Amy Gilbert & Suzanne Roybal

Reference & Instruction Librarian

Quotes, formatting, works cited page

MLA Style

MLA Citation Style: What is it?

Method for indicating the source of quotes in articles, research papers, essays.◦MLA (Modern Language Association)

Style is used for Humanities, History, Religion, etc.disciplines.

◦Uses parenthetical references – (Author p.#) in the text.

◦Includes a Works Cited page of sources.

What is a citation?On a Works Cited

Page the important info

about a source…◦ author, title, name of

journal, pages, publisher, date

that allows others to find it.

In the your paper A quote (“citing” a

source)…◦ (Smith 5).

that points to the entry on the Works Cited page...

that allows others to find it.

MLA StyleMLA Publication Manual

◦LB2369 .G53 2009  (7th Ed.)◦2 copies in the Reference area (1st

floor)◦2 copies on Reserve

Style Tips & Electronic References: http://www.mla.org/style

Formatting Basicsfrom MLA Handbook (seventh edition) pages 115 to 122

Use an easily reading font such as Times New Roman Double space the entire paper including the Works Cited

page Use 1” margins at the top, bottom, and sides of the

paper Number pages consecutively in the upper right hand

corner. Do not use p before the page number Type your last name before the page number Do not justify right Indent the first word of each paragraph by ½” or 5

spaces “A research paper does not need a title page. Instead,

beginning one inch from the top of the first page and flush with the left margin, type your name, your instructor’s name, the course number, and the date on separate lines, double-spacing between the lines. Double-space again and center the title. Double-space also between the lines of the title and the first line of the text.“ (MLA 116). See figure next slide.

Sample student title pageMLA Handbook pg. 117

Josephson 1

Laura N. Josephson

Professor Bennett

Humanities 2710

8 May 2008

Ellington’s Adventures in Music and Geography

In studying the influence of Latin American, African, and Asian music on modern American composers, music historians tend to discuss such figures as Aaron Copland, George Gershwin, Henry Cowell, Alan Hovhaness, and John Cage with certain aspects of their style and

Double-space

Indent ½”

The top of the first page of a research paper

Formatting: Tables MLA Handbook pg. 118

“Place tables & illustrations as close as possible to the parts of the text to which they are being explained. A table is usually labeled Table, given an arabic numeral, and titled. Type both label and title flush left on separate lines above the table, and capitalize them as titles (do not use all capital letters). Give the source of the table, designate notes to the table with lowercase letters rather than with numerals. Double-space through-out; use dividing lines as needed“(118).

Formatting: IllustrationsMLA Handbook pg. 118-119

For illustrations such as photographs, maps, line drawings, graphs or charts, these should be labeled Fig. with an assigned arabic number and given a caption. A label and caption appear directly below the illustration and have the same one inch margin as the text of the paper.

“If the caption of a table or illustration provides complete information about the source and the source is not cited in the text, no entry for the source in the works-cited list is necessary.”

from pg. 118-119 of the MLA handbook

In-text Quotes (p. 214)

Direct Quotes: "use quotation marks"

Give author's last name and page number◦Miller wisely warns, “staring directly

into the sun may cause blindness” (5).◦“Staring directly into the sun may

cause blindness” (Miller 5), but there are simple tools which allow a person to observe a solar eclipse.

“The parenthetical reference “(Miller 5)” indicates that the quotation came from page 5 of a work by Miller. Given the author’s last name, your readers can find complete publication information for the source in the alphabetically arranged list of works cited that follows the text of your paper” (MLA Handbook 214).

In-text Quotes (p. 241 & p. 225)

Place work cited (author p. #) just after quote, or incorporate into sentence◦A comparison of reaction times across two

groups revealed differences (Walker 72).◦Walker compared reaction times across two

groups (72).All sentence punctuation is placed after the

reference.More than one author with the same last

name, use the first initial in the parenthetical (D. Walker 72)

More than one work by the same author: include the title, brief version (Walker, On the Moon 72).

Secondhand Quotes (p. 154)

Try to find original!Give the authors of the original work,

"as quoted in" the secondary source.◦ Seidenberg and McClelland's study (as qtd.

in Coltheart, Curtis, Atkins, and Haller 1993)…

In the Works Cited page, include the secondary source only.◦ Coltheart, Michael, Robert Curtis, Paul

Atkins, and Michael Haller. “Models of Reading Aloud: Dual-Route and Parallel-Distributed-Processing Approaches.” Psychological Review 100.1 (1993): 589-608. Print.

