Honors English 9 - MLA

MLA stands for...

Modern Language Association

MLA is used in...

various humanities disciplines (academic disciplines that study aspects of human society and culture)

The 3 Guiding Principles of MLA

1. Cite simple traits shared by most works

2. There is more than 1 way to cite a source

3. Make your documentation useful to readers

Works Cited order

Author. Title of Source. Container, other contributors, version, number, publisher, publication date, (date of original publication, city of publication,) location. 2nd container, publisher, location. Date of access.

WC - 1 author

Last name, Rest of name.

• Ex. Baron, Naomi S.

WC - 2 authors - Format & Order

• use the same order as is listed in the work!

• Last name, Rest of name, and Full name.

  • Ex. Dorris, Michael, and Louise Edrich.

WC - 3 or more authors - Format & Which Name to Use

• use only the first author listed

• Last name, Rest of name, et al.

  • Ex. Burdick, Anne, et al.

Note on Et al.

is an abbreviation, so must ALWAYS put a period afterward!!!

WC - author pseudonyms

leave exactly as is written (this may not be a good source to use!)

• Ex. @persiankiwi.

• Ex. Stendhal.

WC - Corporate authors

list the group that wrote the work (encyclopedias and government organizations often do this); only use if it is specifically stated, don't assume; if it is the publisher too, skip author and include it in the publisher section

• Ex. United Nations.

WC - Author - DO NOT use...

• titles (Mrs., Dr., etc.)

• academic achievements (Ph.D., etc.)

• religious affiliations (OFM, etc.)

WC - Title of source - italics or quotes?

• large works (books, websites, etc.) in italics

• short works/parts of a whole (periodicals, TV episodes, songs, etc.) in quotation marks

WC - Title of source - capitalization and punctuation

• standard capitalization unless otherwise noted by the author (capitalize everything except coordinating conjunctions, prepositions, articles, and the "to" in infinitives)

• period afterward

WC - Title of Source - Subtitles

Main Title: Subtitle.

WC - 1st Container - What is it?

• for a source that's part of a larger collection (the collection becomes the container)

• chapters, articles, episodes, etc. have containers!

• Ex:

  • "Chapter." Whole Book,

  • "Newpaper Article." Newspaper Title,

  • "Article on a Website." Whole Website Title,

  • "Episode of a TV show." Name of Whole TV series,

  • "Journal Article." Journal Name,

  • "Short Story." Collection Name,

  • "Song Title." Whole Recording's Name,

WC - 1st Container - Format & What NOT to Include

• italicized, comma afterward

• do not include ".com" unless that is part of the title of website (in the logo)

  • Ex. Last, First. "Title." Pretty Little Liars,

WC - Other Contributors

• only include them if they are important to your research or the identification of the work

  • Ex. adapted by First Last,

WC - Version

editions, unabridged versions, Bible versions, etc.

• Ex. Authorized King James Version,

• Ex. 7th Ed.,

  • ^abbreviate to ed.

WC - Number

• include this if the source is part of a multi-volume sequence, multi-volume book, journal, etc.

• abbreviate!! (volume = vol., number = no., issue = iss.)

  • Ex. vol. 128, no. 1,

WC - Publisher - What is it/Where can it be found?

• produces or distributes the material to the public

• is usually found at the bottom of the page next to copyright symbol; may have to click the "About Us" hyperlink

  • Ex. Twentieth Century Fox,

WC - Publisher - What if there is more than 1?

list all, separated by a /

WC - Note on Publisher

Avoid putting the same thing twice!!! If the publisher is the same as the container, write it in the container and omit the publisher.

WC - Publisher - What has one?

• books have a publisher 99.9% of the time (only very old original copies may not)

• personal websites typically don't have a publisher

WC - Where do you look in a book for publisher/publication date info?

the copyright page

WC - Publication Date - Format

Day Mon. Year (ALWAYS abbreviate the month to the first 3 letters)

• Ex. 18 Feb. 2024,

• Ex. 2010,

• Ex. Winter 2009,

WC - Date of original publication

Ex. 1782,

WC - City of publication

Ex. London,

WC - What does DOI stand for?

digital object identifier

WC - Location

• page numbers of article if from journal/magazine

  • Ex. pp. 217-223.

