1. BUILDING A BASIC MLA CITATION Core Components

2. Bibliographic Citations versus Footnotes " biblio-": of or pertaining to printed sources "- graphic": the classification of Data: units of information presented in a series of sentences, each ending in a period. A hierarchical arrangement of those sentences. Represented in the body of your essay (i.e., in context ) by contextual citations, a.k.a. parenthetical citations. Footnotes and endnotes in MLA essays are mainly explanatory: reserved for digressions and clarifications.

3. Contextual (Parenthetical) Citations Are placed inside your sentence … They aren't part of the quote. Placed at the end of the clause containing the quote or references to the source. For sources whose author is introduced along with the quote, only page number is needed in parentheses. Use last names only, of all the authors involved, up to three if co-authored. If authorship cannot be located, use the title of the source. For an on-line source, do not include a web address or a date. ✪ …unless you're using indented method. ✪ …unless you are intentionally quoting a citation as it appears in the original source, which is uncommon. ✪ A "clause" can be independent or subordinate; for this reason, not all contextual citations appear at the end of the sentence, even though the majority do. ✪ However, when you are using multiple works by the same author, the primary title should be included in the contextual citation, to clarify which source in the Works Cited. ✪ If four or more co-authors are involved, use " et al " after the primary author’s last name, then the page number; this method is not favored in bibliographic citations, no matter how long the list of authors may be. ✪ Make sure you use the proper markers: double quotation marks, or italics, depending on the kind of primary source. ✪ In most cases, if you've already introduced the authorship of an on-line source, no contextual citation is needed.

4. Data and Datum A citation is organized according to the fixed units of data. One unit of data is a "datum." Their arrangement is a little different for different kinds of sources. They are used with a strict hierarchy, which determines the order in which they appear in the citation. o 1Primary authorship. o 2 A Primary title. o 2 B Secondary title. o 3 A Volume and edition (periodicity). o 3 B Editors. o 4Publishing considerations. o 5Page numbers (periodicals and anthologies). o 6 A Electronic sources: access. o 6 B Electronic sources: publishing info. o 10Miscellany.

5. Datum 1: Authorship Authorship : full names and relevant professional titles (not just last names and first initials) of writers directly responsible for the source (i.e., primary authors) Primary author: last name first o Only the primary author's name is presented last name first o Used to alphabetize the citation, but not the authors' names (if more than one) o Co-author(s): names are listed in the order they appear on the title page of the source, not last name first (E.g., "Smith, Alan and Carmen Jones." Anthologies and periodicals o "primary authorship" refers to the authorship of the article, essay or any other primary source included among others in the anthology or periodical o If the source used is the writing of the editors of an anthology, then the entire anthology is the primary source and the editors are the primary authors (E.g., ”Smith, Alan, Carmen Jones, and Stan T. Makepeace, eds.") Multiple works by the same author(s): o Within a group of citations by the same author, arrange them alphabetically by title o Indicate repetitive authorship with a half-inch line followed by a period (E.g., "_____." o Do not group similar authors; authorship must be exactly the same. Levine, Philip. "What Work Is." in Patterns For College Writing: A Rhetorical Reader and Guide. Eds., Laurie G. Kirszner and Stephen R. Mandell. 11th ed. Boston: Bedfords/St. Martins, 2010. 550-51. Print. _____. review of Unselected Poems. North American Review November 1998: 37. Print. Smith, Alan, Carmen Jones, and Stan T. Makepeace, eds. Anthology of American Blues Poetry. Sioux City: Blackfoot Press, 1997. Print. Smith, Alan, and Carmen Jones. ”Toward a Definition of Blues Poetry.” Jazz Quarterly 8 (Spring 2001): 3-7. Print.

6. Datum 2: Titles Primary Title : the title of the specific source used Secondary Title: the title of a broader source that contains the specific one o Anthologies o Data base collections o Periodicals Each title is a separate datum, punctuated at the end with a period. Use proper markers (quotations marks, italics) to "mark" titles Works without authors o If the source does not credit authorship, begin the citation with the title o Begin with the first key word in the title (not definite or indefinite articles) o Alphabetize the citation as usual; do not segregate it from the others that have authors Levine, Philip. "What Work Is." in Patterns For College Writing: A Rhetorical Reader and Guide. Eds., Laurie G. Kirszner and Stephen R. Mandell. 11th ed. Boston: Bedfords/St. Martins, 2010. 550-51. Print. _____. “ Unselected Poems.” Review. North American Review November 1998: 37. Print. Smith, Alan, Carmen Jones, and Stan T. Makepeace, eds. Anthology of American Blues Poetry. Sioux City: Blackfoot Press, 1997. Print. Smith, Alan, and Carmen Jones. ”Toward a Definition of Blues Poetry.” Jazz Quarterly 8 (Spring 2001): 3-7. Print.

