Writing with Style Writing and Style Manual Poway Unified School District

Writing with Style Writing and Style Manual
Poway Unified School District

MLA CITATION FORMAT

What is MLA format? | MLA manuscript format | Documenting sources in MLA format | Parenthetical Documentation | MLA format for bibliography or works cited page

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, Fifth Edition, 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 to the content of your document nor to the method of organization you choose to present your information. Your 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 works cited section.
Type your heading one inch down from the top of the first page, flush with the left margin. Include student’s name, teacher’s name, class title and period, date.
Double space and center your paper’s title. Write your title in the same size and style font you used for the rest of your paper. Do not bold, underline, italicize, or use quotation marks.
Double space the entire paper and use one-inch margins on all sides. Use a clear, easy-to-read, 12-point font appropriate for business (such as Times New Roman or Arial).

Use Your Header
Most word processing programs allow you to create a header that will print the same information at the top of each page.

In Microsoft Word, select "Header and Footer" from the "View" Menu. Position the cursor in the right hand corner, type your name, and then click the # icon to insert the page number.

Double Spacing
IN Microsoft Word, select "Paragraph" from the "Format" menu and choose "Double" under "Line Spacing".

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Documenting Your Sources

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. These brief citations will then refer to a complete list of sources at the end of your paper.

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Parenthetical Documentation

Parenthetical documentation is a way of giving the original source of your information in a brief reference, called a citation. This citation is placed in parentheses after the borrowed material. 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 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).

(Gomez) or (Guidelines).

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Bibliography vs. Works Cited

Depending on your purpose, you may create one of three different lists of sources: a working bibliography, a list of works cited, or a bibliography.

No matter what type of source list you create, your bibliography citations will always be written in the same MLA format. See the section MLA Format for Bibliography Entries for the format for each source.

A working bibliography is the list of books, magazines, and other sources you collect as you conduct your library research. Usually you list these intended sources on individual index cards or in your notes, including all the information you will later need to make your list of works cited. See the section Bibliography Cards for more information. Also include the call number of each book and the library where you find 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 include directly in your paper. Type your list of works cited on a separate page at the end of your paper.

A bibliography is a separate alphabetical list of all the sources you considered in preparing a research project. Some teachers may ask for both a works cited page and bibliography. (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 after the works cited page, if included. Bibliographies are often published as resources detailing where you can find more information on a given subject.

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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 your paper. Double-space after this title 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 title, disregarding A, An, The.
Use reverse indentation (also called a “hanging indent”). Begin each entry flush with the left margin. If the entry runs more than one line, indent the successive lines one-half inch (or five spaces). (See the sample entries below for examples).
Double-space the entire page (within each entry and between entries).

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