• URL if a website - MUST UNHYPERLINK

• REMEMBER THE PERIOD AFTERWARD, EVEN IF A SECOND CONTAINER OR A DATE OF ACCESS COMES AFTER IT!!!!

WC - 2nd Container

• hosting websites like Netflix, YouTube, Twitter, and blogging services

• same format as first container

• after the second container, add all the other parts of a WC that come after the container. Typically, you just need to add Publisher and Location afterward (they probably should not be the same as the ones for the first container!)

• Location of a 2nd container is typically a URL

Note on Containers

THERE MAY NOT ALWAYS BE A FIRST CONTAINER WHEN THERE IS A SECOND ONE. FOR EXAMPLE, YOUTUBE IS ALWAYS A SECOND CONTAINER, BUT THERE MAY NOT BE A FIRST ONE!!!

WC - Date of Access

• ALWAYS goes last

• period afterward

• ONLY DO THIS FOR WEBSITES (reason - they can change)

  • Ex. Accessed 23 Jul. 2023.

An MLA-Style paper should...

• Be typed on white 8.5" x 11" paper

• double-space everything

• use 12 pt. Times New Roman (or similar) font

• Leave only one space after punctuation

• Set all margins to 1 inch on all sides

• indent the first line of paragraphs one half-inch

• have a header with page numbers located in the upper right-hand corner

• use italics only for titles

• place endnotes on a separate page before the list of works cited

• proper heading

• center the title

What typically are legitimate sources?

• scholarly, peer-reviewed journals

• Google Scholar

• physical books

• scholarly websites

• .edu, .gov, .org, .eu, and .fr are usually legitimate but not always

Legitimate sources - look at the author

• Are they an expert on the topic?

• If there is no author, is it published by a university or a scholarly organization?

• Is there a Works Cited?

• Is it on a legitimate site (not a personal website)?

• Does it look professional (edited)?

Legitimate sources - check for bias

• What is the author's purpose? (to persuade, sell, or promote a political view = probably not legitimate; to inform = probably legitimate)

• Does it seem reasonable?

• Do they explain how they arrived at their statistics?

• Do they present both sides if there is an argument?

• Do they have a legitimate works cited?

Legitimate sources - Is it up to date?

typically, you want a source from the past 10 years if you're doing scientific research, but for some topics (like historical ones & literature), source age doesn't matter

Works Cited FORMAT (not order)

• follow all typical MLA guidelines

• hanging indent (0.5")

• alphabetical order by first word (ignore articles)

WC - same author twice

• use three dashes

• Ex:

  • Swift, Taylor. "Title." etc.

  • ---. "Title." etc.

What to put on a note card

1. Source Number

2. Author

3. Title of Source

4. Type of Note

5. The note (Paraphrase, Quote, Summary, or Idea)

6. Page numbers

7. What the In-Text Citation will look like

8. Research question or outline number

Paraphrase note cards

• THIS SHOULD BE THE MAJORITY OF THE NOTES!!!!

• Only take notes on RELEVANT things!

• read until you find a relevant fact, then don't look at the source, and write what you remember IN YOUR OWN WORDS

Quote note cards

• only use quotes if you can't say them better yourself

• label the card as a quote AND put the quote in quotation marks!!!

Summary note cards

• just need a few bullet points

• gives a brief overview of the source

• 1 per source

• helpful for if you're using lots of sources

• can say things like "mostly off-topic" or "contains interesting statistics"

Idea note cards

• your own personal notes/ideas

• questions

• reminders

VERY VERY VERY IMPORTANT!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

PUT A PERIOD AFTER YOUR PARENTHETICAL CITATIONS ON THE TEST (PAY SPECIAL ATTENTION TO SHORT ANSWER QUESTIONS)!! THE TEACHER WILL MARK IT WRONG IF THERE IS NO PERIOD!!!!

PC - when to cite

• when you use a quote, statistic, idea, opinion, concrete facts/info not considered common knowledge, info taken from the internet, etc. (ANYTHING not from your own brain (ideas and wording))

• if unsure, cite it!

PC - What do you do if there is more than one fact from 1 source in a row IN A SINGLE PARAGRAPH?

put the citation at the end of the last piece of evidence

PC - What should a parenthetical citation do?

direct the reader to the works cited and be unobtrusive

PC - What are the four types of parenthetical citations?

1. (Author #).

