The Basics of MLA Style A guide to student papers Prepared by Mr. Ali Alshehab ATL leader Academic Year

Today’s Goals Learn what MLA style is and why it is important Learn about the standard MLA title page format Learn basic documentation for books, journals, and websites Learn the differences between methods of source integration: summarizing, paraphrasing, and quoting

Plagiarism There are consequences for using others’ ideas without proper citation…or plagiarizing. Plagiarizing can be many things from copying an essay from the internet, down to not fully paraphrasing a sentence from a source.

MLA…WHAT? MLA stands for Modern Language Association, and it is the format we most often write in when we are writing in the disciplines that are part of the Humanities. MLA- Required by the IB

MLA…WHAT? MLA citation is really all about one thing…giving credit to the original author of a text or an idea. People’s intellectual property is legally theirs; it belongs to them. Therefore, it is our responsibility as writers to give credit for ideas that are not our own.

When? You need to cite anytime you use material from the text. If it isn’t your idea…cite it. Paraphrases must be cited and they also must completely change the wording and the sentence structure of the original material. Paraphrases are a sticky wicket and they are a place where many people get in trouble with plagiarism.

Three areas of concern: Part I: Formatting your paper Part II: The reference list

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

Documentation Refers to the Works Cited page at the end of the paper The List  is labeled Works Cited (centered, no font changes)  starts at the top of a new page  continues page numbering from the last page of text  is alphabetical  is double spaced  uses a hanging indent (1/2 inch – can be formatted from the Paragraph dialog box in MS Word)

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

Documenting Authors  One Author (list the author’s last name, first name): Williams, John. A Crazy Book. More than One Author (list first author’s last name, first name, and second author’s first name last name): Stewart, Jessica, and Gail Smith. Panic: Writing Research Papers.  More than Three Authors (list first author’s last name, first name, et al. or list first author’s last name, first name, then remaining authors’ first names last names) Francis, Marcus, et al. Forgetting Your College Papers. or Francis, Marcus, Jessica Cooke, Polly Cracker, and Harry Hall. Forgetting Your College Papers.

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 Book with More Than One Author The first given name appears in last name, first name format; subsequent author names appear in first name last name format. Gillespie, Paula, and Neal Lerner. The Allyn and Bacon Guide to Peer Tutoring. Boston: Allyn, 2000.

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:

Documenting Websites Model for an entire website: Title of Web Page. Date of Posting on Website. Name of organization associated with the site. Date you viewed the site. Ex. The Purdue OWL Family of Sites. 26 Aug The Writing Lab and OWL at Purdue and Purdue University. 23 April Model for a page on a website: “Name of Page on Website.” Main Website. Day Month Year. Ex. "How to Make Vegetarian Chili." eHow.com. 10 May 2006.

Documenting an Online Journal Article from an Online Scholarly Journal Model: Author’s Last Name, First Name. “Title of Article.” Online Journal Volume.Issue (Year): # pars. Day Month Year. Ex. Davis, Alan. “A Nuclear Fusion Program.” Science Today (2008): 14 pars. 9 January 2009.

Part II: The reference list: Online source Author. “Title of Article.” Web Site. Editor. Site Publisher or N.p., Date of Publication or n.d. Medium of Publication (Web). Date of access.. Work Cited only on the Web, with URL [MLA 5.6.1] Lye, John. “Some Notes on Realism.” Dept. of English Language and  Literature, Brock U. 22 Apr Web. 25 Aug

Part II: The reference list: Online source 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: Online source Online Book: Fawcett, Shaun. Writing Success Secrets Sept ‹ ts.html›.

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/>.

Let us practice: "Plagiarism." Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia. Wikimedia Foundation, Inc. 22 July Web. 10 Aug. 2004

Other types!!! Online Interview Transcript: Griffin, Thomas. Interview with Matt Damon. The Gazette. August Sept ‹ 0807/Damon/interview.html›. Communication: Bremer, Fred. "Re: Global Climate Change." to Rachel Heinz. 27 July Online Posting: Gravely, S. "Business Letter Writing." Online posting. 12 June  Write Place Web log. 17 Sept ‹

Why Source Integration? Quotations, paraphrases, and summaries  provide support for claims or add credibility to your writing  refer to work that leads up to the work you are now doing  give examples of several points of view on a subject  call attention to a position that you wish to agree or disagree with  highlight a particularly striking phrase, sentence, or passage by quoting the original  distance yourself from the original by quoting it in order to cue readers that the words are not your own  expand the breadth or depth of your writing Quoting, paraphrasing, and summarizing. (2004). Purdue University Online Writing Lab. Retrieved September 28, 2007, from

Choosing Text to Integrate 1. Read the entire text, noting the key points and main ideas. 2. Summarize in your own words what the single main idea of the essay is. 3. Paraphrase important supporting points that come up in the essay. 4. Consider any words, phrases, or brief passages that you believe should be quoted directly. Quoting, paraphrasing, and summarizing. (2004). Purdue University Online Writing Lab. Retrieved September 28, 2007, from

Summarizing When you summarize, you put the main idea(s) into your own words, including only the main point(s).  Summarized ideas must be attributed to the original source.  Summaries are significantly shorter than the original.  Summaries take a broad overview of source material. Quoting, paraphrasing, and summarizing. (2004). Purdue University Online Writing Lab. Retrieved September 28, 2007, from

Paraphrasing Paraphrasing involves putting a passage from source material into your own words.  Attribute paraphrases to their original sources.  Paraphrases are usually shorter than the original passage.  Paraphrases take a somewhat broader segment of the source and condense it slightly. Quoting, paraphrasing, and summarizing. (2004). Purdue University Online Writing Lab. Retrieved September 28, 2007, from

Quoting Quotations must be identical to the original.  Quotations use a narrow segment of the source.  They must match the source document word for word and must be attributed to the original author.  Use quotes when the actual words are so integral to the discussion that they cannot be replaced.  Use quotes when the author’s words are so precisely and accurately stated that they cannot be paraphrased. Quoting, paraphrasing, and summarizing. (2004). Purdue University Online Writing Lab. Retrieved September 28, 2007, from

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 For more information please visit: or