MLA Citations and FormattingMrs. Spengler8th grade Language Arts

What is MLA style and why do students use it?•MLA stands for Modern Language

Association, which is a professional organization for scholars in the humanities. MLA was founded in 1883 and works “to promote teaching in scholarship in languages and literatures”

•Citations document information the writer retrieved from other sources. This section contains details about correctly formatting parenthetical citations.

Use the following basic guidelines to format a parenthetical citation.• Enclose the entire citation within parentheses.• Place any required sentence ending

punctuation after the citation.• For a work with an author, list the last name of the

author first.• For a work without an author, list the first few

words of title first.• For a work without an author published by an

organization, list the name of the organization first.• Include the page or paragraph number of the

section you quoted or paraphrased.

•It is unnecessary to include more detailed information in the parenthetical citation because the reader can check the works cited page for more data about the source.

▫Do not use URL addresses for Internet sources in an Parenthetical Citation

▫Do not include the date of publication in an Parenthetical Citation

Use the following guidelines when formatting the works cited page:• Use a separate page for the works cited list.• Continue page numbering on the works cited page.• Double space the reference page and use a hanging

indent.• Use italics for titles of books and journals.• Place sources in alphabetical order by author’s last name,

or by the title of the work when no author is listed.• When a work is written by an organization, use the name

of the organization as the author.• List each source in the works cited list only once (even if

the source is mentioned several times in the essay).• Include each source that can be retrieved by the reader.• List only the sources that are mentioned in the paper.

Understanding Paraphrase

•A paraphrase restates a point or points made by the original author, and it indicates the meaning of the text without using the words of the author of the source. To create a paraphrase, write a statement using your own words and follow these guidelines to write an effective paraphrase:

1. Write using your own words, but do not include your own ideas.

2. Use a correct citation immediately after the paraphrase or summary.

3. Include a correctly formatted reference citation at the end of the paper.

Using Direct Quotations• A direct quotation contains phrasing that has been

copied word for word from a source. When anything is copied directly from a source, use quotation marks and a citation, which must be placed right after the quoted material.

• Use direct quotations in moderation and only when you cannot as effectively paraphrase the material contained in the quote. Using one or two quotations (fewer than 40 words) per page is a good practice. Keep in mind that the bulk of the essay should contain your own ideas supported by material that can be paraphrased, summarized, or quoted from references.

Tips for using Direct Quotations Correctly•Copy the original wording exactly as it

appears in the text. Do not change any words, including grammatical or spelling errors.

•Use quotation marks both at the beginning and at the end of a direct quotation less than 40 words long.

Incorporating Direct Quotations into Text•After writing the direct quotation, read

the information that comes before and after the quote to see if the quotation flows smoothly into the text. Does it need a transition before or after the quotation? Are the words copied and spelled correctly?

Direct Quotation Example• The following paragraph is a direct quotation about avoiding biased

language:

▫ Both men and women read your writing. Don’t talk about foremen, manpower, or men and girls. Changeforemen to supervisors, manpower to workforce or personnel, and men and girls to men and women. Don’t address your cover letter to gentlemen. Either find out the name of your readers or omit the salutation according to the simplified letter style. In addition, remember that your audience will be diverse. Avoid biased language. (Gerson & Gerson, 2008, p. 537)

Reference

Gerson, S., & Gerson, S. (2008). Technical communication: Process and product (6th ed.). Retrieved from the University of Phoenix eBook Collection database.

Plagiarized Paragraph•The following paragraph plagiarizes the

above quotation:▫Both males and females read what you have

written. Don’t discuss forewomen, manpower, or boys and girls. Change forewomen to managers, manpower to employees, or people, and boys and girls to children. Don’t address correspondence to gentlemen. Locate the reader’s name or delete the greeting. Also, keep in mind that you have varied readers. Beware of using biased wording.

This paragraph is plagiarized because

1. much of the wording is the same as in the original.

2. synonyms have been substituted for some words.

3. no citation is listed for the paraphrased information.

4. the basic structure of the paragraph is the same.

Below, bolded indicates synonyms that were substituted for the original words. Remember, changing only a few words from a source is plagiarism.

Both males and females read what you have written. Don’t discuss forewomen, manpower, or boys and girls. Change forewomen to managers, manpower to employees, or people, and boys and girls to children. Don’t address correspondence to gentlemen. Locate the reader’s name or delete the greeting. Also, keep in mind that you have varied readers. Beware of using biased wording.

Correctly Paraphrased Paragraph

• The following paragraph is correctly paraphrased because the student used the writer's ideas but not the writer's original wording or structure. It is obvious from the paragraph that the student did not refer to the source while writing.

• Writers should consider their audience. Because readers, as a group, are not all male or all female, writers should use words that are not gender specific. For example, instead of using fireman, use firefighter. Before addressing correspondence to a person whose name is unknown, try to locate the name of the person or begin the greeting with a generic word that is appropriate to either gender (Gerson & Gerson, 2008).

This paragraph is paraphrased correctly because1. the points remain essentially the same as

in the original paragraph.2. new wording is used by the writer.3. a citation is included with the

paraphrased material.