The document summarizes the key aspects of MLA style for documenting sources and formatting research papers, including: - Using parenthetical citations to briefly identify sources in the body of the paper and a bibliography listing full publication details. - Requiring every source used be documented in both an in-text citation and bibliography entry. - Providing guidelines for formatting in-text citations for different source types and the general order and structure of bibliographic entries.

1. 99
The MLA System of
Documentation

2. 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

3. Parenthetical documentation:
Author – work (MLA)
• 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

4. Parenthetical documentation:
Author – work (MLA)
• 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

5. Parenthetical documentation:
Author – work (MLA)
• 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
1. 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

6. Parenthetical documentation:
Author – work (MLA)
• Guidelines for in-text citations (Read text pg. 145)
3. Identify the source
• Identify what makes the source important
3. 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

7. Parenthetical documentation:
Author – work (MLA)
• Guidelines for in-text citations (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
5. Material by two or three authors
• Mention the names of all the authors
Read text pg. 145-146

8. Parenthetical documentation:
Author – work (MLA)
• 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)
7. 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. Parenthetical documentation:
Author – work (MLA)
• Guidelines for in-text citations
9. No author
• Cite the first two or three significant words from the title
9. More than one work by the same author
• Use a shortened version of the title in each citation
Read text pg. 146

10. Parenthetical documentation:
Author – work (MLA)
• Guidelines for in-text citations
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
11.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
Read text pg. 146-147

11. Parenthetical documentation:
Author – work (MLA)
• Guidelines for in-text citations
13.Double reference
• A quotation within a cited work
13.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

12. Parenthetical documentation:
Author – work (MLA)
• Guidelines for in-text citations
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
15.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
Read text pg. 147-148

13. 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

14. Format for “Works Cited” (MLA)
• 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

15. Format for “Works Cited” (MLA)
• Rules for preparing the “Works Cited” page
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)
5. Alphabetize works by authors with the same surname
by the first letter of the first name
Read text pg. 149

16. Format for “Works Cited” (MLA)
• Rules for preparing the “Works Cited” page
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

17. Format for “Works Cited” (MLA)
• Rules for preparing the “Works Cited” page
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

18. Format for “Works Cited” (MLA)
• 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

19. Format for “Works Cited” (MLA)
• 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

20. Format for “Works Cited” (MLA)
• 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

21. Format for “Works Cited” (MLA)
• 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

22. Format for “Works Cited” (MLA)
• General order in references to books
• Sample References to Books
• 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

23. Format for “Works Cited” (MLA)
• General order in references to books
• Sample References to Books
• Book of illustrations
• Foreign Title
• See Text, pg. 156

24. Format for “Works Cited” (MLA)
• General order in references to Periodicals
• Author
• Title of the article
• Publication information
• Journals, magazines, newspapers
• Pages
• See Text, pg. 157-158

25. Format for “Works Cited” (MLA)
• 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

26. Format for “Works Cited” (MLA)
• Sample References to Periodicals
• Letter to the editor
• Critical review
• Published interview
• Published address or lecture
• See Text, pg. 160-161

27. Format for “Works Cited” (MLA)
• References to Electronic Sources
• General order in references to electronic
sources
• See Text, pg. 162-163

28. Format for “Works Cited” (MLA)
• References to Electronic Sources
• 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

29. Format for “Works Cited” (MLA)
• References to Electronic Sources
• 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

30. Format for “Works Cited” (MLA)
• 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

31. Format for “Works Cited” (MLA)
• 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

32. Format for “Works Cited” (MLA)
• 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

33. Format for “Works Cited” (MLA)
• 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

34. Format for “Works Cited” (MLA)
• Finished Form of the Paper
•Appearance
•Title Page
•Abstract
•Pagination and headings
•Spacing of text
•Font
•Illustrations, tables and other Graphs
See Text, pg. 181-188

35. Format for “Works Cited” (MLA)
• Finished Form of the Paper
•Use of Numbers
•Bibliography (Titled “Works Cited”)
•Peer Review Checlist
•Submit Paper electronically
See Text, pg. 188-189