MLA Formatting

English Language Arts

Mr. Wilson - LMAC

(Don’t write this down…)

MLA stands for the Modern Language Association.

It was founded in 1883, and for over one hundred years, the Association has been working towards strengthening the study and teaching of literature.

It is made up of over 30 000 members across 100 different countries.

What is the MLA?

(This either…)

The executive members are elected.

They publish not only books, but articles related to the study of literature and language.

And, or course, they give out awards.

What is the MLA?

APA Format = American Psychological Association

Chicago = History and Law

Their goal is to set STANDARDS.

As a group or a community, we accept these standards and then, over time, they start to become what we EXPECT.

So…What does this have to do with us?

What do I mean by FORMAT?

“Format” refers to how you ORGANIZE and PRESENT your paper(s).

And guess what…There is a whole friggin BOOK about this stuff.

The MLA Standard - Format

Only use standard, white 8.5 x 11-inch paper.

Double-space the text of your paper, and use a legible font (e.g. Times New Roman, Georgia, or Arial).

Font size =12 pt. Margins = 1 inch on all sides. Indent the first line of paragraphs one half-

inch from the left margin (do NOT use the spacebar).

General Guidelines

Create a header with your last name that numbers all pages consecutively in the upper right-hand corner.

Use italics throughout your essay for the titles of longer works (books, short stories, poems and movies, NOT articles!)

Anything you quote must appear on your Works Cited page, on a separate page at the end of your essay.

General Guidelines

NO COVER PAGE. What info do we need?

Your name My name Class name and number Due date Title (you’d be amazed how many students omit this!)

Center your title. Do not underline, italicize, or place your title in quotation marks; write the title in Title Case (standard capitalization), not in all capital letters.

Cover Page?

If you use a quote, it must be followed by an

In-Text Citation.

The full source or reference will appear later, on your Works Cited page.

E.G.: if you quote “big eager girl” (Callaghan 17), then I expect to find the full reference in your Works Cited page

Basic In-Text Citations

Examples:

Wordsworth stated that Romantic poetry was marked by a "spontaneous overflow of powerful feelings" (263).

Romantic poetry is characterized by the "spontaneous overflow of powerful feelings" (Wordsworth 263).

Wordsworth extensively explored the role of emotion in the creative process (263).

In-Text Citations: The Author-Page Style

Different types of Citations?Book = (Author Page Number)

Web = (Author Par. Number)

Poem = (Author Line Number)

What do you do if it is more then one line (poem) or more then one page (prose)?

E.g.: (Wordsworth 263-4)

From our Wordsworth example on the previous slide:

Wordsworth, William. Lyrical Ballads. London: Oxford U.P., 1967. Print.

What do you see?

How would this citation appear in on the Works Cited page?

Last name, First name. Title. City: Publisher, 2000. Print.

Last name, First name. “Article Title.” Webpage. Date updated. Web. Date Viewed.

Full Citations – Templates:

Works Cited

"Blueprint Lays Out Clear Path for Climate Action." Environmental Defense Fund. Environmental Defense Fund, 8 May 2007. Web. 24 May 2009.

Clinton, Bill. Interview by Andrew C. Revkin. “Clinton on Climate Change.” New York Times. New York Times, May 2007. Web. 25 May 2009.

Leroux, Marcel. Global Warming: Myth Or Reality?: The Erring Ways of Climatology. New York: Springer, 2005. Print.

Dean, Cornelia. "Executive on a Mission: Saving the Planet." New York Times. New York Times, 22 May 2007. Web. 25 May 2009.

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.

GlobalWarming.org. Cooler Heads Coalition, 2007. Web. 24 May 2009.

An Inconvenient Truth. Dir. Davis Guggenheim. Perf. Al Gore, Billy West. Paramount, 2006. DVD.

Sample Works Cited page

According to some, dreams express "profound aspects of personality" (Foulkes 184), though others disagree.

According to Foulkes's study, dreams may express "profound aspects of personality" (184).

Is it possible that dreams may express "profound aspects of personality" (Foulkes 184)?

Short Quotations: Examples(less then four lines…)

Indent is 2 inches from the left, 1 ½ on the right, maintain double spacing, no quotation marks, with your citation at the end.

Do not indent the next line of your text – why?

Because you are not starting a new paragraph!

Long Quotations(More then four lines…)

Nelly Dean treats Heathcliff poorly and dehumanizes him throughout her narration:

They entirely refused to have it in bed with them, or even in their room, and I had no more sense, so, I put it on the landing of the stairs, hoping it would be gone on the morrow...Inquiries were made as to how it got there; I was obliged to confess, and in recompense for my cowardice and inhumanity was sent out of the house. (Bronte 78)

Long Quotations: Example

Quotations: Varia If you skip a few words during your

quotation = use an ellipses…

If you change a word, use square brackets = “[Tom] went to the store” (Smith 76).

Slashes indicate line breaks for poems = “Bread of bitterness, / And sinks” (McKay 1-2).

Purdue Owl: Writing Guide – great site that gives you all the info you need about writing in the MLA format.

MLA Citation Wizard – there are lots of these on the internet, use them!

Sample Essay in MLA – want to see an example? Click on the thumbnails to enlarge.

Useful Links:

Questions?

“there are those who have grey hairs – and there are those who

GIVE grey hairs.”