MLA Style Guidelines Modern Language Association

MLA Modern Language Association Guidelines – Format for writing papers – The rules and guidelines used to type your work.

Basic Rules 12 point font, Times New Roman – No fancy fonts! Double spaced White paper Margins are one inch

Heading Name Instructor’s Name Title of the Class Date of Assignment Title Gets Centered The first line begins right away, with the paragraph indent made by pressing the TAB key on the left.

Header When your paper runs more than one page, you need to add a header. Insert a header that includes JUST your last name and page number.

Printing and Stapling In the library, if your paper does not print immediately, ask for help. Do not attempt to print over and over again without checking the printer and getting help. Only staple in upper left corner. You are not creating a book. Save your paper to an or flash drive. Saving it to the library computer will be a problem. You are WARNED!

Adding the Experts A paraphrase is a restatement of the text of your source in your own words. Quotations can be direct (using quotation marks) or indirect (no quotation marks and often introduced by ‘that’). – A noted scientist states, “A hundred years ago, the average temperature of the earth was about 13.7°C (56.5°F); today, it is closer to 14.4°C (57.9°F)” (Silver 11). – A noted scientist observes that the earth’s current average temperature is 57.9°F compared to 56.5°F a hundred years ago (Silver 11).

How Do I Cite? There are two parts to citing according to MLA style: 1. Brief In-text citations (in parentheses) within the body of your essay or paper 2. List of full citations in the Works Cited page at the end of your paper

Adding the Experts/ Citing a Source Note: References cited in the text must appear in the Works Cited. Conversely, each entry in the Works Cited must be cited in the text.

In - Text Citations You must provide information that will allow the reader to locate exactly where you found information in your sources. Usually this is the author's last name and a page number, for example: (Polar 188) You must provide information that will allow the reader to locate exactly where you found information in your sources. Usually this is the author's last name and a page number, for example: (Polar 188) Place the parenthetical reference at the end of the sentence before the punctuation mark. –The average world temperature is rising at an alarming rate of 200 degrees Celsius per year (Polar 188).

Adding the expert to your argument. Basically, X is saying “____________” (pg). In other words, X believes “ ____________” (pg). In making this comment, X argues that “______________” (pg). If there is no page, then you do not add it.

MLA provides these guidelines for citations: In-text: “References in the text must clearly point to specific sources in the list of works cited” (Gibaldi 214). Works Cited: “Identify the location of the borrowed information as specifically as possible” (Gibaldi 215).

In –Text Citations If you use an author's name in a sentence (known as a “signal phrase”), do not use it again in the parenthetical citation. Simply give the page numbers: –Polar argues that global warming will help heat our jacuzzis (122). If there is no known author, use the title and page number in your citation: –A single car trip from Los Angeles to San Francisco produces more pollution than a tree does in its entire lifetime (Save My Greenhouse 47).

They say … I say Use the frameworks to help you write smoothly. The MLA citations just ask you to give credit to someone else for their words/ You are using these experts to strengthen your position.

Works Cited ( sample) Aristotle. Poetics. Ed. S. H. Butcher. The Internet Classics Archive. Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Sept Web. 23 Nov Gillespie, Paula, and Neal Lerner. The Allyn and Bacon Guide to Peer Tutoring. Boston: Allyn, Print. Wysocki. Anne Frances. Writing New Media: Theory and Applications for Expanding the Teaching of Composition. Logan, UT: Utah State UP, Print.

Working the Works Cited Begins on a separate page and is labeled Words Cited (no italics or quotation marks). Double space, but do not skip spaces between entries. Indent the second and subsequent lines five spaces. List page numbers only when needed. Determine the Medium of Publication. Most will be print or web sources. Basic Format: Last name, First name. Title of Book. Place of Publication: Publisher, Year of Publication. Medium of Publication.