MLA Style Guide
Presented by: Ms. McInnis and Ms. Gordon
1. MLA Style Guide Basics
What is MLA Style?
The Modern Language Association (MLA) developed a style guide for academic writing. Part of the
style guide deals with standardized ways to document the writer’s source materials. MLA provides
guidelines for the creation of a bibliography (called a “Works Cited” page) and the corresponding
parenthetical (within the text) citation.
How do I use this MLA Style Guide?
Students and teachers in the middle schools are expected to use this MLA style guide when writing
pieces that require information to be cited from other sources.
Why is it Important that I Cite Sources?
As a writer, it is your responsibility to give proper credit to your sources. It is also very important that
you give credit in accordance with MLA style. If you fail to give proper credit to a source, you have
committed plagiarism. (See Student/Parent Handbook p. 11-12)
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2. Plagiarism – What is it? How can I avoid it?
What is plagiarism?
If you have not given proper credit to your source, you have committed plagiarism. Essentially, it is
like you are lying to your readers. You have used someone else’s ideas without telling your reader
from where you took it. Whether you have intentionally tried to pass off someone else’s ideas as your
own or, through careless research, you unintentionally “forgot” to cite a source; the charge is
plagiarism.
How can I avoid plagiarism?
Basically, any idea or fact that you received from a source needs to be cited. Any idea or fact that is
common knowledge does not need to be cited. For example, facts like the earth rotate around the sun
or Abraham Lincoln was assassinated while in office is common knowledge and would not have to be
cited.
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3. Works Cited Page
What is a “Works Cited” Page?
A “Works Cited” page is the name that MLA gives to a bibliography. It is a listing of all of the sources
you cited in the body of your paper. Here are a few things to keep in mind about the “Works Cited”
page:
1. The “Works Cited” page is always going to be the last page of your essay or report. You
should type the words “Works Cited” and center it on the page.
2. Each entry must be complete and accurate. To see examples of common sources in correct
bibliographic format reference pages 5-7.
3. Each entry reads like one long sentence. What that means is that it does not matter where the
second line begins in an entry; it begins on the second line only because you ran out of room on
the first line.
4. The second line and subsequent line are always indented five spaces.
5. The sources are listed alphabetically by the first word or name in the entry. This first word or
name should be what you used in the parenthetical citation. You do not consider “The” when
alphabetically listing a source.
6. If required information, such as author or place of publication is not available, just leave it out.
7. If information is not found use the following notations:
N.p. No place of publication given
n.p. No publisher given
n.d. No date of publication given
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4. Parenthetical Citation
What is parenthetical Citation?
Parenthetical citation is when a writer directly puts into the text a note from where he or she got the
information. Parenthetical or “in-text” citation allows your reader to know from what source each
idea/fact came.
This is how it looks in the text of your paper:
“In 2007, 37 percent of American adults sought medical information from the internet regarding
a health problem they were experiencing before consulting a doctor” (Smith 38).
In the example above, notice that the author’s name and page number on which this fact was found are
set off from the text within parenthesis. Note also that the punctuation of this parenthetical citation is
also important. The reader would understand from this citation that on page 38 of Smith’s book, this
fact is mentioned. Furthermore, since the words are contained within quotes, the above example
illustrates that this is a direct quote from that page.
Here is an example of the same idea presented as an indirect quote:
Instead of going to the doctor right away, a recent study found that 37 percent of American’s are
now turning to the internet for medical information (Smith 38).
When using a web site:
This is how it looks in the text of your paper:
Most of the reports submitted to the Starbucks Business and Ethics Compliance Department
address issues in the category of employee relations (Smith).
[Even if you paraphrase (i.e. put information from the source into your own words), you still must provide a
citation at the end of the sentence. If the source does not list an author, use the first word or two of the title in
your parenthetical citation. In this example, the source does not have page or paragraph numbers because it is a
web site.]
Introduction to quote:
Louis Herman and his colleagues used hand and arm signals to communicate with the dolphins:
“For instance, a pumping motion of the closed fists meant ‘hoop,’ and both arms extended
overhead (as in jumping jacks) meant ‘ball’” (Morell 54).
[You may use a colon after a full sentence to introduce a quotation. When quotation marks are included
in the original text, the internal (or original) quotations marks become single.]
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5. Examples of Common Forms of Sources for Citation
“NOTE" The details are important in these citations - the order of the information, punctuation,
underlining and quote marks all must be exact. The entries are all double-spaced. If the publisher of a
web site is unknown use N.p., if the date last updated is unknown use n.d.
