Post on 15-Jan-2016
By Benjamin Syn, Member of theModern Language Association
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What?Who?What’s New?
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MLA Style establishes standards of written communication concerning:◦ formatting and page layout◦ citing sources◦ stylistic technicalities (e.g. abbreviations,
footnotes, quotations)◦ and preparing a manuscript for publication in
certain disciplines
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MLA Style is typically reserved for writers and students preparing papers in various humanities disciplines such as:◦ English Studies - Language and Literature◦ Foreign Language and Literatures◦ Literary Criticism◦ Comparative Literature◦ Cultural Studies
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No More Underlining! ◦ Underlining is no more. MLA now recommends italicizing titles of independently
published works (books, periodicals, films, etc). No More URLs!
◦ While website entries will still include authors, article names, and website names, when available, MLA no longer requires URLs. Writers are, however, encouraged to provide a URL if the citation information does not lead readers to easily find the source.
Continuous Pagination? Who Cares? ◦ You no longer have to worry about whether scholarly publications employ
continuous pagination or not. For all such entries, both volume and issue numbers are required, regardless of pagination.
Publication Medium. ◦ Every entry receives a medium of publication marker. Most entries will be listed as
Print or Web, but other possibilities include Performance, DVD, or TV. Most of these markers will appear at the end of entries; however, markers for Web sources are followed by the date of access.
New Abbreviations. ◦ Many web source entries now require a publisher name, a date of publication,
and/or page numbers. When no publisher name appears on the website, write N.p. for no publisher given. When sites omit a date of publication, write n.d. for no date. For online journals that appear only online (no print version) or on databases that do not provide pagination, write n. pag. for no pagination.
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Where things go and why
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One inch and no margin for error
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Leave an exactly one inch margin:◦ At the top◦ At the bottom◦ On both sides
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The only exceptions to the one inch rule are the page numbers, which are one-half inch from the top of each page.
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Each paragraph is indented one-half inch, which is called First Line Indention
(Don’t quadruple space between paragraphs!)
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Headings (Such As Your Title and “Works Cited”) Are Centered
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Works Cited pages use Hanging Indention.
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Quotes that are longer than four lines are indented one inch
(These are called block quotes)
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Always double space.
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Unless your professor says otherwise, DOUBLE-SPACE EVERYTHING.◦ In previous versions of MLA there were parts, such
as block quotations and the works cited page that had different spacing.
◦ However, under current MLA guidelines, everything needs to be double-spaced.
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Don’t double (double) space between paragraphs.◦ Each new paragraph is signified by indenting the
first word one-half inch (tab key). ◦ Only hit Enter or Return key once between end of
one paragraph and the beginning of the next.
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Where they go and how they look
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Every page needs two things:◦ Your last name◦ The page number
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• Page numbers are flush with the right margin one-half inch from the top.• Your last name (or student ID) goes right before the page number.
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Page numbers (and your last name) go on every page, including the first page and the Works Cited page.
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First page format
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Unless your professor insists on it, do not include a title page.
Instead, on your first page you need to have four elements:◦ Your name◦ Your professor’s name◦ The course◦ The date the
assignment is due
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Your paper needs a title as much as you needed a name on the day you were born
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After the date, double-space and center your title.◦ Do not italicize/underline your title and do not put
quotation marks around your title The only exception to this rule is if your title
mentions the title of another work◦ Don’t put a period at the end of your title
Don’t put a period after any heading!
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Capitalize these words of your title:◦ The first◦ The last◦ All principle words
Do not capitalize these (unless they are the first or last word):◦ Articles◦ Prepositions ◦ Coordinating conjunctions◦ The to in infinitives
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Giving credit where it’s due
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When you reference any outside material (such as a book, article, movie, statue, etc.), provide a citation.
You MUST provide a citation for any information or idea that is not your own.◦ Common knowledge need not be cited.
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A citation can either be a paraphrase of the ideas using your own words or a direct quote from the original text.
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To paraphrase means to restate information from a source in an original way
Also, even though you are paraphrasing and not using direct quotation, you must ALWAYS cite the original author
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Direct quotations retain the meaning and credibility of the original source and capture exact language that supports your point. In many instances, they capture language that is unusual, well crafted, striking, and/or memorable. ◦ Malodorous talks extensively about what he calls
the “easy-letdown-with-severance-pay” (4).
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How do these different verbs contextualize the following quotation:◦ As Wee says, “Ultimately, Scream and its sequels are
primarily films about slasher films” (47). criticizes concludes foreshadows jests hypothesizes minimizes questions reinforces retaliates savors warns
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Commas and periods are always placed inside the quotation mark:◦ Modern poems, like T.S. Eliot’s “The Hollow Men,”
are a pleasure to read. Exception: When using in-text citations,
your comma will go outside the quotation marks and parenthetical:◦ “The Dead,” a short story in James Joyce’s
Dubliners, depicts a man coming to terms with his own mortality: “His soul had approached that regions where dwell the vast hosts of the dead” (176).
