MLA formatting
& embedded
quotations
Basic formatting
• Title Page! (name, title,
topic, abstract)
• typed, 12-point font, double
spaced w/ no extra spaces
• 4-6 pages
• Works Cited page (included
in page limit)
MLA formatting, cont.
• MLA format class heading, upper left
of first page
• Title, centered, first page only
• From second page on: your last name
and pg. # in upper right (set as
header)
• If written: Make sure you number the
pages!! (your last name and the
number)
Example first:
Ms. Robson
8th per 2
Sept. 30, 2011
My Unique and Fitting Title
My essay starts here. It is all double
spaced, and my margins have been set
to one inch. I always remember to
introduce my quotes, just as I do here:
“isn’t this a lovely quote?” (Weiler 7).
I’m sure I will earn an A for my essay.
2nd page sample
Weiler 2
This is the second page of my
essay. I remembered to set my header
to include my last name and the page
number I’m currently on. I will do
this for the rest of my essay, even if
it’s twenty pages long! It’s all still
twelve point font, double spaced (with
no extra spaces!), and my margins are
still set to one inch.
Now for the intext citations:
Step #1: find a good
quote (that goes with
your thesis!)
Topic: Jim Crow Laws
Quote: “In the 1930’s
Jim Crow Laws existed
throughout the South”
(Robson, 3).
Figure out how to
introduce the quote (no
dropped quotes!)
According to (author’s last
name) the Great
Depression was one of the
worst economic times for
the United States (37).
Good signal words to use with
quotes:
• Acknowledges
• Admits
• Agrees
• Asserts
• Believes
• Comments
• Compares
• Declares
• Emphasizes
• Illustrates
• Implies
• Notes
• Observes
• Reports
• States
• Suggests
• Points out
Ellipsis:
If a quote is too long: In the case Brown vs.
Board of education […] it was discovered that
segregation was a main factor in the case’s
outcome” (Robson, 3).
Ellipsis marks in brackets indicate that I didn’t
use the entire quote. Three periods mean I
deleted part of the sentence.
Another one:
In his speech “Martin Luther King
claims that [….] he has a dream for a
world that does not define one by
their race” (Robson, 3).
Note: I used four periods because I left out an
entire sentence; I capitalized the next word
because it was the first word of the next sentence.
Quote within a quote
• If the quote you are using contains a
quote, use regular quotation marks
where your quote begins, single
quotations for the quote within the
quote, and then regular quotation
marks at the end of the sentence.
Example:
Robson stresses that “ A
colorblind world means,
according to Brown ‘no
differences exist amongst humans
based on race.’ ” (3).
Banned words list!
These words don’t belong in formal
writing…
• Really
• Things
• Stuff
• A lot
• Some
• About
• Informal English
/ slang
• Any words that
make you sound
uncertain