SOME BASICS
OF
MLA
Briar Cliff University
Writing Center
Heelan Hall 050
712-279-5520
writing.center@briarcliff.edu
bcuwritingcenter.wordpress.com
GREAT ONLINE RESOURCES

It’s more important to know where to look for
information.
OWL is the best place for MLA.
 Bookmark it!
http://owl.english.purdue.edu/owl/resource/747/01/

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Note: The OWL doesn’t cover every special case. If a student
can’t find what they’re looking for, they can always ask a
Writing Center Mentor for help.
WHAT IS MLA?

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MLA= Modern Language Association
“MLA style is most commonly used to write
papers and cite sources within the liberal arts
and humanities” (Russell, Brizee, and Angeli).
For Example: This would be
the in-text citation that
corresponds with…
…this Resource listed
alphabetically in your
paper’s Works Cited page.

Russell, Tony, Allen Brizee, and Elizabeth Angeli. "MLA Formatting and Style Guide."
The Purdue OWL. Purdue U Writing Lab, 4 Apr. 2010. Web. 20 July 2010.
NAVIGATING OWL

OWL’s MLA section is divided into the In-text
citations and the Works Cited page.
The Works Cited area is divided up depending on the
type of source.
 The In-text Citations: The Basics will have most intext citation information.


Check out the sample paper on OWL
In-text
Works
Cited
IN-TEXT CITATIONS

In-text citations direct the reader to the Works
Cited page.

Common appearance: (Henley 5).

Exceptions
No author
 No page number

IN-TEXT CITATIONS


There are special rules for in-text citation for multiple
authors (refer to OWL Purdue).
In-text citations are part of the sentence, so the period
goes after (author page number).

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If you are citing a quote, the in-text citation will go between
the: “quotation marks” (author pg #). and the period
In-text citations don’t carry over into the next paragraph.
RESOURCE LIST FOR
WORKS CITED PAGE

The resource entry format depends on source
type.

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Electronic versions of sources should be treated the
same way.
Best Practices for creating Works Cited page
Start with sources of the same type
 Alphabetize by first word in entry

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Resource list is for works cited only, not works
consulted.
RESOURCE CITATION

The Resource Citation always contains the same
information. Exceptions:
No page number
◦ No author
◦


Lastname, Firstname. Title of Book. Place of Publication:
Publisher, Year of Publication. Medium of
Publication.
Periods separate each section of information in the
resource citation.
WHAT IS ONE-TO-ONE
CORRESPONDENCE?
One-to-one correspondence means that
◦

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all of the resources in your Works Cited page can be
found in the paper’s body and vice versa.
The citations and resources need to match, like
puzzle pieces:
- In your text (Henley 5).
- Henley, Patricia. The Hummingbird House.
Denver: MacMurray, 1999. Print.
The highlighted items must match!
WHAT ABOUT CITATION MACHINES?

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Many of these sites are not updated to the newest
version of MLA
These entries are easy to identify because they
have empty spots
If students take the time to learn the citations,
they will know them for future assignments!
Use these with EXTREME caution!!!
TOP MISTAKES FOR IN-TEXT
CITATIONS AND REFERENCES
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Not including in-text citations for everything
that’s not common knowledge.
Using the wrong format for 3-5 author sources in
the in-text citation.
Missing an in-text citation for a source listed in
the Works Cited or vice versa.
Using a citation machine and NOT correcting
mistakes
INFORMATION GATHERED FROM
OWL PURDUE ONLINE WRITING LAB
Slide show adapted from resources provided by
Dr. Ryan Allen