THE MLA Format

1
THE MLA Format

• A presentation for
• Student Support Services participants
• Troy University
• Troy, AL 36082

Yahoo image
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OBJECTIVES

• Help prepare participants for English and World
  Literature writing assignments.
• Teach participants correct application of the
  Modern Language Association (MLA) format.
• Help students avoid research plagiarism.

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NEW MLA GUIDELINES

• IMPORTANT NOTE The MLA guidelines have
  changed. Please see the online writing lab at
  Purdue for these updates. Some of the
  information in this PPT is outdated.
• For help in generating various types of works
  cited entries, check out http//mcculloughmg.wor
  dpress.com/2009/09/17/mla-citiation-generator/

4
How to Avoid Plagiarism Charges

• Identify direct quotes.
• Cite your sources of direct quotes
• Give credit to a source that expresses uncommon
  knowledge.
• Cite idea sources, (show intellectual integrity),
  even if you paraphrase what you have
  read/researched.

Source Research Documentation. 7 Apr. 2009
lthttp//troy.troy.edu/writingcenter/handoutsgt
5
What is the MLA style?

• The Modern Language Association (MLA) Style is
  widely used for identifying research sources.
• With MLA style, you briefly credit sources with
  parenthetical citations in the text of your
  paper, and give the complete description of each
  source in your Works Cited list.
• The Works Cited list, or Bibliography, is a list
  of all the sources used in your paper, arranged
  alphabetically by author's last name, or when
  there is no author, by the first word of the
  title (except A, An or The). 5.1-5.5
• Source cited verbatim
• MLA Citation Examples. Honolulu Community
  College Library. 20 Sept. 2004. 07 Apr 2009
  lthttp//honolulu.hawaii.edu/library/mlahcc.htmlgt.

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Cite All Sources

• interviews identify type of interview
  (personal, phone, e-mail, broadcast)
• online sites give the URL address
• chat room conversations
• radio or television programs.
• personal letters.
• speeches.
• books.
• journals (volume and issue)
• magazines (volume and issue)
• newspapers
• tape, video, or CD recordings
• electronic databases
• Learn to format Works Cited entries
• (later in presentation) for different types of
  sources.

Source Research Documentation. 7 Apr. 2009
lthttp//troy.troy.edu/writingcenter/handoutsgt.
7
Cite All Sources of Evidence

• Quotations (direct or paraphrased)
• Statistics/numerical or quantitative data
• Graphs/visual rhetoric/charts
• Pictures/ illustrations
• Ideas or hypotheses
• Stories
• Lists
• Videos

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Basic MLA Page Format . . .

• Usually requires no title page.
• First page has at left margin . . .
• the paper authors full name instructors
  name course number and the date in military
  form.
• The title of the paper is centered on the
  first page.
• The paper has a running header flush at the
  right margin, which includes the paper authors
  last name and the page number inserted.
• The last page is the Works Cited page.

Source Research Documentation. 7 Apr. 2009
lthttp//troy.troy.edu/writingcenter/handoutsgt.
9
Basic MLA Page Format (cont)

• Paper size -- 8.5 inches x 11 inches.
• Page margins -- (1) inch on all sides.
• Text -- double-spaced.
• Parenthetical citation follows any direct
  quotation and looks like this (Jones 55) --
  Authors last name and page number.
• Paragraph -- indent five (5) spaces from left
  margin.
• Block quotes -- indent five (5) to ten (10)
  spaces from left margin.

Source Gibaldi, Joseph and Walter Achtert. MLA
Handbook. 3rd ed. New York The Modern Language
Association, 1988.
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MLA Sample (Page 1)

• John Doe
• Dr. Smith
• English 1120
• 15 May 2006
• Kate Chopins Antagonized
• Protagonists in The Story of an Hour
• In one of her best known short stories, Kate
  Chopin
• presents Louise Mallard, a woman who feels both
  blessed and
• . . .

Use one-inch margins. Double space text. Do not
put a header on page 1. Do not include a title
page.
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MLA Sample (after page 1)
Doe 1 After hearing of the news that
her husband is dead, Louise begins to behave
in an unexpected manner. She begins to rejoice
at a time when others in similar circumstances
might begin to grieve. She declares her self
to be free, (Chopin, 2) which to readers that
Louise previously felt . . .
Use one-inch margins. Include a header flush
with right margin. Double space text.
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MLA Sample (Works Cited page)
Doe 1 Works Cited Essay.
Websters II Dictionary. 3rd. ed.
2005. Hacker, Diane. A Pocket Style Manual.
4th ed. Boston Bedford/ St. Martins,
2004.
Indent five (5) spaces
Be sure to consult the latest edition of the MLA
Handbook for instructions on citing different
types of sources.
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DIRECT QUOTES
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Presenting Direct Quotes

• What is a Direct Quote? Words, phrases or
  sentences copied exactly (verbatim) from a
  primary or secondary source and used as evidence
  or support for a position.
• A direct quote can be in the form of prose or
  poetic verse.

