1. Modern Language Association 8th Edition
MLA Citation
Modern Language Association
8th Edition

2. Citation To give credit where credit is due.
Why do we need it?
To give credit where credit is due.
Citation allows the reader to locate the direct source of the information.
Citation keeps academic integrity.
Citing sources allows the writer to avoid plagiarism. Plagiarism is using others' ideas, research or information and claiming that they are yours in order to receive benefit.
You need to cite your source even if you "paraphrase" their information--not just direct quotes.

3. Teachers RULE!
It is up to you to know what your teachers' requirements are.
Requirements may differ from teacher to teacher.
Our English and Social Studies Departments prefer to use the Modern Language Association (MLA) style of citation.

4. Will you really use this information in life?
Yes!
You will be required to use some sort of citation during your time here at LHS, and most likely at two and four year universities as well as some technical schools.
You may not be required to use "MLA" style, but you will be required to use some type of citation method. So, learning this style of citation will be a good foundation for your future studies!

5. What’s new in the new MLA Handbook 8th Edition?
No longer need to include “type” of source, like web or print.
New MLA vocab: “core elements” and “container”
When a source has three or more authors, only the first one in the source is now usually given, followed by et al.
Page numbers in the works cited list are now proceeded by p. or pp.
For books, the city of publication is no longer given, except in certain situations.
The URL (without the is now given for a web source. Angle brackets are not used around it.
Citing the date when an online work was consulted is now optional.
Sources are no longer indented on the “Notes” page.

6. General research tips: MLA Core Elements
BEFORE you begin your research:
Create a file in which you can take notes on your sources (working bibliography). Have this open (or minimized) when you are working in order to take quick notes.
Know your source. Is it a credible one? Author? Reputable site? Peer reviewed? Updated information?
*DURING your research take note of:
Author(s) – all
Title of source
Title of container
Other contributors
Version
Number
Publisher
Publication date
Location
*not all will be used
Notice punctuation!

7. Examples

8. = Core Elements FINAL WORKS-CITED-LIST ENTRY
Copeland, Edward. “Money.” The Cambridge Companion to Jane Austen, edited by Copeland and Juliet McMaster, Cambridge UP, 1997, pp
Core Elements

9. Book FINAL WORKS-CITED-LIST ENTRY
Copeland, Edward. “Money.” The Cambridge Companion to Jane Austen, edited by Copeland and Juliet McMaster, Cambridge UP, 1997, pp pp
Book

10. Video on a Web Site FINAL WORKS-CITED-LIST ENTRY
“Curiosity Rover Report (August 2015): Three Years on Mars!” NASA’s Journey to Mars: Videos, edited by Sarah Loff, National Aeronautics and Space Administration, 30 July 2015,
Video on a Web Site

11. *There are THREE possible sections to a MLA formatted paper:
BODY with parenthetical references (your text)
NOTES page (use when you want to expand on a topic, but not include that information in your main paper)
WORKS CITED page (basically a bibliography)
* A cover page is not required when using MLA style. However, your teacher might require it.

12. Sample MLA Format First Page with Cover Page
Here is how to format your MLA cover page:
This page is double spaced and the letters are centered.
Type the name of your university or college.
Skip to about one-third of the page and type your research paper title, include a subtitle if you have.
Skip several lines down and type your name, your course name and number, your instructor name and your paper’s due date
Alternate First Page:
If your instructor requires a cover page, you may omit the main heading on your first page. Here is an example of the first page if a cover page is used. You still need your last name and page number on the first page and every other pages.
Sample MLA Format First Page with Cover Page

13. In-text, Parenthetical References
These are written in the body of your text after you have made a reference to someone's work.
Here is an example from an author named Smith:
(Smith 72).
The period goes after the reference. The author's name is given and the page number of the book that it was taken from.
Then, the reader can look it up on the “Works Cited" page.
Example:
Wordsworth stated that Romantic poetry was marked by a "spontaneous overflow of powerful feelings" (263).  Romantic poetry is characterized by the "spontaneous overflow of powerful feelings" (Wordsworth 263).
Wordsworth extensively explored the role of emotion in the creative process (263).

14. Parenthetical References (in-text citations), and Notes using Superscripts
More examples. . .
We can deduce that the future Lady Bertram was beautiful as a young woman from the information that some of the family’s “acquaintance” consider the two younger sisters “quite as handsome as Miss Maria” (Austen, Mansfield Park 5). We also know Lady Bertram takes great stock in her beauty because she feels affronted that Mrs. Grant, the wife of the new parson who comes to live at Mansfield Park when Fanny is fifteen, has managed to secure a good match without the benefit of being “handsome” (31). Further, rather. . .
Often the heroine and her eventual husband are kept apart initially by misunderstanding, by the hero’s misguided attraction to another, by financial obstacles, or by family objections.¹ The overcoming of these problems, with the marriage of the newly united couple, forms the happy ending anticipated by readers. Sometimes, as in a Shakespearean comedy, there are multiple marriages happily celebrated; this is the case, for example, in Austen’s own Pride and Prejudice.
A superscript is a letter, figure, or symbol that is written or printed above the line. Example: objections.¹

15. Main Format of a MLA Research Paper
Use 1" margins on all sides (except for page numbers).
Indent the first word of every paragraph 1/2 inch.
Use Times New Roman font.
Use 12pt font.
Double space your entire paper including the Notes and Works Cited pages.
Leave one space after a period, not two.
Look at an example for how to write the heading.
For your title: DO NOT italicize, underline, put in quotes, boldface or use all caps.
Use standard capitalization for your title: first letter of words only. Do not capitalize articles, prepositions and conjunctions such as: a, an, between, of, to, and, but, or, so, etc.
Page numbers are used in the upper right hand corner, following your last name (1/2 inch from the top of the page: Minckler 1).

16. How to set up your MLA paper in Word:

17. Notes Page
Use endnotes to explain a point in your paper that does not quite fit in with the rest of your paper.
Endnotes begin on a new page after the paper, but before the “Works Cited” page.
Center the title “Notes” on the notes page.
Endnotes are double-spaced.
No indentation is used.

18. Works Cited Page
This is a list of all of the sources you used to write your paper.
Double space all entries.
Center “Works Cited” in the center top of your page.
Use a “hanging indention” of ½ inch for all entries.
Entries are alphabetical by author’s last name. If there is no author, then use the first noun in the title of the reference.
Hanging indention

19. Questions? Having trouble?
Ask Mrs. Minckler, an English teacher or a business teacher for help.
Refer to the MLA Handbook and sample paper (copies at my desk).
Visit online resources:
style.mla.org/
owl.English.Perdue.edu
easybib.com

20. Works Cited
MLA Handbook, The Modern Language Association of America, 2016.
“The MLA Style Center.” The MLA Style Center, style.mla.org/.
“Welcome to the Purdue OWL.” Purdue OWL: MLA Formatting and Style Guide, Purdue University, owl.english.purdue.edu/owl/resource/747/01/.