Page numbers are flush with the right margin one-half inch from the top. Your last name (or student ID) goes right before the page number. © 2009 by the UCD Writing Center www.cudenver.edu/writingcenter Page Numbers

20.  Page numbers (and your last name) go on every page, including the first page and the Works Cited page. © 2009 by the UCD Writing Center www.cudenver.edu/writingcenter

21. First page format © 2009 by the UCD Writing Center www.cudenver.edu/writingcenter

22.  Unless your professor insists on it, do not include a title page.  Instead, on your first page you need to have four elements: ◦ Your name ◦ Your professor’s name ◦ The course ◦ The date the assignment is due © 2009 by the UCD Writing Center www.cudenver.edu/writingcenter

23. Your paper needs a title as much as you needed a name on the day you were born © 2009 by the UCD Writing Center www.cudenver.edu/writingcenter

24.  After the date, double-space and center your title. ◦ Do not italicize/underline your title and do not put quotation marks around your title  The only exception to this rule is if your title mentions the title of another work ◦ Don’t put a period at the end of your title  Don’t put a period after any heading! © 2009 by the UCD Writing Center www.cudenver.edu/writingcenter

25.  Capitalize these words of your title: ◦ The first ◦ The last ◦ All principle words  Do not capitalize these (unless they are the first or last word): ◦ Articles ◦ Prepositions ◦ Coordinating conjunctions ◦ The to in infinitives © 2009 by the UCD Writing Center www.cudenver.edu/writingcenter

26. Giving credit where it’s due © 2009 by the UCD Writing Center www.cudenver.edu/writingcenter

27.  When you reference any outside material (such as a book, article, movie, statue, etc.), provide a citation.  You MUST provide a citation for any information or idea that is not your own. ◦ Common knowledge need not be cited. © 2009 by the UCD Writing Center www.cudenver.edu/writingcenter

28.  A citation can either be a paraphrase of the ideas using your own words or a direct quote from the original text. © 2009 by the UCD Writing Center www.cudenver.edu/writingcenter

29.  To paraphrase means to restate information from a source in an original way  Also, even though you are paraphrasing and not using direct quotation, you must ALWAYS cite the original author © 2009 by the UCD Writing Center www.cudenver.edu/writingcenter

30.  Direct quotations retain the meaning and credibility of the original source and capture exact language that supports your point. In many instances, they capture language that is unusual, well crafted, striking, and/or memorable. ◦ Malodorous talks extensively about what he calls the “easy-letdown-with-severance-pay” (4). © 2009 by the UCD Writing Center www.cudenver.edu/writingcenter

31.  How do these different verbs contextualize the following quotation: ◦ As Wee says, “Ultimately, Scream and its sequels are primarily films about slasher films” (47).  criticizes  concludes  foreshadows  jests  hypothesizes  minimizes  questions  reinforces  retaliates  savors  warns © 2009 by the UCD Writing Center www.cudenver.edu/writingcenter

32.  Commas and periods are always placed inside the quotation mark: ◦ Modern poems, like T.S. Eliot’s “The Hollow Men,” are a pleasure to read.  Exception: When using in-text citations, your comma will go outside the quotation marks and parenthetical: ◦ “The Dead,” a short story in James Joyce’s Dubliners, depicts a man coming to terms with his own mortality: “His soul had approached that regions where dwell the vast hosts of the dead” (176). © 2009 by the UCD Writing Center www.cudenver.edu/writingcenter

33.  Direct quotations that go over four lines need to be turned into block quotes: ◦ Introduce quote by using a colon ◦ All of the quote is indented 1” ◦ Quotation marks are omitted ◦ Block quotes are the only exception where the parenthetic comes after the period © 2009 by the UCD Writing Center www.cudenver.edu/writingcenter

35. AKA Parenthetical Citation © 2009 by the UCD Writing Center www.cudenver.edu/writingcenter

36.  Citations are: ◦ Are in parentheses ◦ Immediately after a quotation or paraphrase ◦ But before the punctuation © 2009 by the UCD Writing Center www.cudenver.edu/writingcenter

37.  Inside the parentheses you need two things: 1.Author’s last name  If a source doesn’t have a known author, use a abbreviated version of the title.  If you are using several works by the same author, you will need to include an abbreviated title after the author’s name. 2.Page(s) referenced  If the author is mentioned in the sentence, only the page number is in the parenthetic citation. © 2009 by the UCD Writing Center www.cudenver.edu/writingcenter

38. Author’s name in the text (6.3) In-Text Citation © 2009 by the UCD Writing Center www.cudenver.edu/writingcenter

39. Author’s name in reference (6.3) In-text Citation (MLA) © 2009 by the UCD Writing Center www.cudenver.edu/writingcenter

40. Citing a Work Listed by Title (6.4.4) In-text Citation © 2009 by the UCD Writing Center www.cudenver.edu/writingcenter

41. Citing Two or More Works by the Same Author (6.4.6) In-text Citation © 2009 by the UCD Writing Center www.cudenver.edu/writingcenter

42. Citing Indirect Sources (6.4.7) In-text Citation © 2009 by the UCD Writing Center www.cudenver.edu/writingcenter

43. A list of all the sources from the text © 2009 by the UCD Writing Center www.cudenver.edu/writingcenter

44.  New page  Double-space throughout  The title “Works Cited” is centered, one inch from top  Each entry ◦ Flush with left margin  Subsequent lines are indented one-half inch, which is called hanging indention. ◦ Alphabetized by author’s last name  Or title if author is unknown (ignoring A, An, or The). © 2009 by the UCD Writing Center www.cudenver.edu/writingcenter

