Writing with Style Writing and Style Manual
Poway Unified School District

What is MLA Format?

MLA style has been adopted by the Poway Unified School District and is based on the MLA Handbook for Writers of Research Papers, published by the Modern Language Association (MLA). The term MLA format generally refers to the method of citing outside sources using the MLA style of parenthetical documentation. This term can also refer to MLA manuscript format, or the set-up of your document (heading, title, and page number placement, etc.).

While not the only way to document sources, MLA style is widely used in colleges and generally simpler than other documentation styles (such as APA or Chicago). Once you have learned MLA style, adapting to another style will be simple.

The term MLA format does not refer the content of your document, nor to the method of organization you choose to employ in presenting your information. Your use of evidence (concrete detail) and your explanations of that evidence (commentary) are not governed by MLA format.

MLA Manuscript Format:

See the sample essay at the end of this section for an example of manuscript format.

· In the MLA style, no separate title page is necessary.

On the first page, type your last name and the page number in the upper right-hand corner, one-half inch from the top of the page. Continue this pagination for every page of your paper, through your bibliography or work cited section.

Type your heading one inch down from the op of the first page, flush with the left margin: Student’s name, teacher’s name, class title and period, date.

Double space and center your paper’s title. (Do not underline you title or write it in quotation marks or italics.)

Double space the entire paper with one-inch margins on all sides. Generally use a clear, easy-to-read, 12-point font appropriate for business (such as Times New Roman).

Documenting Your Sources in MLA Format:

Preparing a research paper, involves building on the work of previous writers and researchers. When you draw on another’s work – whether facts, opinions, ideas, or quotations – you must credit the author of your source. To give the author credit, simply place the necessary information (usually the author’s last name and the page number) in parentheses after the borrowed words or ideas brief citations will then refer to a list of sources at the end of your paper.

Parenthetical Documentation:

Parenthetical documentation is a way of giving the original source of your information with a brief reference, called a citation, placed in parentheses. In order to avoid disrupting the flow of your writing, place the citation where a pause would naturally occur, usually at the end of a sentence, before the period. At the end of your paper, you will provide a works cited list that gives the full bibliography information for each source cited in your paper. See the sample essay at the end of this section for an examples of parenthetical citation.

Most often you will use simply the author’s last name and the page number:

Benjamin Franklin has been described as “a man who spent his life getting ahead without asking where he was going” (Hodgkins 58).

For a source with two authors, use both last names in your citation:

(Steele and Mayhem 567).

If you give the author in the text of your paper, give only the page number in parentheses:

In his Autobiography Benjamin Franklin lists thirteen virtues he practiced to attain “moral perfection” (135-37).

If two works by the same author appear in your list of works cited, add the title or a shortened version of it to distinguish your sources:

According to one story, the Continental Congress was afraid to let Franklin draft the Declaration of Independence because he might slip a joke into it (Mann, Early Americans 347).

If you cite someone’s words second-hand, give the abbreviation qtd. in (“quoted in”) before the indirect source in your reference. Use this form when the author of the quotation you are using is NOT the author of the text you are citing.

Herman Melville, author of Moby Dick, Made a catalog of Franklin’s roles, beginning “printer, postmaster, almanac maker, essayist, chemist, orator. He was everything,” Melville said, “but a poet” (qtd. in Hodgkins 58).

If you cite an anonymous source alphabetized by title on your works cited page, give the title or a shortened version of it:

Franklin has been identified as America’s first millionaire (“Franklin” 678).

If your source has no page numbers, simply cite the author’s last name or, if it has no author, cite the title (or short title):

(Carlos) or (Guidelines).

Bibliography versus Works Cited:

A working bibliography is the list of books, magazines, and other sources you prepare in the beginning of your library research. Usually you list these intended sources on individual index cards, noting all the information you will later need to make your source page. (See the section Bibliography Cards for more information). Also include the call number of each book and the library where you find each source.

