1. If the Paper Is Typed (And It Should Be), No Title Should Be Underlined

For the parents who are proofreading work, please note that in 2009 four major changes were made with MLA documentation.

1.  If the paper is typed (and it should be), no title should be underlined.

2.  Web sources and electronic sources no longer include the URL address -- at all.

3.  The medium of the source must be included within each source. Media that can be used are Print, Web, Television, Lecture, Film, and others.

4.  New abbreviations are added. (n.d. for no date; n.pag. for no page; n.p. for no publisher)

Powerpoint presentation: http://owl.english.purdue.edu/owl/resource/747/15/

Reference for guidelines: http://library.nmu.edu/guides/userguides/style_mla.htm

Bibliography makers:

v  bibme.org

v  easybib.com

v  citationmachine.net

Standard Formatting for Books page 1

v  With Single Author

v  With 2 or 3 Authors

v  With 4 or More Authors

v  With an Editor

Standard Formatting for Articles from Reference Books page 2

v  Familiar Reference Books

o  Encyclopedia

o  Dictionary

v  Less Familiar Reference Book

Standard Formatting for Articles from Periodicals page 3

v  Magazine Articles

o  Weekly Magazines

o  Monthly Magazines

o  Annual Magazines

v  Newspaper Articles

Standard Formatting for Electronic Sources page 4-5

Standard Formatting for Web Sources page 4

Examples of In-Text Citations page 5

Paper Format page 6

Standard Formatting for Books:

Last Name of Author, First Name of Author. Book Title. City of Publication: Publisher, Copyright Year. Medium.

v  Punctuation must be exact. Ensure accuracy as you record your sources.

v  The beginning of each entry begins at the left margin (left-justified). When an entry continues past the right margin and into the next line/lines, use a hanging indentation, as seen in the format above and in the examples that follow.

v  If the title also includes a subtitle, the researcher is to include the subtitle as well. Simply add a colon after the main title and then type in the subtitle. The entire title will be italicized.

v  Use the most recent copyright date.

Example of a Book with a Single Author:

Gayley, Charles Mills. The Classic Myths in English Literature and in Art. Boston: Ginn and Company, 1939. Print.

Example of a Book with 2 or 3 Authors:

Murray, Alexander S., and William H. Klapp. Manual of Mythology. New York: Tudor Publishing, 1946. Print.

Example of a Book with Four or More Authors:

Sloan, Frank A., et al. Multiple Works. Richmond: Macmillan, 2002. Print.

Example of a Book with an Editor, but no author:

Powell, Kevin, ed. Step into a World: A Global Anthology of the New Black Literature. New York: Wiley, 2000. Print.

Example of a Book with an Author and an Editor:

Bishop, Elizabeth. One Art: Letters. Ed. Robert Geroux. New York: Farrar, 1994. Print.

Standard Formatting for Articles from Reference Books

Encyclopedia or Dictionary Article:

Last Name of Author, First Name of Author for That Article. “Article Title.” Encyclopedia Title. Edition Number. Copyright Year. Medium.

Example of an Article with an Author:

v  The name of the author who wrote the encyclopedia’s article will usually be found at the very end of the article.

Posner, Rebecca. “Romance Languages.” The New Encyclopedia Britannica: Macropaedia. 15th ed. 1987. Print.

Example of an Article without an Author:

v  If the author is not listed, begin the documentation with the article’s title.

“Sonata.” The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Literature. 4th ed. 2000. Print.

Less Familiar Reference Book:

v  For articles from less familiar reference sources, include the full publication information.

Last Name of Author of book, First Name of Author. Title of Reference Book. City of Publication: Publisher, Copyright Year. Medium.

Avery, Catherine B., ed. The New Century Classical Handbook. New York: Appleton-Century-Crofts, 1962. Print.

Last Name of Author of Article, First Name of Author of Article. “Article Title.” Title of Reference Book. City of Publication: Publisher, Copyright Year. Page Range of Article. Medium.

Bulfinch, Thomas. “Prometheus and Pandora.” Bulfinch’s Mythology. New York: Thomas Y. Crowell, 1970. 12-19. Print.

Standard Formatting for Articles from Periodicals

Magazine Article:

Last Name of Author of Article, First Name of Author of Article. “Article Title.” Magazine Title Date: Page Number(s). Medium.

v  Notice that a period does not follow the title of the magazine.

v  Also, the date of the magazine depends on the type of magazine that it is.

Example of a Weekly Magazine:

v  When recording the date of a weekly magazine, document the day, the month (abbreviated), and the year -- in that order.

Lord, Lewis. “There’s Something about Mary Todd.” U. S. News and World Report 19 Feb. 2001: 34-37. Print.

Example of a Monthly Magazine:

Kaplan, Robert D. “History Moving North.” Atlantic Monthly Feb. 1997: 21-26. Print.

Example of an Annual Magazine:

v  If page numbers for periodicals are not consecutive, use the first page number and a plus sign --Example: 23+

Gibson, Dianne. “Our Life and Times.” Life 2002: 5-12. Print.