45. Author(s). “Title of Part.” Title of Whole. Publisher, date.: page(s). © 2009 by the UCD Writing Center www.cudenver.edu/writingcenter

46. Author(s). “Article Title.” Journal. Volume.Issue (Year): Page(s). Medium. Connelly, Deborah S. “To Read or Not To Read: Understanding Book Censorship.” Community & Junior College Libraries. 15.2 (2009): 83-90. PDF. © 2009 by the UCD Writing Center www.cudenver.edu/writingcenter

47. Author(s). “Article Title.” Newspaper/Magazine Day Month Year: Page(s). Medium. Wines, Michael. “China: Censors Bar Mythical Creature.” New York Times 30 Mar 2009: 8. Print. Liu, Melinda. “Blog the Record Straight.” Newsweek 9 Oct 2009: 9. Print. © 2009 by the UCD Writing Center www.cudenver.edu/writingcenter

48. Author. Title of Book. Place of Publication: Publisher, Year of Publication. Medium. Heins, Marjorie. Not in Front of the Children: Indecency, Censorship, and the Innocence of Youth. Piscataway: Rutgers University Press, 2007. Print. © 2009 by the UCD Writing Center www.cudenver.edu/writingcenter

49. Authors. Title of Book. Place of Publication: Publisher, Year of Publication. Medium. Karolides, Nicholas J., Margaret Bald, and Dawn B. Sova. 100 Banned Books: Censorship Histories of World Literature. New York: Checkmark Books, 1999. Print. © 2009 by the UCD Writing Center www.cudenver.edu/writingcenter

50. Authors. Title of Book. Editors. Place of Publication: Publisher, Year of Publication. Medium. Feminists Against Censorship. Pornography and Feminism: The Case Against Censorship. Eds. Gillian Rodgerson and Elizabeth Wilson. London: Lawrence & Wishart Ltd., 1991. Print. © 2009 by the UCD Writing Center www.cudenver.edu/writingcenter

51. Author. “Title of Chapter/Poem/Short Story/etc.” Title of Book. Editor. Edition. Place of Publication: Publisher, Year of Publication. Page(s). Medium. Rosenblatt, Roger. “We Are Free to Be You, Me, Stupid, and Dead.” Language Awareness. Eds. Paul Eschholz, Alfred Rosa, and Virginia Clark. 10th ed. Boston: Bedford/St. Martin’s, 2009. Print. © 2009 by the UCD Writing Center www.cudenver.edu/writingcenter

52. “Entry.” Title of Reference Book. Edition. Year. Medium. “Censorship.” Oxford English Dictionary. 2 nd ed. 1989. Print. © 2009 by the UCD Writing Center www.cudenver.edu/writingcenter

53. Author(s). “Page.” Website. Publisher (or N.p.), date of publication (or n.d.). Medium. Date of access. (.) “The Right to Sext: Sending Nude Photos of Oneself is a Right.” ncac.org. Natl. Coalition Against Censorship, 26 Mar. 2009. Web. 15 Apr. 2009. <http://www.ncac.org/ The-Right-to-Sext-Sending-Nude-Photos-of-Oneself-is-a-Right>. © 2009 by the UCD Writing Center www.cudenver.edu/writingcenter

54. Author(s). “Article.” Newspaper/Magazine Day Month Year: Page (or n. pag.). Database. Medium. Date of access. Rich, Motoko. “Amazon Ranking Errors Ignite a Twitter- Fed Outrage.” New York Times 14 Apr. 2009: 1. EBSCO. Web. 15 Apr. 2009. © 2009 by the UCD Writing Center www.cudenver.edu/writingcenter

55. Title of Film. Director. (Performances, Producer, Writer, etc.) Distributer, Year. Medium. This Film Is Not Yet Rated. Dir. Kirby Dick. Independent Film Channel, 2006. Film. © 2009 by the UCD Writing Center www.cudenver.edu/writingcenter

56. Taking a couple of minutes to wrap up all of the loose ends © 2009 by the UCD Writing Center www.cudenver.edu/writingcenter

57. Where to get some answers © 2009 by the UCD Writing Center www.cudenver.edu/writingcenter

58.  MLA ◦ UCD Writing Center ◦ MLA Handbook for Writers of Research Papers (7 th ed.) ◦ The OWL at Purdue  “MLA 2009 Formatting and Style Guide” © 2009 by the UCD Writing Center www.cudenver.edu/writingcenter

59.  While tempting to use and possibly a time saver, citation machines on the internet (such as Knight Cite and Easy Bib), as well as Microsoft Word, are not great.  Most citation machines make small mistakes when it comes to documentation, and a professor who is a stickler for citations will probably notice the mistakes.  In addition, these are not always updated with the most current information and will offer outdated advice. In the end, citation machines are NOT a time saver because a conscientious writer will have to go back to fix these mistakes.  My advice? Get the basics down so that you don’t have to worry about saving time or if the citation machine is correct. © 2009 by the UCD Writing Center www.cudenver.edu/writingcenter

60. Now is the time to ask. Next time, your grade could be at stake. © 2009 by the UCD Writing Center www.cudenver.edu/writingcenter

61. Thank you very much. © 2009 by the UCD Writing Center www.cudenver.edu/writingcenter