Overview of MLA Style

1. +
Using
MLA Style
8thth Edition
RHET 1312: Comp II

2. +
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.

3. +
MLA Formatting Basics
■ No separate cover page
■ 1” margins
■ Double space everything
■ One space after periods
■ 12 pt. Times New Roman or Cambria
■ Indent paragraphs .5”
■ Indent block quotes 1” from left margin

4. +
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.

5. + Header
on first
page only
Start page
numbering here
Title is not bold
Do not put an extra
space between
paragraphs
(Page scanned from The Bedford Handbook, 8th ed.)

6. +
Page numbering

7. +
Margin settings

8. +
Open paragraph
settings

9. +
Select “First
line” indent
Indentingparagraphs

10. +
Avoidingspaceafterparagraphs

11. + Continue page
numbering from first
page
Block quotes: Indent 1”,
no quotation marks, and
period comes before
citation
(Page scanned from The Bedford Handbook, 8th ed.)
Block quote when quotations
run over four lines

12. +
Indent 1”
Indentingblockquotes

13. When Should I Cite?
Many students plagiarize
unintentionally. Remember,
whenever you summarize,
paraphrase or quote another
author's material you must
properly credit your source.
If you are using another person’s
idea, you must also cite your
source!
When in doubt,
give
credit to your
source!

14. +
Summary, Paraphrase, Quote
■ A summary (aka ‘abstract’) briefly captures the
main ideas of your source
■ A paraphrase is a restatement of the text of your
source in your own words
■ Quotations can be direct (using quotation marks)
■ A noted scientist states, “A hundred years ago, the
average temperature of the earth was about 13.7°C
(56.5°F); today, it is closer to 14.4°C (57.9°F)” (Silver
11).
In any of these cases, you must credit your source

15. +
Citing Sources in the Text
Paraphrasing: usually the length
of the original
John Robertson explains that sleeping
fish do not close their eyes (136).
Sleeping fish do not close their
eyes (Robertson 136).

16. +
Citing Sources in the Text
Author’s name in text:
■ Attributive tag/ Signal Phrase or Parenthetical
Method
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).

17. + More about using sources…
■ Make a sandwich. A quotation sandwich.
■ Always introduce quotes. Always provide some reflection on
quotes after they are used. Think of making a sandwich.
Because quotations do not speak for themselves, you need to
do that speaking for them by making a ‘quotation sandwich’
[Introduction-quotation-explanation].
■ Never drop a quote and run. We call these “orphan quotes.”
■ Each quote must be properly introduced.
■ First use of source: author’s full name, article or book title
■ Each following use: author’s last name
■ Never use only the author’s first name.
■ Each quote needs proper reflection to follow.
■ What does the quote mean?
■ How is the quote significant to your argument?

18. +
Continue page
numbering
Do not bold!!!
(Page scanned from The Bedford Handbook, 8th ed.)
Hanging indent

19. +
Select
“Hanging
indent”
IndentingWorksCited

20. +
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.

21. +
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.

22. +
Online Resources
■ Citation generators???
■ Owl Purdue: owl.english.purdue.edu
■ www.writingcommons.org