Using MLA Format

1
Using MLA Format

• OWLOnline Writing Lab at Purdue
• And
• Diana HackerA Writers Reference

2
Why Use MLA Format?

• Allows readers to cross-reference your sources
  easily
• Provides consistent format within a discipline
• Gives you credibility as a writer
• Protects you from plagiarism

3
Cross-Referencing Your Sources

• Preparing a works cited enables readers to find
  your original source material.
• If they become really interested in some of your
  sources and want to use them for their own
  research, theyll be able to find them.

4
Establishing Credibility

• Using MLA style shows that you are trustworthy
  and honest. You give credit to the person who
  came up with the idea, research, or words first.

5
Where Do I Find MLA Format?

• MLA Handbook for Writers of Research Papers, 5th
  ed.
• Hackers A Writers Reference, pp. 355-412
• www.mla.org
• OWL website owl.english.purdue.edu

6
Works Cited Page

• Lists every source you use in your essay
• Gives enough information to allow readers to find
  your sources

7
Book

• Author (last name, first name). Title. City
  Publisher, date.
• Byatt, A. S. Babel Tower. New York Random
  House, 1996.
• Lamott, Anne. Shitty First Drafts. Bird By
  Bird Some Instructions on Writing and Life. New
  York Anchor, 1994. 21-27.

8
Article in a journal

• Ryan, Katy. "Revolutionary Suicide in Toni
  Morrison's Fiction." African American Review 34
  (2000) 389-412.
• Wood, Michael. "Broken Dates Fiction and the
  Century." Kenyon Review 22.3 (2000) 50-64.

9
WORK FROM A SERVICE SUCH AS INFOTRAC

• For sources retrieved from a library's
  subscription database service, give as much of
  the following information as is available
• publication information for the source
• the name of the database, underlined
• the name of the service
• the name and location of the library where you
  retrieved the source
• your date of access
• the URL of the service

10
InfoTrac

• Johnson, Kirk. "The Mountain Lions of Michigan."
  Endangered Species Update 19.2 (2002) 27.
  Expanded Academic Index. InfoTrac. Marymount U
  Lib., Arlington, VA. 26 Nov. 2008
  lthttp//infotrac.galegroup.comgt.

11
EBSCOhost

• Barrera, Rebeca María. "A Case for Bilingual
  Education." ScholasticParent and Child Nov.-Dec.
  2004 72-73. Academic Search Premier. EBSCOhost.
  Marymount U Lib., Arlington, VA. 1 Feb. 2009
  lthttp//search.ebscohost.comgt.

12

• Stedman, Lis. The Environmental Impact of Food
  Waste. Water 21 Magazine of the International
  Water Association. Oct. 2008 10-11. Environment
  Complete. EBSCOhost. Marymount U Lib., Arlington,
  VA. 14 Nov. 2008 lthttp//search. ebscohost.comgt.

13

• Young, Richard. Not All Meat Is Created Equal.
  Ecologist 388 (2008) 20-23. GreenFILE.
  EBSCOhost. Marymount U Lib., Arlington, VA. 14
  Nov. 2008 lthttp//search.ebscohost.comgt.

14
ProQuest

• Kolata, Gina. "Scientists Debating Future of
  Hormone Replacement. New York Times 23 Oct.
  2002 A20. ProQuest. Marymount U Lib., Arlington,
  VA. 26 Oct. 2007 lthttp//www.proquest.comgt.

15
AN ENTIRE WEB SITE

• name of the author or corporate author (if known)
  
• the title of the site, underlined
• the names of any editors
• the date of publication or last update
• the name of any sponsoring organization
• the date you accessed the source
• the URL in angle brackets.
• Provide as much of this information as is
  available.

16
Some Examples

• With author
• Peterson, Susan Lynn. The Life of Martin Luther.
  2002. 24 Jan. 2005lthttp//
• www.susanlynnpeterson.com/
• luther/home.htmlgt.

17

• With corporate (group) author
• United States. Environmental Protection Agency.
  Drinking Water Standards. 8 July 2004. 24 Jan.
  2005lthttp//www.epa.
• gov/safewater/standards.htmlgt.

18
Some Examples

• Author unknown
• Margaret Sanger Papers Project. 18 Oct. 2000.
  History Dept., New York U. 6 Dec. 2004 lthttp//
  www.nyu.edu/projects/sangergt.

19

• With editor
• Exploring Ancient World Cultures. Ed. Anthony F.
  Beavers. 1997. U of Evansville. 24 Jan. 2005
  lthttp//eawc.evansville.edu /index.htmgt.

20

• NOTE If the site has no title, substitute a
  description, such as "Home page," for the title.
  Do not underline the words or put them in
  quotation marks.
• Yoon, Mina. Home page. 29 Sept. 2004. 12 Jan.
  2005lthttp// www. pa.msu.edu/mnyoongt.

21
SHORT WORK FROM A WEB SITE

• Include as many of the following elements as
  apply and as are available
• author's name
• title of the short work, in quotation marks
• title of the site, underlined
• date of publication or last update
• sponsor of the site (if not named as the author
  or given as the title of the site)
• date you accessed the source
• the URL in angle brackets
• Usually at least some of these elements will not
  apply or will be unavailable.

22

• With author
• Shiva, Vandana. "Bioethics A Third World Issue."
  NativeWeb. 15 Sept. 2004 lthttp//www.
  nativeweb.org/pages/legal/ shiva.htmlgt.
• Here no sponsor or date of publication was
  available. (The date given is the date on which
  the researcher accessed the source.)

