MLA Format - Layout, In-text Citations and References
- Michelle Cooper, Demand Media, http://classroom.synonym.com/mla-format-descriptive-essay-1681.html
MLA, or Modern Language Association, is a formatting style most often used in the humanities and liberal arts. When writing an essay that describes something in detail, students will sometimes be asked to follow MLA guidelines. These guidelines, as found in the MLA Handbook for Writers of Research Papers, 7th Edition, offer formatting rules for overall paper presentation, citations and the works cited or reference page.
Overall Essay Format
First Page
Basic In-Text Citation
Follow the author-page style of parenthetical citations:
Works Cited Page
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In text citations- additional advice
An in-text citation is a citation within the body of the paper or essay. It is important to provide in-text citations whenever quoting, summarizing or paraphrasing research in order to avoid plagiarism. In-text citations should directly correspond with the sources listed at the end of a paper in the works cited page- do not use citations that are not listed in the works cited page!
Summarizing and Paraphrasing
When you summarise or paraphrase and author:
Quotations
When quoting research, places the word-for-word section in quotation marks and follows the author-page style of formatting.
Multiple or Unknown Authors
Multiple Works and Names
Sometimes a researcher will use several books or sources by the same author. When citing in-text, an MLA-formatted paper includes the last name of the author, followed by a comma and a shortened title of the work and page number. Shorter works are in quotations and longer works are italicized. For example: "(Jones, "Impact of Gun Control," 11)." If there are two sources with authors with the same last name, the first initial of each author is included within the citation. For example: "(A. Jones 25)."
How to Cite a Website in MLA:
http://content.easybib.com/citation-guides/mla-format/how-to-cite-a-website-mla/
- Michelle Cooper, Demand Media, http://classroom.synonym.com/mla-format-descriptive-essay-1681.html
MLA, or Modern Language Association, is a formatting style most often used in the humanities and liberal arts. When writing an essay that describes something in detail, students will sometimes be asked to follow MLA guidelines. These guidelines, as found in the MLA Handbook for Writers of Research Papers, 7th Edition, offer formatting rules for overall paper presentation, citations and the works cited or reference page.
Overall Essay Format
- Legible 12-point font (Times New Roman, Helvetica or Ariel and all suitable)
- Double-spaced throughout
- Margins are set to 1-inch on all sides
- Each paragraph is indented five spaces. (set your default tab to this)
- Page numbers in the upper right hand corner flush with the right margin and 1/2 inch from the top.
- No separate title page, unless specifically requested in the assignment
First Page
- Your name, your instructor's name, the course name and the date, double-spaced should be in the upper left-hand corner of the first page
- A header should begin on the first page flush with the right margin and one-half inch from the top, that includes your last name, a space, and consecutive Arabic numeral page numbers.
- The title appears on the first page, centered and title-cased.
- The paper begins after a double space following the title.
Basic In-Text Citation
Follow the author-page style of parenthetical citations:
- Source information is included in parentheses after outside information is quoted or paraphrased within the essay. This includes the author's last name and page number. For example: (Smith 4).
- For sources without authors, a shortened version of the title is included.
- Longer works, like books, should be italicized while shorter works, like articles, are in quotation marks. For example: (The Effects of Uniforms 15).
Works Cited Page
- Begin on a separate page, follow the same margins and uses the same headers as the rest of the essay.
- Use the title ‘Works Cited’ and center it.
- Double space all citations, and create a hanging indent by indenting the second and subsequent lines of each citation one-half inch.
- Put citations in alphabetical order by the last name of the author, and include the first name and middle initial of the author, when available. For works with no author, the source is alphabetized by title.
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In text citations- additional advice
An in-text citation is a citation within the body of the paper or essay. It is important to provide in-text citations whenever quoting, summarizing or paraphrasing research in order to avoid plagiarism. In-text citations should directly correspond with the sources listed at the end of a paper in the works cited page- do not use citations that are not listed in the works cited page!
Summarizing and Paraphrasing
When you summarise or paraphrase and author:
- The author can be named within a sentence or in parenthesis at the end of a sentence or section. The citation includes the last name of the author and the page number from the original text. For example: "It was clear to Brown that more research was needed (14)." Another option is: "It was clear that more research was needed (Brown 14)."
Quotations
When quoting research, places the word-for-word section in quotation marks and follows the author-page style of formatting.
- Short quotations are a maximum of four typed lines of prose or three lines of verse. For example: "Williams asked, “Why continue a program that is not working?” (78)."
- Longer quotes -- more than four lines of prose or three lines of verse -- are placed in a freestanding block without quotation marks. Long quotes stand alone from other text and are indented 1 inch from the left margin. A parenthetical citation is included after the closing punctuation the same as you would for a shorter quote.
Multiple or Unknown Authors
- For sources with up to three authors, the in-text citation follows the regular format and lists all three last names, either in-text or in a parenthetical citation. For example: "(Brown, Smith and Carter 25)."
- For three or more authors, an MLA-formatted citation can list all of the authors or name only the first author followed by et al. For example: "(Parker et al. 245)."
- If a source does not have a known author, a shortened title of the work takes the place of the author and a page number is still included. For shorter works, like articles, place the title in quotations. For longer works, like books, italicize the title. For example: "("Impact of Gun Control" 11)."
Multiple Works and Names
Sometimes a researcher will use several books or sources by the same author. When citing in-text, an MLA-formatted paper includes the last name of the author, followed by a comma and a shortened title of the work and page number. Shorter works are in quotations and longer works are italicized. For example: "(Jones, "Impact of Gun Control," 11)." If there are two sources with authors with the same last name, the first initial of each author is included within the citation. For example: "(A. Jones 25)."
How to Cite a Website in MLA:
http://content.easybib.com/citation-guides/mla-format/how-to-cite-a-website-mla/