7. Datum 3: Periodicity and Editors FOR BOOKS When an edited source is used, credit the edition if and only if it is not the first. Begin with a numeral (not a word) and end with the abbrev. “ed.”: 7th ed. When an edited source is used for its individual sources (articles, essays, etc.), credit the editor(s) of the secondary source as a separate datum Begin with “Ed.,” or “Eds.,” and end with a period: Eds., Norman Q. Brown and Delores McIntyre. FOR PERIODICALS See next slide Levine, Philip. "What Work Is." in Patterns For College Writing: A Rhetorical Reader and Guide. 11th ed. Eds., Laurie G. Kirszner and Stephen R. Mandell. Boston: Bedfords/St. Martins, 2010. 550-51. Print. _____. “ Unselected Poems.” Review. North American Review November 1998: 37. Print. Smith, Alan, Carmen Jones, and Stan T. Makepeace, eds. Anthology of American Blues Poetry. Sioux City: Blackfoot Press, 1997. Print. Smith, Alan, and Carmen Jones. ”Toward a Definition of Blues Poetry.” Jazz Quarterly 8 (Spring 2001): 3-7. Print.

8. Datum 4: Publishing Considerations For books, provide primary city of publication o "primary city" means the first city mentioned on the title page o For obscure cities, include state or country o Always follow with a colon [:] o End with name of publishing house, and most recent copyright. For Periodical literature, start with periodicity (its regular period of publication): o Newspapers, biweekly and weekly: use specific dates only ; e.g., " 23 September 2008" o Monthlies: month and year; e.g., " September 2008" o Journals, semi-annuals and quarterlies: primary periodicity--volume and issue; secondary periodicity--month or season + year; e.g., "48.3 (Fall 2008)" or "17 (September 2008)” For missing info on older publications*, provide the following abbreviations for missing information: This is used primarily for sources that do not follow standards for title pages and copyright info; it must NOT be used simply because you didn’t try to find this info, or forgot to record it. o N.P. [capital letters]: "No place of publication given" o n.p. [lower case]: "no name of publisher given" o n.d. [lower case]: "no copyright given" ( i.e., "no date”) Levine, Philip. "What Work Is." in Patterns For College Writing: A Rhetorical Reader and Guide. 11th ed. Eds., Laurie G. Kirszner and Stephen R. Mandell. Boston: Bedfords/St. Martins, 2010. 550-51. Print. _____. “ Unselected Poems.” Review. North American Review November 1998: 37. Print. Smith, Alan, Carmen Jones, and Stan T. Makepeace, eds. Anthology of American Blues Poetry. Sioux City: Blackfoot Press, 1997. Print. Tarkay, Juliette. “Hip-Hop and New Poetry.” Word: A Web Journal of Hip Hop. Massachusetts Institute Department of Literature, 13 Sept. 2007. Web. 4 Nov. 2008. ‹http://www.mi/lit›

9. Datum 5: Page Numbers For anthologies: o After publishing considerations, end on a period. Then, add the range of pages on which the primary source appears in the anthology, concluded with a period: 293-313. For Periodical literature, start with periodicity (its regular period of publication): o Follow the periodicity with a colon [:] o Include the primary title's full range of pages inside the secondary title: 550-51. o End with a period. Levine, Philip. "What Work Is." in Patterns For College Writing: A Rhetorical Reader and Guide. 11th ed. Eds., Laurie G. Kirszner and Stephen R. Mandell. Boston: Bedfords/St. Martins, 2010. 550-51. Print. _____. “ Unselected Poems.” Review. North American Review November 1998: 37-38. Smith, Alan, Carmen Jones, and Stan T. Makepeace, eds. Anthology of American Blues Poetry. Sioux City: Blackfoot Press, 1997. Print. Tarkay, Juliette. “Hip-Hop and New Poetry.” Word: A Web Journal of Hip Hop. Massachusetts Institute Department of Literature, 13 Sept. 2007. Web. 4 Nov. 2008. ‹http://www.mi/lit›

10. Datum 6: Electronic Sources DATE OF ACCESS When a source is found in the impermanent medium of the internet or electronic databases, indicate the date you found it, using international date style. o Indicate the date you found the source (not the date of its publication) and the link or database article number provided; e.g., "22 September 2008." o End it with a period. o Use angled brackets for web addresses. ADDITIONAL PUBLISHING INFO: DATABASES If a source is found in a database, add the following after the regular citation of the primary source (do not break for a new line): o Credit the name and publisher of the database; follow each with a period; e.g., " Gender Watch. Softline Web, Inc." o Name the library or institutional subscriber to the database (usually a library) and the city of its location; e.g., "Grossmont College Library, El Cajon.” WEB ADDRESSES MLA no longer requires a URL. If you desire, though, you may include them in angled brackets: o Specific URLs for individual web pages on a multi-page website are no longer necessary. o You may include just URL of the homepage, as well. Levine, Philip. "What Work Is." Kenyon Review 21.2 (Spring 1999): 6-8. Literature Resource Center. Thomson Gale. Lone Star Coll. Kingwood Lib., Kingwood. 3 Aug. 2003. Tarkay, Juliette. “Hip-Hop and New Poetry.” Word: A Web Journal of Hip Hop. Massachusetts Institute Department of Literature, 13 Sept. 2007. Web. 4 Nov. 2008. ‹http://www.mi/lit›