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Presenting Quotes (cont)

• Quotations are effective in research papers when
  used selectively.
• Quote only vital parts. Refrain from overuse of
  quoted material.
• If you directly quote information, give credit to
  the source of the quote.

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Directly Quoting Short Quotes

• Prose quotations four lines or fewer requires no
  special emphasis other than quotation marks and
  thereafter, cite the source of the quote in
  parenthesis (Money 1).
• Incorporate quotes four lines or fewer into the
  text of your paper / essay.
• Do not present an Isolated Quote (one without
  proper transitioning).

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Directly Quoting Longer Quotes

• Prose quotations longer than four lines should
  be set off from your text as a Blocked Quote.
• See next slide for example.

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Block Quotes Sample in MS Word

• LEARN HOW
• Click on picture to the left.
• Right click to Open hyperlink.
• Click on SHOW ME at http//www.iusb.edu/sbwrite/
  blockformat.shtml

Formatting a Block Quote in Microsoft Word.
Indiana University SouthBend. 07 Apr. 2009
lthttp//www.iusb.edu/sbwrite/blockformat.shtml
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Reminder No Dumping Allowed

• Dumped quotation SAMPLE
• Many people believe that the residents of
  homeless shelters are just lazy and unmotivated,
  but such a view is much too simplistic. Most
  people who end up in homeless shelters are
  suffering from schizophrenia, clinical
  depression, or post traumatic stress syndrome
  (196).

TRANSITION TRANSITION TRANSITION
Morgan Davis reports that Most . . .
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Works Cited Entries

• Two or More Works by the Same Authors 5.6.3
• When citing two or more sources by the same
  author, give the name in the first entry only.
• For the next entries, type three hyphens, add a
  period, and skip a space (---. ) then give the
  title. The three hyphens stand for the name(s) in
  the preceding entry.
• SAMPLE
• Scott, Susan. Exploring Hanauma Bay. Honolulu U
  of
• Hawaii P, 1993.
• ---. Plants and Animals of Hawaii. Honolulu Bess
  Press, 1991.
• Source MLA Citation Examples. Honolul
  Community College Library. 07 Apr. 2009
  lthttp//honolulu.hawaii.edu/legacylib/mlahcc.htmlgt

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Websites

• Author, if available. Title of the Site. Editor
  /(if available). Date and/or Version Number. Name
  of Sponsoring Institution. Date of Access ltURLgt.
• Encyclopedia Mythica. 2004. Web. 13 May 2004.

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Videos

• Title. Director, Producer, and/or Writer. Medium.
  Distributor, Year.

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Interviews

• Name of Person Interviewed. Type of Interview
  (personal, telephone, email, etc.). Date.
• Example
• Clinton, Bill. Interview with Larry King. Larry
  King Live. CNN. 24 June 2004.

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Online Periodicals (e-zines)

• Author. "Title of Article." Title of Publication
  publication date Page(s) or Section(s) Type of
  source (web or print). Date retrieved.
• Example
• Gundy, Jess. "The Complexities of Use of Force."
  Law and Order Dec 2003. Web. 13 May 2004.

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Magazine and Journal (database)

• Author. "Title of Article." Title of Magazine
  Date Page(s). Name of Database. Gale Group
  Databases. Honolulu Community Coll. Lib., HI.
  Date of Access lthttp//infotrac.galegroup.com
  /itweb/hawaii_honolulugt.
• Author. "Title of Article." Title of Journal
  Volume number (Year) Page(s). Name of Database.
  Gale Group Databases. Honolulu Community Coll.
  Lib., HI. Date of Access lthttp//infotrac.galegrou
  p. com/itweb/hawaii_honolulugt.

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Works Cited

• Gibaldi, Joseph and Walter Achtert. MLA
  Handbook. 3rd ed. New York The Modern Language
  Association,
• 1988.
• MLA Citation Examples. Honolul Community
  College Library. 07 Apr. 2009 lthttp//honolulu.ha
  waii.
• edu/legacylib/mlahcc.htmlgt
• Research Documentation. Troy University Writing
  Center. 7 Apr. 2009 http//troy.troy.edu/writing
  center/handouts
• Yahooimages. 02 Apr. 2009 lthttp//images.search.y
  ahoo.com/?