More In-text QuotesQuotes longer than 4 lines should be set

off from the text by a ½ " indent, a colon and a new line (p.94): (notice the page number is AFTER the period)

The Library of Congress website gives an interesting history for this

institution. According to James Billington, the Librarian of Congress: The institution serving as the national library of the United States is perhaps more fortunate than its predecessors in other countries. It has the Congress as its godfather...This stroke of good fortune has made it perhaps the most influential of all the national libraries of the world. (2)

Following text should not be indented. Do not end a paragraph with a block quote.

Note the page number in parentheses at the end of the block quote.

If you quote two or more paragraphs, indent the first line of each paragraph an additional quarter inch. (see pg. 94 of MLA Handbook)

Works CitedFor each quote in the text, you

must have a corresponding entry on your Works Cited page.

Only include items you quoted or paraphased in the text on your Works Cited page. ◦Do NOT include items you just read.

W Depression 4

References

Works Cited (2002, Sept. 9). The

Library of Congress, 1800-1892. In Jefferson’s

legacy: A brief history of the Library of

Congress (part 1).Washington D.C.:

Library of Congress. Retrieved February

1, 2004, from

http://www.loc.gov/loc/legacy/loc.html

Works Cited

Works Cited Page CommandmentsFirst line is flush-left, second line

is indented! (hanging indent, ½ inch)

Double-spaced!Alphabetize by author’s last

name!◦If no author, put title in place (Ignore

A, An & The).Do not number or bullet!Be consistent!

References: Italics & CapitalizationTitles of entire books, journals and

websites are in italics.◦Journal of Business Leadership◦The Adventures of Tom Sawyer◦Hawaii Volcano National Park

Titles of articles, chapters, and issue numbers are plain.

Capitalize all major words in the citation

Use quotes for the title of a journal article

Works Cited: FormattingSome publisher’s locations can

be listed without the country or state:◦New York, Paris, London, Boston,

Moscow, San Francisco (see p. 236)Use the official postal

abbreviation for U.S. states (p.236):◦CA, TX, WY

Works CitedBook:Author, Andrew.Title of Book. Location:

Publisher. Date. Print. Journal Article:Author, Andrew and Beau Bradley. “Title of

Article.” Title of Entire Journal vol.iss (date): page-range. Print or Web. if web add date accessed here.

Works Cited: BooksAuthor, A. Title of Book. Place:

Publisher, date. Print.

Beck, Calhoun, and Robert D. Sales. Family Mediation: Facts, Myths, and

Future Prospects. Washington, DC: American Psychological Association, 2005. Web. 23 May 2012.

Works Cited: Chapter in a Book

Wilson, Robert. “William Shakespeare's Theater. “The Greenwood Companion to Shakespeare: A Comprehensive Guide for Students. Ed. J. Rosenblum. 2005: 47-64. Westport, CT: Greenwood Press. Print.

Works Cited: Journal Articles

Journal Article:Author, Albert. “Title of Article. “ Title of

Entire Journal vol.iss (date): page-range. Print.

example:Mellers, Michael. “Choice and the

Relative Pleasure of Consequences in South America.” Psychological Bulletin

126.5 (2005): 910-924. Print.

Works Cited: Journal Articles from Databases

Allen, David. “Record-Keeping and Routine Nursing Practice: A View from the Wards.” Journal of Advanced Nursing 27.6 (2006): 1220-1223. Web. 9 November 2012.

References: Websitesauthordatetitle of pageretrieval statement

Works Cited: WebsitesEnvironmental Protection Agency.

Climate Change. 27 June 2013.

Web. 9 July 2013. <http://www.epa.gov/climatechange/>.

note: “You should include a URL as supplementary information only when the reader probably cannot locate the source without it or when your instructor requires it.” (pg. 182 MLA Handbook).

Works Cited: WebsitesNo author:“Gettysburg, Pennsylvania.” Map. Google

Maps. 2013. Web. 26 June 2013. <https://maps.google.com/maps?ct=reset&tab=ll>

Use the title of the article if no author given. Use n.d. if no date is given.

Thank You!