College Composition
MLA Format
Depending on which college you attend, and sometimes particular to a course or professor,
anytime you do research you will be required to use either MLA or APA format. In short,
folks, this is a matter of following directions and plugging in formulas. It’s also, in large part,
about being resourceful and looking things up when you have questions.
In this course, we are using MLA format for your research paper. This means your research
will NEED to include the following:


A Works Cited page (include URL’s on websites)
In-text citations or parenthetical notations.
I have provided a sample MLA Research Paper courtesy of Diane Hacker that demonstrates
what this will look like, complete with marginal notes. However, there are also a number of
very good websites that breakdown the format you, and tell you how to cite any type of
resource from print books to websites to interviews.
Try these:
The Purdue On-line Writing Lab: The MLA Formatting and Style Guide
http://owl.english.purdue.edu/owl/resource/747/01/
This website is, perhaps, the best one I have found. It breakdowns the formatting and style
in clear, digestible chunks.
The Cal State in LA MLA formatting PDF file
http://www.calstatela.edu/library/guides/3mla.pdf
If you’d like to have a hard copy of something to use for your Works Cited page, try printing
this out to keep in front of you.
There is also the option of purchasing a book on-line. It would be a resource to keep on
your desk throughout college. You might want to find out whether or not your college is
going to require you to purchase a specific resource book before spending the cash. You can
find books at:
http://www.mla.org/style_faq1
After reviewing the material on these sites and in your book, take the following on-line quiz:
http://www2.athabascau.ca/services/write-site/mla-quiz.php
Literary analysis:
http://owl.english.purdue.edu/media/ppt/20071017015107_697.ppt