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Direct quotations that go over four lines need to be turned into block quotes:◦ Introduce quote by using a colon◦ All of the quote is indented 1”◦ Quotation marks are omitted◦ Block quotes are the only exception where the
parenthetic comes after the period
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AKA Parenthetical Citation
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Citations are:◦ Are in parentheses◦ Immediately after a quotation or paraphrase◦ But before the punctuation
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Inside the parentheses you need two things:1. Author’s last name
If a source doesn’t have a known author, use a abbreviated version of the title.
If you are using several works by the same author, you will need to include an abbreviated title after the author’s name.
2. Page(s) referenced If the author is mentioned in the sentence, only
the page number is in the parenthetic citation.
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Author’s name in the text (6.3)
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Author’s name in reference (6.3)
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Citing a Work Listed by Title (6.4.4)
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Citing Two or More Works by the Same Author (6.4.6)
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Citing Indirect Sources (6.4.7)
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A list of all the sourcesfrom the text
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New page Double-space throughout The title “Works Cited” is centered, one inch
from top Each entry
◦ Flush with left margin Subsequent lines are indented one-half inch, which is
called hanging indention.◦ Alphabetized by author’s last name
Or title if author is unknown (ignoring A, An, or The).
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Author(s). “Title of Part.” Title of Whole. Publisher, date.:
page(s).
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Author(s). “Article Title.” Journal. Volume.Issue (Year):
Page(s). Medium.
Connelly, Deborah S. “To Read or Not To Read:
Understanding Book Censorship.” Community &
Junior College Libraries. 15.2 (2009): 83-90. PDF.
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Author(s). “Article Title.” Newspaper/Magazine Day Month
Year: Page(s). Medium.
Wines, Michael. “China: Censors Bar Mythical Creature.” New
York Times 30 Mar 2009: 8. Print.
Liu, Melinda. “Blog the Record Straight.” Newsweek 9 Oct
2009: 9. Print.
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Author. Title of Book. Place of Publication: Publisher,
Year of Publication. Medium.
Heins, Marjorie. Not in Front of the Children: Indecency,
Censorship, and the Innocence of Youth. Piscataway:
Rutgers University Press, 2007. Print.
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Authors. Title of Book. Place of Publication: Publisher,
Year of Publication. Medium.
Karolides, Nicholas J., Margaret Bald, and Dawn B. Sova.
100 Banned Books: Censorship Histories of World
Literature. New York: Checkmark Books, 1999. Print.
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Authors. Title of Book. Editors. Place of Publication: Publisher,
Year of Publication. Medium.
Feminists Against Censorship. Pornography and Feminism:
The Case Against Censorship. Eds. Gillian Rodgerson
and Elizabeth Wilson. London: Lawrence & Wishart
Ltd., 1991. Print.
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Author. “Title of Chapter/Poem/Short Story/etc.” Title of Book. Editor.
Edition. Place of Publication: Publisher, Year of Publication. Page(s).
Medium.
Rosenblatt, Roger. “We Are Free to Be You, Me, Stupid, and Dead.”
Language Awareness. Eds. Paul Eschholz, Alfred Rosa, and Virginia
Clark. 10th ed. Boston: Bedford/St. Martin’s, 2009. Print.
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“Entry.” Title of Reference Book. Edition. Year. Medium.
“Censorship.” Oxford English Dictionary. 2nd ed. 1989.
Print.
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Author(s). “Page.” Website. Publisher (or N.p.), date of publication (or
n.d.). Medium. Date of access. (<url>.)
“The Right to Sext: Sending Nude Photos of Oneself is a Right.”
ncac.org. Natl. Coalition Against Censorship, 26 Mar. 2009. Web. 15
Apr. 2009. <http://www.ncac.org/
The-Right-to-Sext-Sending-Nude-Photos-of-Oneself-is-a-Right>.
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Author(s). “Article.” Newspaper/Magazine Day Month Year:
Page (or n. pag.). Database. Medium. Date of access.
Rich, Motoko. “Amazon Ranking Errors Ignite a Twitter-
Fed Outrage.” New York Times 14 Apr. 2009: 1. EBSCO.
Web. 15 Apr. 2009.
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Title of Film. Director. (Performances, Producer, Writer,
etc.) Distributer, Year. Medium.
This Film Is Not Yet Rated. Dir. Kirby Dick.
Independent Film Channel, 2006. Film.
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Taking a couple of minutes towrap up all of the loose ends
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Where to get some answers
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MLA◦ UCD Writing Center◦ MLA Handbook for Writers of Research Papers (7th
ed.)◦ The OWL at Purdue
“MLA 2009 Formatting and Style Guide”
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While tempting to use and possibly a time saver, citation machines on the internet (such as Knight Cite and Easy Bib), as well as Microsoft Word, are not great.
Most citation machines make small mistakes when it comes to documentation, and a professor who is a stickler for citations will probably notice the mistakes.
In addition, these are not always updated with the most current information and will offer outdated advice. In the end, citation machines are NOT a time saver because a conscientious writer will have to go back to fix these mistakes.
My advice? Get the basics down so that you don’t have to worry about saving time or if the citation machine is correct.
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Now is the time to ask.Next time, your grade could be at stake.
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Thank you very much.
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