NAME______PER______

USING MODERN LANGUAGE ASSOCIATION (MLA) FORMAT

Plagiarism: the purposeful or accidental use of source material by other writers without giving appropriate credit.

Cite: to quote a passage, book, speech, writer, etc. To refer to or mention as by way of example, proof, or precedent. Webster’s New World Dictionary; Third College Edition 1994

·  The MLA format provides writers with a system for cross-referencing their sources—from their parenthetical references in the paper to the works cited page.

·  This system allows readers to locate the original publication where the information was found.

·  This enables other researchers to use your sources for projects of their own.

·  The MLA system also provides credibility for writers—it provides access to the proof for what the writer is claiming.

·  The MLA system protects writers from accusations of plagiarism—when you cite the original author’s work, you show your reader that you are giving the writer credit.

GENERAL RULES

1.  The works cited page should begin on a separate page from the text of the essay under the label Works Cited with no quotation marks, underlining, etc.

2.  Double space all entries, with no skipped spaces between entries.

3.  Underlining is the same as italics. Use one or the other—not both.

4.  The list should be ALPHABETIZED by the first work in each entry (usually the author’s last name).

5.  The first line of each entry in your list should be flush left. Subsequent lines should be indented one-half inch. This is known as a hanging indent (go to format paragraphs in Word to find it).

6.  List page numbers where the information was found.

7.  Capitalize each word in the titles of articles, books, journals, etc.

8.  After the quote in your paper, place the author’s name and page number in parenthesis, followed by a period: (Twain, 256).

UNDERLINE OR ITALICIZE

titles of….. / Use QUOTATION MARKS
around titles of…..
Books newspapers
Journals films
magazines / Articles in journals, magazines and newspapers
Short stories book chapters

Poems songs

SAMPLE WORKS CITED ENTRIES

A Book

/ Author(s). Title of book. Place of Publication: Publisher, Year of Publication. Page numbers.

Book with one author

/ Henley, Patricia. The Hummingbird House. Denver: MacMurray and Beck, 1999. 21-25.

Two books by the same author

Don’t repeat author’s name, use 3 dashes and a period / Henley, Patricia. The Hummingbird House. Denver: MacMurray and Beck, 1999. 21-25.
---. The New Hummingbird House. Carbondale: Southern Illinois UP, 1993. 401-405.

Book with more than one author

/ Gillespie, Paula, and Neal Lerner. The Allyn and Bacon Guide to Peer Tutoring. Boston: Allyn and Bacon, 2000. 157-158.
(use last name first of first author, then full names for second, third author)

Book with a corporation as author

/ American Allergy Association. Allergies in Children. New York: Somerset, 1998. 12-13.

Book or article with no named author

(use the title as the first part of entry)

/ Encyclopedia of Indiana. New York: Somerset, 1994. 309-312.
“Cigarette Sales Fall 30% as California Tax Rises.” New York Times, 14 Sept. 1999: A17.

Anthology or Collection

/ Peterson, Nancy J., ed. Toni Morrison: Critical and Theoretical Thinking. New York: Doubleday. 2003. 405-406.

Part of a book (an essay in a collection)

/ Author(s). “Title of Article.” Title of Collection. Ed. Editor’s Name(s). Place of Publication: Publisher, Year. Pages.

Essay in a collection Article title

/ Harris, Muriel. “Talk to Me: Engaging Reluctant Writers.” A Tutor’s Guide: Helping Writers One to One. Ed. Ben Rafoley. Portsmounth, NH: Heinemann-Boynton/Cook, 2000. 24-34.

Article from a Reference book

/ “Jamaica.” Encylopedia Britannica. 1999 ed.

Article from a periodical (such as a newspaper or magazine)

/ Author(s). “Title of Article.” Title of Source. Day Month Year: pages.

Magazine or Newspaper article

/ Poniewozik, James. “TV Makes a Too-Close Call.” Time 20 Nov. 2000: 23.
Trembacki, Paul. “Brees Hopes to Win Heisman for Team.” People Magazine 5 Dec. 1999: 29.

A Web site

*you must list the date you accessed the website because they are often updated. / Author(s). Name of Page. Date of Posting/Revision. Name of institution affiliated with the site. Date of Access.
<http://www. Actualinformation.com>
Felluga, Dino. Undergraduate Guide to Literary Theory. 17 Dec. 2000. San Francisco State University. 20 Nov. 2001 <http://omni.sfsu.edu.org/>

Article on a website

/ Author(s). “Article Title.” Name of web site. Date of posting or revision. Instituttion/organization affiliated with site. Date of access.
Poland, Dave. “The Hot Button.” Roughcut. 26 Oct. 1998. Turner News Group. 1 Nov. 1998 <http://www.roughcut.com>.

Article in an online journal or magazine.

/ Author(s). “Title of Article.” Title of Journal Volume. Issue (Year): Pages/paragraphs. Date of access <electronic address.
Wheelis, Mark. “Investigating Disease Outbreaks Under a Protocol and Toxin Weapons Convention.” Emerging Infectious Disease Control. 33 pars. 5 Dec. 2000 <http://www.ded.gov/ncidod/eid/vol6nov/>

E-mail to you.

/ Author. “Title of Message (if any)” Email to the author. Date./
Nayhart, David. “Re: Your essay.” Email to author.

Electronic Database

/ Author. “Title of Article.” Relevant information for the database. <electronic address>.

Article in a reference database on CD-ROM

/ “World War II.” Encarta. CD-ROM. Seattle: Microsoft, 1999.

Pamphlet

/ Office of the Dean of Students. Resources for Success: Learning Disabilities and Attention Deficit Disorders. West Lafayette, IN: Purdue University. 1 Dec. 2000

Advertisement

/ Lufthansa. Advertisement. Time 20 Nov. 2000: 151.

Film

/ The Usual Suspects. Dir. Bryan Singer. Perf. Kevin Spacey, Gabriel Byrne. Polygram, 1995.

For complete information see: http://owl.english.purdue.edu/handouts/research/r_mla.html