1. Cross-referencing: Using MLA Format & Transitions
Rationale: Welcome to “Cross-referencing: Using MLA Format.” This presentation is designed to introduce your students to the purposes of documentation, as well as methods for effectively using parenthetical citations and a Works Cited page. The twenty-two slides presented here are designed to aid the facilitator in an interactive presentation of strategies for using MLA style. This presentation is ideal for the beginning of a research unit in a humanities course or any assignment that requires MLA documentation.
This presentation may be supplemented with OWL handouts, including “Using MLA Format.” ( “Paraphrase: Write It in Your Own Words” ( “Quoting, Paraphrasing, and Summarizing” ( and “Avoiding Plagiarism” (
Directions: Each slide is activated by a single mouse click, unless otherwise noted in bold at the bottom of each notes page.
Writer and Designer: Jennifer Liethen Kunka
Contributors: Muriel Harris, Karen Bishop, Bryan Kopp, Matthew Mooney, David Neyhart, and Andrew Kunka
Developed with resources courtesy of the Purdue University Writing Lab
Grant funding courtesy of the Multimedia Instructional Development Center at Purdue University
© Copyright Purdue University, 2000.
Ruben S. Ayala High
Ms. Mitchell English

2. What is MLA Citation
MLA citation refers to the referencing style established by the Modern Language Association for recognizing sources used in a research paper .
MLA citation style uses a simple two-part parenthetical documentation system for citing sources: Citation in the text of a paper are used to point to an alphabetical Works cited list that appears at the end of the paper.
Together these references identify and credit the sources used in the paper and allow others to access and retrieve this material.

3. When do I document my sources?
When I am using another persons exact words.
When I am presenting an original idea that is not your own.
When I am reporting facts that are available from only one source.

4. Why Use MLA Format?
Allows readers to cross-reference your sources easily
Gives you credibility as a writer
Protects yourself from plagiarism
Key Concepts: This slide allows the facilitator to explain the purposes for using MLA documentation. MLA format provides writers with a system for cross-referencing their sources—from their parenthetical references to their works cited page. This cross-referencing system allows readers to locate the publication information of source material. This is of great value for researchers who may want to locate your sources for their own research projects. The proper use of MLA style also shows the credibility of writers; such writers show accountability to their source material. Most importantly, the use of MLA style can protect writers from accusations of plagiarism—the purposeful or accidental use of source material by other writers without giving appropriate credit. The next slide provides additional information on plagiarism.
Click to reveal each item.

5. Parenthetical Citations
MLA Style: Two Parts
Works Cited Page
Parenthetical Citations
Rationale: This slide establishes the two areas of MLA documentation, the Works Cited page and parenthetical citations.

6. Works Cited Page
A complete list of every source that you make reference to in your essay
Provides the information necessary for a reader to locate and retrieve any sources cited in your essay.
Key Concepts: This slide explains the purpose of a works cited page. Students may also understand this to be called the “bibliography” page. The facilitator may stress that each source referenced within the paper should also appear on the works cited page. The works cited page appears at the end of the paper.

7. Works Cited Most citations should include the following:
Author (s) or editor (s)
the complete title
edition, if indicated
place of publication
the shortened name of the publisher
date of publication
Rationale: This slide shows the basic information needed for entries on the works cited page.

8. A Sample Works Cited Page
English 10
Works Cited
Begley, Sharon, et al. "Mapping the Brain." Newsweek 20 Apr. 1992:
Berger, Bob. "Mapping the Mindfields." Omni Jan. 1992:
Damasio, Antonio R. "Aphasia." The New England Journal of Medicine 326 (1992):
Diagram Group. The Brain: A User’s Manual. New York: Putnam’s, 1982.
Flinger, Ken. "Memories Are Made of This." FDA Consumer Sep. 1989: Rpt. in Mental Health. Ed. Eleanor C. Goldstein. Vol. 4. Boca Raton: SIRS, Art. 16.
Johnson, Keith A., and J. Alex Becker. "The Whole Brain Atlas." Harvard Medical School.  Feb <
Credit:  Dallas Tele College Web Design Project Team
Key Concepts: This slide offers students a sample of what a Works Cited page looks like. The facilitator may choose to explain the form of this page. Note that “Works Cited” is centered at the top.

