MLA

Page 1

+ Using MLA Style 7th Edition

writingcenter.txstate.edu


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Why MLA? 

There are two main reasons we use MLA citation: 

To have a uniformed convention for documenting research

To avoid plagiarism

MLA is also a complete formatting and style guide.


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MLA Formatting Basics 

No separate cover page

1” margins

Double space everything

One space after periods

12 pt. Times New Roman

Indent paragraphs .5”

Indent block quotes 1” from left margin


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MLA Formatting Basics 

Names of large works are italicized 

books, periodicals, album titles, etc.

Names of works within larger works are placed in quotation marks 

articles, chapters, essays, poems, songs, etc.


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Header on first page only

(Page scanned from The Bedford Handbook, 8th ed.)


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Indenting paragraphs

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Select “First line� indent


Avoiding space after paragraphs

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Cha n defa ge ult to 0 pt.


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Block quote when quotations run over four lines (Page scanned from The Bedford Handbook, 8th ed.)


Indenting block quotes

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Indent 1�


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Citing Sources in the Text Author’s name in text: Robertson states that “fish sleep with their eyes open” (136).

Author’s name in reference: It is true that “fish sleep with their eyes open” (Robertson 136).


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Citing Sources in the Text ď ŽParaphrasing: In his aquatic research, John Robertson explains that sleeping fish do not close their eyes (136). Sleeping fish do not close their eyes (Robertson 136).


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Practice


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Practice


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Practice


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Practice


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Practice


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Practice


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Works Cited: Making the List 

Identify the source

Find a sample of citing this type of source

“Mirror” the sample


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(Page scanned from The Bedford Handbook, 8th ed.)


Indenting Works Cited

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Select “Hanging indent�


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Basics of Works Cited 

Book

Johnson, Roberta. Gender and Nation in the Spanish Modernist Novel. Nashville: Vanderbilt UP, 2003. Print. 

Work in an Anthology

Bordo, Susan. “The Moral Content of Nabokov’s Lolita.” Aesthetic Subjects. Ed. Pamela R. Matthews and David McWhirter. Minneapolis: U of Minnesota P, 2003. 125-52. Print.


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Basics of Works Cited 

Journal 

Web database

Williams, Linda. “Of Kisses and Ellipses: The Long Adolescence of American Movies.” Critical Inquiry 32.2 (2006): 288-340. Project Muse. Web. 8 Feb. 2009. 

In print

Williams, Linda. “Of Kisses and Ellipses: The Long Adolescence of American Movies.” Critical Inquiry 32.2 (2006): 288-340. Print. 

Online journal

Williams, Linda. “Of Kisses and Ellipses: The Long Adolescence of American Movies.” Critical Inquiry 32.2 (2006): 288-340. Web. 8 Feb. 2009.


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Practice: True/False 

The works cited list is organized alphabetically by authors’ last names (or by title for a work with no author).

When a work’s author is unknown, the work is listed under “Anonymous” in the list of works cited.

The list of works cited is titled “Bibliography.”

An entry for a web source in the list of works cited includes the date the source was accessed.

In-text citations and a works cited list is only required if a professor requests it. Adapted from:


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Online Resources 

Citation generators???

The Bedford Handbook

Writing Center website

Owl Purdue: owl.english.purdue.edu

www.worldcat.org

Texas State library databases

MLA style guide


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