Collin College Writing Center

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Collin College Writing Center
MLA Style   Citing Your Research
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What we will discuss today

• How to
• Correctly format your essays
• Create in-text citations for sources
• Develop the Works Cited page

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What does MLA mean?

• Modern Language Association

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• What spacing does MLA require for a paper?

Double space throughout the paper
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How are pages numbered in MLA?

• In the top right on each page (first page
  optional) with the authors last name followed by
  the page number

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How is the header set up for a paper requiring
MLA format?
Students name, instructors name, course title
and number, date
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Sample first page in MLA style

• Dwyer 1
• Barb Dwyer Dr. Chlora Phorm English 1302 30
  March 2009
• Building a Dream Emily and Homer
• What would it be like to be with your
  beloved through eternity? How would it feel to
  have the person with you, no matter how long you
  live? In William Faulkners A Rose for Emily,
  the protagonist, Emily Grierson could probably
  tell you several ways to explore the answers to
  those questions. . . .

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What is a parenthetical citation?

• An acknowledgement of the original source and a
  reference to that source on the Works Cited page

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Where should you place a parenthetical citation?
Immediately after the quote or paraphrase
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Sample parenthetical citations

• 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).
• Source Purdue Owl

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Sample parenthetical citations (Cont.)

• If the work you are making reference to has no
  author, use an abbreviated version of the work's
  title. For non-print sources, such as films, TV
  series, pictures, or other media, or electronic
  sources, include the name that begins the entry
  in the Works Cited page.
• An anonymous Wordsworth critic once argued that
  his poems were too emotional ("Wordsworth Is A
  Loser" 100).

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Where should the MLA Works Cited page be placed?

• At the end of the essay on a new, separate page

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How should the MLA Works Cited page be
organized?

• Alphabetically, by authors last name Axle, T.
• Brown, M.
• Smith, J.
• (or by title if no author is known)

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On the Works Cited page, what do three hyphens
indicate?
A work by the same author as the one listed in
the entry above King, Stephen. Black House. New
York Random, 2001. ---. From a Buick 8 A
Novel. New York Simon Schuster, 2002.
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Sample Works Cited page

• Dwyer11
• Works Cited
• "Beginner Tip Presenting Your Page with Style."
  Webmaster Tips Newsletter. July 2000.
  NetMechanic. 13 Sept. 2006 lthttp//www.netmechani
  c.com/news/vol3/beginner_no7.htmgt.Collins,
  Ronald K.L., and David M. Skover. The Trials of
  Lenny Bruce The Fall and Rise of an American
  Icon. Naperville, IL Sourcebooks, 2002.
• E-Money Slips Quietly into Oblivion." Nikkei
  Weekly Tokyo 22 Jan. 2001 4.Gordin, Michael
  D. "The Science of Vodka." Letter. New Yorker 13
  Jan. 2003 7."Ho Chi Minh."  Encyclopaedia
  Britannica. 2004. Britannica.com. 15 Sept. 2004
  lthttp//www.britannica.comgt.
• King, Stephen. Black House. New York Random,
  2001.
• ---. From a Buick 8 A Novel. New York Simon
  Schuster, 2002.
• Law and Order. Prod. Wolf Film in assoc. with
  Universal Television. NBC Television       
  Network. WHEC, Rochester, NY. 13 Mar.
  2003.Longin, Hellmut. Telephone interview. 11
  Jan. 2006.

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Where can you find help online?

• Use the following source Web site
• http//owl.english.purdue.edu/handouts/research/r_
  mla.html