The Basics of MLA Style A guide to student papers

Three areas of concern: Part I: Formatting your paper Part II: The reference list Part III: Parenthetical, or in-text citation

Part I: Formatting your paper Use 8½ X 11 inch paper 12 point, New Times Roman, or similar font 1 inch margins Double-space your text Use a running header Number pages consecutively, starting on the first page

Part I: Formatting your paper A title page is not necessary Your name Instructor Course number Date Title of paper

Part I: Formatting your paper Indent the first line of each paragraph by five spaces (tab button) Place tables and illustrations as close as possible to their related text After the body of your paper comes the Works Cited page

Part II: The reference list Reference sources used in your paper must be listed In MLA format, this page is labeled “Works Cited” List sources alphabetically by author’s last name (or title, if author not known)

Example Works Cited Heinerman, John. Heinerman’s Encyclopedia of Fruits, Vegetables and Herbs. Paramus, NJ: Prentice Hall, Kowalchik, Claire and William H. Hylton. Rodale’s Illustrated Encyclopedia of Herbs. Emmaus, PA: Rodale Press, Wardlaw, Gordon M. and Anne M. Smith. Contemporary Nutrition. Boston: McGraw Hill, 2006.

Part II: The reference list MLA is used mostly in the humanities disciplines (history, literature, fine arts) MLA style emphasizes brevity and clarity The purpose of a reference list is to:  Identify and credit the sources you used  Enable the reader to locate your sources

Part II: The reference list Books Lastname, Firstname. Title of book. Location: Publisher, Year. Lipson, Charles. Doing Honest Work in College. Chicago: U of Chicago P, 2004.

Part II: The reference list Anthology or Compilation Carroll, Andrew, ed. Letters of a Nation. New York: Kodansha International, Book by two or more authors Walker, Geraldene, and Joseph Janes. Online Retrieval: a Dialogue of Theory and Practice. Englewood: Libraries Unlimited, 1999.

Part II: The reference list Article in a journal Lastname, Firstname. “Title of Article.” Title of Journal volume (year): pp-pp. Sacks, Samuel. “Fraud Risk: Are You Prepared?” Journal of Accountancy (2004):

Part II: The reference list Article in a Magazine Lastname, Firstname. “Title of Article.” Title of Magazine day month year: pp-pp. Weintraub, Arlene, and Laura Cohan. “A Thousand- Year Plan for Nuclear Waste.” Business Week 6 May 2002: Paul, Annie Murphy. “Self-Help: Shattering the Myths.” Psychology Today Mar.-Apr. 2001:

Part II: The reference list References to Electronic Sources Basic entry Lastname, Firstname. “Title of Document.” Information about print publication. Information about electronic publication. Access information. Belli, Brita. “Nuking Food: Contamination Fears and Market Possibilities Spur an Irradiation Revival.” E Magazine July-Aug. 2007: Sept

Part II: The reference list Periodical article from a library subscription database Paul, Annie Murphy. “Self-Help: Shattering the Myths.” Psychology Today Mar.-Apr. 2001: Academic Search Elite. Ebsco. Brown Mackie College, Tucson, AZ. 1 Jan

Part II: The reference list Entire Web site, no author Title of Web site. Editor. Electronic publication info including version #, date of publication or latest update. Name of any sponsoring organization. Date of access <URL>. Jane Austen Information Page. Ed. Henry Churchyard. 6 Sept June 2002 <

Part II: The reference list Page on a web site, with author. Firstname, Lastname. “Title of Page.” Name of Web site. Date of publication or latest update. Sponsoring organization. Date of access <URL>. Stolley, Karl. “MLA Formatting and Style Guide.” The OWL at Purdue.10 May Purdue University Writing Lab. 12 May 2006 < 557/01/>.

Part III: Parenthetical, or in-text citation Within the body of your text, you must cite your sources as you use them. You must cite any and all data, facts, information, opinions, ideas, tables, charts, graphics, photographs, etc. that you obtained in your research.

References in the text must clearly point to specific sources in the list of works cited. Identify the location of the borrowed information as specifically as possible. Readability is important. Keep citations as brief as clarity and accuracy permit.

Part III: Parenthetical, or in-text citation Author’s name in text Lipson has argued this point (38-40). Author’s name in reference This point has already been argued (Lipson ). Lipson, Charles. Doing Honest Work in College. Chicago: U of Chicago P, 2004.

Part III: Parenthetical, or in-text citation Author’s name in text Lipson’s first rule of academic honesty is, “When you say you did the work yourself, you actually did it” (3). Author’s name in reference “When you say you did the work yourself, you actually did it,” is a good rule to keep in mind (Lipson 3). Lipson, Charles. Doing Honest Work in College. Chicago: U of Chicago P, 2004.

Conclusion Formatting rules make research papers uniform and easy to read The ability to verify facts through proper citation of sources is essential to good scholarship In-text citation and the reference list:  Identify and credit the sources you used  Enable the reader to locate your sources