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There are 3 main parts to MLA documentation style.
There are 3 main parts to MLA documentation style.
"how your paper is set up"
"your list of sources"
"linking quotes to sources"
NOTE: Teachers may require all 3 parts or some other combination. If you are unsure what a teacher expects, be sure to ask what your teacher means when they request that you use "MLA." For this assignment, your teacher wants you to practice all 3 parts.
Keep in mind that MLA provides guidance for even more details, including use of punctuation, abbreviations, etc. To explore further, refer to the Purdue Online Writing Lab (OWL). Also, check out this help on Navigating OWL.
1) Document Format Help
1) Document Format Help
Ms. Sannwald Recommends
- Set up a blank doc at the beginning of a project using the MLA DOCUMENT FORMATTING CHECKLIST (see below). Add: 1) Page # header, 2) Name header, 3) Title, which you can always change later, 4) Works Cited page. If you prefer, you can double space at the end.
- As you find helpful sources, add them to the Works Cited page using "Works Cited Help" below. If you decide to not use a source later, you can always delete it.
- As you find good quotes, paste them into this doc with parenthetical citations after them. You can fine tune formatting later depending on how you use each quote. And, if you decide to not use a quote later, you can always delete it.
2) Works Cited Help
2) Works Cited Help
Ms. Sannwald Recommends
- Create source citations in your Works Cited as you find sources. It can be difficult, or sometimes impossible, to find sources again later.
- For general websites, use a citation generator like the EasyBib web tool or Google Docs add-on. Keep in mind that these tools are not perfect, and so you may need to refer to OWL to fix generated citations.
- For online databases, use built-in citation tools. For example, see screenshots below for using "Cite" with the EBSCOhost database, which you are advised to use to find a "civilized" source for this paper. As with EasyBib, these citations may need to be fixed slightly once pasted and so you may need to refer to OWL.
3) In-Text Citations Help
3) In-Text Citations Help
Ms. Sannwald Recommends
Recommended In-Text Citation Links:
Recommended In-Text Citation Links:
Q1: What are in-text citations?
A1: In-text citations are included within the main text of your paper. Whenever you use a quote (or specific paraphrased information that is not common knowledge), you should include an in-text citation to connect the quote to its source from your Works Cited page.
Q2: Are these the same as parenthetical citations?
A2: Yes! In-text citations are included between parentheses ( ), which is why they are sometimes called parenthetical citations.
Q3: What do I put in the parentheses?
A3: The most common thing you'll put in parentheses is: (AuthorLastName PageNumber). Example: (Golding 54) - Of course, you may commonly find yourself using web content that does not have page numbers. In this case, just include the author's last name. For other situations - such as when there is no author, when there is more than one author, etc. - see OWL.
Q4: Where do the parentheses go?
A4: "Place the parenthetical citation where there is a pause in the sentence – normally before the end of a sentence or a comma" (EasyBib). Notice the quote that has just been cited. The parentheses start after the closing quotation mark (with 1 space after the closing quotation mark) and close before the period (with NO space before the period).
Q5: What about long quotes?
A5: That is a great question! Learn more about how to format long quotes from OWL.
So, you're familiar with the civilized practice of citing your sources. But... are your sources civilized?
So, you're familiar with the civilized practice of citing your sources. But... are your sources civilized?
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