MLA Style of Writing and Format

Springboard 3.4 MLA format

Language and Writer's Craft: Citing Sources

When you quote a source word for word or include information that is not common knowledge, you must cite the source to avoid plagiarism. Several different style guides provide information on how to cite sources, such as the Chicago Manual of Style, the Publication Manual of the APA (American Psychological Association), and the MLA Handbook for Writers of Research Papers. This book uses MLA style; you should be consistent and use only one style in a document.  (CollegeBoard 205)

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).

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

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).