A bibliography is a separate alphabetical list of all the sources you consider in preparing a research project. Some teachers may ask for a full bibliography rather than a works cited page, and a few teachers may ask for both a bibliography and a works cited page. (By high school most teachers will require just a works cited listing.) A bibliography appears on a separate page at the end of your paper. See the section MLA Format for Bibliography entries for the format for each source.

The list of works cited gives only the sources you have actually cited in your paper. Unlike a bibliography, it does not include the sources you may have consulted but did not actually refer to in your paper. Type your list of works cited on a separate page at the end of your paper. See the section MLA Format for Bibliography entries for the format for each source.

MLA Format for Bibliography or Works Cited Page:

See the sample essay at the end of this section for an example of a Works Cited page.

· Number each page, continuing the numbering from the last page of the text. Type your last name and the page number in the upper right-hand corner, one-half inch from the top of the page.

Center the title Bibliography or Works Cited one inch down from the top edge of our paper. Double-space after this tile, before the first entry.

Type each entry in alphabetical order by the author’s last name. If the source has no author, alphabetize by the first word of the entry (the title). (Disregard A, An, The.)

Use reverse indentation (also called a “hanging indent”): begin each entry flush with the left margin, but if the entry runs more than one line, indent the successive lines one-half inch (or five spaces).

Double-space the entire page (each entry and between entries).

MLA FORMAT FOR BIBLIOGRAPHY ENTRIES

Book Entries

Author(s). Book Title. Trans., Ed. Name of Translator/Editor. City of Publication: Publisher, date.

Book by One Author

Handy, Charles. The Age of Unreason. Boston: Harvard Business School

Press, 1990.

Book by Two or Three Authors

Lawrence, Jerome, and Robert Lee. Inherit the Wind. Toronto: Bantam

Publishing Co., 1955.

Book by More than Three Authors

Hastings, Marie et al. Biogenetics. Berkeley: Univ. of California Press,

1985.

Book by a Corporate Author

American Diabetes Association. Living with Diabetes. New York:

Random House, 1994.

An Introduction, Preface, Foreword, or Afterword

Epstein, E.L. Afterward. Lord of the Flies. By William Golding. N.p:

Putnam, 1954. 185-90. (N.p. indicates “no place of publication given”)

A Translation

Derrida, Jacques. The Gift of Death. Trans. David Wills. Chicago: Univ. of

Chicago Press, 1995.

A Pamphlet

FDA. Check the Date: Dangers of Expired Prescription Drugs. New York:

FDA, 2001.

Entire Edited Anthology or Collection

Wieder, Jason ed. Letters of the Civil War Era. 2 vols. Athens: Univ. of

Georgia Press, 1993.

Article in a Standard (Familiar) Reference Book

“Jordan, Michael.” Who’s Who in America. 48^th ed. 1995.

Article, Story, or Essay in an Anthology, Collection, or Reference Book

Author(s). “Article, Story, or Essay Title.” Translator’s Name. Title of

Anthology. Name of the Translator, Editor, or Compiler of the anthology. State: Anthology Publisher, date. page numbers of cited piece.

Toelken, Barre. “Life and Death in the Navajo Coyote Tales.” Trans.

Nicholas Black. Recovering the Word: Essays on Native American Literature. Eds. Brian Swann and Arnold Krupat. Berkeley: Univ. of California Press, 1990. 388-401.

Previously Published Scholarly Article in a Collection (TCLC, CLC, etc.)

Author(s). “Article Title.” Title of Original Publication. [Original publication citation (see above for formats)]. Rpt. in Title of Current Publication. Editor’s Name. [Current publication citation (see above for formats)]. pages.

Shield, Tamara. “Feminist View of Jane Austen.” British Authors 24 (1984):

232-38. Rpt. in Twentieth Century Literary Criticism. Ed. Dennis Poupard. Vol. 25. Detroit: Gale Research, 1988. 399-402.

Periodical Entries

Author(s). “Article Title.” Periodical Title. Date: Inclusive pages.

