Writing The Research Paper A Handbook (7th ed) - Ch 9 mla system

99The MLA System of

Documentation

Parenthetical documentation: Author – work (MLA)

• Modern language Association - sponsor of MLA style• An association of over 30,000 American and

international scholars and writers in a hundred countries

• MLA was founded in 1883 as a group advocating the study of literature and modern languages

• Style is widely used by literature and language scholars worldwide


• MLA style requires every source you use be documented twice:• First: in an in-text citation in the body of the work

• Specifies the source

• Second: in an entry in the bibliography at the end of the paper

• Lists complete publication details• Formula Name of author inverted (period) + title of book or work

underlined (period) + city of publication (colon) + publisher + year of publication (period)

• Read text example, pg. 143


• What to document• General knowledge, common sayings and self-evident

opinions do not need to be documented• Specific eye-witness accounts do need to be

documented• Err on the side of caution

• Read/review text example pg.144


• Guidelines for in-text citations (Read text pg. 145)

1. Keep in Brief • parenthetical references should be brief as possible, only

information to clearly identify source

• Don’t need parenthetical citation if your “Works Cited” includes only one work by that particular author

2. Introduce the authority• Introduce paraphrases or quotations by giving the

authority’s name – first name and surname the first time the authority is cited

• Subsequent citations simply use authority’s surname



3. Identify the source• Identify what makes the source important

4. Mention both author and work• If you can do it smoothly, mention both the author and the

work in your introduction

Read text pg. 145



5. Document parenthetically• If you do not mention the authority behind a paraphrase, or

quotation in your text, place the information in parenthesis

6. Material by two or three authors• Mention the names of all the authors

Read text pg. 145-146


• Guidelines for in-text citations

7. Material by more than 3 authors• Use the first name followed by et al. and others (no comma

following the name)

8. Anonymous author• Mention it is anonymous in the text and place in

parenthesis the title of the work from which the piece was taken (or abbreviated it title is very long)

Read text pg. 146



9. No author• Cite the first two or three significant words from the title

10.More than one work by the same author• Use a shortened version of the title in each citation

Read text pg. 146



11.Work in a collection• State the name of the person who wrote the opinion you

are citing

• Place the title of the piece within quotation marks

12.Multivolume works• When referring to a specific passage in a multivolume work, give the

author, volume number, followed by a colon and a space and the page reference

• When referring to entire volume, give name of author, followed by a comma, the then abbreviation vol. followed by volume number




13.Double reference• A quotation within a cited work

14.Short passages of poetry• Set off the passage with quotation marks

• Use slash (space before after slash) to indicate line breaks

• Place proper documentation in parentheses immediately following quotation, inside the period because the reference is part of your basic sentence

• Reference should be to the lines of the poem

Read text pg. 147



15.Use Arabic numerals• Use Arabic numerals for books, parts, volumes, an

chapters of works; for acts, scenes, and lines of plays; and for cantos, stanzas and lines of poetry

16.Vary your introductions• You will find a number of ways to introduce authors and

their works

• Some places will be easier to mention source in your text,

• In others, mentioning author’s name will be more natural


Format for “Works Cited” (MLA)

• MLA calls the bibliography “Works Cited”

• Will list every source you actually used in your paper, in alphabetical order by surname of the first author


• Rules for preparing the “Works Cited” page

1. Use a new page for your “Works Cited” page

2. Alphabetize the surnames of cited author

3. Alphabetize according to the prefix/ preposition

4. Put single-author entries before multiple-author entries

Read text pg. 148



5. Entries by same author(s) in same order are arranged alphabetically by title, excluding A, An, or The• Use a row of three hyphens followed by a period to

replace the name of the repeated author(s)

6. Alphabetize works by authors with the same surname by the first letter of the first name

Read text pg. 149



7. Alphabetize corporate authors - associations, government agencies, intuitions – by the first significant word of the name. Use the full name, not an abbreviation

8. Place a parent body before a subdivision

Read text pg. 149



9. If work is anonymous, move title into the author’s place, and alphabetize it by the first significant word in the title

