General Studies Writing
Presentation
• Purpose: Introduce students to the logic behind
MLA documentation.
• Audience: BGSU students continuing their
research after narrowing/selecting their topics.
• Outcome: Students will better understand MLA
style concepts and have access to tools for
formatting academic papers and creating a
Works Cited page.
with Debbie Oesch-Minor
MLA Documentation Conventions
The logic behind
academic paper
formatting
with Debbie Oesch-Minor
Why style guides for paper
formatting?
Consistent standards
established by a
governing association
Create consistent
standards for
professionals in a field
Create consistent
standards for
universities
Create consistent
standards for classes
Create consistent
standards for students
Cartoon:
Sharon White. “College Admission Essay Example” WP Syndacator. 25 Nov 2011. Web. 20 June 2012.
<http://wpsyndicatorsite.com/example-of-an-mla-research-paper/>
OSCOLA
Oxford Standard for the
Citation of Legal Authorities
Turabian
• All fields of academic research agree on
the need to document scholarly
borrowings, but documentation
conventions vary because of the different
needs of scholarly disciplines.
• MLA and APA are the most common.
• MLA style for documentation is widely
used in the humanities, especially in
writing on language and literature.
“What is MLA Style?” MLA. n.d. web. 21 June 2012.
<http://www.mla.org/style>
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Related Li
Home > About the MLA
About the MLA
•MLA Officers an
the Executive Co
•The MLAexperie
Staff
Founded in 1883, the Modern Language Association of America provides opportunities for its members to share their scholarly findings and teaching
•Membership
Sta
colleagues and to discuss trends in the academy. MLA members host an annual convention and other meetings, work with related organizations,
and sustai
publishing programs in the humanities. For over a hundred years, members have worked to strengthen the study and teaching of language and literature.
The MLA at a Glance
•Nearly 30,000 members in 100 countries
•Programs serving English and foreign language teachers
•An annual convention, with meetings on a wide variety of subjects, and smaller seminars across the country
•The MLA International Bibliography, the only comprehensive bibliography in language and literature, available online
•A book publication program issuing a number of new books each year and maintaining a backlist of over 200 titles
•4 major periodicals: the ADE Bulletin; the ADFL Bulletin; Profession; and PMLA, one of the most distinguished journals in the humanities
•A quarterly newsletter providing association news, lists of deadlines, and items of interest to members
•137 divisions and discussion groups for specialized scholarly and teaching interests of members
•45 membership committees overseeing association activities and publications
•Leadership in the national education community
Membership Involvement in Association Activities
•Over 300 members are elected to govern the association through its Executive Council, Delegate Assembly, and other governance committees.
•Over 680 members serve on the executive committees of the 87 divisions and 50 discussion groups that represent the scholarly and teaching interests of
constituencies within the profession and that help determine much of the program at the annual convention.
•Over 2,000 members give papers and readings each year at the convention.
•Hundreds of readers join the 52 members of the PMLA Editorial Board and Advisory Committee in reviewing essays submitted for publication.
•More than 120 specialists index articles and journals for the MLA International Bibliography.
•Over 70 members are involved in selecting the winners of the 23 prizes the MLA awards for outstanding scholarly books and articles on language and liter
mla.org
MLA documentation conventions
provide structure for three basic
components of academic papers
•
•
•
Formatting Your Paper
Creating a Works Cited Page
Citing within Your Paper
Margins, line spacing, front matter, works cited
page(s), page numbers and block quotes must be
formatted consistently with MLA guidelines
One excellent
tool for MLA
paper formatting
is on Purdue’s
Online Writing
Lab
http://owl.english.purdue.edu/o
wl/resource/747/01/
The Documented Essay/Research Paper. Hunter College Reading/Writing Center. Hunter
College. Web. 20 June 2012. <http://rwc.hunter.cuny.edu/reading-writing/on-line/mlasample-research-paper.html >
• Formatting Your Paper
Your Works Cited page will list all of the sources you
borrow ideas, facts or quotes from in your paper.
Your Works Cited Page will
m Always begins on a new page
m List sources in alphabetical order
m Be double spaced throughout
http://www.bgsu.edu/colleges/libra
ry/infosrv/lue/HTU/MLA.pdf
The Documented Essay/Research Paper. Hunter College Reading/Writing Center. Hunter
College. Web. 20 June 2012. <http://rwc.hunter.cuny.edu/reading-writing/on-line/mlasample-research-paper.html >
• Creating a Works Cited Page
Citing Sources Within Your Paper
• Parenthetical citations—citing references within the text of your
paper—identify sentences where you borrow an author's words,
facts or ideas.
• Parenthetical citations include the first word from your Works Cited
citation and
a page
number
followed by citation
a period (Oesch-Minor 1).
Reader
sees
a parenthetical
• Each parenthetical citation serves as a tab to the bibliographic
Reader
can on
flipyour
to the
Works
Cited
to find
information
included
Works
Cited
page(s).
TAB
out more about the source
For this reason, it is ideal to create a working Bibliography of
researched materials so that you can easily include parenthetical
citations as you are composing—you’ll already have the data
correctly formatted.
http://libguides.bgsu.edu/MLA
Works Cited Page
• Logic of Documentation Conventions in
Source Citations
– Trace the sources back to their origins
– List the origin first and trace through each
person, title, publication & publisher
– Tell the medium of the publication
How
Who WhereWhen
What
Who-What-Where-When-How
Helpful Tools
Documentation Conventions-In Text Citations-Works Cited Page-How to Cite a Book-
• BGSU Learning Commons
•
•
Visit In-Person
Visit Online: Writing Resources and MLA Helps
•
http://www.bgsu.edu/offices/learningcommons/page109193.html
• BGSU Library: Online Library Guides
•
•
http://libguides.bgsu.edu/MLA
http://www.bgsu.edu/colleges/library/infosrv/lue/HTU/MLA.pdf
• Purdue Online Writing Lab [OWL]
•
http://owl.english.purdue.edu/owl/section/2/11/
?
For Next Class
• Continue your research
• Prepare to discuss format for Works Cited pages
and parenthetical citations. Spend at least 15
minutes reading MLA Citation pages on
Purdue’s OWL.
• Bring in at least 3 of your sources to class
(books, magazines, photocopies, printed copies)
• Prior to Class: Type & Print a Works Cited page
using MLA tools to properly format your first 3
sources
BIG BONUS
• Formatting Help for Your
Works Cited Page
Citations
– http://citationmachine.net/index2.php
Please, create 2 of your citations using the class
handout or tools you find at BGSU or OWL.
Then, use citationmachine.net for your 3rd citation.
Chaucer 14
Works Cited
Felver, Brad. "Throwing Leather." Ascent. 10 Sept
2012: n. page. Web. 26 Jun. 2012.
<http://readthebestwriting.com/?p=589 >
Works Cited
“About the MLA.” Modern Language Association. Home Page. Web. 21 June 2012.
<mla.org>.
The Documented Essay/Research Paper. Hunter College Reading/Writing
Center. Hunter College. Web. 20 June 2012.
<http://rwc.hunter.cuny.edu/reading-writing/on-line/mla-sample-researchpaper.html>.
The Purdue OWL Family of Sites. The Writing Lab and OWL at Purdue and
Purdue U, 2008. Web. 21 June 2012.
<http://owl.english.purdue.edu/owl/resource/747/08/> .
Sharon White. “College Admission Essay Example” WP Syndicator. 25 Nov 2011. Web.
20 June 2012. <http://wpsyndicatorsite.com/example-of-an-mla-research-paper/>.