MLA Format Test
C. Cook
Name ______________________ Date ______________
On a separate sheet of paper, complete the following activities.
Part I: Using the following excerpt, answer the questions about handling source
material. Make sure you handle the source material properly just as if you were actually
using this information in a research paper.
Yes, Sam Walton cluttered the landscape of the American countryside, and he
forced a lot of people to change the way they made a living. But he merely hastened
inevitable changes. His empowering management methods were widely copied; his
harnessing of information technology to cut costs quickly traveled upstream to all kinds
of companies; his pioneering retailing concepts paved the way for a new breed of
“category killer” store. Low-overhead, low-inventory selling keeps accelerating: the
Internet is its latest iteration. One can only wonder what a young cyber Sam would
accomplish if he were just getting started.
* This excerpt is taken from page 80 of an anthology titled Time 100: The Most
Influential People of the 20th Century: Builders and Titans.
* The editors of this book are Bill Saporito and Steve Koepp.
* The book was published in 1999 by Time Books in New York.
* This excerpt comes from an essay titled “Sam Walton.”
* The author of the essay is John Huey, managing editor of Fortune magazine. He also
co-authored a biography of Sam Walton.
1. Directly quote the first sentence, inserting the word “entrepreneur” before Sam
Walton.
2. Directly quote the second sentence, omitting the word “merely.”
3. Paraphrase sentence three, but directly quote the phrase “’category killer’ store.”
4. Write a summary of the passage, using three key phrases: “pioneering retailing
concepts,” “low-overhead, low-inventory,” and “cyber Sam.”
Part II. Works Cited Entries
1. Using Citation Machine, prepare a works cited entry for this passage. Note: The
entire Sam Walton article is found on pages 78-80.
2. Choose three other sources from NC Live that are related to the article above, and
create works cited entries for them. Use the word processor to set up a works cited page
that includes all four entries. Remember to use correct MLA formatting and guidelines.