Strategies for Studying,
Learning, and Researching
By David Alderoty © 2014
Chapter 11) Writing & Citing in MLA Styles
1376 Words
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Information and Sources for the
MLA Style
Additional Web-Based Information From Other Authors, on The MLA Style are Link to this Chapter
MLA Style is explained
in detail in the MLA Handbook for
Writers of Research Papers, which is
over 260 pages. I am presenting a very
brief discussion of some of the aspects of the MLA style, in this chapter. To compensate for this short presentation, I am
providing hyperlinks to web-based material from other authors to cover the
subject in detail.
This chapter was written
with the assumption that readers, who wanted to master the MLA style, would use the hyperlinks to
access the additional information, and purchased the book mentioned above.
The blue underlined words
in this chapter are the hyperlinks, to access the websites from other authors,
which contain videos, articles, tutorials, and other useful material.
The hyperlinks that are directly in the body of the text
are to access sources that
were used for this chapter. The links at
the end of sections, and subsections are for additional information,
alternative points of view, or to support or supplement the material in this
text.
If a link fails, use the
blue underlined words as a search phrase, with www.Google.com or www.Bing.com
The MLA style is one of
the most commonly used styles for research papers, in high schools and
colleges. MLA stands for Modern
Language Association (see www.MLA.org). This organization publishes
the MLA Handbook for Writers of Research Papers, which describes the MLA style in detail.
What is the Best Source for the MLA Style?
The MLA Handbook,
which is in its 7th edition (2009) is the best
source. There is an online version of
this book, which is available, without additional charge, if you purchased
the hard copy version (see www.mlahandbook.org).
However, I cannot link the
material in this chapter to the online MLA Handbook,
because it is password-protected. For
this reason, I am using Purdue Online Writing Lab, “MLA
Formatting and Style Guide“ as
the primary source for this section.
MLA
Formatting, Layout and Related Concepts
Page Layout and Formatting for the MLA Style
The formatting
suggested by the MLA style, is nicely illustrated in a sample
paper, accessible from the Purdue “MLA
Formatting and Style Guide“.
This paper is a primary source for this subsection.
All of the text, including
the heading, in the Purdue MLA sample paper, is double-spaced, 12
point, Times New Roman. The page numbers are in the upper margin,
on the right side with the last name
of the student. On the left side of the
paper, there is the first and second
name of the student, which is followed by the professor’s name, and course
title. This is followed by the date
written as day, Month, year. See the following:
The student's name,
Professor’s name,
The name of the course
Date written as day/month/year,
such as:
3 March 2014
Margins, Headings, Title Pages, and MLA
The MLA style requires
1-inch margin on the left, right, top, and bottom. Headings are centered, but they are not
underlined, bolded, or italicized, and they are created with the same font size
and type used in the body of the text. MLA style does not require a title page. However, if you or your instructor wants a
title page, you can create one, using the formatting, margins, and fonts,
described above.
For additional information, see the following webpage
from the Purdue Online Writing Lab:
“MLA
Formatting and Style Guide”
Citation and
Related Concepts in the MLA Style
In-line Citation in the MLA Style
For this subsection, I am using
as a primary source a video by “Purdue OWL: MLA Formatting: List of Works Cited” and the citation section of the
MLA Sample Paper.
With the MLA style, you use parentheses for
citations in the location of your quote, paraphrase, or borrowed idea, with
author’s last name, and page number of the source, such as:
Quote, paraphrase, or borrowed idea
(Author’s last name, Page number)
See
the following example:
“Honestly and integrity is a priceless quality” (Doe, 23)
For detailed information, see the following
webpages from the Purdue Online Writing Lab:
MLA In-Text Citations: The Basics
Alphabetical Reference List of Works Cited
The
authors name is listed at the end of the paper, in an alphabetical
list of works cited. The citations
in the reference section are arranged in a hanging format, in the following
sequence:
Last name,
First name, Name of source in italics, Edition, Publisher, Copyright or publication date, Type of publication, such as Print. Web. Film.
