MLA Citation Style

The Basics of MLA Style

A guide to student papers

Three areas of concern:

Part I: Formatting your paper Part II: The reference list Part III: Parenthetical, or in-text

citation

Part I:Formatting your paper

Use 8½ X 11 inch paper 12 point, New Times Roman, or similar

font 1 inch margins Double-space your text Use a running header Number pages consecutively, starting

on the first page


A title page is not necessary

Your name

Instructor

Course number

Date

Title of paper


Indent the first line of each paragraph by five spaces (tab button)

Place tables and illustrations as close as possible to their related text

After the body of your paper comes the Works Cited page

Part II:The reference list

Reference sources used in your paper must be listed

In MLA format, this page is labeled “Works Cited”

List sources alphabetically by author’s last name (or title, if author not known)

ExampleWorks Cited

Heinerman, John. Heinerman’s Encyclopedia of Fruits, Vegetables and

Herbs. Paramus, NJ: Prentice Hall, 1988.

Kowalchik, Claire and William H. Hylton. Rodale’s Illustrated

Encyclopedia of Herbs. Emmaus, PA: Rodale Press, 1998.

Wardlaw, Gordon M. and Anne M. Smith. Contemporary Nutrition.

Boston: McGraw Hill, 2006.


MLA is used mostly in the humanities disciplines (history, literature, fine arts)

MLA style emphasizes brevity and clarity

The purpose of a reference list is to: Identify and credit the sources you used Enable the reader to locate your sources


Books

Lastname, Firstname. Title of book. Location: Publisher, Year.

Lipson, Charles. Doing Honest Work in College. Chicago: U of Chicago P, 2004.


Article in a journal

Lastname, Firstname. “Title of Article.” Title of Journal volume (year): pp-pp.

Sacks, Samuel. “Fraud Risk: Are You Prepared?” Journal of Accountancy 198.3 (2004): 57-63.


Article in a MagazineLastname, Firstname. “Title of Article.” Title of

Magazine day month year: pp-pp.

Weintraub, Arlene, and Laura Cohan. “A Thousand-Year Plan for Nuclear Waste.” Business Week 6 May 2002: 94-96.

Paul, Annie Murphy. “Self-Help: Shattering the Myths.” Psychology Today Mar.-Apr. 2001: 60-68.


References to Electronic SourcesBasic entryLastname, Firstname. “Title of Document.” Information

about print publication. Information about electronic publication. Access information.

Belli, Brita. “Nuking Food: Contamination Fears and Market Possibilities Spur an Irradiation Revival.” E Magazine July-Aug. 2007: 136-142. 8 Sept. 2007 <www.emagazine.com/view/?3790>.


Periodical article from a library subscription database

Paul, Annie Murphy. “Self-Help: Shattering the Myths.” Psychology Today Mar.-Apr. 2001: 60-68. Academic Search Elite. Ebsco. Brown Mackie College, Tucson, AZ. 1 Jan. 2008 <http://search.epnet.com>.


Entire Web site, no authorTitle of Web site. Editor. Electronic publication

info including version #, date of publication or latest update. Name of any sponsoring organization. Date of access <URL>.

Jane Austen Information Page. Ed. Henry Churchyard. 6 Sept. 2000. 15 June 2002 <http://pemberly.com/janeinfo/janeinfo.html>.


Page on a web site, with author.Firstname, Lastname. “Title of Page.” Name of

Web site. Date of publication or latest update. Sponsoring organization. Date of access <URL>.

Stolley, Karl. “MLA Formatting and Style Guide.” The OWL at Purdue.10 May 2006. Purdue University Writing Lab. 12 May 2006 <http://owl.english.purdue.edu/owl/resource/557/01/>.

Part III:Parenthetical, or in-text citation

Within the body of your text, you must cite your sources as you use them.

You must cite any and all data, facts, information, opinions, ideas, tables, charts, graphics, photographs, etc. that you obtained in your research.


References in the text must clearly point to specific sources in the list of works cited.

Identify the location of the borrowed information as specifically as possible.

Readability is important. Keep citations as brief as clarity and accuracy permit.


Author’s name in text

Lipson has argued this point (38-40). Author’s name in reference

This point has already been argued (Lipson 38-40).



Author’s name in textLipson’s first rule of academic honesty is, “When you

say you did the work yourself, you actually did it” (3).

Author’s name in reference“When you say you did the work yourself, you actually

did it,” is a good rule to keep in mind (Lipson 3).


Conclusion

Formatting rules make research papers uniform and easy to read

The ability to verify facts through proper citation of sources is essential to good scholarship

In-text citation and the reference list: Identify and credit the sources you used Enable the reader to locate your sources

Education

MLA Citation Style