9. Works Cited: Some Examples
Listed Below are a some examples of some commonly used citation formats. This is by no means a complete list !
Book
Byatt, A. S. Babel Tower. New York: Random House, 1996.
Article in a Magazine
Klein, Joe. “Dizzy Days.” The New Yorker 5 Oct. 1998:
Web page
Poland, Dave. “The Hot Button.” Roughcut. 26 Oct Turner Network Television. 28 Oct <
Examples: This slide provides examples of a few commonly used citation formats. The web page example will prove to be the most confusing for students (particularly because MLA just released information on citing web pages). The web page example lists the author’s name (if available), the title of the article in quotation marks, the title of the web site underlined or italicized, the date of publication, the publisher, the date information was accessed by the user, and the web address in brackets. Students may not find all of this information when they look at a web page, particularly the author’s name, the date, and the publisher. The facilitator should remind students that they should list in order the information that they do have.
Click to reveal each example.

10. Works Cited List Continued
A newspaper article
Tommasini, Anthony. “Master Teachers Whose Artistry Glows in Private.” New York Times 27 Oct. 1998: B2.
A source with no known author
“Cigarette Sales Fall 30% as California Tax Rises.” New York Times 14 Sept. 1999: A17.
A TV interview
McGwire, Mark. Interview with Matt Lauer. The Today Show. NBC. WTHR, Indianapolis. 22 Oct
A personal interview
Mellencamp, John. Personal interview. 27 Oct
More examples: MLA citation style
Souce: Online Writing Lab Purdue University and Cornell University Library
Examples: This slide offers examples of citations for a newspaper article and for a source (in this case, a newspaper article) with no author. The facilitator might ask students how to alphabetize a source with no author within a Works Cited page. They should alphabetize according to their next best piece of information--here, the first word of the article, “Cigarette.”
Click to reveal each example.

11. Technology Based Citations
The following are examples methods of documentation that are often deemed as confusing :
Audio Visual / Power point
Video
Images
Audio

13. Source: Valencia community college

16. When Should You Use Parenthetical Citations within the document?
When summarizing facts and ideas from a source
Summarizing means to take ideas from a large passage of another source and condense them, using your own words
When paraphrasing a source
Paraphrasing means to use the ideas from another source but change the phrasing into your own words
When quoting any words that are not your own
Quoting means to repeat another source word for word, using quotation marks
Key Concepts: This slide explains explains the differences between summarizing and paraphrasing. The facilitator may stress that if the idea comes from someone else, the source material should be cited.
Click to reveal each item.

17. How to Cite Quotes in Your Text
Give only the information needed to identify a source. Usually the author's last name and a page number are all that is needed.
EX: Romantic poetry is characterized by the “spontaneous overflow of powerful feelings” (Wordsworth 263).
Parenthetical material should ad to, not repeat, information that is given in your text. If you include an author's name in a sentence, do not repeat it in your parenthetical statement.
EX: Wordsworth stated that Romantic poetry was marked by a “spontaneous overflow of powerful feelings” (263).
REMINDERS:
The parenthetical reference should be placed before the punctuation mark that concludes the sentence. (see example above)
Electronic and online sources are cited just like print resources. If an online source lacks numbering, omit numbers from the parenthetical references.

