MLA Style Manual

1
MLA Style Manual

• West Aurora High School
• 1201 West New York Street
• Aurora, Illinois 60506
• 630.301.5600

2

• The Basics of Good Form
• MLA Style (word processed papers)
• Everything (outline, paper, Works Cited
  page) is double spaced.
• Use Times New Roman font, 12 point
• One-sided page (paper must be free of printer
  markings)

Click here for Requirements PDF
3

• All margins are 1 top, bottom and sides.

Go to FilePage SetupMargins to change the
default margins of Word (which is 1.25).

• Every page must have a header with the students
  last name and the correct page number.
  Pagination begins with the outline and concludes
  with the last page, the Works Cited.
• Go to ViewHeader and Footer. Type in last name
  and click on page button.

4
Title Page

• Newer editions of MLA do not require a title
  page, but the English Department has kept this
  standard.

Creative title of the paper--10 returns from the
top margin
The Correct Way Star Student Precollege
Writing, Period 1 Mrs. Dirck 29 September
2005 MLA Style Manual
Click here for a Title Page PDF
Students name--14 returns
Class and period held--14 returns
Instructors name--2 returns
The assignment name
Date turned in--2 returns
5
Works Cited Information A Works Cited page is
needed for all the sources that will be cited
within the paper. Gather the needed information
for a Works Cited page as the research is being
conducted. Use a notebook or note cards to keep
the information for an entry to be included on
the Works Cited page. Basic information needed
in three units, each followed by a period and one
space
6
(1) The authors name, last name first.
(2) The title and subtitle, underlined or
italicized (either or not both).
(3) The place of publication, publisher, and the
date.
7
The What Ifs of Works Citations

• What if the source has no author?
• In the basic format, what is the next item?
  The title!
• Is it an article within another source such as a
  book or magazine or newspaper? Then both titles
  are needed, but the Works Cited entry begins with
  the title of the source from which the quotation
  comesthe articles title.
• What if the source has two or three authors?
• The author who is listed first on the book
  cover must be listed first in the entry, last
  name, first name. The other authors follow this
  name, but their names are listed first name last
  name.
• Rosenfeld, John, Joseph Janes, and Martha Smith.

8
The What Ifs - continued

• What if the source has four or more authors?
• Begin with the first author listed on the
  books cover, add a comma, and then the words et
  al.
• Holloway, Susan D., et al.
• What if the book is a volume of work
  distinguished by the editors name?
• Begin with the editors name with his title
  behind it as if he were the author because he put
  the entire work together in this format.
• Benson, James, ed. Monday Night Football.

9
The What Ifs - continued

• What if the paper uses two or more sources by the
  same author?
• Give the name of the author in the first entry
  only thereafter, in place of the name, type
  three hyphens followed by a period and the title.
  (Alphabetize the works of this author.)
• Updike, John. In the Beauty of the Lilies.
• - - -. Toward the End of Time.
• The hyphens stand for the exact same name as the
  previous entry.

10
The What Ifs - continued

• What if a chart needs to be cited?
• Cite a chart or a map in the same way as an
  anonymous book. Add the word Chart or Map
  following the title.
• Serbia. Map. Chicago Rand, 2004
• What if a political cartoon needs to be cited?
• Cite the cartoon as a story with an author.
  Cite the authors name, then title of the
  cartoon, label it as a cartoon, and then the
  publication and date.
• Rall, Ted. Search and Destroy. Cartoon.
• Village Voice New York 23 Jan. 20016

11
Electronic Source Information

• The basic components of electronic sources
• Author
• Title of site
• Names of editors
• Organization name
• Date of publication
• Name of sponsors
• Date of access
• URL in angle brackets (with the hyperlink
  removed)

12
Electronic Source Information URL

• Divide the URL only at a logical place when
  needed to be placed on more than one line of the
  entry. Slash marks are the logical place to
  divide the URL
• Remember that a tilde () in an address
  indicates that it is personal information and may
  not be a reliable source.
• Some browsers translate the URL into symbols.
  To copy the correct URL, right click the mouse
  and select Properties the correct URL will be
  listed.
• Never leave the hyperlink ( hyperlink will be
  underlined or in a different color) on the Work
  Cited page. Highlight the address, right click
  the mouse, and remove the hyperlink.

13
Example of a Works Cited Page from Electronic
Sources
14

• 1. Pg. 33-37 Time Magazine. Article Too
  Little, Too Late. September 20, 2005. author
  John Lawry.
• Beacon News. Government failures. Pg A1
  September 10, 2005. no author
• 3. Bushs Apology. Whitehouse.gov. Posted
  September 21, 2005. It was in the section from
  the Presidents desk Found on September 24,
  2005.

Sample note card of information from three
sources. The correct formation of the Works Cited
page follows on the next several slides.
15
Formatting the Works Cited page Always
construct a Words Cited page before composing the
paper. The parenthetical citation is formed with
the first word of the Works Cited entry and the
page number (Lawry 34). Works Cited entries
are never numbered Entries are listed in
alphabetical order by the last name of the
author, or if the source has no author, then it
is alphabetized by the first word of the
articles title. Each entry must be complete
with all of the information, even if the source
is well known.
16

• Organize the sources by the authors last name.
  If a source has no author, go to the next basic
  component title of source. If it has no
  author, it is more than likely part of a larger
  source (an anthology, encyclopedia, or magazine).
  So, the next item in the basic format is the
  title of the article and then the name of the
  source in which it appears.
• Titles of articles or short stories are
  placed inside quotation marks.
• Titles of books are underlined

17

• After organizing with the authors last name
  or the title of the article, finish the entry
  with the title of the book, the city of
  publication, the publisher, the date of
  publication and the page numbers if the entire
  source is not used.
• Practice the basic format.
• Last name, first name. Title of the book. City of
  publication Publisher, date of publishing.

18
Jones 8
Title of Works
Students last name space page number in header
Works Cited Bush, George W. Apology From the
White House. White House. 15 Sept. 2005.
21 Sept. 2005. Gove
rnment Failures. The Beacon News Aurora
20 Sept. 2005 A1. Lawry, John. Too Little, Too
Late. Time. 20 Sept. 2005 33-37. Each
line is double spaced from each other, and the
entries are not numbered.
Date it was uploaded followed by the date it was
accessed on the web.
URL in brackets
City is in brackets because it is not part of the
name
Actual Works Cited of Student Sample