Newspaper Article:

Last Name of Author of Article, First Name of Author of Article. “Article Title.” Newspaper Title Day Mon. Year: SectionPage. Medium.

v  Notice that a period does not follow the title of the newspaper either.

v  As with a magazine entry, all months are abbreviated except May, June, and July.

v  No punctuation and no space separate the section from the page.

Murphy, Sean P. “Decisions on Status of Tribes Draw Fire.” Boston Globe 27 Mar. 2001: A2.

Standard Formatting for Electronic Sources

Last Name of Editor/Author/Compiler, First Name of Editor/Author/Compiler. Title of Site. Version Number. Name of Institution/Organization/Sponsor/Publisher Affiliated with the Site, Copyright Date or Last Updated Date. Medium. Date of Access.

Entire Web Site

With an Author

Peterson, Susan Lynn. The Life of Martin Luther. Susan Lynn Patterson, 2005. Web. 7 Sept. 2010.

With a Corporate (Group) Author

American Library Association. American Library Association. ALA, 2008. Web. 7 Sept. 2010.

With an Unknown Author

Margaret Sanger Papers Project. History Dept., New York University, 18 Oct. 2000. Web. 7 Sept. 2010.

Standard Formatting for a Short Work from a Web Site

Last Name of Author of the Short Work, First Name of Author of the Short Work. “Title of the Short Work.” Title of the Web Site. Version Number. Institution/Sponsor/Publisher of the Site, Last Updated Date. Medium. Date of Access.

Short Work with an Author

Shiva, Vandana. “Bioethics: A Third World Issue.” Native Web. NativeWeb, 24 Feb. 2001. Web. 7 Sep. 2010.

Short Work Without an Author

“Sister Aimee.” American Experience. PBS Online, 2 Apr. 2001. Web. 7 Sept. 2010.

Standard Formatting of a Database Source

Last Name of Author, First Name of Author. “Title of Article.” Journal Title Volume. Issue (Year): Page Numbers. Database Name. Medium. Date of Access.

Heyen, William. “Sunlight.” American Poetry Review 36.2 (2007): 55-56. Expanded Academic ASAP. Web. 7 Sept. 2010.

Examples of In-text Citations

With an Author

His grandfather, Acrisius, has learned through an oracle that his daughter’s son will kill him; thus, after his attempts to keep Danae untouched by man have failed, the ruler “cause[s] the mother and child to be shut up in a chest and set adrift on the sea” (Bulfinch 116).

v  The author’s last name and the page number of where the information can be verified appear in the parentheses.

v  No punctuation separates the author’s name from the page number.

Without an Author

As of 2001, at least three hundred towns and municipalities had considered legislation regulating use of cell phones while driving (“Lawmakers” 2).

v  If the author is unknown, use a short form of the title in parentheses.

v  Titles of books are italicized.

v  Titles of articles are placed in quotation marks.

Block Quotes: When a direct quote is 4 typed lines or longer, use a block quote. Follow the following format:

v  Start the blocked quote on a new line.

v  Do not use the quotation marks around the directly quoted block.

v  Indent the entire quote one inch from the left margin.

v  Maintain the double spacing of the paper.

v  Place the parenthetical citation after the closing punctuation mark.

Adding Words in Quotes: Insert the word/words within brackets [ ].

Omitting Words in Quotes: Use spaced ellipsis marks ( . . . ) to show words have been removed.

Paper Format

Entire Paper:

1.  Type your papers on a computer and print it out on standard, white 8.5 x 11-inch paper.

2.  Double space the text of the paper. This includes block quotes and Works Cited page.

3.  Use Times New Roman or Arial, size 12 font.

4.  Leave one space after periods or other punctuation marks (unless otherwise instructed).

5.  Use 1 inch margins on all four sides of the document.

6.  Paragraphs are to be indented ½-inch from the left margin. Use the Tab key.

7.  In the upper right-hand corner (½-inch from the top and flush with the right margin), create a label that includes your last name, a space, and the page number of the document.

First Page of Paper:

1.  No title page!

2.  In the upper left-hand corner of the first page, list your name, your instructor’s name, the course, and the date. This information is to be double spaced.

3.  Double space and center the title. Do not underline, italicize, or place the entire title in quotation marks. Use the rules for standard capitalization. (No ALL CAPS).

4.  Double space between the title and the first line of text.

Sample Paper with Comments:

http://owl.english.purdue.edu/media/pdf/20090701095636_747.pdf

Final Page of Paper: Works Cited

1.  Maintain the same one-inch margins and the same page number header as the rest of the paper.

2.  Center the two word page title: Works Cited.

3.  Double space all the citations. Do not skip spaces between each entry.

4.  Use a hanging indentation after the first line of each entry.

5.  Be efficient as far as page numbers are concerned. Examples: 213-30, 176-85, 176-203

6.  Remember that

a.  every source must include its medium.

b.  URLs are no longer required for web sources.

c.  correct capitalization is expected.

d.  titles of long works are to be italicized.

e.  entries are listed alphabetically by the first piece of information (excluding a, an, the).

f.  educational degrees and titles for names are not included.

g.  three hyphens replace the name of an author who has written multiple sources used within the paper -- with the exception of the first entry.

h.  when a sole author is also the first author of a group, the solo-author entry comes first.

Sample Works Cited Page: http://owl.english.purdue.edu/owl/resource/747/12/