18. More details about using parenthetical citations in text
Sometimes more information is necessary
When you have more than one author with the same last name use
(W. Wordsworth 23); (D. Wordsworth 224)
When you have more than one work by the same author you would simply add the title of the work to your citation.
(Joyce, Portrait 121); (Joyce, Ulysses 556)
Different volumes of a multivolume work
(1: 336)
Citing indirect sources. This is when an individual is quoted in another person’s work.
(Johnson qtd. in Boswell 2:450)
Examples: This slide demonstrates variations on the parenthetical reference. The first example distinguishes a work by William Wordsworth from a book by Dorothy Wordsworth by including the first initial. The second example distinguishes passages from James Joyce’s Portrait of an Artist as a Young Man from his later book, Ulysses. If a work has more than one volume, as in the third example, the citation should include a volume number followed by a colon and the page number. Finally, if the quotation used is quoted within another author’s work, both writers need to be listed in the citation. In the fourth example, the writer used a quote by Samuel Johnson from Boswell’s book (the second volume). Johnson was quoted (qtd.) in Boswell in Volume 2, page 450.
Click to reveal each item.

19. Continued…
If the source has no known author, then use an abbreviated version of the title:
Ex: Full Title: “California Cigarette Tax Deters Smokers”
Citation: (“California” A14)
If the source is only one page in length or is a web page with no page numbers then use the site’s creator or author:
Ex:Source: Dave Poland’s “Hot Button” web column
Citation: (Poland)
Examples: This slide provides information about additional variations on the parenthetical reference. The first example demonstrates how to handle sources with no author. In this case, the newspaper article title is listed in quotation marks. If this was the title of a book, however, California would be italicized within the parenthetical reference.
The second example illustrates a citation for a one-page article or a web page. Because the size and number of printed web pages varies greatly from computer to computer, a page number is not a stable reference. Therefore, page numbers are omitted from the reference. The facilitator may also wish to note that the URL/web address should NOT be listed within the body of the paper--only on the Works Cited page.
Click to reveal each item.

20. How to Cite Long Quotations in text
It is important to indent quotations that are longer than 4 lines in a “free standing” block of text.
Start the quote on a new line.
The quotation must be tabbed in from the left side for the length of the entire quote.
There is no need for quotation marks when following this format.
Example: This slide illustrates the handling of a long quotation in a paper about Dickens’ David Copperfield, A long quotation is defined by MLA as being longer than four typed lines in the paper. A long quotation requires a special format; it should be indented ten spaces on the left, and the parenthetical citation should go after the period. There are no quotation marks around a long quote because the indention already indicates it as such. Note, however, the quotation marks around “Take care of him. He bites.” These appear just as they do in the book. If this section was reduced to a short quote and placed within the regular body of the paper, those quotation marks should be changed to single quotes. The facilitator should note that everything should be double spaced consistently. The final sentence of the passage is an idea paraphrased from Dyson and is cited with name and page number.
* From “’I am Born:’ The Birth of Identity in David Copperfield and Bleak House” by Jennifer L. Kunka, Purdue University (unpublished manuscript).

21. How to Cite Long Quotations in text
Example: Nelly Dean treats Heathcliff poorly and dehumanizes him throughout her narration: They entirely refused to have it in bed with them, or even in their room, and I had no more sense, so, I put it on the landing of the stairs, hoping it would be gone on the morrow. By chance, or else attracted by hearing his voice, it crept to Mr. Earnshaw's door, and there he found it on quitting his chamber. Inquiries were made as to how it got there; I was obliged to confess, and in recompense for my cowardice and inhumanity was sent out of the house. (Bronte 78) Source: Purdue University Online Writing Lab

22. Using Transitions
Transition
Idea
Idea
© 2001 by Ruth Luman
References

23. Transitions Look at the two groups of sentences below.
Which sentences read more smoothly? Click on
an answer below.
My friend, Marcos, loves to play sports and is very athletic. He has won a scholarship to play football at a university next year.
My friend, Marcos, loves to play sports and is very athletic. In fact, he has won a scholarship to play football at a university next year.

24. What are transition words?
Transitions
What are transition words?

25. Transitions A transition word directly tells the reader the
logical relationship between one idea and
another idea.
Transition
Idea
Idea

26. Example
;however,
Marcos loves to go swimming in the ocean.
his parents won’t allow him to do that.
The transition, however, tells the reader that the logical relationship between the two ideas is contrast.