Magazine Article

Martinez, Rachelle P. “What Can Be Done?” Newsweek 21 Mar. 1988: 57-58.

Newspaper Article

Smith, Bernard. “Earthquake Country.” San Diego Union Tribune 9 Sept.

1996, final ed.: A1+.

Scholarly Journal Article

Author(s). “Article Title.” Periodical Title. Volume # (Year): Inclusive pages.

Draner, Marcena. “Electronic Poetry.” Computers and the Humanities 29

(1992): 416-25.

Encyclopedias

Author(s). “Article Title.” Encyclopedia Title, edition.

Horst, Joanna. “Ellison, Ralph.” Encyclopedia Britannica, 1992 ed.

“Hansard.” World Book Encyclopedia, 1995 ed.

ELECTRONIC AND ONLINE RESOURCES

If no author is given, begin with the title of the page or article, and use a shortened form of the title for parenthetical citations. If any other information is missing (for example, date of last update or revision), simply leave it out and go on to the next item of information.

When citing a print source also found on line, you must first give all the citation information for the print source (see previous examples) and then add the online source information.

Personal Website or Homepage:

Author(s). Home page. Date of Posting/Revision. Name of sponsoring institution or organization. Date of Access. <electronic address or URL>.

Hylton, Jeremy. Home page. 13 May 2002. <http://www.python.org/~jeremy/>.

Professional or Corporate Website:

Author(s). Name of Page. Date of Posting/Revision. Name of sponsoring institution or organization. Date of Access. <electronic address or URL>.

Gray, Terry. Mr. William Shakespeare and the Internet. 6 May 2002. Palomar College. 13 May 2002. <http://shakespeare.palomar.edu/default.htm>.

Article or Page on a Website:

Author(s). “Title of Article or Page.” Name of Web Site. Date of last update or revision. Name of sponsoring institution or organization. Date of Access. <electronic address or URL>.

Mabillard, Amanda. "Shakespeare of Stratford." Shakespeare Online. 4 April 2002. 13 May 2002. <http://www.shakespeare-online.com>.

“Ranch-Raised Fur: Captive Cruelty.” PETA Factsheets. People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA). 13 May 2002. <http://www.peta-online.org/ mc/facts/fswild3.html>.

Article in an Online Magazine:

Author(s). “Title of Article or Page.” Name of Magazine or Journal. Date of publication. Date of Access. <electronic address or URL>.

Huang, Greg and Sage Stossel. “Flashbacks: The Public and Private Worlds of Charles Dickens.” The Atlantic Unbound. 26 April 2002. 13 May 2002. <http://www.theatlantic.com/unbound/flashbks/dickens.htm>.

Article in an Online Scholarly Journal:

Author(s). “Title of Article or Page.” Name of Magazine or Journal. Volume#:Issue# (Year of publication). Date of Access. <electronic address or URL>.

Rosenthal, Steven R., et al. “Developing New Smallpox Vaccines.” Emerging Infectious Diseases (EID). 7:6(2001). 13 May 2002. <http://www. cdc.gov/ncidod/EID/ vol7no6/rosenthal.htm>.

Article in an Online Database or Encyclopedia:

Author(s). “Title of Article.” Name of Database. Date of last update or revision. Date of Access. <electronic address or URL>.

Kastan, David Scott. "Shakespeare, William". Microsoft Encarta Online Encyclopedia. 13 May 2002. <http://encarta.msn.com>.

Article previously published in print from an Online Database (such as Gale Group, Infotrac, SIRS)

Magazine or Newspaper Article:

Author(s). “Title of Article.” Name of Magazine or Newspaper. Day Month Year: Page(s).

Hobson, Katherine. “Mind versus Face.” U.S. News & World Report. 1 April 2002: 61. Gale Group Student Resource Center. 23 May 2002. <http://www.galenet.com>.

“Bush Presses For Cloning Ban.” Los Angeles Times. 11 April 2002: A-17. Gale Group Student Resource Center. 23 May 2002. <http://www.galenet. com>.