See the following example:
Doe, John, The Book of Truth, second edition, Doe Publishing Company,
2005. Print.
Thus, with this style the reader can look up
each source with the author's last name, in a list of works cited, at the end
of the paper. The hanging paragraph
format makes this a little easier, because the last name of the author
protrudes to the right.
For detailed information about citations in
the reference list, see the following webpages from the Purdue Online Writing
Lab:
MLA Works Cited Page: Basic Format
“MLA Works Cited: Periodicals”
“MLA Works Cited: Electronic Sources (Web
Publications)”
“MLA
Works Cited: Other Common Sources”
The primary sources for this subsection are the Purdue sample paper,
the Purdue webpage with the title of, MLA Formatting Quotations, and a webpage titled, How
and When to use block quotes.
When a quote is four or more lines,
MLA style requires a block quote. Block
quotes consist of a statement that introduces the quote followed by a colon. Then, there is an indent of 1 inch from the
margin, for the actual quote. No
quotation marks are used for block quotes.
My formula for an MLA block quote is as follows:
One
or more statements just before the quote, which indicates that a quote will
follow:
A
quoted statement of four lines or more, for versus three lines or more. Xxxx xxx xxx xxx
xxx xxxxxx xxx xxx xxx xxx
xxx xxx xxx
xxx. Xxxx xxx xxx xxx
xxx xxxxxx xxx xxx xxx xxx
xxx xxx xxx
xxx xxx xxx
xxx. (Author’s last name,
Page number or equivalent, if available)
To clarify the above I am quoting
several sentences from the Purdue webpage, titled “MLA Formatting Quotations” The
first two sentences is my introductory statements, which is followed by the
block quote.
Block quote in the MLA style, do not require quotation marks and
they are indented 1 inch from the left margin.
The Purdue website explains the utility and configuration of block
quotes as follows:
For quotations that are more than four
lines of prose or three lines of verse, place quotations in a free-standing
block of text and omit quotation marks. Start
the quotation on a new line, with the entire quote indented one inch from the
left margin; maintain double-spacing. Only
indent the first line of the quotation by an additional quarter inch if you are
citing multiple paragraphs. Your parenthetical
citation should come after
the closing punctuation mark. When
quoting verse, maintain original line breaks.
(Russell, Purdue OWL, MLA
Formatting Quotations)
See the Following Websites From Other Authors
for Additional Information, and Alternative Perspectives on
Very good “MLA Style Lite for Research Papers by Dr Abel Scribe PhD”
Very good MLA Lite by Dr Abel Scribe PhD
Very good “MLA Style Quick Study” by “Dr Abel Scribe PhD.”
“Library and Learning
Technology Division, .. MLA Style Guide”
Video “MLA Style Using
Microsoft Word ”
Video “MLA Style Essay Format
- Word Tutorial“
Video “Purdue OWL: MLA Formatting - The Basics“
Video “Formatting
a Works Cited list for MLA style in Word 2010”
Video “Purdue OWL: MLA Formatting - The Basics”
Video “MLA Format- First page and Works Cited”
Video “MLA Works Cited Using
Microsoft Word G.
S. Enns”
The following is a video
search engine.
Very good, over 300
videos on MLA style,
presented
on several webpages,
Note, to go from one webpage
to another
with the above search engine,
scroll down to the bottom of the
page,
and click on NEXT >>
To go to the first page of this
chapter left click on these words.
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subsection, it will appear on your computer screen. Note the chapter heading, the yellow
highlighted sections, and the blue subheadings are all active links.
Chapter
11) Writing & Citing in MLA Styles
Information and
Sources for the MLA Style
Additional Web-Based Information
From Other Authors, on The MLA Style are Link to this Chapter
What
is the Best Source for the MLA Style?
MLA Formatting, Layout and Related Concepts
Page
Layout and Formatting for the MLA Style
Margins,
Headings, Title Pages, and MLA
Citation and Related Concepts in the MLA Style
In-line
Citation in the MLA Style
Alphabetical
Reference List of Works Cited
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