MLA format!

MLA Formatting

Modern Language Association

MLA Formatting

Humanities

MLA Formatting is generally used in the following disciplines:

• English-Language and Literature

• Foreign Languages and Literature

• Literary Criticism

• Comparative Literature

• Cultural Studies​

Paper Formatting

• Font: 12 point, Times New Roman

• Spacing: Double

• Margins: 1 inch

• Name and Title: Centered and Title Case

• Heading

  • Your name

  • Instructor's Name

  • Course

  • Date

Paraphrase: Putting someone else's thoughts and ideas into your own words

Direct ​Plagiarism: Using another's work without attribution

In-Text Citation​: Internal documentation of source information

Works Cited: Full alphabetized list of all​ sources cited within your paper

​

​Important Terms

Citing Sources

When do I cite?

Cite any and all outside information that is not considered common knowledge

• Author Page Style: (Smith 78)

• 2 Authors: ​(Johnson and Smith 36)

• 3+ Authors: (Johnson et al.​ 196)

• ​No Author: Title in quotation marks (shorter selections)/italicized for longer pieces

  • ("Reading Comprehension" ​3) or (Philosophy of Education 19)

​As you get older the definition of academic honesty becomes more and more complex:

·       When you are little, you are told that it is wrong to copy someone else’s work on a test.

·        When you get a bit older, you learn that it is wrong to use someone else’s

words and pretend that you wrote them.

·       When you get older, you learn that it is wrong to use someone’s IDEAS without

acknowledging where they came from.

​It is important that you understand exactly what plagiarism is, because it is quite easy to plagiarize by accident.

​As you get older, the consequences of academic dishonesty also get more severe:

• If you get caught copying in elementary school and middle school, you will probably just get a zero on the test and have the teacher tell your parents.

• If you plagiarize on your IGCSE coursework, you will fail the whole course.

• If you plagiarize on your IB Diploma Coursework, you will fail the whole diploma.

• If you plagiarize in university, you will be expelled.

• If you plagiarize as an adult, you could be sued.

​1)   Never copy other people’s tests, classwork, or homework assignments.

• This is dishonest. It is also counter-productive, because the purpose of tests and assignments is to help you to learn. If you don’t do the assignment yourself, you will not learn anything from it.

​What if you haven’t done the homework?

Sometimes students resort to copying when they haven’t done their homework for some reason and they are afraid the teacher will be angry. In fact, although teachers don’t LIKE late work, it is a lot better than plagiarized work. If you haven’t done the assignment, speak to your teacher about it. Make it clear that you are sorry (teachers usually understand about late work, but they don’t like it when students don’t seem to care about the fact that the work is late) and then complete the assignment and hand it as soon as possible. 

Multiple Choice

When you quote a source word for word or include information that is not common knowledge, you must cite the source to avoid plagiarism. Plagiarism probably means...

• getting the wrong information

• use of another person's ideas without giving credit

• copying the work of an expert

• copying a classmate

Multiple Choice

When you quote a source word for word or include information that is not common knowledge, you must cite the source to avoid plagiarism. What do you think they mean by "information that is not common knowledge?"

• information that is not known by most people

• information that is no longer considered to be fact

• information that is considered old fashioned

Multiple Choice

Which of the following bits of information is common knowledge and would NOT need a citation.

• “The archaeological record indicates that for millennia, starting 6,000 years ago, the country boasted 35% forest cover. Slow, gradual deforestation—likely for agriculture—reduced that number to 11% by the 1980s, even as Soviet rule brought huge monoculture plantations (tracts of a single species, usually pines) to the region” (Greenberg).

• “The cuttlefish has one of the largest brain-to-body size ratios of any invertebrate, perhaps even larger than that of the octopus” (PBS).

• “leaves fall off trees when they aren’t doing their job any more” (Nunell).

Explanation Slide...

In-text citations in MLA format are used to provide enough information for the audience to find the citation on the works cited page.

Multiple Choice

Why do we use in-text citations in MLA format?

• To provide a detailed explanation of the source

• To give the audience enough information to find the citation on the works cited page

• To interrupt the reader's flow with detailed source information

• To replace the works cited page

A parenthetical citation gives basic information about the source of a quote immediately after the quote, in the same sentence. The information in the parenthetical citation will correspond to an entry on your works cited page, which will include more complete information about the source, such as publisher and date. (CollegeBoard 205)

To use a parenthetical citation, write the author's last name (and a page number if available) in parentheses at the end of the sentence.