10.Alphabetize legal references by the first significant word

Read text pg. 149


• General order in references to books• Basic template for an MLA citation (presented earlier)

– Text Pg. 149• Center the “Works Cited” on a new page, with a one-inch

top margin and double spacing throughout

• Put page number in the upper right-hand corner, one half inch from the top

• Begin first entry flush with left margin, and subsequent lines one-half inch or five spaces (known as hanging indent)

See Text, pg. 150 – Figure 9-1


• General order in references to books• Author

• The name of the author comes first, alphabetized by surname, and followed by a period

• If a book has more than one author, invert the name of only the first and follow with a comma

• For more than three authors, use the name of the fist followed by et al.:

• Or, you may list all names as they occur in full

• In some cases, name of the editor, translator, or compiler is cited before the name of the author

See Text, pg. 150


• General order in references to books• Title

• Exactly as it appears on title page, Period follows title, MLA underlines

• Name of editor, compiler or translator

• Edition (Other than first)

• Series name and number

• Volume number

• Publication facts

• Page Numbers

• See Text, pg. 151-152


• General order in references to books• Sample References to Books

• Book by a single author

• Books by two or more authors

• Book by a corporate author

• Books by an anonymous or pseudonymous author

• Work in several volumes or parts

• Work within a collection of pieces, all the same author

• Collections: Anthologies, casebooks, readers

• Double reference – a quotation within a cited work

• See Text, pg. 153-155



• Reference Works

• Work in a Series

• Reprint

• Edition

• Edited Work

• Book published in foreign country

• Introduction, preface, forward, afterword

• translation

• See Text, pg. 155-156



• Book of illustrations

• Foreign Title

• See Text, pg. 156


• General order in references to Periodicals• Author

• Title of the article

• Publication information• Journals, magazines, newspapers

• Pages• See Text, pg. 157-158


• Sample References to Periodicals• Anonymous Author

• Single Author

• More than one author

• Journal with continuous pagination throughout annual volume

• Monthly magazine

• Weekly magazine

• Newspaper

• Editorial

• See Text, pg. 159-160


• Sample References to Periodicals• Letter to the editor

• Critical review

• Published interview

• Published address or lecture

• See Text, pg. 160-161


• References to Electronic Sources

• General order in references to electronic sources

• See Text, pg. 162-163



• Sample references to electronic sources• Abstract online or on CD-ROM

• CD-ROM

• Computer Program

• Corporate Website

• E-Mail

• FTP Source

• Gopher

• Government website

• See Text, pg. 164-165



• Sample references to electronic sources• Electronic mailing list

• Online book

• Online database

• Online dictionary

• Online encyclopedia

• Online magazine article author listed

• Online magazines article, no author listed

• Telnet, usenet, website

• See Text, pg. 165-167


• Sample references to nonprint materials• Address or lecture

• Artwork

• Film, videotape, DVD

• Interview

• Musical composition

• Radio or television program

• Sound recording (CD)

• Performance

• See Text, pg. 167-170


• Sample references to special items• Artwork, published

• Bible and other sacred texts

• Classical works in general

• Dissertation

• Footnote or endnote citation

• Manuscript or typescript

• Pamphlet or brochure

• Personal letter

• See Text, pg. 170-173


• Sample references to special items• Plays

• Poems

• Public Documents

• Quotations used as a source

• Report

• Table, graph, chart, map or other illustrations

• See Text, pg. 173-178


• Content Notes• Consists of explanation, additional information,

reference to other sources, acklnowledgement of special help

• Content Notes: Text pg. 178-180• Explaining a term

• Expanding on an idea

• Referring to another source

• Explaining procedure

• Acknowledging help, consolidating references


• Finished Form of the Paper

•Appearance•Title Page•Abstract•Pagination and headings•Spacing of text•Font•Illustrations, tables and other GraphsSee Text, pg. 181-188


• Finished Form of the Paper

•Use of Numbers •Bibliography (Titled “Works Cited”)•Peer Review Checlist•Submit Paper electronically

See Text, pg. 188-189

Education

Writing The Research Paper A Handbook (7th ed) - Ch 9 mla system