Scholarly Journal Article:

Author(s). “Title of Article or Page.” Name of Magazine or Journal. Volume#:Issue# (Year of publication). Name of Database. Date of Access. <electronic address or URL>.

Larkin, Marilynn. “St John's Wort not Effective for Major Depression.” The Lancet. 359:9314(2002). Gale Group Resource Center. 23 May 2002. <http://www.galenet.com>.

Online or listserv posting:

Author(s). “Title of Post or Thread.” Online posting. Date of Post. Name of Bulletin Board or Listserv. Date of Access. <electronic address or URL>.

“Father Lawrence – Tragic Hero.” Online posting. 24 April 2002. Sparks Notes. 13 May 2002. <http://sparknotes.com>.

Burke, Louise. “Creative Ideas for Romeo and Juliet.” Listserv post. 11 Feb 2000. NCTE-Talk. 13 May 2002. <http://www.ncte.org/lists/nctetalk/ feb2000/msg01154. html>.

E-mail:

Author. “Subject of E-mail.” E-mail to [name of recipient]. Date of e-mail.

Sullivan, Peter. “Re: Homeless Shelters.” E-mail to the author. 7 April 2002.

E-text:

Author(s). Name of Text. City: Publisher, Year. Name of Web Site. Date of last update or revision. Name of sponsoring institution or organization. Date of Access. <electronic address>.

Shakespeare, William. Romeo and Juliet. The Complete Works of William Shakespeare. Massachusetts Institute of Technology. 13 May 2002. <http://classics.mit.edu/ Shakespeare/romeo_juliet/index.html>.

Poe, E.A. “The Fall of the House of Usher.” The Short-Story: Specimens Illustrating Its Development. Ed. Brander Matthews. New York: American Book Company, 1907. 2000. 13 May 2002. <http://www.bartleby.com/195/10.html>.

CD-ROM:

Author, if given. “Title of article.” Title of CD-ROM. Edition, release, or version. Publication medium (CD-ROM, diskette). City of publication: Publisher’s name, year of publication.

Moulton, Gary E. “Lewis, Meriwether.” Information Finder. 1995. CD-ROM. Chicago: World Book, 1995.

OTHER RESOURCES

Film, radio, or TV program:

“Title of the Episode or Segment.” Narrator. Writer. Producer. Title of the Program or Series. Name of the network. Call letters and city of the local station. Broadcast date.

The First Americans. Narr. Hugh Downs. Writ. and prod. Craig Haffner. NBC News Special. KNSD, San Diego. 6 April 1994.

Audio recording:

Author or performer. “Title of Song.” Title of Recording. Performance group, conductor and soloists (classical recordings).Publisher or Record Label, Year.

Lennon, John and Paul McCartney. “Come Together.” Abbey Road. EMI Records, 1987.

Handel, Georg Friedrich. Suite No. 1 F Major. Water Music Concerto Grosso Op. 3 No. 3. London Festival Orchestra. Cond. Ross Pople. Arte Nova, 1995.

Film or video recording:

Title. Director. Performers. Format (Videocassette, DVD). Studio or Publisher, Year.

Gone with the Wind. Dir. David O. Selznick. Perf. Clark Gable, Vivien Leigh, Leslie Howard, Olivia de Haviland. DVD. MGM, 1939.

Work of art:

Artist. Title of Artwork. Name of Museum, City.

DaVinci, Leonardo. Mona Lisa. The Louvre, Paris.

Interview (conducted by you):

Name of person interviewed. Type of interview (Personal Interview, Telephone Interview). Day Month Year.

Gates, Bill. Telephone Interview. 4 Dec. 1999.

Lecture or speech:

Speaker’s name. “Title of Speech” (or use a label such as Lecture, Address, or Speech). Occasion name or Conference Title. Location, City. Day Month Year.

Sanchez, Jill. “The Jazz Age.” Class lecture. Rancho Bernardo High School, San Diego. 19 Nov. 1996.

updated 01/07/03 D.Hogan