23

• Author unknown
• "Media Giants." Frontline The Merchants of Cool.
  2001. PBS Online. 7 Feb. 2005 lthttp//
  www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/frontline/shows/cool/giants
  gt.

24
Examples

• NOTE When the URL for a short work from a Web
  site is very long, you may give the URL for the
  home page and indicate the path by which readers
  can access the source.
• "Obesity Trends among US Adults between 1985 and
  2001." Centers for Disease Control and
  Prevention. 3 Jan. 2003. 17 Feb. 2003 lthttp//
  www. cdc.govgt. Path Health Topics A-Z Obesity
  Trends US Obesity Trends 1985 to 2001.

25

• For government documents published online, give
  as much publication information as is available
  and end your citation with the date of access and
  the URL.
• United States. Dept. of Transportation. Natl.
  Highway Traffic Safety Administration. An
  Investigation of the Safety Implications of
  Wireless Communications in Vehicles. Nov. 1999.
  20 May 2001lthttp//www. nhtsa.dot.gov/people/injur
  y/ research/wirelessgt.

26
Article in a Magazine

• List, in order, separated by periods
• the author's name
• the title of the article, in quotes
• the title of the magazine, underlined
• the date and the page numbers, separated by a
  colon

27
Examples Monthly and Weekly Magazines

• Fay, J. Michael. "Land of the Surfing Hippos."
  National Geographic Aug.2004 100.
• Lord, Lewis. "There's Something about Mary Todd."
  US News and WorldReport 19 Feb. 2001 53.

28
ARTICLE IN AN ONLINE PERIODICAL

• When citing online articles, follow the
  guidelines for printed articles, giving whatever
  information is available in the online source.
• End the citation with your date of access and the
  URL.
• NOTE In some online articles, paragraphs are
  numbered. For such articles, include the total
  number of paragraphs in your citation.

29

• Belau, Linda. "Trauma and the Material
  Signifier." Postmodern Culture 11.2 (2001) 37
  pars. 30 Mar. 2001 lthttp//jefferson.
  village.virginia.edu/pmc/current.
  issue/11.2belau.htmlgt.

30
Article in a Daily Newspaper

• Begin with the name of the author, if known.
• Give the title of the article.
• Next give the name of the newspaper, the date,
  and the page numbers (including the section
  letter).
• Use a plus sign () after the page number if the
  article does not appear on consecutive pages.

31
Examples

• Brummitt, Chris. "Indonesia's Food Needs Expected
  to Soar." Boston Globe 1 Feb. 2005 A7.
• If the city of publication is not obvious,
  include it in brackets after the name of the
  newspaper
• City Paper Washington, DC.

32
Examples

• Tommasini, Anthony. Master Teachers Whose
  Artistry Glows in Private. New York Times 27
  Oct. 1998 B2.
• Article with no known author
• Cigarette Sales Fall 30 as California Tax
  Rises. New York Times 14 Sept. 1999 A17.

33
From an online newspaper

• Rubin, Joel. "Report Faults Charter School." Los
  Angeles Times 22 Jan.2005. 24 Jan. 2005
  lthttp//pqasb.pqarchiver.com/ latimes/search.htmlgt
  .

34
GOVERNMENT PUBLICATION

• Treat the government agency as the author, giving
  the name of the government followed by the name
  of the agency.
• United States. Dept. of Labor. America's Dynamic
  Workforce. Washington US Dept. of Labor, 2004.

35
Handling Quotes in Your Text

• Authors last name and page number(s) of quote
  must appear somewhere
• Romantic poetry is characterized by the
  spontaneous overflow of powerful feelings
  (Wordsworth 263).
• Wordsworth stated that Romantic poetry was
  marked by a spontaneous overflow of powerful
  feelings (263).

36
Handling Parenthetical Citations

• Sometimes more information is necessary
• More than one author with the same last name
• (W. Wordsworth 23) (D. Wordsworth 224)
• More than one work by the same author
• (Joyce, Portrait 121) (Joyce, Ulysses 556)
• Citing indirect sources
• (Johnson qtd. in Boswell 250)

37
Handling Parenthetical Citations

• If the source has no known author, then use an
  abbreviated version of the title
• 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 apparent pagination
• Source Dave Polands Hot Button web column
• Citation (Poland)

38
Handling Long Quotations

• David becomes identified and defined by James
  Steerforth, a young man with whom David is
  acquainted from his days at Salem House. Before
  meeting Steerforth, David accepts Steerforths
  name as an authoritative power
• There was an old door in this playground, on
  which the boys had a custom of carving their
  names. . . . In my dread of the end of the
  vacation and their coming back, I could not read
  a boys name, without inquiring in what tone and
  with what emphasis he would read, Take care of
  him. He bites. There was one boya certain J.
  Steerforthwho cut his name very deep and very
  often, who I conceived, would read it in a rather
  strong voice, and afterwards pull my hair.
  (Dickens 68)
• For Steerforth, naming becomes an act of
  possession, as well as exploitation. Steerforth
  names David for his fresh look and innocence, but
  also uses the name Daisy to exploit David's
  romantic tendencies (Dyson 122).

39
Draft for Monday

• I need to see at least three full pages.
• I need to see an attempt at creating a works
  cited list.
• I need to see some in-text citations.
• Dont make the mistake of thinking youll go
  back and insert your sources later. This wastes
  a lot of time and puts you in danger of
  plagiarizing.