MLA FormatMLA
FormatWhat YOU need to know!What YOU need to know!
What IS it?• Modern Language Association
• Format for citing (giving proper credit for) information used in papers that IS NOT YOUR OWN INFORMATION!
• Most commonly used format in the liberal arts, humanities.
• Something you need to know if you don’t want to be accused of plagiarism!
Your Paper...
• Name, teacher, class, and date in the top, left corner.
• Last name, page number at top
right of each page (except the first
page).• Centered title
• Double-spaced
• Size 12-Font
Your Paper...Works Cited
"Blueprint Lays Out Clear Path for Climate Action." Environmental
Defense Fund. Environmental Defense Fund, 8 May
2007. Web.
24 May 2009. www.environmentaldefense.net
Ebert, Roger. "An Inconvenient Truth." Rev. of An Inconvenient
Truth, dir. Davis Guggenheim. Rogerebert.com. Sun-
Times
News Group, 2 June 2006. Web. 24 May 2009.
Mjadrah, Bro! Dir. Mister Palise. Perf. John Doe, Jane Doe.
Dearborn High
Productions, 2010. Film.
Palise, Mister. How to Get an A in 11th Grade English. Dearborn:
Rouge River Press: 2010.
• Centered “Works Cited” title
• Hanging Indent (indent on each line after the
first per entry)
• Double-spaced
• Entries in alphabetical order
• Size 12-Font
• MLA style date
•Last page of document
How does it all fit together? As of December 2000, twenty countries were restricting use of cell phones in moving vehicles (Sundeen 8). In the United States, it is highly unlikely that legislation could be passed on the national level, since traffic safety is considered a state and local issue. To date, only a few counties and towns have passed traffic laws restricting cell phone use. For example, in Suffolk County, New York, it is illegal for drivers to use a handheld phone for anything but an emergency call while on the road (Haughney A8). The first town to restrict use of handheld phones was Brooklyn, Ohio (Layton C9). Brooklyn, the first community in the country to pass a seat belt law, has once again shown its concern for traffic safety.
Works CitedHaughney, Christine. “Taking Phones out of
Drivers’ Hands.” Washington Post 5
Nov. 2000: A8. Print.
Layton, Lyndsey. “Legislators Aiming to
Disconnect Motorists.”
Washington Post 10 Dec. 2000: C1+
Print.
Sundeen, Matt. “Cell Phones and Highway
Safety: 2000 State
Legislative Update.” National
Conference of State Legislatures.
Natl. Conf. of State Legislatures, Dec.
2000. Web. 27 Feb. 2001.
Books with 1 author...
What information do you need?
NAME OF AUTHOR (Last name, First name. Followed by a period)
TITLE OF BOOK (underlined, followed by period)
PLACE OF PUBLICATION (followed by colon)
NAME OF PUBLISHER (followed by comma)
YEAR OF PUBLICATION (most recent, followed by period)
Where to find the info...
Publisher
Works Cited
Bradbury, Ray. Fahrenheit 451. New York:
Del Ray Books, 1991.
Year of Publication
Place of Publication
Books with 2 or 3 Authors...
Works Cited
Mortenson, Greg, and David Oliver Relin. Three Cups
of Tea. New York: Penguin Group, 2006.
What information do you need?
NAMES OF AUTHORS First author: last name, followed by first nameSecond+ authors: first name followed by last name(each author separated by commas)
TITLE OF BOOK (underlined, followed by period)
PLACE OF PUBLICATION (followed by colon)
NAME OF PUBLISHER (followed by comma)
YEAR OF PUBLICATION (most recent, followed by period)
Movies...
What information do you need?
TITLE OF MOVIE (underlined, followed by period)
DIRECTOR (Dir., followed by name, followed by period)
PERFORMERS (Perf., followed by names, separated by commas, followed by period)
PRODUCTION COMPANY NAME(followed by comma)
YEAR OF PRODUCTION(followed by period)
FORMAT (Followed by a period)(Film? DVD? Video? )
The Crucible. Dir. Nicholas Hytner. Perf. Daniel Day-Lewis, Winona Ryder, and Paul Scofield. Twentieth Century Fox, 1996. DVD.
Website...
Works Cited
Jenkins, Henry. “Bearings.” MIT Communications Forum.
19 February 2002. MIT. 16 June 2005
<http:/web.mit.edu/comm-forum/papers/bearings.html>.
What information do you need?
• AUTHOR (followed by period)• TITLE OF SHORT WORK (in quotations, with a period)
• TITLE OF WEBSITE (underlined, followed by
period)• DATE OF PUBLICATION (MLA style date, followed by period)
• SPONSOR OF SITE (followed by period)
• DATE OF ACCESS (MLA style date)
•URL (surrounded by carots, followed by a period)
Citations...When should I cite?
Paraphrasing = NO Plagiarism
YOU SHOULD ALWAYS CITE WHEN USING INFORMATION THAT IS NOT YOUR OWN!
Citation?Quotation
Marks?
My ideas & my words
Someone else’s ideas &
my words
Someone else’s ideas &
someone else’s words
NO NO
YES NO
YES YESCitations connect your
information to your works cited!
How to cite...
With Author:Signal PhraseThe author, Mr. Palise, believes that students who bring him pizza will receive an A in his class (10).
Non-Signal PhraseWhen students bring pizza for the teacher, they’re very likely to receive an A (Palise 10).
Without Author (from website or movie):Students that bring breakfast to their teacher, usually earn an A (Pizza, Bro!).
Without Author, With Signal-PhraseThe movie Pizza, Bro! explains that students who bring pizza to their teacher will earn A’s.
You’ll need...
An Author (or title, when no author exists)
A Page Number (if applicable)
(author page number)(Palise 22)
Practice...
Book Title: A Guide To Being an 11th Grader at DHS
Author: Mister Palise
Publisher: Outer Drive Press
Location: Dearborn
Year: 2010
Palise, Mister. A Guide To Being an
11th Grader at DHS. Dearborn:
Outer Drive Press, 2010.
Practice...
Book Title: How to Convince Your Parents to Buy You a Car
Author: Mister Palise and Missus Podsiad
Publisher: Outer Drive Press
Location: Michigan
Year: 2001 Palise, Mister, and Missus Podsiad.
How to Convince Your Parents to
Buy You a Car. Michigan: Outer
Drive Press, 2001.
Practice...Article Title: Top 10 Things to do Before You Graduate
Title of Website: Class of 2012
Date of Website Creation: January 1, 1994
Sponsor of Site: DHS Student Council
Date of Access: December 9, 2010
Site URL: www.dearborn.org “Top 10 Things to do Before You Graduate.”
Class of 2012. 1 January 1994.
DHS Student Council. 9 December 2010
<http://www.dearborn.org>.
Practice...
Movie Title: The DHS Highlight Reel
Director: Mr. Baughman
Actors: Mister Palise, Missus Podsiad, Mizz Polk
Production Company: Rouge River Productions
Year: 2010
The DHS Highlight Reel. Dir. Mr.
Baughman. Perf. Mister Palise,
Missus Podsiad, and Mizz Polk.
Rouge River Productions, 2010.
Homework...
FINISH PRACTICE EXERCISES
Complete an MLA format works cited page that includes each
of these sources.
Bellwork tomorrow?
QUIZ