1. Using MLA The Modern Language Association provides certain guidelines for citing research. We will see some ways to use these guidelines.

2. My requirements for MLA format The major focus of MLA-style formatting is to give credit to the sources you use when you do research. There are 2 places you must do this: in the text and in the Works Cited, which is always the last page of your paper.

3. General Guidelines Format your paper for standard-sized paper (8.5 X 11 inches) Double-space your paper Set the margins of your document to 1 inch on all sides Create a header that numbers all pages consecutively in the upper right-hand corner, one-half inch from the top and flush with the right margin. It should read “Page # of #” so that I will always know how many pages long your paper will be. Use either underlining or italics throughout your essay for highlighting the titles of longer works and providing emphasis.

4. Creating a Header It’s easy to write the page number at the top of each page—Word will do this for you. If you write page numbers manually you will have to update them if you edit your paper. Let Word handle the formatting.

5. To Use the Header Follow some simple steps. Begin by going to View. Follow the visuals.

9. Double Spacing Follow some simple steps: Begin by highlighting your entire text (press Ctrl+A). Follow the visuals.

14. Citing within the Text To cite within the text of your essay you must indicate who is speaking (or the title of the source if you do not have an author’s name) and where in the text your quote is located by writing either a page number or a paragraph number if you’re using an Internet source.

15. Citing within the Text If we believe James Hetfield, “life, it seems, will fade away” (1). My reader knows I am quoting Hetfield, so I do not have to specify again in the parenthetical citation. I only specify the paragraph number in parenthesis. Notice that the citation comes at the end of the sentence, before the period. Notice that there is a comma before the quote.

16. Citing within the Text If we believe James Hetfield, “life, it seems, will fade away” (1). This assumes that we are only quoting one Metallica song, but what if we are quoting from 2? We now need to specify which this particular quote is from: If we believe James Hetfield, “life, it seems, will fade away” (“Fade to Black,” 1).

17. Citing within the Text If we did not include the author in the sentence, we would have to include the author in the parenthetical citation: “Life, it seems, will fade away” eventually (Hetfield, 1). Notice that the citation comes at the end of the sentence, before the period.

18. Citing within the Text In this way, all of your quotes will be annotated within your essay so I can find the source in the Works Cited page at the end of your essay.

19. Works Cited A Works Cited page includes all the sources you have quoted in your paper, and everything in your Works Cited must be quoted somewhere in your paper. Let’s see a sample:

20. One more thing... Block Quotes: If your quote is longer than 5 lines on your page, you should use a block quote. Basically, a block quote is pulled out from your paragraph and offset. You do not need quotation marks, and the citation at the end goes after your period:

22. Notice The use of brackets [ ] to show that the quote has been changed. In this case, the ellipses show that a piece of the sentence has been removed. Now let’s look at the Works Cited page...

24. Notice The student’s name appears in the Header followed by the page number and the total number of pages. The list is alphabetical by the last names of the authors. The list is reverse-indented so that the only words left justified are the authors’ names.

25. Works Cited These are the major structural issues you should remember. Now, how should I write the reference inside the Works Cited? Purdue University has a very nice document explaining the intricacies of a citation. http://owl.english.purdue.edu/handouts/res earch/r_mla.htmlhttp://owl.english.purdue.edu/handouts/res earch/r_mla.html

27. Alternately... You could go through my grammar website at: www.freewebs\reyes-grammar And find the Landmarks Citation Machine... You will notice that the Citation Machine will ask you to fill in some fields and then it will create the reference for you.

31. Using this Resource Notice that the Landmarks Citation Machine gives both MLA and APA format. Some of you may need this later. At this point copy and paste the appropriate reference into your own Works Cited and remember to format the page properly as we saw earlier.

32. Finished Now put your feet up and witness the firepower of this fully armed and operational Works Cited.