2. (Title #).

3. (#).

4. Secondhand quotes

Parenthetical Citations must match...

the first word of the corresponding WC entry. If it doesn't, YOU ARE DOING SOMETHING WRONG!!!!!!!!!

signal phrases in MLA

• they give credit to the source in the body of the paragraph so you can eliminate it in the parenthetical citation

• make the author credible!

  • Example Words: asserts, claims, observes, refutes, notes, etc.

PC - no known author

("Title" #).

• Ex. ("Impact of Global Warming” 6).

PC - can shorten the title to...

until you reach the first noun (which you include) or to the first 3 words

PC - What if there are no page numbers?

• omit them from the citation completely (Ex. Websites don't have page numbers!)

• Note: In this case, if the author is in the lead-in (and it isn’t a special case), you wouldn't need a parenthetical citation at all.

PC - 2 authors

(Last and Last #).

PC - 3+ authors

(Last et al. #).

PC - 2 different authors w/ same last name

use first initial!

• Ex. (R. Miller 12).

PC - married authors (for 1 source)

must give credit to both even if it does not appear on the document itself

• Ex. (Smith and Smith 4).

PC - more than one source by the same author

must include the title

• (Last, "Title" #).

PC - same or similar titles

• continue your citation until you reach a new piece of info (may even need to use the container!)

• Ex:

  • WC: "Marie Antoinette Biography: 1755-1793." Maire Antionette, N.p...

    • PC: ("Marie Antionette Biography: 1755 - 1793.")

  • WC: "Marie Antoinette Biography: Queen (1755-1793)."

    • PC: ("Maire Antoinette Biography: Queen")

PC - an organization is the author

use the name of the organization in place of the author's name

PC - citing a multivolume text

Ex. (1: 14-17).

PC - citing the Bible

(New Jerusalem Bible [<is the title!!!!!], Ezek. 1:15-18).

PC - when using a quote that your source quoted from elsewhere

Ex. (Ratvitch qtd. in Weisman 259).

PC - the same fact is in 2 sources

Ex. (Burke 3; Dewey 21).

PC - the same fact is in 3+ sources

considered common knowledge; no need to cite, but can still use as evidence

PC - non-print sources

Ex:

• WC: Herzog, Werner, dir. Fitzcarraldo. Perf. Klaus Kinski. Filmverlag der Autoren, 1982. Film.

  • PC: (Herzog). <WHATEVER COMES FIRST IN THE WC CITATION

PC - interview, lecture, or speech

include the person's name in the introductory clause w/ no parenthetical citation.

• Ex. Julia Cohen, graduate student in English and a self-professed Goth, states that being Goth is more a state of mind than outlandish dress.

PC - time-based media

Ex. ("Buffy" 00:03:16-17).

Quoting - prose block formatting is for...

5+ lines

Quoting - poetry block formatting is for...

4+ lines

Quoting - poetry (less than 4 lines) example

In "The Thorn," Wordsworth's narrator locates feelings of horror in the landscape: "The little babe was buried there, / Beneath that hill of moss so fair. // I've heard the scarlet moss is red" (stanzas xx-xxi).

Quoting - Odyssey PC

• 1st time - (Homer, book 8, lines 1-3).

• After that - (Homer 8. 1-3).

Quoting - Romeo & Juliet PC

• 1st time - (Shakespeare, act 5, scene 3, lines 23-26).

• After that - (Shakespeare 5. 3. 23-26).

Quoting - Block formatting format (I think for poetry and prose)

• write exactly as in text (no /)

• for poetry, if written in unique formatting, try to reproduce as accurately as possible

• use ........... for a full line if cutting full lines (poetry)

• single spaced

• set "before text" in paragraph options to 0.5"

• tab over about 2/3 of the page for the citation

• no quotation marks or period

Quoting - ways to integrate quotes

1. Introduce w/ a colon

2. "Says," formula

3. "Said that" formula

4. Just integrate right into the grammatical flow of the sentence

Quoting - adding words

use brackets [ ]

Quoting - cutting words

use ellipses ...

List the steps of the Research Process.

1. Find Legitimate Sources

2. Collect all bibliographic info

3. Make Works Cited Page (bibliography)

4. Read and take notes on your sources

5. Outline

6. Organize Notes

7. Write the paper and give credit to the authors