Decoding
MLA Format
There are some things you learn
best in calm, and some in
storm. ~Willa Cather
A Quick Review of the Basics
• Font Size: 12-point
• Font Type: Legible, stick with Times New
Roman, Arial, Georgia, etc.
• Margins: 1 inch
• Spacing: Double The latest version on Word
has a default setting of 1.15. 
• Paper’s Title: Same font as your paper—
nothing special: no underlining, bolded
words, “quotations” or italics
Reminder!
When it comes
to the basics of
MLA
formatting—
keep it simple.
Don’t Make
things overly
complicated! 
The Tougher Topics
MLA
Heading
Page #’s
and
Headers
•
•
•
•
Author’s Name
Instructor’s Name
Class
Due Date
• Last Name
• Page #
• EX: Smith 1
1/2 inch margin
1 inch margin
1 inch margin
double-spaced
Nothing fancy with
the title
The Tougher Topics
Italics
Punctuation
Pitfalls
• Books
• Movies
• Newspapers
Hint: Put in italics the big things, put in quotation marks
the pieces of big things. I.E. – We would put the name of
a newspaper in italics, but an article in the newspaper
would be in quotation marks!
“Quotes”
• T.V. Show
Episode
• Magazine/News
Article
• Short Stories
The Tricky Topics
Parenthetical
Documentation
Works Cited Page
MLA Formatting
The oh so confusing art of
parenthetical documentation
Using Your Resources…
• Student Style Handbook
• The OWL (Online Writing Lab)
• This Powerpoint
Plagiarism Caveat!
Many people think of plagiarism as copying another's work, or
borrowing someone else's original ideas. But terms like "copying"
and "borrowing" can disguise the seriousness of the offense:
According to the Merriam-Webster Online Dictionary, to "plagiarize"
means
• to steal and pass off (the ideas or words of another) as one's own
• to use (another's production) without crediting the source
• to commit literary theft
• to present as new and original an idea or product derived from
an existing source.
In other words, plagiarism is an act of fraud. It involves
both stealing someone else's work and lying about it
afterward.
Plagiarism Caveat!
All of the following are considered plagiarism:
• turning in someone else's work as your own
• copying words or ideas from someone else without giving credit
• failing to put a quotation in quotation marks
• giving incorrect information about the source of a quotation
• changing words but copying the sentence structure of a source without
giving credit
• copying so many words or ideas from a source that it makes up the
majority of your work, whether you give credit or not
Most cases of plagiarism can be avoided, however, by citing
sources. Simply acknowledging that certain material has
been borrowed, and providing your audience with the
information necessary to find that source, is usually enough
to prevent plagiarism.
Frequent Sources
• Online News Articles
• Online Journal Articles
• Websites and/or web pages
Less Frequent Sources
• Books
• Interviews
• Movies, and TV Shows
Less Frequent Sources
• Books
• Interviews
• Movies, and TV Shows
Don’t Forget Punctuation
Here is my smooth lead-in “into my
amazing quote,” (Smith 3).
There is NOT a comma
between the author’s last
name and page number!
End
punctuation
always
follows the
parentheses!
Parenthetical Documentation
Direct Quote: frequently includes a lead in that
introduces the original work and the author
EX: Lead in, “QUOTE” (pg #).
Paraphrase: Includes a citation at the end of the
paraphrased sentence, phrase, paragraph
Citation includes the author and pg. #
EX: Paraphrase (Smith 47).
Parenthetical Documentation
Direct Quote: frequently includes a lead in that
introduces the original work and the author
EX: In John Smith’s article “Teens and Social
Media: A Growing Concern” he writes, “Teens
today, more than any other generation are
always connected to social media. They cannot
escape it,” (23).
Notice the citation includes ONLY the page
number because the author is included in the
lead-in.
Parenthetical Documentation
Direct Quote: frequently includes a creative lead in.
EX: It is evident that more and more teens are
addicted to social media and the concern is,
“Teenagers are not able to disconnect from social
media. It is easily available all the time and a
deliberate choice to avoid it can make one feel like
a social outcast,” (Smith 23).
Notice the citation includes the author and page
number because the author is not included in the
lead-in.
Parenthetical Documentation
Direct Quote: frequently includes an exit out
that references the original work and the
author
EX: “Teens today, more than any other generation
are always connected to social media. They
cannot escape it,” (23) writes John Smith in
“Teens and Social Media: A Growing Concern.”
Notice the citation includes ONLY the page
number because the author is included in the
exit out.
Parenthetical Documentation
Direct Quote: frequently includes a creative exit out.
EX: “Teenagers are not able to disconnect from social
media. It is easily available all the time and a
deliberate choice to avoid it can make one feel like
a social outcast,” (Smith 23) which is further
evidence that social media is doing more harm for
society.
Notice the citation includes the author and page
number because the author is not included in the
exit out.
What should your citation look like?
Internal citations should include the author and a
page number.
EX. Pop-culture heavily influences other art forms like
literature (Smith 47).
Notice the Following
No punctuation between the author and the page
number
JUST the page number– no need to include ‘pg. #’
or ‘pg.’ or ‘page #’
No punctuation between the paraphrase and the
citation
What should your citation look like?
What do you do if you have two authors?
Say, Jeff Smith and John Jones wrote an essay titled
“Blue.” What would your in-text citation look
like?
(Smith and Jones 22)
*You would still include both authors’ last names!
Works Cited Page
• Includes any works that you cited in your paper
• Alphabetical order by author’s or editor’s last
name
• Must be its own page
• First line of each entry is right justified, each line
under that entry is indented 5 spaces
• Each entry must include the reference
(publication) medium, or type
• Web resources: do not include full HTML
addresses
Final Draft Reminders
• Due Tuesday September 30, 2014 @ 7:30 AM to
turnitin.com.
• Late papers = A zero
• Intro, 2 body paragraphs, conclusion
• Each body paragraph = 10-12 academic
sentences.
• Intro and conclusion = 4-6 sentences
• No hardcopy required 