“… became known collectively as Jim Crow” (Edmonds 7).

 If no author is given, use the title or (for a very long title) the first words of the title. 

“… was actually supported by Plessy v. Ferguson” (“The Rise and Fall of Jim Crow”).

 If the author's name is used to introduce the quote, give only the page number in parentheses. Place your citation outside the quotation marks, but inside the closing punctuation of the sentence.

As Rick Edmonds notes, “such diverse things as separate public facilities and laws restricting voting rights became known collectively as Jim Crow” (7).

Multiple Choice

When should you add a parenthetical in-text citation?

• Whenever you quote a source.

• Whenever you paraphrase a source.

• Whenever you use a statistic from a source.

• Whenever you use a fact that isn’t in every source.

• All of the above.

Multiple Choice

What is the correct format for a paranthetical MLA citation?

• (Smith 5).

• .(Smith 5)

• (Smith p. 5).

• (Smith, 5).

Multiple Choice

Select which in-text citation is properly done from the options below:

• "Many of the students who plagiarize do so out of ignorance rather than deliberately" (Smith 10).

• "Many of the students who plagiarize do so out of ignorance rather than deliberately." (Smith 10)

• "Many of the students who plagiarize do so out of ignorance rather than deliberately." (Smith p. 10).

• (Smith 10) "Many of the students who plagiarize do so out of ignorance rather than deliberately."

Multiple Choice

Choose the answer choice that uses correct MLA format.

• Orwell says "It was a bright cold day in April, and the clocks were striking thirteen." (Orwell 1).

• Orwell says"It was a bright cold day in April, and the clocks were striking thirteen" (Orwell 1).

• Orwell says "It was a bright cold day in April, and the clocks were striking thirteen" (1).

• Orwell says "It was a bright cold day in April, and the clocks were striking thirteen" (Orwell, 1).

Multiple Choice

Which of the following is correct?

• Fry argues, "this is the main problem" (Frye).

• Fry argues, "this is the main problem."

• Fry argues, "this is the main problem." (Frye)

Multiple Choice

Which of the following is the proper way to use parenthetical citation?

• "This point has been argued before" (Frye).

• "This point has been argued before." (Frye)

• "This point has been argued before." (Frye).

Multiple Choice

Citations MUST be put in between..

• (Parenthesis)

• "Quotation Marks"

• [Brackets]

• ...ellipses...

Multiple Choice

Direct quotations MUST be put in between..

• (Parenthesis)

• "Quotation Marks"

• [Brackets]

• ...ellipses...

Multiple Choice

What must be included in an in-text citation?

• Author's full name and page number

• Author's last name and page number

• Page number

• Hyperlink to the source

Multiple Choice

What is the correct format for a parenthetical in-text citation from page 24 of The Move to Global War by Keely Rogers and Jo Thomas?

• “Following China’s defeat by the British in the Opium Wars, European powers gained extraordinary economic and legal privileges on Chinese soil” (Rogers, Keely and Thomas, Jo, page 24).

• “Following China’s defeat by the British in the Opium Wars, European powers gained extraordinary economic and legal privileges on Chinese soil” (Rogers, Keely and Thomas, Jo, p. 24).

• “Following China’s defeat by the British in the Opium Wars, European powers gained extraordinary economic and legal privileges on Chinese soil” (Rogers, Keely and Thomas, Jo, 24).

• “Following China’s defeat by the British in the Opium Wars, European powers gained extraordinary economic and legal privileges on Chinese soil” (Rogers and Thomas 24).

• “Following China’s defeat by the British in the Opium Wars, European powers gained extraordinary economic and legal privileges on Chinese soil” (Rogers and Thomas, 24).

Multiple Choice

If you are writing a parenthetical in-text citation for a source that has no page numbers, what should you do?

• Count the paragraphs and use the paragraph number

• Count the lines and use the line numbers.

• Write “n. pag.” Instead of the page number.

• Just leave the page number out.

Match

Match the following

• Paraphrase

• Direct Plagiarism

• In-Text Citation

• Works Cited

Putting someone else's thoughts and ideas into your own words

Using someone's work without proper attribution

Cited information from a source in your work.

Full alphabetized list of all sources cited in-text

• Putting someone else's thoughts and ideas into your own words

• Using someone's work without proper attribution

• Cited information from a source in your work.

• Full alphabetized list of all sources cited in-text