MLA Format for Citations

1. MLA Format for Citations Modern Language Association

2. Some “Must-haves” • Name and “title” on cover page • Outline (we’ll get to that) • Name in header – first initial, last name • Page in header (program to happen automatically) • Double spaced, 12 pt. Times New Roman font • In-text citation • Works cited page

3. What does it look like? • In-text citation: • In-text citation refers to the portion of the text you are citing within your paper. Any borrowed text MUST be in “quotation marks” and followed by a set of (parenthesis) that includes the author’s last name and page number. • The only time you can refrain from inserting the author’s name is when you reference him/her beforethe text you are quoting. • EXAMPLES: • As the Great Chief said, when someone has a powerful dream “we must do all we can to make it true” ( Caduto and Bruchac 17). • The Indians believed in the powerful implications that dreams held. As Caduto and Bruchac explained in “Earth on Turtle’s Back”, the Chief insisted his people tear up the tree to realize the vision that his wife had (17).

4. STRUCTURE Each body paragraph will have the same basic structure. • Start by writing down one of your main ideas, in sentence form.If your main idea is "reduces freeway congestion," you might say this:Public transportation reduces freeway congestion. (This is the A in ACE – your “answer”) • Use in-text citation (also called parenthetical notation) to indicate information you pulled from an outside source in support of your idea. In order to do this, you must write the author’s name or the article’s title followed by a page #, if there is one, in a set of parenthesis. The parenthesis come at the END of the entire sentence, not just the “borrowed” part, but before the period. (This is the C in ACE – your citation) Example: Congestion on the highway amounts to far more than irritated drivers and bored passengers. “Every year, traffic congestion caused by millions of Americans commuting to and from work results in 3.7 billion hours of lost productivity, adds up to 92 million work weeks for commuters stuck in gridlock, and costs the nation $63.1 billion in wasted time and fuel” (West).

5. STRUCTURE, cont’d. • UseElaboration to further explain or discuss your focus. (This is the E in ACE – your extension) Supporting Point : Commuters appreciate the cost savings of taking public transportation rather than driving. Elaboration: Less driving time means less maintenance expense, such as oil changes. Of course, less driving time means savings on gasoline as well. In many cases, these savings amount to more than the cost of riding public transportation. • Remember – a “transition” is needed before delving in to the next paragraph or idea. It works well to include a summary sentence for each paragraph as a transition to the next idea.

6. WORKS CITED • When writing your rough draft and inserting your citations/notations, be sure to include a list of the resources you have referenced for information. • This list, when turned in with your final draft, will be dubbed as your WORKS CITED PAGE and be attached as the LAST page of your actual paper. • There is a specific format to how these entries must be written and vary based on style of writing and type of resource. RESOURCES: http://owl.english.purdue.edu/owl/resource/747/07/ The Brief Penguin Handbook* Glencoe Style and Documentation Handbook* Glencoe Research Paper and Report Writing Handbook* *Available in my classroom

7. GUIDE: FOR THIS ESSAY ONLY, YOU WILL USE ONE BOOK WITH SEVERAL TEXTS – THIS IS CALLED AN ANTHOLOGY. Anthologies are cited as such: • Last name, First name. "Title of Essay." Title of Collection. Ed. Editor's Name(s). City of Publication: Publisher, Year. Page range of entry. Medium of Publication. • Columbus, Christopher. “Journal of the First Voyage to America.” Prentice Hall Literature: The American Experience. Upper Saddle River: Pearson Education, Inc., 2003. 62-62. Print. ***SEE RESOURCES FOR MORE SAMPLES