27. Transitions - one clause and another clause
Transitions are words that help make
your writing more coherent. They create
connections between:
- one clause and another clause
- one sentence and another sentence
- one group of sentences and the next group of sentences

28. Joining Two Independent Clauses
One way of joining two independent clauses is with a semicolon, a transition, and a comma.
; furthermore,
Marcos is a great swimmer
he’s very good at scuba diving.
Marcos is a great swimmer ;furthermore, he’s very good at scuba diving.

29. Connecting Two Sentences
You can use a transition and comma to tell the reader the logical relationship between two sentences.
In fact,
he plays three sports at school.
Marcos is very athletic.
Marcos is very athletic. In fact, he plays three sports at school.

30. Placement of Transition
Rather than placing the transition at the beginning of the second sentence, you may place it in the middle of the second sentence after the subject with two commas.
Marcos is very athletic.
transition
He, in fact, plays three sports at school.
subject

31. Transitions in Longer Writing
When writing a paragraph or a larger piece of writing,you can use a transition to show the reader the logical relationship between one group of sentences and another group of sentences.
This is useful when you want to let the reader know that you are changing from one idea to another idea.

32. Example- Longer Piece of Writing
Transition connects ideas in paragraph 2 to ideas in paragraph 1.
Essay
Introduction
Body Paragraph 1
Transition connects ideas in paragraph 3 to ideas in paragraph 2.
Body Paragraph 2: In addition,
Body Paragraph 3: Furthermore,
Conclusion:

33. Types of Transitions Relationship Transition Marcos loves to ski
Addition
Moreover
Furthermore
In addition
besides
Marcos loves to ski
he likes to fish.
;moreover,
;furthermore,
;in addition,
;besides,

34. Marcos plays basketball he plays every Saturday.
Types of Transitions
Relationship
Transition
Reinforcement/Emphasis
Indeed
In fact
Marcos plays basketball
The transition and second clause reemphasize the first clause.
;in fact,
;indeed,
he plays every Saturday.

35. Marcos enjoys outdoor sports he likes hiking, skiing, and fishing.
Types of Transitions
Relationship
Transition
Exemplification
For example
For instance
In particular
Marcos enjoys outdoor sports
;for example,
;for instance,
;in particular,
The second clause is more specific than the first.
he likes hiking, skiing, and fishing.

36. Marcos enjoys scuba diving
Types of Transitions
Relationship
Transition
Contrast
However On the contrary
In contrast On the other hand
Marcos enjoys scuba diving
;on the other hand,
;however,
;on the contrary,
;in contrast,
$$$
I think it is an expensive sport.

37. Types of Transitions Relationship Transition ;thus, ;consequently,
Result or Effect
Consequently Accordingly
Thus Hence
Therefore As a result
;thus,
;consequently,
;therefore,
;hence,
;as a result,
;accordingly,
Marcos broke his leg
he can’t play basketball.

38. Types of Transitions Relationship Transition ;subsequently,
Time
Meanwhile (at the same time)
Subsequently (after)
Thereafter (after)
;subsequently,
;thereafter,
Marcos scored a goal
his team won the game.
after

39. Useful Links AVRSB- www.avrsb.ednet.ns.ca/ Cornell University
la.html#books
Purdue University
Central Kings High School
MLA.org
AVRSB Manual of Style
oSTYLE.pdf
Rationale: As the presentation concludes, the facilitator can remind students that they can come to the Writing Lab for extra help with MLA style.
Click mouse after the title question.

40. Works Cited
“About The MLA.” Modern Language Association. December 10th, <
“MLA Citation style.” Cornell University. December 10th, <
“MLA Documentation.” Valencia University. December 10th, <
Paradise Consulting Services. “Student Conduct.” Annapolis Valley Regional School Board. December 10th, < ontentid=86&PHPSESSID=53ccfd52a73e1f00538c84e c>.
Stolley, Carl. “Online Writing Lab.” Purdue University. Dec 10, <