MLA (Modern Language Association) Style

What is this? The MLA style guide provides a method of citing sources of information in your assignments. By following these rules you will avoid plagiarism (unauthorized or close imitation of an author’s work)

Why do I need to do this? To identify other people’s work and information in your assignments. To inform the reader of where you found your information in the case they want to learn more about it.

Two components of documenting Parenthetical citations that are imbedded in the text, between parentheses. Example: (Author’s last name, page number) “Works Cited” page that is at the end of the assignment and lists all the necessary information.

In-text citations When quoting directly, use quotation marks. Example: “For a long time, French immigration to the Canadian colony remained a meagre trickle” (Greer 5). When summarizing or paraphrasing, you do not put quotation marks but you still cite the source. Example: For a long period of time, immigration to New France remained low (Greer 5).

In-text citations When there are two or three authors, include the last name of each. When there are four authors or more, include the last name of the first author followed by “et al.” Example: Baldwin et al. 102 When there is no author, use the complete or shortened title.

In-text citations When you are citing an entire source, or one with no page numbers, do not use parenthetical citations. You must instead include the author’s name and the title in the sentence.

In-text citations When you use a direct quote that is four or more lines long in your paper when it is typed, do not use quotation marks. In this case, you must begin the quotation on a new line that is indented. The period is placed before the parenthetical quotation.

Works Cited page

Works Cited You must provide the Works Cited on a separate page at the end of your paper. Your sources must be listed in alphabetical order. Titles are italicized and all important words should be capitalized. The Works Cited page must be double-spaced. If an entry is longer than one line, the second line must be indented.

Works Cited You must always include the publication medium. Examples: Print, Web, DVD, Television. For an electronic source, you must always include the date you retrieved the information at the end of the entry.

Works Cited If there is no publisher, use “n.p.” If there is no date of publication, use “n.d.”

Works Cited: Examples Books: Author’s last name, first name. Title of book. City: Publisher, year. Medium. Brown, Dan. The Da Vinci Code. New York: Doubleday, 2003. Print.

Works Cited: Examples Article on the Web: Last name, First name. “Document title if available.” Title of the overall Website, Version or edition if available. Publisher or N.p. to designate no publisher, publication date or n.d. to indicate that no date was given. Web. Date of access. Sehmby, Dalbir S. "Wrestling and Popular Culture." CCLWeb: Comparative Literature and Culture 4.1 (2002): n. pag. Web. 29 Mar. 2009.