Books (Print)
Author. Title of Book. City of Publication: Publisher, Year. Format.
Arnold, Francis. Greece. Austin: Stech-Vaugh, 1992. Print.
Bernadac, Marie-Laure, and Paule Bouchet. Picasso: Master of the New Idea. New York:
Abrams, 1993. Print.
eBook (from database)
Author. Title of Book. City of Publication: Publisher, Year. Database Title. Format.
Date of Access.
Katz, Mark. Capturing Sound: How Technology Has Changed Music. Berkley: U. of
California P, 2004. netLibrary. Web. 15 Feb. 2012.
Article in a Reference Book or Edited Collection (Print)
Author. “Title of Article.” Title of Book. Editor. Volume. City of Publication: Publisher,
Year. Pages. Format.
Bewley, Marius.“The True Heir of the American Dream. ”Readings on the Great Gatsby.
Ed. Katie deKoster. San Diego: Greenhaven, 1998. 96-103. Print.
Lampard, Eric Edwin. "Industrial Revolution.” World Book Encyclopedia. Vol.10.
Chicago: World Book, 2000. 246-255. Print.
“Tuberculosis.” Human Disease and Conditions. Ed. Neil Izenberg. Vol. 3. New York:
Scribner’s, 2000. 877-880. Print.
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Reference or Encyclopedia Article (from a database)
Author. “Title of Article.” Title of Book. Editor. Volume. City of Publication: Publisher,
Year. Database Title. Format. Date of Access.
Rickards, Joesph. “Photorealism.” Encyclopedia Americana. 2009. Grolier Online. Web.
21 Oct. 2012.
Henningfeld, Diane. “Overview of The Bluest Eye.” EXPLORING Novels. Detroit: Gale,
2003. Student Resources Center-Gold. Web. 21 Oct. 2012.
Magazine or Newspaper Article (Print)
Author. “Title of Article.” Magazine or Newspaper Date: Pages. Database Title. Format.
Date of Access.
Faure, Gaelle. “Managing Your Online Afterlife.” Time 14 Sept. 2009: 51-53. MASUltraSchool Edition. Web. 21 Oct. 2012.
Academic Journal Article (from a database)
Author. “Title of Article.” Journal Title Volume. Issue (Year): Pages. Database Title.
Format. Date of Access.
Matula, Theodore. “Pow! To the People: The Make-Up’s Reorganization of Punk
Rhetoric.” Popular Music & Society 30.1 (2007): 19-38. Academic Search Complete.
Web. 27 Oct. 2012.
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Web Page
Author. “Title of Page.” Title of Web Site. Publisher or Sponsor, Date of Publication.
Format. Date of Access.
“Adderall.” PDRhealth. PDR Network, 2009. Web. 21 Oct. 2012.
Naylor, Stephen. “Hindu Mythology.” Encyclopedia Mythica. N.p., 8 April. 2006. Web.
21 Oct. 2012.
“OpenOffice 3.0.” Osalt.com. N.p., n.d. Web. 6 Oct. 2012.
Online Photograph, Illustration, or Image
Artist. Image Title. Date of Publication. Collection or institution. Website or database.
Format. Date of Access.
Adams, Ansel. Guayle Field, Manzanar Relocation Center.1943. Library of Congress.
American Memory. Web. 27 Oct. 2012.
Song or Sound Recording (from a CD or MP3)
Specific Contributor. “Song Title.” Other Major Contributors. Album Title. Publisher,
Year. Format.
Copeland, Aaron. “Fanfare for the Common Man.” Perf. New York Philharmonic. Cord.
Leonard Bernstein. Sing America. Warner Bros., 1999. CD.
Jimi Hendrix Experience. “All Along the Watchtower.” By Bob Dylan. Electric Ladyland.
MCA, 1968. MP3
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Video or Movie (on DVD or VHS)
Specific Contributor. Title. Other Major Contributors. Distributor, Year. Format.
Brando, Marlon, perf. A Streetcar Named Desire. By Tennessee Williams. Dir. Elia
Kazan. Warner Bros., 2006. DVD.
Video or Movie (on DVD or VHS)
Specific Contributor. Title. Other Major Contributors. Publisher or Distributor, Year.
Website or database. Format. Date of Access.
Ivers, Louise, narr. Haiti: Malnutrition. Harvard University, 2009. YouTube. Web. 27
Oct. 2012.
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